Page updated on May 11, 2008
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. Runaway success story
Still drawing crowds after 30 years, JOAN JETT says all a budding rock guitarist needs is a love of rock'n'roll and a guitar that stays in tune from: guardian.co.uk by Leonie Cooper
My parents bought me a Silvertone electric guitar for Christmas when I was 13 years old. I was pretty impressed that they got it for me, and spent all Christmas morning making nothing but noise. I remember my dad saying, "Stop with the racket!"
I'm left-handed, and they bought me a right-handed guitar. I knew that, technically, I should flip the guitar over, the way Jimi Hendrix did, but I tried to do it and I couldn't do anything with my right hand on the fretboard because I didn't have any dexterity with that hand. To me, it made more sense to have my left hand on the frets, because I needed to have more dexterity with that hand while my right hand would only be strumming.
I did try to take lessons, but being an exuberant 13-year-old, I figured you could learn everything in one day. I went to the guitar teacher and said, "Teach me how to play rock'n'roll." He looked at me like I had three heads. I quit after one lesson and bought one of those "how to play guitar by yourself" books, which taught me the basic barre chords. Then I sat in my bedroom and listened to records by Free, Deep Purple, T Rex and Black Sabbath because they had big fat barre chords and were slow and easy to play; I learned by ear. Playing with my records didn't seem difficult or like music homework, it was more like fun. [more] Rock and Roll Geek Video - JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS from: mevio.com/
An Interview with THOMMY PRICE and DOUGIE NEEDLES from JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS
As Promised, Neon Angels On the Road to Ruin from: sfgate.com by Mick LaSalle
As promised in Sunday's ASK MICK column, above is the song "Neon Angels On the Road to Ruin" as performed live in Japan in 1977. Keep in mind, these are 17 and 18 year old girls, and you're looking at over 30 years ago.
While we're having fun, check out "Cherry Bomb" and try to imagine how this must have seemed in 1976, when it came out. I remember I was floored.
A wet & wild way to open Memphis in May from: commercialappeal.com by Bob Mehr
Festival counts on youth to lead the way on event's opening day
The rains came, but the Beale Street Music Festival can always count on an army of festivalgoers to battle the grim weather.
The event has long been a success, primarily by booking bedrock blues, roots and Memphis-connected acts, but the fragmentation of the pop world at large makes the organizers' task increasingly difficult with each passing year.
Clearly, a strategic need was what was driving most of Friday's early bookings, a selection of youth-oriented acts -- including mall punk and emo bands such as Flyleaf and Drive By and kitsch hip-hoppers Lord T. & Eloise -- geared toward getting teens and twentysomethings to Tom Lee Park early.
There were exceptions, exemplified by the more mature -- musically speaking -- roots songstress Amy LaVere. A fast-rising local talent with a unique voice, LaVere has been tagged a sultrier Norah Jones. LaVere plucked away at her standup bass, while being backed by a tight-knit two-piece, drummer Paul Taylor and guitarist Steve Selvidge, performing a soothing, yet charming set for a late arriving crowd.
The real highlight of Friday's early action came with an appearance by punk-pop icon JOAN JETT and her band The BLACKHEARTS. After a brief delay brought on by a sudden cold shower that quickly abated, Jett strode on stage to the strains of The Ramones' "Blitzkrieg Pop" before letting loose with a completely professional yet no less profound shot of rock and roll. [more]
