Born Joan Larkin, legendary rocker Joan Jett was one of the most successful female American singers to emerge in the seventies.
Two decades later the 38-year-old Jett hasn’t missed a beat — rockin’ louder and harder than ever before.
At 15, Jett, armed with nothing more than a guitar and a lifetime supply of attitude, infiltrated the Los Angeles underground rock scene as a member of the Runaways. After some success in Japan and Europe, the Runaways broke up and Jett moved to New York, where she would team up with producer Kenny Laguna and the rock group the Blackhearts, featuring guitarist Ricky Byrd, bassist Gary Ryan, and drummer Lee Crystal.
In 1981, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts first attracted millions of fans with the ground-breaking MTV video classic “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll.” Other hits, “I Hate Myself for Loving You,” “Cherry Bomb,” “Bad Reputation,” and the Tommy James and the Shondells classic “Crimson and Clover” (to name but a few) soon followed. Jett also somehow found time to star opposite Michael J. Fox in the 1987 film Light of Day.
During the past year Jett, youthful as ever, has revamped her look, cutting off most of her trademark black locks for an edgier, sculpted nineties appearance. Her new (or maybe not so new) interests seem to lie within the dark basement clubs of New York City’s growing S&M scene-most dramatically embodied in her new single, “Fetish.” Written by Jett, the song divulges in intimate detail the rocker’s exploration of the world of erotica.
So, what is it like being a rock legend?
[Laughs] Oh man! I guess I don’t really think of it that way. I just get up every morning like everybody else and go through my day.
But don’t you believe that you’re responsible for cutting a path for a long list of female rock stars who came after you?
Sure.
Do you feel you’ve gotten the proper credit over the years?
No, I don’t actually. I think a lot of fans know that, and they give me credit. Maybe certain people do. But for the most part I don’t think that people really get it.
Is it possible that this lack of respect has enabled you to keep your edge, so to speak, through two decades of music?
That is definitely true. I think it’s good to have a fire inside you, but I don’t necessarily think you need to be ignored to maintain that fire. You know what I mean? I definitely feel that enough people do give me credit for me to feel good about it.
Unlike so many others in music, you have been able to change and reinvent yourself according to the times. Why do you think you’ve been able to stay contemporary while others have Just faded away?
[Long pause] That’s a good question. I think it’s just because I’m really interested in what’s going on. I don’t know what the word is I’m looking for –
Culturally I like to follow whatever kind of music is popular. I’m into it. I don’t just sit back and remember the past and think, “Wow, wasn’t it great being in the Runaways,” or “Wow, wasn’t it great being in rock ‘n’ roll.” No matter how music changes, I think rock ‘n’ roll will always be contemporary. However, I think rock ‘n’ roll has not been able to stay up in the forefront.
Meaning?
I’m talking about dirty, sweaty rock ‘n’ roll. People will always like to hear a girl do that. Actually, people will like to hear anybody do that, but having a girl do it is very rare.
How important is it to you to stay in shape and maintain your youthful appearance?
I’m very conscious of being in shape. I’ve always been in shape. I’ve been lucky enough not to have to work at it too hard beyond what I do for a living, which is be onstage. Performing onstage is an extreme workout.
Especially when you’re doing that six days a week on the road. So, yes, I’m very aware of how I look, and I like to be physical. I’m very into sports and staying in shape just for myself, never mind the music.
As far as staying contemporary, I guess I attribute that to just paying attention to what’s going on. Also, in the past four years I’ve felt I really needed to make a change in my appearance because I felt, and I knew that I had gotten stuck in a look. I’m referring to my black hair, which a lot of people liked. It was a great hair thing, but to have it for 20 years without changing was too much. I would look through magazines and mistake myself for Nikki Sixx [of Motley Crue]! That’s when I knew I gotta cut this fucking hair! When I started to mistake myself for other people, I knew that this look I created had to change. The problem was I didn’t know how I wanted to change. The look you see now was a gradual thing. It took a year and a half to get this look. It’s just my own personal taste. It’s what I like.
Did anyone advise you how you should change?
Actually, everybody begged me not to cut off my hair. Everyone now wants me to grow it again, you know what I mean? I get people busting my chops a lot. So, nobody advised me to do it. It was just sort of an evolution.
What is your opinion of the evolution of rock music from the early eighties until now?
Personally, I don’t really hear any more rock ‘n’ roll in the nineties. I think you really have to seek out rock bands today. And they’re not easy to find. It used to be a lot easier to just bounce into a club and hear a few good bands. But today that’s tough to do. It’s tough to even find one band playing on any given night.
Why do you think there are so few rock bands today?
I don’t really know why. I do know that being in a band is really hard, and you have to really want it to stay with it and stay in the club scene playing night after night for no money and not necessarily getting a lot from it except for what you get from playing onstage. It’s hard to get the opportunity to play in front of a lot of people, so you have to take the smaller things and be gratified by that and stay hungry. And that’s very hard to do, because you get the shit kicked out of you emotionally.
Do you also find that there’s a certain degree of apathy among teens today when it comes to rock ‘n’ roll?
Yeah. Nobody cares. People are very apathetic, and I don’t really know what to attribute that to. People just don’t care — Maybe they think that they can’t make a difference anymore, so why bother. I really don’t know. It’s very scary.
