July 2007 News

Like wine, some things just get better with age, and if you like your Rock n Roll aged to perfection but still tasting as fresh and sweet as it did three decades ago, you enjoyed a delicious treat if you saw JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS Rock the California Mid State Fair, July 26th. Love was all around as Punks, Jocks and every other type representing five decades of Rock fans came together in thunderous unison to cheer on the First Lady of Rock n Roll.
Jett and The BLACKHEARTS are on tour to promote their latest CD "SINNER". Released last year the disc has spawned the hits "A.C.D.C." (check out the video w/Carmen Electra), "Change The World" and "Androgynous". Additional tunes "Riddles", "Everyone Knows" and "Watersign" make this CD nothing short of amazing, considering it is 25 years after Jett released her first hit with "I Love Rock n Roll". KENNY LAGUNA, Jett’s longtime partner and collaborator once again does a brilliant job on production duties updating the Blackheart sound while still keeping the signature Jett vibe intact.

Jett and her band actually raised the temperature, which was approaching the triple digit mark when they hit the stage for the first of two sets at 6:30PM. Fans from all over California packed both shows at the Fort Frontier Arena to capacity and were treated to hit after hit from three decades worth of material, from favorites "Bad Reputation, "Crimson and Clover", and "I Love Rock n Roll" to the newest classics "Fetish", "Change The World" and "A.C.D.C".

Like her music itself, JOAN JETT is timeless, as evidenced by her appearance. The toned abs, leather pants and eyeliner never looked so good on a woman in her 40s. It wasn’t surprising that Blender Magazine named her one of its "Sexiest Women". Jett is still relevant and thriving in today’s music scene also, so much so that she was able to headline last years Vans Warped Tour, which prominently features young up and coming Punk and Alternative acts. Rolling Stone Magazine listed Jett in their 2003 "Greatest 100 Guitarists of All Time". Look for JOAN JETT on tour throughout the summer and when she hooks up with Aerosmith for dates in September, and you can get your weekly dose of JOAN JETT’s Radio Revolution on Sirius Satellite Radio’s "Faction" every Sunday night on Sirius Satellite Radio.

Multiple Sacrasms is a new indie film that Dana Delany is starring in with Tim Hutton. It has a low budget but the cast is incredible, also including Mira Sorvino, Stockard Channing, Mario Van Peebles, Tom Skerrit, and JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS!

Gabriel (Timothy Hutton) is a man who on the surface has it all-successful professional life as an architect, a beautiful wife, ANNIE, and a devoted youg daughter, ELIZABETH. But slowly it dawns on him that he is not really happy. Gabriel decides that he wants to write a play about the sorry state of his life. He quits his job, gets a pushy literary agent friend to represent him and starts writing. Although his marriage ends in a divorce, the play is success and although his life is different than it was, he is happier. Written by Brooks Branch

Multiple Sarcasms, tells the story of Gabriel Richmond, played by Timothy Hutton, a man in his late 40's, who is a successful architect. He begins questioning his life choices, which ultimately turns into an art form, as he goes from architect to playwright, examining his own life. This is a quirky relationship drama. Written by Brooks Branch

JOAN JETT will be 49 this year, but her sinewy arms still light into her beat-up Gibson Melody Maker as if it were 1982, when she first broke onto the scene with her braying hit "I Love Rock N’ Roll." Even then Jett had more than just smash records on her mind. "I really wanted to make it OK for girls to play," she says.

Fellow ’80s hitmakers Jane Wiedlin of the Go-Go’s and Nancy Wilson of Heart fought for the same leg room for their all-female bands. Of her early gigs with the Go-Go’s, Wiedlin says, "It was horrible. Everyone hated us because we were chicks, and so we would just get spit at and bottles thrown at us every night."

It's mandated by law that anytime JOAN JETT plays a gig, NYRock is there to report back. Billed as a free show at the Hudson River Park at Pier 54, the lineup featured the Paybacks, the Dollyrots, and JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS. Unfortunately, the weather reports were not in our favor – there were threats of damaging winds, torrential rain, hail, lightning, flooding, and Republicans. But would that stop us? Pish.

