September 2007 News

You did not know that besides pushing hard core Paparazzi photos that back in the day we would hang out with and did the dog with the stars. Yep, we were certainly incrowd and if you were not there, you really missed out. We are referring to the Seventies. Our career and this company started out around 1977 in a small studio apartment at 999 N. Dohney. Our neighbor was Janet Charlton.

As everything in life, one thing leads to another and before we knew it we were hanging out with all the bands and celebrities. One of them, was our good friend JOAN JETT who is pictured here in this classic shot posed in front of the Pleasure Chest at its original location.

An urban hipster from back in the day recalled "This was during a period when Joan was left her mother’s home in the San Fernando Valley and she checked into The Tropicana Motel for several weeks. Tom Waits lived there and The Ramones and Sex Pistols were also in and out of there. Even though the place was a dump, many British bands demanded to stay there. The coffee shop at the motel was Duke’s which is the same as the one on Sunset Boulevard today. Duke’s was run by a guy named Irv and the specialty there was the Italian burger and for dessert you would go over to the freezer by the door and get yourself a frozen Snickers bar. Joan is pictured here by the pool next to another striking guest.

JOAN JETT loves rock n' roll. Just to prove it, she's bringing her glam-garage show to the Big E in West Springfield on Friday, September 14.

Jett, best known for her work with the BLACKHEARTS, saw her musical career brought to fruition after forming her first band, the RUNAWAYS. By no coincidence, Jett was herself a teenage runaway.

Of course, rebellious youngsters creating rock n' roll outfits is a (roughly) fifty-year-old story. Possibly Jett's most impressive accomplishment, and maybe least recognized, is the fact that she is the first female performer to form her own record company, BLACKHEART RECORDS.

Business sense aside, Jett has had a long, illustrious career that has waxed and waned and been kept interesting at every turn. So it should be a good show.

The Big E, a massive New England fair and exposition, is held at 1305 Memorial Drive. Jett is taking the stage at 8 p.m., and admission is free.

More information at www.thebige.com.

Over the years I have always enjoyed travelling down south on Interstate-89 from Montreal to my favorite event in Essex Junction, Vermont. This year is no different, The Champlain Valley Fair has been providing folks from all around with exactly what they are looking for; there is something that will appeal to anyone.

Several new amusement rides have been added along with what everyone might expect to find at such a grandiose County Event. The Fair boasts animal rides for the little ones, a petting zoo, contests galore and a unique charm that can only be found in Vermont.

My favorite attractions were present as always, of course that includes the wide array of music. This weekend's musical menu includes: JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS with Blue Oyster Cult and Foghat on Saturday and Willie Nelson on Sunday.

Originally released in hardcover version in 2003, the perenially popular makeup manual is designed to give the rest of us access to some of the tricks of the trade. "I really like the idea of the book being in paperback," says Mason, who has beautified an impressive roster of faces from Cameron Diaz, Uma Thurman, and Charlize Theron to Debbie Harry, JOAN JETT, and Iggy Pop; she has also worked with Commes de Garcons, Giorgio Armani, Issey Miyake, Thierry Mugler, Jean Paul Gaultier, Versace, and John Galliano. "While I’m teaching methods much like I would in classes for professional make-up artists, I wanted every woman to feel as though they could pick up the book and learn something useful from it. I feel that offering it in paperback, makes the book even more accessible- particularly to women who are not involved in the cosmetics or fashion industry."

Available at LindaMason.com.

"Linda Mason's knowledge of face, color, shadow, bone structure, and even one's own spirit is the tool she uses to bring out the most beautiful, and at the same time, most unique and honest 'you.' She sits at the table with the best in her business, and I am one of the many who have known the secret weapon named Linda Mason."
-JOAN JETT: solo artist and singer/guitar player for JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS

On Wednesday night Chicago, music and the world lost a photographer and a friend. Niva Bringas, Photo Editor of Midwest Beat and photographer to the rock stars, died at the age of 43. Maybe you know his name and maybe you don’t but I bet you’ve seen his photographs at some point in a magazine or online.

I had the pleasure of knowing him and being able to call him both a colleague and more importantly a friend, since our paths crossed back in the late ‘90’s in a photo pit. Ever since he’s either worked for me or I’ve worked for him. Niva was born in Miami but was raised and lived in Chicago his whole life. He started shooting in the mid ‘70’s and got his first big break when he started photographing a girl who lived just down the street from him. That girl turned out to be JOAN JETT and this was back in her Runaway days and the rest as they say is history.

Even with being JOAN JETT’s photographer through the decades, Niva didn’t set out to be a photographer right away. Instead he went into a different type of shooting, law enforcement. Niva became a Chicago police officer but of course getting shot in the line of duty has a way of changing your perspective in life and that experience brought him back to his first love, photography.

JOAN JETT, circa 1977
This shirt was made while Joan was still in the RUNAWAYS, but it's a shirt for her only, made by people who really liked her. It definitely tells you a different story than the one you get from RUNAWAYS documentaries or interviews. JOAN JETT was emerging as the star of the group, and the shirt is a historical document of that transition. I also think it's great because there's such a degree of intimacy in it. It's the type of thing somebody drew in their notebook in high school, and communicates the poignant connection between fans and their favorite rock stars. Today, I don't see too many people making T-shirts for their favorite bands — now they might do Web sites for them. It's the same impulse.

STEVE Steinman's Vampires Rock returns to Wycombe Swan on September 8, back by popular demand.

If you've not already been bitten by this smash-hit show, you will not have encountered the charismatic and extremely evil, Baron Von Rockula (Steve Steinman); you will not have met his beautiful victim Pandora (Emily Clark); and you most certainly will not have rocked to two hours of the most explosive rock anthems the world has ever seen, played live by the Baron's very own band, Hellbound Express.

