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August 2007 News
Page updated on August 31, 2007
All news is attributed to the source from which it was received so that readers may judge the validity of the statements for themselves.
Have Joan Jett news to report? Email us at jettfc@aol.com, and please include the source of the information so it can be validated.
Faith Reworks JOAN JETT Tune for NFL
from: countryhound.com
by Stephen L. Betts
Seems only appropriate that NBC's Sunday Night Football will have a little Faith this season, as Faith Hill will be heard singing the opening theme.
The song, "Waiting All Day for Sunday Night," is set to the tune of JOAN JETT's "I Hate Myself for Loving You." Last season it was sung by pop star Pink.
Faith recorded the theme in New York, altering the lyrics to include the teams playing each week. As we previously reported, she’ll perform in Indianapolis on Sept. 6 during a pre-game show before the NFL season opener between the New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts.
JOAN JETT returns to the days of loving rock'n'roll
from: afterellen.com
Rocker JOAN JETT recently traded in her Blackheart to star in lighthearted indie teen comedy Endless Bummer.
The movie follows a group of teenagers from Ventura as they chase down a stolen surfboard. It's set in 1984, the year of Jett's album Glorious Results of a Misspent Youth, and the plot sounds so simple and silly it just might result in something glorious itself — as long as they don't try to take it too seriously. Producer Steven Siebert describes the film as "a genuine story of a pivotal day for a group of young Ventura surfers" and fellow producer Kevin Lyman says, "its relevance is timeless and has no boundaries."
Ummm, okay. I get that the best comedies actually have deeper meaning (think of the anthropological masterpiece Dazed and Confused), but I was sold when I read that the soundtrack will include '80s hits covered by current rockers, including Jett.
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Transperformance returns in all its colorful glory
from: reformer.com
by Dave Madeloni
Thursday, August 23NORTHAMPTON, Mass. -- This Tuesday's Transperformance at The Pines Theater promises to be the most colorful one yet.
The whacky and wonderfully irreverent concert is always one where it is nearly impossible to tell who is having a better time -- the audience or the performers. Now in its 17th year, "Transpo" brings together Pioneer Valley-based musicians who assume the personas of well-known artists.
The 2007 version of the fun fundraiser for the arts in local schools is called "Color by Numbers," with locals covering everyone from Al Green (Leah Randazzo) to Green Day (Serum 114), Blue Oyster Cult (Haunt featuring Winterpills & Mark Mulcahy) to The Moody Blues (Aloha Steamtrain), Pink Floyd (Primate Fiasco) to Pink (the honorable Mayor Clare Higgins).
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Warped Founder Jumps into Film
from: antiMUSIC News
Vans Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman is executive producing the new film, Endless Bummer. It's a coming-of-age comedy set in 1984, centering on a group of teen surfers growing up in Southern California. According to his publicist, Lyman co-wrote the story along with JD Drury, upon whose life the film is based.
Lyman is also helping to develop the film's soundtrack, which will consist of early 80's new wave and punk hits covered by a variety of veteran Warped Tour Artists, including Bad Religion, the Vandals, Action Design and Anti-Flag.
Here is the latest press release about the film: Matthew Lillard (Scream, Scooby Doo) has joined the cast of Lighthouse Entertainment’s upcoming teen comedy, Endless Bummer, as the film commences principal photography this week. Directed by Sam Pillsbury, the film’s ensemble cast will include Aussie film star Khan Chittenden (Introducing the Dwights), rock legend JOAN JETT, Jane Leeves (Frasier), Caitlin Wachs (Divine Secrets Of The Ya Ya Sisterhood, Kids In America), Allison Scagliotti (One Tree Hill, The TV Set), Colton James (Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, The Cell), Ray Santiago (Meet the Fockers) and Andy Fischer-Price (Surf’s Up).
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Once JOAN JETT got her shot, she was ready to rock
from: pjstar.com
by Danielle Hatch
More than 25 years ago, a young JOAN JETT and her producer and songwriting partner KENNY LAGUNA were pretty sure they had something special on a demo tape that included "I Love Rock 'N Roll" and "Do You Wanna Touch Me." Laguna, who was in Tommy James and The Shondells and had worked with everyone from The Who to The Ramones to Andy Warhol, set out to help get Jett signed. But after making the rounds to various record labels, no one was interested.
"We had the most powerful people in the record business presenting Joan, and nobody would do it," Laguna said. "We went into places like Atlantic Records. ... They said JOAN JETT didn't have the class to be on the label."