First thing to know: the Hudson River Park is a pier of concrete. I didn't see a lick of greenery, save for the girl with the emerald Manic Panic locks. Second: there is a very thick, frothy layer of khaki-colored scum coating the Hudson River close to the pier. It's nasty as all get-out yet impossible to stop staring at.

When my harem of rock whores and I were let onto the pier, we made our way to the stage because – as regular readers will recall – the Paybacks are one of the baddest-assed bands on the planet. I had a moment of inner turmoil when I admitted to myself that I was more excited to see the Paybacks than the BLACKHEARTS probably because the latter has played a bunch of times over the past year, and it's not like the Paybacks come into town as frequently. With a dark gray cloud looming to the north, the Paybacks brought their own electrical storm in the form of knee-knocking, titty-twisting Detroit rock 'n' roll led by human hurricane Wendy Case. The wind was picking up, but save for a stage banner coming undone and flapping in the air, and Case's dress threatening to end up around her shoulders, we avoided Ma Nature's wrath – turns out she can be soothed with a dose of rawk.

For the last 30 years, rock music icon JOAN JETT has been a staple in the music industry. And unlike many of her peers, she has managed to stay true to her beliefs. Working with some of the biggest names in music, Jett has had numerous hits, most notably 1982’s "I Love Rock ‘n Roll," she has been able to appeal to an extremely wide and varied audience.

And though her career has been significantly less visible than it was in the video-crazed ’80s, Jett has never stopped working, as evidenced by the creation of BLACKHEART RECORDS, which recently celebrated its 25th anniversary and a slew of records that continue to mark her as one of music’s most stable and unflinching artists. Many people might not know this about Jett. Likewise, many people might not know about her close collaborations with writer/producer KENNY LAGUNA, who co-founded BLACKHEART RECORDS and helped write many of Jett’s most memorable songs.

"We’ve been lucky to have the relationship that we have," Laguna said during a recent interview with Local iQ. "We know how each other works and have our own style."

While other musicians from her generation have ebbed and flowed over the years, Jett has kept the same in-your-face attitude she’s always been known for; the same sneer that she had with her first band, the seminal all-woman outfit The RUNAWAYS.

"We’ve always stayed true to what we set out to do," Jett said.

Just got home, and all I can say is…JOAN JETT rocks! In a world where pop princesses somehow reign supreme, thank goodness this 80’s icon is still going strong. I’ll admit, I didn’t know what to expect when Billboard gave me this first assignment, as punk/indie rock isn’t usually my thing, but hearing classics like "Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)," "Love is Pain," "I Love Rock & Roll," and one of my faves "Crimson and Clover," reminded me of how many JJ songs I grew up on and love…and how much fun a good ole rock ‘n roll show is.

Die hard fans had already secured themselves in front of the stage by the time I arrived, but I managed to squeeze myself up to the front, albeit on the side, for a good amount of the show. Despite the initial rainy weather, Pier 54 was packed with all sorts of fans, from older veterans to the pierced/tattooed to those not even born yet when JJ was first topping the charts. Probably the best quote of the night was when she yelled out to us: "Good. You’re all rowdy & wet, just like I like ‘em." Not like this NYC crowd needed any riling up! "Five" and "Riddles" are definitely two of the best live ones off of the new disc. Signature raspy voice and hard-core guitar riffs aplenty, JJ definitely knows how to put on a kick-a** show. She looked like she was having just as good of a time as the rest of us…thrusting and dancing on stage and even smiling for some of the camera phones a few times. Ending with a cover of Sly & The Family Stone’s "Everyday People" was definitely a highlight for me. I’m psyched that I got to catch this show. Had such a great time!

