Page updated on August 31, 2018
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. Moriah Formica continues her action-packed summer from: spotlightnews.com By Kaitlin Lembo
LATHAM -- Moriah Formica isn't afraid of running down her dream, even if it means boarding a bus with her band and family and traveling halfway across the country.
Just over two weeks ago, Formica arguably had two of the biggest moments in her highly successful career thus far. Formica's band traveled to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Moorhead, Minnesota on Aug. 8 and 9, respectively, to perform with some of her biggest idols, JOAN JETT and Halestorm.
"This has been everything that I've ever wanted," the recent high school graduate gushed. "I can't even begin to tell you how amazing this has been. There are no words."
She added that having one of her biggest dreams recognized was an "incredibly humbling experience."
"These are some amazing people," she explained. "To play with JOAN JETT and get to talk to her was incredible, and Lzzy Hale [Halestorm's lead singer] is one of my biggest idols." [more] JOAN JETT To Appear At "Bad Reputation" Film Premiere In New York from: ghostcultmag.com By News Team
JOAN JETT, rock music's iconic 1980s flag-bearer is the subject of a new documentary, Bad Reputation. At the debut screenings in New York City, Joan herself will participate for a one-night screening special event and Q & A at the acclaimed IFC Film Center. Tickets are moving fast and available at the link below. Joan is an iconic rock and punk icon, whose 40+ year career dates back to her stint in the influential teen band, The RUNAWAYS. With her backing band The BLACKHEARTS, JOAN JETT continues to tour and entertain fans of all ages, including an appearance at this summer's final Vans Warped Tour! Directed by acclaimed music video helmer Kevin Kerslake (Nirvana, Prince, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Soundgarden) and stars Billie Joe Armstrong, Kathleen Hanna, Kristen Stewart, Miley Cyrus and more. Bad Reputation has already been revered as an Official selection at the Sundance Film Festival, and San Francisco Int'l Film Festival.
Tickets to Bad Reputation:
Bad Reputation
Country USA
Year 2018
Running Time 95 minutes
Director Kevin Kerslake
Writer Joel Marcus
Cast JOAN JETT, Billie Joe Armstrong, Kathleen Hanna, Kristen Stewart, Miley Cyrus JOAN JETT doc ‘Bad Reputation' screening at Nitehawk ahead of theatrical release from: brooklynvegan.com By Andrew Sacher
JOAN JETT documentary Bad Reputation premiered at Sundance earlier this year, and it's set to hit theaters, on-demand, iTunes, and Amazon on September 28. Two days before that, it's playing at Brooklyn's Nitehawk (9/26) for one night only, as part of the theater's BrooklynVegan-presented Music Driven series. The screening starts at 7:15 PM and includes exclusive, post-credits footage that can only be seen in theaters. Tickets are on sale now.
Here's more on the film, from an interview with Variety that Joan did earlier this year:
It's oddly hard for Jett to be the center of attention offstage. "I find it very difficult to say, ‘Oh yeah, people are taking notice of me now!'" she says, having been coaxed to say just such a thing. "It just sounds weird and not humble. I find it hard to toot my own horn too loud, unless it's in conjunction with something else, like the RUNAWAYS, or saying ‘the BLACKHEARTS.' But I can't talk about me like that."
So, leave it to her documenters. Kevin Kerslake has been one of the biggest video-directing names ever since he helmed three Nirvana clips in the early '90s. He signed on at the end of 2016. "That's not a lot of time to make a doc, especially one that has that kind of historical scope," Kerslake says. "But we just put the foot to the floor." He's an unabashedly admiring chronicler: "I'm a huge punk-rock nut, and her roots tug on that sensibility. I also wanted to get at her stepping outside of the music world and having an impact on social justice and animal rights." But at the core of it, he, like everyone, was taken by "the arc of a young girl, and then a young woman, cutting a path in a man's world throughout her entire career, as a sort of feminist manifesto in the flesh."
