March 2008 News

JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS will open Saturday night for Cheap Trick at the Northern Illinois University Convocation Center.

Incidentally, the Rockford-based quartet has opened for Jett's first band, the RUNAWAYS, the first all-girl teenage band in the '70s.

"We know each other pretty well and have played together several times," Jett told the Register Star March 17 from her home in New York. "They're all great guys."

The concert is billed as a "co-headliner" show, but Jett and the BLACKHEARTS will take the stage first, at 7:30 p.m., and are scheduled to perform for at least an hour.

Runaway success
Jett's illustrious and lengthy career in music is well-documented. She has influenced a countless number of female bands and appeals to fans of punk, rock, metal and indie rock.

Born Joan Marie Larkin on Sept. 22, 1958, in Philadelphia, she later changed her name to Jett, taking her mother's maiden name.

In 2006, Girl in a Coma already had a cult following in their hometown of San Antonio, Texas, thanks to Nina Diaz's powerful, passionate voice and the group's catchy Smiths-inspired rock tunes.

By that November, S’TV recruited the band for its new "life of a Latino rock band" series, Jammin. For the finale, the Girl in a Coma members - 20-year-old singer-guitarist Diaz, her 28-year-old sister and drummer Phanie, and 28-year-old bassist Jenn Alva - were sent to New York to play a club. While rehearsing, in strolled JOAN JETT, one of their heroes. "We were like, 'What the hell? What is she doing here?'" says Nina Diaz.

Jett watched the band for a few songs, decided to pop by the show later, and before the end of the night, had signed the band to BLACKHEART RECORDS. "I thought they'd be great to have on Blackheart, because we really want Blackheart to be a place where girls feel comfortable to come play their music, because it was so hard for me," Jett says.

Young Lifestyle 23rd Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony In New York City Musician JOAN JETT performs on stage during the 23rd Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Hall of Fame inductee John Mellencamp, center, performs with John Fogerty, right, and JOAN JETT at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.



Musician JOAN JETT poses backstage at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on March 10, 2008, in New York.



JOAN JETT performs at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.

JOAN JETT will perform "Bits and Pieces" at The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony airing live on VH1 Classic tonight, March 10 at 8:30 p.m. EST. The ceremony will be rebroadcast on VH1 through March (check local listings for air times).

The Mellencamp band will do the finale - a bang-up tribute to the Dave Clark Five (that band will not perform). Also on stage will be Paul Shaffer on keyboards. Letterman band bassist, Will Lee, will be a backup singer in what they're calling the Faux Four.

JOAN JETT will be the lead singer for "Bits and Pieces." She was in fine form at rehearsal, a great choice. The next and last song will be "Glad All Over" with John Mellencamp and John Fogerty joining Jett out front. It all sounded great in rehearsal. Big fun!

Carianne Laguna, vice president/general manager A&R of BLACKHEART RECORDS, was born into the music business. Her father has been JOAN JETT's manager since 1979 and is president of BLACKHEART RECORDS, Jett's label.

At Blackheart, Carianne finds and signs new artists to the label and finalizes the production and track listing of the albums. She is also artist liaison/relations which includes coordinating with management, publishers if applicable, and artists. As creative director she oversees all the creative decisions, including videos, visual branding, merchandising, websites, etc., and creates all the layouts and a good portion of the artwork for the albums and the promotional materials. In some cases, she creates artwork for the merchandise, and oversees branding for the label as a whole. She is also involved in the management of Jett.

BLACKHEART RECORDS' roster includes JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS, Girl in a Coma (who recently toured with and opened for Morrissey and also were rated as Breakout Band of the Year by Blender Online), The Cute Lepers, The Vacancies, and The Dollyrots. They are continuing to sign more bands in the coming year.

According to a source at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, JOAN JETT will be performing at the ceremony in a tribute to inductees the Dave Clark Five. Jett joins Iggy Pop, Damien Rice, Patti LaBelle, John Mellencamp and others as performers at this Monday's event. The Dave Clark Five, who will be inducted by fan Tom Hanks, recently suffered the tragic death of singer Mike Smith, who passed away while preparing to come to New York for the show. VH-1 Classic will air the "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony" live from the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City this Monday, March 10 at 8:30 PM, featuring honorees Madonna, John Mellencamp, Leonard Cohen, the Ventures, the Dave Clark Five, Little Walter and Gamble & Huff.

An early start: Born Joan Marie Larkin in Philadelphia and raised in Maryland and Southern California, after seeing her first concerts - Black Sabbath and the New York Dolls - Jett taught herself how to play guitar at age 13.

Her first band, the RUNAWAYS, was a 1970s anomaly: five teenage girls with a screw-you attitude who played their own instruments, wrote their own songs, and blew minds with intense, guitar-driven rock'n'roll. The band was more widely accepted in Japan than in the U.S. and, unfortunately, disbanded in 1979.

Moving on, Jett recorded her own album and shopped around for a record deal only to be rejected by 28 labels. Determined to build a solo career, Jett and producer KENNY LAGUNA decided to release the album themselves.

Talk about DIY: With personal savings in tow, the duo pressed the records themselves and sold copies out of the trunk of Jett's Cadillac. It wasn't long after that the album was picked up by Boardwalk and released as Bad Reputation in 1981. The album was a mediocre success, but after forming her band the BLACKHEARTS and releasing the follow-up album, I Love Rock and Roll, the title track charted at number one for nearly a month and a half in 1982, and Jett became a bona fide solo artist.