January 25
Few artists boast a wider appeal than Joan Jett. Beloved by punks, indie rockers, pop lovers, riot grrrls, metal heads, classic rockers, radicals and conservatives, she is 1) a genuine icon and an influential, trailblazing musician, going back to when she helped break down rock's gender barriers and helped pioneer punk music with her teenage band, The Runaways; 2) a genuine star, with no less than nine Top 40 hit singles and eight Platinum and Gold LPs; 3) a renaissance woman, actress on stage and screen, and knowledgeable and entertaining host of "Joan Jett's Radio Revolution" on Sirius’ Faction (Channel 28); and 4) a continually challenging artist, not content to rest on past laurels.
After releasing Sinner, her long awaited CD, Joan set out for the Warped Tour, where 13 year olds, to mohawked punks, to the parents sneaking out of the Warped Tour parents lounge to the main stage, to see Joan Jett and the Blackheart. Mosh pits to moms, they won over the crowd on each stop on the tour. Joan then took Eagles of Death Metal as well as, Valient Thorr, Throw Rag, and Riverboat Gamblers out on the road the following fall.
At only 17, Joan was headlining clubs like CBGBs with bands such as Tom Petty, Talking Heads, Television and Cheap Trick opening up for her, and she later toured with the Ramones. Joan has since worked with Bikini Kill, Peaches, Ian MacKaye of Fugazi, Lars Fredrickson of Rancid, Bratmobile, L7, The Gits, The Replacements' Paul Westerberg, The Sex Pistols and Blondie among others. Joan produced G.I., the lone album of the seminal L.A. punk act, The Germs.
About her Sirius radio show, "That's been interesting, and different. I never aspired to it, I'm really kind of shy, so for me to get on the radio and talk, I had to build up to it. But I'm having a good time, and I get to turn people on to different things!"
One of Joan Jett's proudest accomplishments is the 28th anniversary of her record label, Blackheart Records. This company was forged during the trials and tribulations of trying to get a record deal after The Runaways, and she was rejected by every label out there....28 to be exact. Believing in themselves, Joan and her long-time songwriting partner and producer, Kenny Laguna, decided to be the masters of their own fates and pressed the records up and sold them out of the trunk of Kenny's Cadillac. It was almost immediately that they had a hit on their hands, and the company has not only survived, but flourished, in a volatile record industry. Cadillac recently created a short chronicling the early beginnings of Blackheart Records, being that the first office was the trunk of a Cadillac.
Joan and the Blackhearts are gearing up for a USA tour with Aerosmith and then off to the UK with Alice Cooper and Motorhead.
Jett stands at a point in her life where she can appreciate her past and longevity, but still look towards the future. It is an exciting time. "I went to a school reunion in Maryland not long ago and some people reminded me I had said I was going to go to California to become a rock n roll star! I hadn't remembered that I had focused on it that early!!! To say that as a kid and actually do it is pretty cool. It just goes to show you that if you can believe in yourself, if you're lucky and have the right timing, you have a shot. I'm an example of what can be, if you don't give up!
Joan Jett Official Website
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