[…] Interviewees in the doc include onetime co-star Fox, Debbie Harry, Iggy Pop and Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong. Laura Jane Grace of Against Me! speaks to Jett being one of the first to call and offer support when she came out as transgender. Miley Cyrus talks about finding inspiration in musical lust: "I think there's this thing that women are supposed to act like we don't like to f**k too." Kathleen Hanna touches on Jett's personal mentorship of members of the riot grrrl generation. Stewart recalls the instruction she got from Jett about how to look more convincing as a rock guitarist: "Pussy to the wood, Kristen!" ("You had to be there" is all Jett will say of this particular inclusion.) And on the other end of the spectrum, there's a worshipful cameo from unlikely mega-fan U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley.
You can watch the recently-released trailer, which features clips of the Iggy Pop, Billie Joe Armstrong and Kathleen Hanna interviews, below.
Cherry Bomb - JOAN JETT with Dave Grohl and Gary Ryan Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (HD) from: YouTube By
Vazir & Cat
JOAN JETT Makes Impassioned Appeal To Pennsylvania Roadside Zoo To Free Ailing Bear from: blabbermouth.net By MICHAEL HEIDEMANN
Legendary musician JOAN JETT sent a letter today to the owner of Pymatuning Deer Park urging her to send a 23-year-old bear named Bosco to a comfortable, reputable sanctuary, noting that after the death of the facility's only other bear last year, Bosco doesn't even have the comfort of a companion. He's confined to a barren concrete pit and showing signs of arthritis.
"Bears are sophisticated, playful animals who thrive when given space and freedom to run, dig, and swim far from human activity," Jett writes. "But at this roadside zoo, Bosco is denied everything that's natural and important to him and condemned to a life surrounded by stone walls and gawking tourists."
PETA's motto reads, in part, that "animals are not ours to use for entertainment."
Jett's full letter to Rachelle Sankey, owner of Pymatuning Deer Park, follows below.
"Dear Ms. Sankey,
"With each decision I've faced in my career, I've counted on my instincts to make the right choice. After learning about Bosco the bear, those same instincts told me to take action. I'm writing to you today to ask that you trust your own gut, recognize that he has no business living alone in a concrete pit, and allow PETA to place him in a reputable sanctuary.
"Unlike you and me, Bosco can't follow his instincts while he's at Pymatuning. Bears are sophisticated, playful animals who thrive when given space and freedom to run, dig, and swim far from human activity. But at this roadside zoo, Bosco is denied everything that's natural and important to him and condemned to a life surrounded by stone walls and gawking tourists. After the death of the facility's only other bear last year, he doesn't even have the comfort of a companion.
"At over 20 years old, he's especially prone to injury in these dangerous conditions and likely experiencing physical and psychological distress already. Please, allow him to live his remaining years with dignity at a reputable sanctuary, where he could enjoy extensive space, independence, and the veterinary care that he so obviously deserves. [more] JOAN JETT’s Manager KENNY LAGUNA on Un-apologetically Creating a Legacy In Music from: wgnradio.com By MICHAEL HEIDEMANN
Tonight on The Patti Vasquez Show with Andrea Darlas! Music legend and manager KENNY LAGUNA speaks on the new documentary coming out looking back on the epic career of one of rock's most influential people, JOAN JETT.
JFilm in the park: 'Bad Reputation: The JOAN JETT Story' from: islandssounder.com By Orcas Island Film Festival
Following Music in Park, the Orcas Island Film Festival and Orcasong Farm invites you to bring your chair and a blanket to the Eastsound Village Green and enjoy the second of a two-part series of documentary films under the stars on Sunday, Aug. 19 around 8:30 p.m. The film is free to the public.
"Bad Reputation: The JOAN JETT Story," premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. It charts Jett's rise to rock 'n roll royalty, including the rampant sexism she and her band experienced. In addition to interviews with Jett and her frequent producer and songwriter KENNY LAGUNA, "Bad Reputation" also features an eclectic mix of her admirers such as Billie Joe Armstrong, Miley Cyrus, Debbie Harry, Nikki Haley, Iggy Pop, Kristen Stewart and Pete Townshend.
Jett and her close friends tell you how it really was in the burgeoning '70s punk scene with archival footage and interviews. Even though people tried to define Jett and keep her stuck to one hit, she never compromised.
She influenced countless musicians -- both her cohort of punk rockers and generations of younger bands -- with her "no-bs" style. She will kick your butt, and you'll love her all the more for it.
