Page updated on January 31, 2019
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. Home Movies/Now Streaming: Jan 31, 2019 from: shepherdexpress.com By DAVID LUHRSSEN
Recently released on Blu-ray and DVD: Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Collector's Edition), The Jerk: 40th Anniversary Edition, Await Further Instructions, Bad Reputation.
Bad Reputation
When The RUNAWAYS debuted in 1975, girls didn't play rock 'n' roll. Whatever else can be said for them, The RUNAWAYS were trailblazers in their day. Focused on guitarist JOAN JETT, Bad Reputation revisits their origins in L.A.'s campy-Quaalude-cocaine subculture. But when they strayed into the mainstream, they were bullied and treated with scorn by a rock scene that wanted to remain a boys' club. Jett makes the case in interviews for the liberating aspect of The RUNAWAYS.
Men Were Threatened By Female Rock Musicians Because Rock'N'Roll Is Sexual- JOAN JETT from: triplem.com.au By Cassie Walker
Queen of rock JOAN JETT joined Kennedy Molloy in the studio while touring the country this month.
Started out as a teen in the all girl rock band The RUNAWAYS, JOAN JETT has seen it all.
Emotionally opening up to Jane Kennedy, Joan recognised the band faced difficulties because of their gender and because rock'n'roll is sexual that was threatening to men.
See the story of JOAN JETT come to life in the film documentary Bad Reputation. The film and soundtrack are available now.
Get more info and your copy: www.badreputationfilm.com
Catch JOAN JETT LIVE on the Red Hot Summer Tour. More info available here: www.redhotsummertour.com.au 'People would get very nasty': Legendary rocker JOAN JETT, 60, reveals the torrent of abuse she received as a young musician... and how Paul McCartney gave her a standing ovation from: dailymail.co.uk By NICK HADLEY FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA
Legendary American musician JOAN JETT fought long and hard to forge out a career in rock.
When asked on The Project on Tuesday what it was like trying to break into the male-dominated rock scene in the 1970s, Joan, 60, did not mince her words.
'Extremely tough. Just the level of... [people] not giving you a chance right away. Looking at you as a joke, as "it's kinda cute",' said Joan.
She added: 'And then people would get very nasty. It is like what the Internet is today, [but] people saying it to your face.'
When The Project's Lisa Wilkinson, 59, asked her what she meant by nasty, Joan said: 'You're a this, you're a that, you suck, your music's bad. It could get really nasty.'
Joan was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in the US in 2015.
Speaking on The Project on Tuesday night, she recalled her moment of elation when former Beatles Paul McCartney, 76, and Ringo Starr, 78, gave her a standing ovation at the event.
'I walked out there and the first thing I see is Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr stand up and start a standing ovation,' said Joan.
'I'm like, what?! I remember being in my bedroom having just bought Let It Be, it's just crazy and so surreal.'
Joan started her career in music at age 15 as a guitarist in the all-girl rock band The RUNAWAYS in 1975 in the US.
JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS had a world-wide hit with I Love Rock 'n Roll in the 1982 and went on to sell 10 million copies of the album of the same name.
JOAN JETT & The Blackethearts are touring Australia. JOAN JETT is enjoying herself on her Australian tour from: noise11.com By PAUL CASHMERE | Photo by Karen Freedman
Joan's setlist is covering over 40 years. Her first hit 'Cherry Bomb' with The RUNAWAYS came out in 1976. The bookend to that track is 'Fresh Start', a brand new JOAN JETT song recorded for her new doco 'Bad Reputation' (airing in Australia on Foxtel in February.
JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS setlist Mornington, 19 and 20 January 2019
Victim of Circumstance (from I Love Rock & Roll, 1981)
Cherry Bomb (from The RUNAWAYS, 1976)
Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah) (from Bad Reputation, 1980)
Bad Reputation (from Bad Reputation, 1980)
You Drive Me Wild (from The RUNAWAYS, 1976)
Light of Day (from Light of Day soundtrack, 1987)
Fake Friends (from Album, 1983)
Love Is Pain (from I Love Rock & Roll, 1981)
Fragile (from Unvarnished, 2013)
Soulmates to Strangers (from Unvarnished, 2013)
Love Is All Around (theme song from the Mary Tyler Moore Show)
Fresh Start (from Bad Reputation soundtrack, 2018)
I Love Rock 'n' Roll (from I Love Rock & Roll, 1981)
Crimson & Clover (from I Love Rock & Roll, 1981)
I Hate Myself for Loving You (from Up Your Alley, 1988)
Encore:
Everyday People (from Album, 1983)
Red Hot Summer dates Series One
26 January, Launceston,, Tas SOLD OUT
27 January, Ballarat, Vic
2 February, Hunter Valley, NSW
3 February, Baulkham Hills, NSW SOLD OUT
9 February, Bribie Island, QLD SOLD OUT
10 February, Bribie Island, QLD JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS, Cable Ties @ Corner Hotel from: themusic.com.au By Guido Farnell
"Jett has the crowd bouncing off the walls."
