Novemember 2010 News

by Sammy



Fashion is citing JOAN JETT as its muse for SS11, the notorious Rock 'n' Roll legend of the 70s with her glam rock style has infiltrated this seasons catwalks. The teenager set the aesthetic of the female rock star with her inky black messy mop of hair, dark smudgy kohl eyes and tight fitting black leather trousers and black Chuck Taylors. With the recent release of the biopic film The RUNAWAYS, featuring Kristen Stewart as Jett and Dakota Fanning as fellow band member Cherie Currie, the original 'Jailbait Rocker' is once again influencing generations of girls.

It is not just her look that have people captivated, but her whole persona, the LA teenager with her sexual swagger and world-renowned sneer, declaring 'She doesn't give a damn about her bad reputation'. The RUNAWAYS member showed that rock is not just a man's world. Jean Paul Gaultier has celebrated the 'Queens of Rock' with heavily coated kohl eyes, and leather jumpsuits that were the clothing epitome of JOAN JETT glam. The rock rebels sauntered down the catwalk to the gritty tones of 'Cherry Bomb', among them fellow rocker Beth Ditto, who concluded the show with a bellowing a cappella of 'River Deep Mountain High'.

ÊThe iconic raven tresses featured on Marios Schwab's catwalk, with models sporting wigs channelling the JOAN JETT mullet designed by Luke Hersheson. This had George Nothwood declaring 'Wigs are the new black'. Originally coined by David Bowie in his Ziggy Stardust days, the illustrious shaggy mop of JOAN JETT is a fundamental characteristic of her look, influenced by Suzi Quatro, the first woman to strut around wearing leather on stage playing bass. These rock idols are all featured in the 'Rock Legends' exhibition taking place at the Idea Generation Gallery. The show comprises of unseen photographs taken by Mick Rock, who shot Jett's most famous photo for the cover of 'I Love Rock 'n' Roll' album. The man who described her as the 'Female Elvis' is showcasing his work until the 16th January.

With last season's collections being saturated with the fifties. The catwalks were overflowing with cocktail dresses and buxom curvy figures, the look that was influenced by the hit TV show Mad Men and paid homage to the likes of Grace Kelly. However this trend sees the punk notion of ripping it all up and starting again, with the Jett-wear on display in the form of ripped skinny jeans, football jerseys, leather trousers and jackets. This punk rock look is a far cry away from the floaty seventies elegance that has breached the runways of Marc Jacobs and Phillip Lim. There a more Disco fever aesthetic played host, whereas this trend is all about rebelling and looking damn good doing it.

by MICHAEL DWYER, The West Australian

She loves rock'n'roll. So put another dime in the jukebox, baby. On face value, it's among the most mindlessly hedonistic sentiments that ever distorted a car radio speaker. But given the weight of JOAN JETT's legacy, these days it sounds more like a call to arms.

"Women playing rock'n'roll is a political statement in itself," says the former Joan Larkin of Philadelphia, a teenaged Suzi Quatro obsessive who forged a path for independent women with electric guitars everywhere.

Sure, she copped her share of corporate manipulation and abuse early on, as dramatised in the recent movie about her pioneering all-girl 70s band, the RUNAWAYS. More about that later.

But from the moment she released her first solo album on her own BLACKHEART RECORDS label - a rare gamble for any artist in 1980 - she became a role model for future generations of self-determined female rockers.

Bikini Kill, the Gits, Peaches and the Eyeliners are just a few who have since borrowed her production expertise and emblematic presence.

It's not something she bestows lightly. Calls from Taylor Swift or Britney Spears would likely fall on deaf ears, she claims.

by Ross Purdie

THE song I Love Rock 'N' Roll turned JOAN JETT into a bona fide pop star at the start of the 1980s, but it was her gutsy punk ideals that led to her single being released.

At this year's Falls Festivals in Tasmania and Victoria at the end of December, the American singer will perform her trademark anthem, marking the 30th anniversary of her battle against a record industry that back then saw rock music as an exclusively male domain.

By 1981, Jett had already hit fame for injecting a vital dose of girl power into the burgeoning punk scene with her pioneering teenage band The RUNAWAYS. But when the group split in acrimony, she struggled to be taken seriously. Perceptions of her as a shy weirdo in a leather jacket and full face of black make-up did not sit well with music's money men.

I Love Rock 'N' Roll was rejected by 23 record companies before London label RAK Records finally took a punt.

"That was a lot of rejections," she says from her home in New York. "But I kept going and part of that was having the support around me from people who believed in the song."

Originally recorded in 1975 by English band The Arrows, Jett had long identified I Love Rock 'N' Roll as a mega hit in the making.

She wanted The RUNAWAYS to lay down their own version but her bandmates refused because they had already written a song with the words "rock 'n' roll" in the title.

by Heather Persson

Love Rock 'N' Roll turned JOAN JETT into a bona fide pop star at the start of the '80s, but it was her gutsy punk ideals that got her single released in the first place.

At this year's Falls Festival, the American singer will perform her trademark anthem on the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve, marking the 30th anniversary of her battle against a record industry that back then saw rock music as an exclusively male domain.