Orcas Island Film Festival fall dates are Oct. 4-8. Early Bird prices for festival passes are on sale now. Visit www.orcasfilmfest.com for more information. JOAN JETT rockin' stage & screen from: thegazette.com By Diana Nollen, The Gazette
Put another dime in the jukebox, baby. JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS are bringing back to Cedar Rapids the rock 'n' roll we've loved for more than four decades.
The innovator and icon who helped blaze a trail for women in rock will bring her endless energy and hit list to the McGrath Amphitheatre on Wednesday night (8/8). She'll also bring a few new tunes, including several from "Bad Reputation," a documentary of her life, which drew rave reviews at the Sundance Film Festival in January and is moving into theatrical release in September.
"It takes you along the whole journey of the joy and the elation of actually forming our all-girl band, being out there and doing what you were born to do," Jett said by phone Tuesday in New York City, en route from her home to the recording studio. "Then it all comes crashing down, and the depression of that."
Seeing it at Sundance, she found herself immersed in the story. "I went back on that emotional ride. It took me through that, and some other people felt that as well. (You) see the humanity in the whole project, and it's sort of a dream that came true."
Jett burst onto the scene in 1976 when the hard-rocking girl group The RUNAWAYS dropped "Cherry Bomb" in the middle of a male-dominated field. She was just 15. The band dissolved in 1979, and the following year, Jett released her self-titled studio album, re-released in 1981 as "Bad Reputation." Also that year, she gathered a new band, The BLACKHEARTS, and topped the charts with "I Love Rock 'n' Roll." It was the title cut off the group's debut album, which went platinum in the United States and double-platinum in Canada.
Hits and accolades started piling up for the punk rocker who initially was turned down by 23 record labels. So she did the unthinkable and formed her own label, BLACKHEART RECORDS, in 1980.
She's been doing her own thing ever since, branching out into television, film and even Broadway, taking a turn as Columbia in the Tony-nominated 2000 revival of "The Rocky Horror Show."
"It was so much fun," she said of the cult-classic musical based on the cult-classic movie. "I grew up on it in a lot of ways. (The movie) ‘Rocky Horror' came out in '75 and was really big for me." Fast-forward to her turn in the play version, and she said: "I didn't have to look at the script too much -- for the words for the acting, I did -- but the songs I still remembered from being a kid. [more] JOAN JETT Documentary, 'Bad Reputation,' Out Sept. 28 from: bestclassicbands.com By Best Classic Bands Staff
A long-in-the-works documentary of rocker JOAN JETT, titled Bad Reputation after one of her best-known songs, will reach theaters, streaming services and video on-demand on Dept. 28. The film had its premiere earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival.
The film, directed by music video director Kevin Kerslake, chronicles the four-plus-decade career of Jett since she first came to attention as a member of the all-female rock band the RUNAWAYS.
A plot summary appears on the film's dedicated web page:
“It's true, JOAN JETT became mega-famous from the number-one hit 'I Love Rock n Roll,' but that's only part of the story. That fame intensified with the music video's endless play on MTV, world tours and many hits to follow like 'I Hate Myself for Loving You,' but that staple of popularity can't properly define a musician. Jett put her hard work in long before the fame, ripping it up onstage as the backbone of the hard-rock legends the RUNAWAYS, starting her record label out of the trunk of a car after being rejected by 23 labels, and influencing many musiciansâ€"both her cohort of punk rockers and generations of younger bandsâ€"with her no-bullshit style. Bad Reputation gives you a wild ride as Jett and her close friends tell you how it really was in the burgeoning '70s punk scene and the rocky road to rock stardom decades on. Their interviews are laced with amazing archival footage. The theme is clear: Even though people tried to define Jett, she never compromised. She will kick your ass, and you'll love her all the more for it.â€
The film includes footage of Jett as well as interviews and cameos with many rock greats, among them Billie Joe Armstrong, Debbie Harry, Iggy Pop, Miley Cyrus, Pete Townshend and many others. Screenings will take place in theaters nationwide prior to the film's general release. JOAN JETT will run away with your rock 'n roll heart in Sundance documentary from: salon.com By JUDE DRY
As much as we may love Kristen Stewart's brooding take on JOAN JETT from 2010's eponymous The RUNAWAYS biopic, nothing compares to the real deal. The authorized documentary premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, and charts Jett's rise to rock ‘n roll royalty, including the rampant sexism she and her band experienced. In addition to interviews with Jett and her frequent producer and songwriter KENNY LAGUNA, "Bad Reputation" also features an eclectic mix of her admirers, such as Billie Joe Armstrong, Miley Cyrus, Debbie Harry, Nikki Haley, Iggy Pop, Kristen Stewart, and Pete Townshend.