After being rejected by more than 20 major labels, Jett and Laguna pressed the albums themselves and sold them out of the trunk of Jett's Cadillac. The hurdles they faced in the record business aren't rare.
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Long lsland Music Hall of Fame
from: 516ads.com
Long Island Music Hall of Fame To Present Long Island Sound Award to KENNY LAGUNA on August 10 at Metro New York Balloon and Music Festival in Brookhaven, New York The Long Island Music Hall of Fame will present their Long Island Sound (LISA) Award to legendary performer and music producer KENNY LAGUNA on Friday, August 10, just prior to the performance of JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS at the Metro New York Balloon and Music Festival at Brookhaven's Calabro Airport. KENNY LAGUNA is a long-time member of the Long Island and international music communities, as a performer, songwriter, and producer. He started his performing career with hit-makers The Ohio Express and The Lemon Pipers. By the age of sixteen, he was producing Bill Medley. During those sessions he met and began working with Darlene Love, Phil Spector's legendary lead voice ("Leader of the Pack"). He served as keyboard player and background singer for Tommy James and the Shondells. Kenny produced Jay and the Americans, Tony Orlando, and Edwin Starr, and worked for The Who at their record label in London. In the late seventies, he wrote and produced new wave/punk hits for the Beserkley Record Label with artists such as Jonathan Richman and Greg Kihn. Kenny was asked to produce Bow Wow Wow and, around the same time, he began working with JOAN JETT. This marked the beginning of their long- standing partnership, which has included his work with her as producer and collaborator. The diversity and great expanse of his body of work comes from his acute understanding of music and the artists he produces. Visit him online at http://www.lagunatu nes.com/. The Long Island Sound Award gives the Long Island Music Hall of Fame the opportunity to recognize those individuals or institutions which made a significant contribution to Long Island's musical landscape, and to give Long Islanders the opportunity to celebrate.
LAGUNA GETS HIS DUE.
from: newsday.com
by Rafer Guzmán
A quick congratulations is due to KENNY LAGUNA, JOAN JETT's longtime manager and collaborator, who recently received a Long Island Sound Award from the Long Island Music Hall of Fame. Check out the man's colorful history at lagunatunes.com.
COMING OF AGE COMEDY 'ENDLESS BUMMER' GOES INTO PRODUCTION
from: iF Magazine
by TONY WHITT, Contributing Editor
The movie features rock legend JOAN JETT and is exec produced by Vans Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman
LOCATION: Ventura, California in 1984, dude
THE SKINNY: ENDLESS BUMMER, a coming of age comedy set on the Ventura beaches in the early 80s, has finalized its cast and is ready to head into production on August 13. The project, directed by Sam Pillsbury, includes, among others, rock star JOAN JETT, INTRODUCTING THE DWIGHTS’ Khan Chittenden, FRASIER’s Jane Leeves (Frasier), ONE TREE HILL’s Allison Scagliotti, and rock legend JOAN JETT.
Jett’s not the only connection to the rock and roll world that ENDLESS BUMMER boasts: co-executive producer Kevin Lyman is also founder of the annual Vans Warped Tour music festival, and as a result, the soundtrack of the movie will be made up of '80s tunes covered by several Vans Warped Tour acts. Attendees of next year’s Vans Warped Tour will get a special preview of the movie, as well.
The movie’s premise? Someone’s surfboard gets stolen, and the victim and his friends go off on a wild ride to the San Fernando Valley in search of the thief. Like, wow. That would totally be a bummer, dude.
JOAN JETT Suffers an 'Endless Bummer'
from: cinematical.com
by Monika Bartyzel
If she never did anything else, I don't think many of us could ever forget JOAN JETT after her cover of The Arrows song, I Love Rock 'n' Roll. Well, except for Britney Spears, who once attributed the song, which she covered for Crossroads, to Pat Benatar. (She says it was sarcasm, but c'mon Britney, we know the truth!) While Jett has been doing guest-appearances with other bands and producing music, she's also been lining up the film work. She's already scored herself a role in Multiple Sarcasms, and now she's signed on for an indie teen comedy called Endless Bummer. The rest of the cast boasts: Khan Chittenden, Andy Fischer-Price, Colton James, Jane Leeves, Ray Santiago, Allison Scagliotti and Caitlin Wachs.