JOAN JETT's fans pack into the Corner early, vying for a spot with a good view of the stage. They know they have been lucky to score tickets to this rather rare intimate pub gig with an icon of American rock. Cable Ties set the evening in motion by ratcheting up a raucous punk racket. Their energised set works the crowd with a blast of old school punk and riot grrrl noise. Working the elemental force that only a three-piece can deliver, they drop on-fire riffs designed to scorch the ears. Vocalist Jenny McKechnie shrieks out her lyrical agenda and Cable Ties work a wild formula that all too often washes over as abrasive in the hands of lesser bands. Instead, these punks from Melbourne are joyously life-affirming and just plain fun in their presentation.
Inbetween sets the Chiko Molls DJs look kind of cool dancing as they spin Lust For Life but they don't play for very long before the house PA takes over.
It is reassuring to know that after 40 years of making music, JOAN JETT has lost none of her edge. Fierce as all hell, she blasts fans away with a collection of hits and sentimental favourites. Jett's voice still has all its gritty power. As vital as ever, her vocals stand tall in a polished mix that burns with The BLACKHEARTS incendiary riffs. It's hard to believe that Jett could ever be a Victim Of Circumstance, which gets her set off to a solid start. Powering her way through Cherry Bomb, Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah) and Bad Reputation, Jett has the crowd bouncing off the walls. No need to leave these tunes for the encore as she has plenty more hits in store for us.
Jett's take on punk is well versed in hard, rough-riding rock'n'roll and garage that achieves broader appeal by hitting some pretty anthemic rock notes. Newer material like Soulmates To Strangers and Make It Back rock as hard Jett's older hits, although it's fans' familiarity with tunes like Fake Friends and I Hate Myself For Loving You that sends them into a frenzy. One of the first songs Jett wrote for The RUNAWAYS, You Drive Me Wild just seems to rock in gloriously loud, spectacular style tonight. Along the way Jett and long-time Blackheart KENNY LAGUNA regale us with stories that celebrate Jett's music and achievements. [more] Sticky Carpet from: smh.com By Marty Boulton
Summer rolls on and while the cricket and Australian Open are again huge attraction for sports lovers, there's nothing like some big rock 'n' roll stars to keep the good vibes going. Overseas artists are popping up all over the country and after her only club date in Melbourne this week, JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS are cranking up their amps for the Red Hot Summer tour with local legends Jimmy Barnes and the Living End.
Opening up on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula this weekend with two shows (the first sold out in a matter of days), these shows will be coming to Ballarat later this month as well as New South Wales' Hunter Valley on February 2 plus dates in Queensland and Tasmania. Jett - who formed her first band the RUNAWAYS as a teenager with Lita Ford and Cherie Currie in Los Angeles, releasing their debut album in 1976 - has endured the highs and lows of decades in the music industry, carving out her own name and being inducted into the Rock and Rol Hall of Fame in 2015.
Jett's much loved anthem I Love Rock 'n Roll (originally penned by Alan Merrill of the Arrows and released in 1975) became a huge hit for her in 1982 after she earlier recorded it with Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones and drummer Paul Cook on a trip to England in 1979. Crimson and Clover, Bad Reputation and her cover of AC/DC's Dirty Deeds should have fans chanting along with Joan and her bandmates, while Barnes, the Living End and fellow Red Hot Summer acts Diesel and Richard Clapton have already made this tour one of the ticket buying hits of summer. Big Names Playing Big D At KAABOO Texas from: allaccess.com By AllAccess.com
THE KILLERS, KID ROCK, STING, LYNYRD SKYNYRD and LITTLE BIG TOWN will headline KAABOO TEXAS, which will be held MAY 10th-12th at AT&T STADIUM -- taking place both inside and outdoors. Also performing will be THE AVETT BROTHERS, MS. LAURYN HILL, PITBULL, COUNTING CROWS, ALANIS MORISSETTE, THE BLACK EYED PEAS, LUDACRIS, FLO RIDA, GARBAGE, ANDY GRAMMER, JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS, VIOLENT FEMMES, TROMBONE SHORTY & ORLEANS AVENUE and many more. There will also be a comedy stage, a DJ stage poolside, as well as culinary and libation treats.