By 1981 Jett had already hit fame for injecting a vital dose of girl power into the burgeoning punk scene with her pioneering teenage band The RUNAWAYS. But when the group split in acrimony she struggled to be taken seriously, often perceived as a shy weirdo in a leather jacket and full face of black make-up sitting ill at ease with music's money men.

I Love Rock 'N' Roll was rejected by 23 record companies before London label RAK Records finally had the gumption to take a punt.

"That was a lot of nos, a lot of rejections," she tells AAP from her home in New York.

"But I kept going and part of that was having the support around me from people who believed in the song."

Originally recorded in 1975 by English band The Arrows, Jett had long identified I Love Rock 'N' Roll as a mega hit in the making.

by Dan Bacalzo

An updated list of presenters and performers has been announced for the 2010 Long Island Music Hall of Fame Gala, to be held at the Oheka Castle, in Huntington, NY, on Tuesday, November 16.

As previously reported, inductees will include Carole Demas and Paula Janis, for hosting and starring in The Magic Garden; folk artist, composer and lyricist Oscar Brand, folk singer jazz vibraphonist Teddy Charles, heavy metal band Dream Theater, classical clarinetist Stanley Drucker, hip-hop performers Erik B. and Rakim, classical composer Morton Gould, music photographer Bob Gruen, jazz drummer Roy Haynes, rock keyboardist Al Kooper, promoter and music executive Steve Martin, gospel singer Donnie McClurkin, WLIR program director Denis McNamara, legendary venue My Father's Place, Latin pianist Eddie Palmieri, rock singer Lou Reed, oldies girl-group The Shangri Las and avant-garde saxophonist John Zorn. LIMHoF will also present the 2010 Music Educator of Note Award to Laurence Ballereau, and will formally present the 2009 Award to the family of Joseph Sugar, who passed away in 2009.

Confirmed presenters will include Broadway veterans JOAN JETT and John Tartaglia, as well as Felix Cavaliere, Rene Lopez, Mose Allison, Lee Rocker, John Scher, Naomi and Rosanne Drucker, John Mosca, Gary Antebi with Sherlock, Lenny Kaye, Donna Donna and Fingers, Larry the Duck, actor Peter Riegert, Peppi and Mickey Marchello.

The gala will feature performances from Eddie Money, Rakim, Al Kooper, and Oscar Brand.

For more information, visit limusichalloffame.org.

Photo by Mikey (Jettrocker)

Yep, the iconic US performer, and subject of the recent Hollywood coming of age classic, The RUNAWAYS (JOAN JETTÕs teenage pre-BLACKHEARTS band), will perform her one and only headline Sydney show at the infamous Annandale Hotel on Friday 7th January 2011.

JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS take their amazing repertoire, culled from six platinum and two gold albums, to Sydney.

This is a once in lifetime chance to see JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS in a small club. (The choice of venue has come from JOAN JETT herself).

You will never have a chance to see this legendary act perform in a more intimate setting than the Annandale Hotel.

Tickets for this extraordinary one-off will be available from www.annandalehotel.com: 9.00am Tuesday 16th NOVEMBER and are expected to sell out on release.

However, as a special treat to all those on the Feel Presents mail list we present a chance to register for pre-sale tickets. To complete the registration the following conditions will apply:

by Kathy McCabe

ROCK'N'ROLL femme pioneer JOAN JETT will be heading to Sydney for a show after seeing in the new year at the annual Falls Festival in Victoria.

Jett, who will hold court at local rock institution the Annandale Hotel on January 7, says she's keen to kick off a new chapter with her Australian visit after spending the past 18 months tied up with a biopic on her seminal all-girl teen rock band The RUNAWAYS.

"It has been a long, tough year with the film and I lost my mother," she says.

"She was a big reason The RUNAWAYS were able to happen.

"She let me do it, and she talked to the other mothers so the other girls could do it.

"It's been a weird time having to look back on all of that, so now I'm looking forward to a new chapter."

Jett, who was played by Twilight star Kristen Stewart, says she's impressed that the film has inspired another generation of young women to pick up guitars.

"It's really cute - but no, they don't come running up and screaming at you like they do to Kristen. Maybe they're afraid to or something."

Tickets for the January gig will go on sale on November 16 through annandalehotel.com

by News Editor

Making her way to Australia in support of the Falls and Sunset Sounds festivals, former RUNAWAYS star JOAN JETT has just announced a one-off appearance at Sydney's Annandale Hotel.

You're not the only one who had to double check that title. Recently returning to public discussion after the recent RUNAWAYS biopic, and making her way to Australia for the Falls Festival, JOAN JETT has announced an incredibly special one-off show at Sydney's Annandale Hotel.

With a capacity of just 420 (that's four hundred and twenty in the event that you thought we missed a zero,) the Annandale is hardly the first place you'd think of hosting a sideshow for an act of this size, but it promises to be a pretty spectacular night of cheesy, oversexed rock n roll.

Jett is appearing in Australia as JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS, the moniker that put out charting hits like Crimson & Clover, Do You Want to Touch Me and Bad Reputation. Tickets go on sale (and by that, we mean, tickets sell out) on the 16th of November.

JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS
Annandale Hotel, Sydney
Friday, January 7th