September 2006 News

Lee Crystal, drummer for JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS from 1981 to 1986, is just a regular guy from Brooklyn—except that he’s so much cooler than the rest of us. In 1977, three years out of high school, Crystal formed The Boyfriends, which developed cult status for its pure, New York sound. (The band can still be heard on independent, free-form radio.) That group opened for The Ramones at renowned underground New York haunts like CBGB’s and Max’s Kansas City; then came stints with glitzy Sylvain Sylvain and David Johansen.

But it was in 1981, when Crystal auditioned for and subsequently landed the seat as The BLACKHEARTS’ drummer, that his uninhibited, hard rock drumming was unleashed on the world. "JOAN JETT was what I needed," Crystal insists. "I wanted to play real rock ’n’ roll."

Jett’s music was honest and raw, and Crystal’s unrelenting beat on "I Love Rock ’N’ Roll" is legendary. The tune held the number-1single spot on the American Billboard chart for eight weeks, and the album sold ten million copies. After The BLACKHEARTS, Crystal played with Crash Conference and Secret Chiefs.

Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1993, Crystal now teaches out of his home in New Jersey and is planning a "rock ’n’ roll-flavored" book. The disease has slowed him a bit physically. His hands don’t always cooperate, which prevents him from pounding the drums like he used to. But Crystal compensates by verbally interpreting for his students what a drummer should hear when hitting that drumhead. "You need to feel the vibration of the drum in your chest," Crystal says. "You know, oompah, OOMPAH!" Crystal’s quick wit doesn’t miss a beat, either. "I tell students, get real familiar with your drums—because you’ll be hitting them."

Seagate has partnereed with a leading breast cancer foundation to provide a pink version of its Pocket Hard Drive, which also comes preloaded with songs and video from popular musicians.

Ten percent of the 6-Gbyte drive's price will be donated to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. The drive, available for an estimated price of $109, will be sold through Amazon.com and Buy.com, Seagate said Monday.

ADVERTISEMENT Featured artists whose music and/or videos are included on the drive include JOAN JETT, Stefy, Toby Lightman, Megan McCauley, Stephanie McKay, Alana Davis, Andrea Rosario and Annie Stela.

"Seagate is proud to join forces with the Komen Foundation in its mission to eradicate breast cancer as a life-threatening disease," said Jim Druckrey, general manager of Seagate Branded Solutions, in a statement. "Breast cancer touches all our lives and we hope that consumers will take this opportunity to support the Foundation's efforts by volunteering time, making a donation or purchasing a product that supports the cause."

Seagate also said that it sponsored the Komen Race For the Cure, a 5-kilometer run in San Francisco.

JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS are about to launch a tour across the U.S. in support of new CD, SINNER. They’ll stop at Dallas’ Gypsy Tea Room on Nov. 13. For the most part, the album adheres to their trademark style, though it sounds as fresh as ever.

Recently, HB caught up with Joan via phone to discuss her experiences playing the Warped Tour, the new songs, (and coincidentally) the State of the Union and life itself.

Most recently, Joan and the gang finished headlining this summer’s Vans Warped Tour, a/k/a "punk rock summer camp." Jett is no stranger to the road in general, but what did the Queen of Rock think of the loudest nomadic freak show on Earth?

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame officially opened this week on Sept. 2, 1995. It is similar to the United Nations in that its existence is an extraordinary achievement, and everybody has a different opinion about how it should be run.

I personally believe the founding fathers (in both cases) have done a very good job under difficult circumstances and should be applauded.

Over the years JOAN JETT has earned herself a Bad Reputation as the undisputed queen of punk rock. She's also become the true icon to so many girls growing up with dreams of being a rock n' roller and yet she still continually fights everyday to earn respect in the music industry. Throughout the years JOAN JETT has continually been judged and criticized by the media for her antics as a real wild child and for being an out of control punk, to her current sexual preference. But through it all she's made it in the rock world because of her stellar music and her fans appreciation for what she's accomplished. "I Love Rock N' Roll" thanks to people like JOAN JETT, because they've not only helped in creating the soundtrack to my life but at the same time have influenced me to go after my dreams and to not let anyone get in my way. I had the opportunity to interview JOAN JETT while she was performing on this year's Warped Tour and I got the same sort of vibe from her that I did when I interviewed Lemmy of Motorhead. It's the feeling of a very humble, passionate, and confident person who is proud of her accomplishments and is now content with enjoying the finer things in life like playing rock music to her thousands of fans without a worry in the world.

Big Wheel: How's Warped Tour been for you? Are you finding it hard to fit in with the Warped Tour crowd seeing as how most them weren't even born when "I Love Rock N' Roll" came out?
JOAN JETT: Warped Tour has been a blast! The kids seem to respond really well to it. You'd almost never know that some of them weren't even born back then. They've been really welcoming and accepting of the band and all the other bands on Warped have just been really awesome to us as well.

Since starting her own independent label in order to self-release her debut solo album in 1981, which went on to make her an international star with the 1982 hit "I Love Rock ’n’ Roll," JOAN JETT has sold millions of records worldwide and has toured relentlessly, all the while helming BLACKHEART RECORDS, now celebrating its 25th anniversary. She’s produced scores of bands, from 80s-era punk rockers the Germs to 90s riot grrls Bikini Kill to recent garage-punk discoveries the Eyeliners and the Vacancies. She’s collaborated with everyone from the Sex Pistols to Peaches; starred in numerous films and television shows; appeared on Broadway in The Rocky Horror Picture Show; and just recently became a radio DJ on Sirius Satellite Radio’s Little Steven’s Underground Garage Network. There’s not really much Jett hasn’t done.