"We are excited to continue to grow the KAABOO brand alongside the JONES family in one of the most incredible venues in the world," KAABOO Chief Brand/Marketing Officer JASON FELTS said. "We want to bring what we do best in the festival world and put a TEXAS-sized spin on it. You won't find yourself sitting in seats for too long here, because you won't want to miss a minute of the six-stage action."
"We are thrilled to be involved in this revolutionary entertainment event," DALLAS COWBOYS FOOTBALL CLUB EVP/Chief Brand Officer CHARLOTTE JONES ANDERSON said. "It is the first time that our family has ever partnered with a multi-day live event in order for us to offer this market a totally unique experience. The KAABOO brand shares the same energy and innovation that we strive for with AT&T STADIUM, and we couldn't be more excited to combine the magic of sports and music right here in TEXAS." JOAN JETT on Receiving a Letter Written by Abraham Lincoln from: nytimes.com As told to Emily Spivack
The groundbreaking musician's favorite piece of memorabilia is not a concert poster but a presidential declaration.
In this series for T, Emily Spivack, the author of "Worn Stories," interviews creative types about their most prized possessions. Here, JOAN JETT, the front woman of JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS, discusses a piece of Americana she received from a longtime friend. "Bad Reputation," a documentary about Jett's life, is available to stream now.
I have a declaration from Abraham Lincoln hanging in my hallway. It authorizes one guy, William T. Otto, to perform the duties of the office of the Secretary of the Interior. Abraham Lincoln wrote it, and he had very neat handwriting.
It's a museum piece, an actual piece of history. My family lived in Maryland from the time I was 8 to when I was 13 years old, so I spent a lot of time going to museums in D.C. I got to see a lot of early American history, a lot of Lincoln history.
Jett's close friend Paul O'Neill, the frontman of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, gave her the proclamation before he passed away.
Jett's close friend Paul O'Neill, the frontman of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, gave her the proclamation before he passed away.
My friend Paul O'Neill knew I loved history, and he gave me this Abe Lincoln letter when we were performing together in Cleveland for New Year's Eve in 2016. Paul was like my brother. He was the lead singer of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, but we first met when he started out as a tour manager at the beginning of the BLACKHEARTS. He helped do whatever we needed to do when we were on the road and struggling. Once we weren't struggling anymore, he left to make his own music. My partner, KENNY LAGUNA, and I sort of gave him seed money to start his own music projects and what became TSO. We were very connected.
He had something to do with my success, and I had something to do with his, and this gift was his way of saying thank you. He would get me crazy, over-the-top gifts like this or like a $10,000 guitar. He was always trying to show that he recognized that Kenny and I had something to do with him having success, and he just wanted to give back. Plus, he was just a loving guy. Paul passed away in April 2017. The last time he was on stage was that New Year's Eve when we were together, so this piece carries extra weight. Sounds By The River Concert, Mannum, South Australia from: YouTube.com By George Cervini
JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS performing "Cherry Bomb" at the Sounds By The River Concert, in Mannum, South Australia on January 13, 2019. METALLICA's LARS ULRICH Interviews JOAN JETT For 'It's Electric!' Radio Show (Video) from: blabbermouth.net By Jason Bailey
JOAN JETT recently joined METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich for a special edition of "It's Electric!", his online radio show on Apple Music's Beats 1. She reflects on performing with NIRVANA at the 2014 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony, dissects the role of women in glam rock, discusses her 2018 documentary "Bad Reputation", and more.
Tune in to Beats 1 to hear the conversation in full this Sunday, January 6 at 7:00 p.m. EST / 4:00 p.m. PST.