Directed by Kevin Kerslake ("As I Am: The Life and Times of DJ AM") and written by Joel Marcus, the film promises a wealth of archival footage and a wild jaunt through the blossoming '70s punk scene. As Magnolia's official synopsis reads: "The theme is clear: even though people tried to define Jett and keep her stuck to one hit, she never compromised. She will kick your ass, and you'll love her all the more for it."
Magnolia Pictures will release "Bad Reputation" in theaters, On Demand, on iTunes and on Amazon Prime Video September 28. Check out the rollicking new trailer below.
"Bad Reputation" comes out Sept. 28
JOAN JETT, Air Supply: Musical extremes bond over love at the Bardavon and UPAC from: poughkeepsiejournal.com By John W. Barry, Poughkeepsie Journal
You would have to work pretty hard to find two bands that have less in common than JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS and Air Supply.
When I think of Jett, I think of black leather, her snarl, her growl and her roar. But I also think of a female pioneer in the music industry and someone whose songs -- "I Love Rock n' Roll" and "Crimson and Clover" among them -- stoke my teenage, primal rock instinct decades after I first heard them.
When I think of Air Supply I think of clever, tender ballads that focus on love -- "Lost in Love," "All Out of Love" and "Making Love Out Of Nothing At All" among them.
You can see firsthand over the next two weekends how different these bands are -- aside from their shared attraction to songs about love. And you can see how the Bardavon 1869 Opera House in Poughkeepsie hosts a diverse range of artistic offerings with wide appeal.
Jett is scheduled to perform Saturday at the Broadway Theater at Ulster Performing Arts Center in Kingston. Air Supply is scheduled to play UPAC on Friday, Aug. 10.
Both shows are being presented by the Bardavon and both gigs will build on the arts organization's impressive run of performances over years. [more]
LATHAM -- Moriah Formica isn't afraid of running down her dream, even if it means boarding a bus with her band and family and traveling halfway across the country.
JOAN JETT documentary Bad Reputation premiered at Sundance earlier this year, and it's set to hit theaters, on-demand, iTunes, and Amazon on September 28. Two days before that, it's playing at Brooklyn's Nitehawk (9/26) for one night only, as part of the theater's BrooklynVegan-presented Music Driven series. The screening starts at 7:15 PM and includes exclusive, post-credits footage that can only be seen in theaters. Tickets are on sale now.
Legendary musician JOAN JETT sent a letter today to the owner of Pymatuning Deer Park urging her to send a 23-year-old bear named Bosco to a comfortable, reputable sanctuary, noting that after the death of the facility's only other bear last year, Bosco doesn't even have the comfort of a companion. He's confined to a barren concrete pit and showing signs of arthritis.
Tonight on The Patti Vasquez Show with Andrea Darlas! Music legend and manager KENNY LAGUNA speaks on the new documentary coming out looking back on the epic career of one of rock's most influential people, JOAN JETT.
Following Music in Park, the Orcas Island Film Festival and Orcasong Farm invites you to bring your chair and a blanket to the Eastsound Village Green and enjoy the second of a two-part series of documentary films under the stars on Sunday, Aug. 19 around 8:30 p.m. The film is free to the public.
Put another dime in the jukebox, baby. JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS are bringing back to Cedar Rapids the rock 'n' roll we've loved for more than four decades.
A long-in-the-works documentary of rocker JOAN JETT, titled Bad Reputation after one of her best-known songs, will reach theaters, streaming services and video on-demand on Dept. 28. The film had its premiere earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival.
You would have to work pretty hard to find two bands that have less in common than JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS and Air Supply.