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Her Life Is a Punk-Rock Workout,
and That’s the Way She Likes It
from: nytimes.com
by MARCELLE S. FISCHLER
WEARING a skimpy bikini top, low-slung black capri pants and high-top sneakers, JOAN JETT could have passed for a teenager as she swaggered along the boardwalk near her oceanfront condominium here. On the cusp of 49, Ms. Jett, the gravelly-voiced singer and guitarist who blazed a path for female rockers with her 1982 chart-topper "I Love Rock ’n’ Roll," wears bold eyeliner and has inky black hair, several tattoos, a creamy complexion and a taut physique.
A vegetarian who neither smokes nor drinks, she says, "most days I feel 25."
Though she bicycles on the boardwalk and whips off 50 sit-ups during television commercials, she says her toned, sinewy arms and washboard abs are mostly a result of her grueling performance schedule — about 200 concerts in the past year and a half.
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Crowd pleasers
from: htrnews.com
by Helen Clarke , Herald Times Reporter
The Manitowoc County Fair isn't limited to swine, bingo and tractor pulls — it's also about a little thing called rock.
And JOAN JETT sure loves rock 'n' roll.
In the midst of a tour that includes stops in Long Island, St. Paul, Detroit, Chicago and Toronto, Jett will be touching down here in Manitowoc.
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Lighthouse shines on 'Endless' cast
from: Variety.com
By DAVE MCNARY
Pillsbury to direct Drury's 'Bummer'
Khan Chittenden, Andy Fischer-Price, Colton James, JOAN JETT, Jane Leeves, Ray Santiago, Allison Scagliotti and Caitlin Wachs have been cast in Lighthouse Entertainment's teen comedy "Endless Bummer."
Lighthouse's Steven Siebert ("The Rookie") produces along with screenwriter John Drury, Todd Wiseman and John Sclimenti. Rosemary Marks ("Thirteen") will co-produce.
"Bummer," directed by Sam Pillsbury, will begin shooting Aug. 13 in Ventura. Story, based on the real-life experiences of Drury, centers on the theft of a surfboard from a Ventura beach in the summer of 1984, leading its anguished owner and his misfit friends to drive to the San Fernando Valley to recover it.
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JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS Rocked Newport, RI
from: theresident.com
by Chris Annino
Last year JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS released a new album on 6/6/06 titled "SINNER." Jett and her band were one of the headline acts last year the Vans Warped tour, and appeared on such shows as The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Late Show with Craig Ferguson, and the Ellen DeGeneres show. Many of the songs on her current album have an erupting rhythm and percussion sound; thanks to Blackheart drummer THOMMY PRICE intertwining with JOAN JETT's guitar riffs. Joan and lead guitarist Doug Needles also harmonize with some guitar duels on several of the songs. "SINNER" expresses many intellectual political beliefs that Joan and many American's support. The two songs that really question how to make are system better are "Change the World," and "Riddles" both have a smooth punk approach with knowledgeable economic philosophies.
JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS recently performed at the 10th annual Sunset Music festival in Newport Rhode Island. Local Rhode Island band "Beyond Blond" had the honor of opening for Joan "It was a dream come true opening for JOAN JETT" said "Beyond Blond" singer Lisa Firda.
BLACKHEARTS drummer THOMMY PRICE said "We are thrilled to play at the Newport sunset festival. We have been really busy this year with the new C.D. We also got to play a little part in a movie "Multiple Sarcasms" the whole band was in drag. Big fun! We are also looking forward to later this year going to the UK to play with "Motor head", Alice Cooper, and in the fall at the Mohegan Sun with "Aerosmith". We have just signed two new groups "Girl in a Coma" and "The Dollyrots."
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Girls, Growls and Guitars
from: girlsgrowlsandguitars.com
by WRITER
A little Jett fuel to start the day
Ok - so I have to admit something right off the bat here. I am a tad bit obsessed with JOAN JETT right now. Maybe it's because I am unemployed and looking for comfort and I am trying to relive my youth. Maybe it's because I happened to catch her show at LA Pride this year and got caught up in the whole cool chick in black leather (or vinyl) thing. Or maybe, just maybe, it's because of that nagging feeling that had I not been so shy or had I kept up playing that damn 30 pound Kramer Focus 3000 my parents finally bought me, I could have become the rock star I was meant to be. Hmmm... Anyway, I am also obsessed with my dog Oliver right now too, so I guess I am just an obsessive person. But, to my credit, if you knew Oliver, you'd be obsessed with him too, and as for JOAN JETT, you can make your own decision about that - but how can you not love a vegan rocker that sings about sex and leather (or vinyl)?