Launched in May 2017, "It's Electric!" is an unscripted weekly window into the mind of Ulrich. Hear music that excites this great Dane, as well as chats with artists who inspire him... all wrapped in magnificently mindless banter!
Since its launch, the show has featured guests Iggy Pop, RANCID's Lars Frederiksen, AVENGED SEVENFOLD's M. Shadows, ROYAL BLOOD, Glastonbury Festival co-organizer Emily Eavis, Rolling Stone's Kory Grow, So What! magazine editor Steffan Chirazi, and more.
Ulrich described "It's Electric!" as "my 16-year-old self's wet dream: doing a radio show to a worldwide audience."
He added: "We go all over the world - we look at international bands for an international audience. We don't believe in boundaries and we're open to everything.
During an interview with fellow Beats 1 host Zane Lowe, Ulrich said that his show would be "unfiltered, unscripted and completely all over the place... I've got so much stuff to share with everybody out there and a lot of stuff that's turning me on," he said. "I'm telling you, people that love great music, rock music but also hip-hop and world music and all the rest of it - there's a lot of people that talk about, 'Well, the music business is in sad shape, and it's dying,' but there's a ton of fantastic music out there, and I'm re-energized and reinvigorated and ready to share it with the world."
JOAN JETT Says Nirvana Is the Reason She's in Rock Hall of Fame from: iheart.com By Andrew Magnotta
JOAN JETT was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015, one year after she performed with the surviving members of Nirvana for the legendary grunge band's induction.
The BLACKHEARTS front woman does not think that was a coincidence.
She recalled in a recent radio interview being "scared s---less" when she was asked to perform "Smells Like Teen Spirit" at the Hall of Fame with Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear for the first time since Kurt Cobain's death in 1994. But Jett says ultimately she just prepared, put her head down and did her best.
Ultimately it was a good time and she was honored to be a part of it.
But as much as the night meant to Nirvana, Jett noted that Novoselic in particular wouldn't stop advocating for her own Hall of Fame prospects.
He "was so funny," she recalled. "I think he's the one that got me into the Hall of Fame. 'Cause he was bitching afterwards, saying, 'Can you believe she's not in the Hall of Fame?' So I think they guilted 'em into it."
Jett reprised her role as co-front person for Nirvana as recently as October, when Grohl, Novoselic and Smear got the band back together for a surprise set at Cal Jam 2018.
Since the six-song Cal Jam set, Grohl and Novoselic have left the door open for future reunions, though both cautioned excited fans that it won't become a regular thing. JOAN JETT Was 'Scared S**tless' When She Was First Asked To Perform With NIRVANA from: blabbermouth.net Photo credit: Roger Erickson
In a recent interview with the 93.3 WMMR radio station, JOAN JETT discussed her experience fronting NIRVANA at the band's 2014 induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. Jett said that "it was petrifying" being asked to join drummer Dave Grohl, bassist Krist Novoselic and guitarist Pat Smear for a rendition of the 1991 smash hit "Smells Like Teen Spirit". The NIRVANA members hadn't performed a Kurt Cobain-written song together since their troubled frontman killed himself in 1994.
Joan recalled (hear audio below): "Getting a call was one of those things where you had both emotions - it was, like, 'Oh my God! I'm scared shitless. The reason I'm scared shitless is 'cause I know I have to say yes. I have to do this.' I mean, how, as a rock and roll fan, could you say no? As a NIRVANA fan? So, that was not a possibility - saying no."
She continued: "Being asked was such an honor. I didn't wanna read into it too much and think about it too much, so I just practiced and got it together. And luckily, we had some chances to go through the song before we had to actually play it that night. But, strangely, I was very calm, which is not normal. I should have a certain level of anxiety, and I'm glad I wasn't petrified, 'cause that makes it tough too. But I was strangely calm, which then gave me a sense it was all right, just karmically, that I was doing this. And I was calm."
Jett went on to say that "it was an amazing, amazing experience" to play and sing with the surviving members of NIRVANA. "I remember turning around and looking at Dave and just seeing his hair flying and thinking about, 'Wow! It must be really cool to play these songs,'" she said. "And Pat Smear I've known since he was in THE GERMS, 'cause I produced that band many, many years ago - in 1980, or whatever it was. And so he is in NIRVANA. And I look at him, and he's grinning ear to ear." As for Novoselic, Joan said: "He was so funny. I think he's the one that got me into the Hall Of Fame. 'Cause he was bitching afterwards, saying, 'Can you believe she's not in the Hall Of Fame?' So I think they guilted 'em into it."