But even if you have already crossed over to the dark side, there is still something you will not have seen, until now. This year there's a new vampire in town.

Accompanying Steve Steinman will be Twisted Sister's legendary guitarist Eddie 'Fingers' Ojeda.

Joining the cast of Vampires Rock for the 2007 Autumn/Winter tour, Eddie jokes: "Twisted Sister are only doing a handful of shows this year, so working with Steve on Vampires Rock is something I can really sink my teeth into. The show is full of great rock classics I can't wait to play, and of course I'm sure I'll be fitting in a Twisted Sister track or two."

Sunday Night Football just got a little bit country.

Faith Hill has been recruited by the NFL to sing the opening theme to the series this season, taking over the crooning duties from last year's songster, Pink.

As per tradition, Hill's rendition of "Waiting All Day for Sunday Night," an ode to the weekly football game sung to the tune of JOAN JETT's "I Hate Myself for Loving You," will air prior to each season game. Hill has already recorded the tune, along with several team-specific variations, to be played before the match-ups.

"It's exciting to have been asked to sing the open for this season's Sunday Night games," the five-time Grammy winner said. "Maybe now I'll be able to get my jersey size and some better seats for the games?"

Hill recorded the songs in New York earlier this year and shot an accompanying video for the tune in Los Angeles.

It has been 22 years since the forming of the RUNAWAYS, and JOAN JETT is showing no signs of slowing down.

If ever the term unconventional can be applied to an artist's rise to stardom, it would be for Jett, considering she started her career by running away from home and leaving high school in the 11th grade to tour internationally.

When the aptly named RUNAWAYS disbanded, Jett was unable to get any labels interested in her brand of rock and roll. So in true DIY style, she and friend/producer/songwriter KENNY LAGUNA began selling the album directly out of Laguna's truck. Eventually a deal was struck with the newly formed Boardwalk Records. But even this was short-lived, as Jett and Laguna would simply create their own label, BLACKHEART RECORDS.

In interviewing someone with as tumultuous a history as JOAN JETT, it seemed almost fitting that so many factors, such as technical difficulties, scheduling differences and horrific weather, would interfere with us getting together. But finally I was able to speak with both Jett and Laguna about her early career, the RUNAWAYS, BLACKHEART RECORDS and her current tour.

I wanted to know what inspired someone to get into music so young, and when she knew music was it for her. "I would say it dawned on me around age 14," she said, "as soon as I knew my family was moving to California. I don't know, maybe I would have decided to pursue it anyway had I stayed back east, but my family moved to California around 1973 or 1974. So when I realized I was going to be out there I thought, Wow, I'm going to be close to Hollywood, maybe I can make this work. It was that move that really made me decide that I was going to try and do this."

Despite the popularity abroad of the RUNAWAYS, they weren't as well known in the U.S., which didn't help Jett when she began to pursue her solo career. Before Boardwalk and eventually BLACKHEART RECORDS, she credits Laguna with helping her get through those initial rounds of rejections. "Having Kenny was really obviously big, number one because he knows a lot and he had a lot of connections, but that wasn't ithe was my friend. We connected on a reasonable level, and when he saw the way people were treating me, he got mad because it wasn't fair. So if anything, we were coming up with different ways to get around it, to progress. And the fact that I had someone to fight with, on my team, to fight the world with, it felt very empowering.

All-star poll! Mojo's panel of rock legends and Stonesologists (Brian Wilson, Marc Almond, Eric Burdon, Frank Black, JOAN JETT, Jimmy Page... etc!) get hot under the collar about the evil power of those bad rock'n'roll boys.

#36 Stray Cast Blues (Beggars Banquet, 1968)

Unambiguous jailbait rock anthem.

JOAN JETT: "It's never been one of their best-known songs, but people who are big Stones fans always know Stray Cat Blues. I used to do a radio show for Little Steven, and in the end he called me up to tell me to stop playing it, as I was doing it twice in one show. It's a song all about fucking, but it also sums up the essence of what you think about when you're a teenager and what you aspire to when you're in a rock band - going to all these great cities and having all these great scenes. For me, it all comes down to Keith, because the whole guitar vibe, the notes he's playing, even the mistakes he's making make me want to stop whatever I'm doing and dance. It almost makes me want to cry it's so great, and it definitely does something to my crotch."

A moth circled JOAN JETT a few times during her encore at the Manitowoc County Fair on August 25. That moth was attracted to the light—the light of JOAN JETT.

JOAN JETT has been quoted saying, "By radiating as much light as you can, hopefully, you do your bit to change the world," as she describes the song "Change the World" from her 2006 release, SINNER.

Jett, famous from the early half of the 1980’s for her accessible punk rock hits like "I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll," emits a light that gives hope to people across a wide spectrum of musical tastes, politics, and sexual orientation. As seen in the faces of many fans in the 1500-person crowd inside the Ice Center, people look to Jett to champion their right to be alive, free, and loved. Fans have even been known to wear WWJD (What Would Joan Do?) T-shirts.

While Jett’s message does not always match up with Christian discipleship, the moth still had the right idea. Why wouldn’t people be attracted to Jett’s light as she passionately rocks out, speaks out in ways that few individuals can in their daily lives, and brings together such a diverse crowd to enjoy something in common?

I wish the moths always found such a light in the Church and its people. The outcome of Jesus’ message may be different than Jett’s, but people should still see Christians having passion, speaking out, and bringing together people from all elements of the community.

Jesus passionately "rocked" the synagogues and streets with His teachings. He caused a stir by saying things that most individuals did not dare say. Jesus was surrounded by such a diverse crowd that the day’s religious leaders could only stand uncomfortably—and antagonistically—distant.