Except, of course, talk openly about her sexuality. Even though she allegedly — or at least subtly — came out in a magazine article in the 1990s and is often referred to as "openly lesbian" in the press, Jett has as recently as this spring stated that she has never publicly issued a statement about her sexuality. She openly flirts with her lesbian fans at concerts, sports a "Dykes Rule" sticker on her guitar and even played an intimate gig at this year’s Dinah Shore Weekend, but she still refuses to field questions on the topic. On the day I called for our phone interview, her only interest was in talking about her new 15-track album, SINNER.

Jett does, however, have a history of speaking her mind via her lyrics, both subtly and overtly, and SINNER’s no different. Like her earliest hit "Bad Reputation" and many after it, several songs on SINNER reveal Jett’s thoughts on topics political, sexual and of the heart. And though much of SINNER is not technically "new" — the bulk of the album appeared on the 2004 Japanese-only CD Naked, which has since been remastered or re-recorded for this release — the vast majority of its material has never been widely released to her U.S. audience, making it new to the ears of all but the most diehard fans. As a body of work, it paints an intriguing picture of the notorious badass who’s still rocking just as steady and hard as she has for the last 25 years, but is also perhaps maturing a bit, taking some time to reflect on where and who she’s been and turning an eye to the future.

CLICK HERE to obtain audience tickets for JOAN JETT’s and the BLACKHEARTS’ live appearance on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

CLICK HERE Click here for advice on how to get into the show the same day without a ticket!

The phrase ‘behind every good man, there’s good woman’ should be rephrased to best describe the relationship between JOAN JETT & KENNY LAGUNA. In this case, the pioneering punk rock goddess, JOAN JETT is the spotlight magnet. But in the wings, beside her more often than not, stands her long term business partner, producer, and friend, KENNY LAGUNA. Together, the Jett & Laguna team made rock & roll history by producing "I Love Rock 'N Roll," one of the greatest rock & roll anthems of all time. The duo also formed BLACKHEART RECORDS, the first record label to have ‘a girl on top’ out of necessity because 20+ labels had turned them down. But before Laguna hooked up with Jett, he was already considered a veteran in the business for blowing-up bubble gum hits with Bill Medley and later for his work with Tommy James & The Shondells. In the 70’s, he began producing new wave punk hits for Beserkley Records’ artist Greg Kihn and then went on to produce the hit, "I Want Candy" with Bow Wow Wow. But it was a talented, determined, and creative 17 year old punk rocker who caught Kenny’s eye & ears. From the onset of JOAN JETT’s career, songwriter/producer KENNY LAGUNA has been beside her every step of the way.

It’s 10 pm a couple of nights before the VMA’s and Kenny talked to Musicpix for almost an hour about his partnership with Joan, their new record "SINNER," and a topic that Joan would prefer to not talk about.

Listen in…

What do you call a woman whose shoes look more comfortable than those worn by her all-male backup band? What if she likes to wear leather, is an avid sports fan, enjoys relaxing at home with her four cats, eats a vegetarian diet and has a deep voice and a tough attitude? What if she croons graphic lust songs that soon seem more conspicuously directed at women, muscles her way into major league music to become an all-star in the previously "boys only" sport of rock ’n’ roll and captures the hearts of three decades’ worth of fledging- and full-grown dykes?

By definition, you’d call that person JOAN JETT. But what’s in a name—or a label, for that matter? Some dirty deeds have been done with labels, but labels are nonetheless needed by everyday people.

Dictionaries define a "label" as a short word or phrase descriptive of a person or group. A label indicates that what it refers to belongs in a particular category or classification. While some find this function of labels constraining, it is fair to say that if someone has certain characteristics, a label may help others understand who they are.

Rock ‘n Roll recording artist, JOAN JETT, filmed a video on the Long Beach boardwalk on Thursday, August 24th.

Cameras rolled as Joan and her band, the BLACKHEARTS, unloaded their instruments at the boardwalk ramp in front of 20 Franklin Boulevard. Later, the group sang "Change the World" from their BLACKHEARTS Records album, "SINNER." The performance took place on the boardwalk, with residents of 25 Neptune getting "front row seats" as they watched from the pool deck.

The new Primal Scream album, "Riot City Blues," is finally released stateside, and the band scores a very rare second "coolest song" nod with "Dolls." It may be even better than "Country Girl," but all I know is we're getting a lot of fabulous exactas from the veterans lately: "If It Takes a Life Time" and "Dream the Night Away" from Cheap Trick's "Rockford"; "Everyone Knows" and "Turn It Around" from JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS' "SINNER"; and "World Wide Suicide" and "Life Wasted" from Pearl Jam's "Pearl Jam." Some of their best work ever.

If you dug Primal Scream's fourth album "Give Out But Don't Give Up" from 1994, you're going to love this.

In addition to the two already classic tracks "Country Girl" and "Dolls," check out "Nitty Gritty," "99th Floor," "Hell's Comin' Down" and "Suicide Sally and Johnny Guitar."