But I don’t think everybody is like that. I know that there are people out there who aren’t apathetic and who want to hear great music that really speaks to people. There are people out there who are still into music that changes who we are as people. What I mean by that is being able to live together better and not be so hateful and not be so destructive.
Don’t you agree that part of the problem with music today is the lack of support radio gives to new bands, not to mention the fact that I cannot remember the last time I saw a music video on MTV?
I’ll tell ya, I can’t really say much about either one of those, because I don’t listen to MTV anymore, and I know that when I turn on the radio I shouldn’t plan on hearing something great. It’s always the same five songs over and over. Nobody will take any kind of chance. And to be honest, I don’t even think would be taking a chance. If you had real guts and played what people wanted to hear you would have such a killer station! It’s so easy — just give the people what they want! Stop making us fall in line and do what everyone else does. But if you play outside the lines you get beat up, and that’s just the way it is. So be prepared. If you want to shake things up, you’re going to get your ass kicked. Is that what you want to do? That’s the decision you have to make.
So, what choice have you made?
I’ve chosen that, yes. I like getting my ass kicked. I’m a masochist.
In fact, you’ve always been that way, haven’t you? That’s what makes you Joan Jett.
You kick ass and you get your ass kicked for it.
Your new CD is called Fetish. Is your music getting dark, or is “sexual” a better word?
My view is that sex is not dark. Sex is something that should be celebrated. Extreme sex, and by that I mean S&M, is not by its nature dark. That’s just the way I see it. “Fetish” is basically just a sex song.
Have you personally explored the S&M world?
I don’t think I’m going to answer that question. [Laughs] Do you really need to know that?
Yes.
Well, it could be personal experience, or it could be fantasy.
But we’re not going to know which anytime soon?
No, I’m going to make you guess.
Have you received any pressure to speak out on gay-rights issues?
Well, not yet, because I’ve never discussed my sexuality with anybody.
Didn’t you once out yourself in Rolling Stone?
Whatever Rolling Stone printed, it certainly didn’t get it from me. I certainly didn’t talk to them about my sexuality. I don’t discuss it with the press. I never have, and I don’t plan on doing it in the future. I don’t feel that it is anyone’s business.
Okay Let’s move on to your acting career. Do you find that most of the roles you get are female-rock-star parts, or do you get offered parts outside of rock ‘n’ roll as well?
I would love to do more acting. It’s just a matter of getting offered the roles. I get things here and there. Actually, I have a movie that just came out on video at the end of last year called Boogie Boy.
Do you find it hard getting the parts you want since you’re Joan Jett the Rock Star?
I don’t think so. I think that Hollywood has gotten past that with me. We’ll see what they think very soon.
Isn’t it ironic that so many rock stars get into acting, and so many actors get into rock?
I don’t really find that too surprising. I mean, they’re sort of similar. When I was a kid I wanted to be an actress before I wanted to be in music. I was in drama class and studied acting when I was 11 and 12. I think I was affected by the movie Cabaret a lot. An actress is something that I really wanted to be in those days, but then I became a rock ‘n’ roll fan right about the same time.
What was it that switched you over?
As soon as I heard a guitar, I wanted to duplicate that sound.
Do you think you will ever write a book about your life?
I guess I can never say never.
You’ve certainly had one hell of a life.
Yeah, that’s true. I really don’t know. For me it’s too early. Other people want me to [write a book], but for me personally I just can’t think about it. I’m only halfway through. You know what I mean? I got a lot more shit to do before I start thinking about writing a book.
Is it true that you will never endorse a product, and in fact you’ve turned down millions of dollars over the years because of your firm refusal?
Yes. In the past I have believed that rock ‘n’ roll stood for something and that bands shouldn’t endorse things. I have turned down a lot of money because of that belief. Yes, it was millions of dollars. Some of it was totally brash advertising, and other things were very subtle, harmless things that I probably should have accepted, but I was just very stubborn.
Looking back, I think I was very stupid. Because there ain’t nobody coming up to me saying, “Way to go, Joan, for not taking millions of dollars for rock ‘n’ roll, man. That really meant something!” Nobody [has] said shit. And I’m out millions of bucks. So, I think it was really stupid. I’m not saying that I wouldn’t still turn down things, because I probably still would, but some things I would take for sure.
Give me an example of what you have turned down.
Like putting a car in a video. Just putting a car in a scene, just sitting there on the street. I didn’t have to say, “Buy this” or anything. I mean, a car had to be in the video anyway.
And you said no?
I said no to the tune of a million and a half dollars — I would never make that mistake again.
In the year 3000, how would you like rock ‘n’ roll historians to remember Joan Jett?
I don’t know, man, that’s really tough, and I don’t think they’ll get it right anyway. I just want to be remembered as someone who inspired people to do the most they could do. A lot of it comes from feeding my own fire, because I was always told that girls can’t play rock ‘n’ roll. That pisses me off so much that I want every girl to play rock ‘n’ roll just to prove them wrong.
But it goes beyond just women; it goes for everyone. Everyone can achieve whatever they want to do, and they should go after what really makes them happy. Look, I’m lucky enough to do something I love for a living, and I think about that every day. Not a day goes by that I don’t think how fucking lucky I am.