Set List: Bad Reputation Cherry Bomb Light of Day Touch Change The World Androgynous Five Love Is Pain Naked MTM Riddles Fetish I Love R&R Crimson Hate__________________ AC/DC Everyday People Now on to the Dollyrots, who I was lucky enough to hang out with for a bit after their set.

JOAN JETT, "The Godmother Of Punk," And Her Longtime Partner KENNY LAGUNA Reflect On Three Decades Of Battling It Out In The Hostile World Of Rock ‘N roll Back in the 1970s, there used to be this notorious nightclub in my hometown of Lancaster, Ohio. It was called Siggy’s and the local Puritans were always up in arms over the goings-on there — usually because they were pissed that someone might actually be having a good time. In the summer of 1976, I was 15 years old. One day that is forever etched in memory, I was out riding bikes with a pal who like myself was hot on discovering the glories of rock and roll. As he cruised up to me, he excitedly announced, "Dude, did ya hear? The RUNAWAYS are playin’ Siggy’s tonight!" Wow, I thought, The RUNAWAYS! They were all over my most recent copy of Rock Scene Magazine. They were just kids like me. I was already aware that I was supposed to be more impressed by the fact that they were all women. That was all the music press wanted to write about. But more important to me was the fact that they were my age and they were doing it. They were making kick-ass rock! I’d already tried to pick out the chords to "Blackmail" on my Epiphone acoustic I needed to see them! I needed to see The RUNAWAYS!

So being the super-stud I was at 15, I snuck out of the house that night and pedaled my manly ass down the craziest bar in town in the hopes of somehow catching a glimpse of rock’s newest goddesses. The first thing that struck me as I rode up to the front of the bar was that this place didn’t seem so dangerous. I mean, these folks didn’t exactly look like me, but they weren’t fornicating in public or committing acts of cannibalism either. In fact, thinking back on it, the vast majority of the denizens of Siggy’s were your usual mix of power-drinkers and bikers who, it turned out, were surprisingly tolerant of the 15-year-old who was suddenly making the scene with them.

I started to make my way towards the front door but of course as soon as the door guy got a load of me, he shook his head and said, "No way, kid. Ain’t happenin.’" I stood there at the side of the building for a few minutes trying to figure out my next move. One of the bikers who’d witnessed my failed attempt at entry wandered over to me and said, "If I were you, I’d try the alley. At least you’ll be able to hear the band." So I did. And he was right. I could hear the band just fine, and even better, I could see them. And even better than that, I could see JOAN JETT. Trust me friends, the pics in Rock Scene didn’t do her justice. I took one look at her and I was smitten. And best of all, she could play! What could be sexier than a woman who could wail on a guitar like that? "Cherry Bomb," indeed! I’ll make no apologies. That evening, standing in that dirty, urine-soaked, rat-infested alley, I became a JOAN JETT fan-for-life.

Her white slip-on sandals almost all brown, Kristen Graff of Windsor winced as she squished through the mixture of mud and manure that was at the Island Grove Arena on Sunday night and joined the crowds in the standing-room-only section near the stage to see REO Speedwagon and JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS.

"I was just stuck," she said. As her husband, Kevin, smooth-ed the mud around with his feet, he said he didn’t mind the mud.

"It’s a fun time away from the kids," he said. "If you want, he can make you a little dry spot," added Kristen, laughing.

The rain and hail that started shortly before the 8 p.m. showtime didn’t seem to bother fans — such as the Graffs —who came out in force on Sunday night for the show at the Greeley Stampede.

JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS opened the show, playing a set that mixed songs from their new album, "SINNER," with crowd favorites "Bad Reputation," "I Love Rock and Roll" and "Crimson and Clover."

While many attendees came to see REO Speedwagon, others, such as siblings Karl and Bernadette Zimmerman, were there for JOAN JETT.

Rocker JOAN JETT warms up before a baseball game between the Florida Marlins and the Atlanta Braves on Saturday, June 30, 2007 in Miami. Jett, who will play in a post-game concert, threw out one of the ceremonial first pitches.