Asked if Cobain's widow, Courtney Love, enjoyed Jett's version of "Smells Like Teen Spirit", Joan said: "She was there, but I didn't speak to her. I don't know her really enough to go up and say hi. She was around. I know she said hi to Dave and stuff. But we didn't come face to face. But I'm fine with her, as far as I know. I have no problem with Courtney." [more] Dave Grohl May Release Nirvana Rock Hall Club Reunion Show 2018 In Review from: antimusic.com By hennemusic.com
Dave Grohl May Release Nirvana Rock Hall Club Reunion Show was a top 18 story of July 2018: Dave Grohl says he is considering the release of a Nirvana reunion club show that took place following the band's 2014 induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.
After being joined by JOAN JETT, Kim Gordon, St. Vincent and Lorde for their live set at New York's Barclays Center, the rockers headed to an invite-only private event at Saint Vitus, a tiny bar and music venue in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn.
The show started at 2 a.m., with Rock Hall performers JOAN JETT, Kim Gordon (Sonic Youth) and Annie Clark (a.k.a. St. Vincent) joining Nirvana members Grohl, Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear for a 19-song set that opened with Jett and the group delivering the iconic 1991 smash, "Smells Like Teen Spirit."
Alongside fellow guests Deer Tick's John McCauley and J. Mascis of Dinosaur Jr., each of the singers performed a few tunes, ending with Gordon; guitarist Pat Smear smashed his guitar following "Negative Creep" before being told by a roadie that they had one more song left to do. [more] The 5 Best Movies to Buy or Stream This Week: 'Bad Times at the El Royale,' 'Bad Reputation' from: flavorwire.com By Jason Bailey
We're kicking off the new year with a nice, strong new release Tuesday, featuring two engaging bio-documentaries and two fall features that should've made more noise than they did. Oh, and one of 2016's Best Picture nominees is back on the Netflix. Check it out:
ON NETFLIX
Hell or High Water: Jeff Bridges, Chris Pine, and (especially) Ben Foster shine in this taut yet intelligent crime drama from Starred Up director David Mackenzie, who fuses the American Western mythos with contemporary economic commentary, soaking our current anxieties into its canvas without overpowering it. The younger men are Texas brothers on a bank-robbing spree, and Bridges is the grizzled Ranger who tracks them as best he can, and waits for them to make a mistake. Mackenzie orchestrates the action beats with a sure hand, but the real force comes in the modest, contemplative moments; it's a film filled with the quiet poetry of desperation, and its closing scene is like something out of Cormac McCarthy.
ON DVD / VOD
Bad Reputation: The best bits of this JOAN JETT bio-doc come early - vivid portraiture of the sleazy '70s rock scene with a focus on the RUNAWAYS, which is a story good enough for a stand-alone documentary. But the rest of it is pretty compelling too, adroitly tracking the ups and downs of a true survivor in a fickle, fickle business, from the laughable early rejections to the various ways in which her industry chewed her up in the mid-'80s to the savvy way in which she reinvented herself as a godmother of the scene from the '90s on. Director Kevin Kerslake keeps things moving at a good clip, and gets some interview gold from contemporaries, followers (from Kathleen Hanna to Miley Cyrus), and even one-time co-star Michael J. Fox.
Love, Gilda: This documentary love letter to comedy icon Gilda Radner lets her tell her own story, via archival interviews, readings from her journals, excerpts from her autobiography, and tapes of the free-flowing monologues that she presumably used to write it. In spite of that material, you don't really come away from this generally agreeable movie with a much of a sense of who she was and what drove her; director Lisa Dapolito tends to merely hint at or brush past her difficulties and frustrations (particularly on Saturday Night Live, which seems a calculated choice to avoid dinging the mystique). But comedy geeks will go nuts for the archival material, which includes footage of her fabled Toronto Godspell production and wonderful home movies from her National Lampoon shows and SNL days.
Joan's setlist is covering over 40 years. Her first hit 'Cherry Bomb' with The RUNAWAYS came out in 1976. The bookend to that track is 'Fresh Start', a brand new JOAN JETT song recorded for her new doco 'Bad Reputation' (airing in Australia on Foxtel in February.