And as long as I am acknowledging my Jett obsession, I guess I should come clean and admit I have seen her twice since LA Pride - both at fairs (one in Del Mar and the other in Alhambra). Now, is it just me or is JOAN JETT the kind of act that would be much better suited to a small, dark and sweaty dive club? Yeah, I thought so.
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Concert Review JOAN JETT
from: chemicalfish.com
JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS were at Frontier City tonight.
Good show as I knew it would be. This was the biggest crowd I have seen all year at Frontier City.
When you go see JOAN JETT, here is what you expect and get: straight ahead, straight up, butt kickin' rock and roll. Almost punk but not quite. But she is great at what she does and I dig what she does. In fact, I Love Rock-n-Roll is in my top ten all time favorite songs list. But she has a lot more great songs than just that.
The only downside tonight was she did about 6 songs from her latest album. Three of them I was fine with and they stand up right along with her old stuff (Fetish, ACDC, and Change The World.) The others could have been replaced with some of her older stuff for my taste.
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JOAN JETT influenced new fan
from: rocknrollgraffiti.com
by STEVE SEYMOUR
When was your first concert?
If you're Rylee Hughes of Gladstone, it was Saturday, April 5, 2003.
That's when Rylee witnessed a terrific show by JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS, famous for their number one hit "I Love Rock 'n' Roll," at Chip-In's Island Resort and Casino.
This first-time concert goer was just three and a half years old. She was accompanied to the show by her mom, Jackie Hughes, who also happens to be my niece. For good measure, Rylee also brought along her Uncle Steve (that's me); Aunt Sue, (the Mrs.); Aunt Karen (my sister), and Uncle Tim Germain; Uncle Kevin Seymour (my brother); and Aunt Marie Chenier.
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Jett Fueled
What powers this punk icon may surprise you.
from: canvasli.com
by Joanne Schenker
It was the spring of 1981 at Syracuse University and JOAN JETT was delivering raw, gritty sounds from a makeshift stage. Punk rock was just hitting the airwaves and she was throwing punches with hits "I Love Rock and Roll," "Bad Reputation" and "Do You Wanna Touch Me?" From the beginning Jett stood apart, not only as one of the first females to spearhead the music industry, but as an impassioned punker. While other rockers were strutting their irreverence at CBGB’s and the like, Jett and her band The BLACKHEARTS were committed to a greater cause, playing in East Germany and Berlin when it was under Soviet occupation. She went on to perform in Bosnia and Kosovo, and in 2001 was the first civilian entertainer to play for troops in Afghanistan.
Her new CD SINNER, released in June 2006, coincided with the 25th anniversary of BLACKHEART RECORDS, New York, which Jett owns with longtime creative and business partner, KENNY LAGUNA. Her voice is still as badass as ever, with the same unrelenting steam she let off in the 80s. With her signature black leather pants and clad in a bikini top that salutes her tattooed cleavage, she is still a force to be reckoned with—only now her motorcycle boots are kicking up some political dirt as well. The hit, "Riddles" is a below-the-belt Bush-basher with some sharp hooks to sink her throaty sound into. The gender-bender, "A.C.D.C." is this heroine’s claim to fame—a post-punk tune that screams, ‘I’m comfortable in my skin’…and well she should be. Jett’s softer side brings equilibrium to the mix with quasi-ballads, "Bad Time" and "Baby Blue".
Recently inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame, Jett is a local icon. On a broader scale, Jettheads here and elsewhere can enjoy her Sirius Satellite radio show soon to be aired on punk rock satellite station, Faction. canvas caught some confessions from rock ‘n’ roll’s modern gladiatrix.
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You don’t have to love rock ’n’ roll to love JOAN JETT, but it doesn’t hurt.
from: NextNC.com
by Glenn BurnSilver
A pioneer in women’s rock who broke through traditional barriers in a male-dominated profession that declared female rock bands couldn’t survive, Jett formed The RUNAWAYS and opened the door for future acts like L7, Bikini Kill, Sleater-Kinney, and the multi-platinum Hole, led by Courtney Love.
Though The RUNAWAYS have been hailed as one of the most influential bands of girl rockers of all time, Jett, who started the band as a 15-year-old, had to prove herself again as a solo artist.
"(Once) women have their run, like rappers, they’re done. Joan had the RUNAWAYS moment and then they crossed her off the list. She was 18 years old, had done her thing and was over. We got a lot of that," recalled longtime writing partner, producer and BLACKHEARTS guitarist KENNY LAGUNA.
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