Interjúk Angolul:

Joan Jett Refuels at 50

When Joan Jett picks up the phone in New York for her Spinner interview, two things are immediately apparent: First, the tale of her three-decade plus career is evidenced wholly by her speaking voice, which is throaty and unintentionally gruff. It's the wear of a Philadelphia-born punk named Joan Marie Larkin who left for L.A. at 15 with a rock 'n' roll dream in one hand and leather in the other. Three years later, Jett formed the Runaways, and thus began her kicking-and-screaming ascent to rock iconism. Dubbed the original riot grrrl, Jett would garner several other titles along the way: chart-topper, entrepreneur, activist, actress, producer, sex symbol and all-around badass, included.

This brings us to number two: Joan Jett commands, though not literally, respect. Her middle- finger- to-the-establishment reputation sits backseat to the woman on the line -- a woman who, despite her persona, felt misunderstood at the onset. She issues no bounds as inquiries go, answering each question with cool authority and, often, laughter. "What do you want to know?" she begins. And so it does.

You're releasing a greatest hits CD/DVD later this year. What was it like for you to sit down and sift through nearly three decades' worth of material?

I have the most contempt... to look at myself [musically] and be like, "No, no." Do you know what I'm saying? It's like looking through dated pictures. It's kinda weird to look at old videos or old photos. But I'm glad I did it. Sometimes, sitting around and making records, you don't really hear it. You're just recording and loving the songs, taking them out on the road and playing them for people. People remember what's recorded but I don't listen to my records over and over again. I don't go back to the recordings unless there's something I need to refresh myself for the band -- the tempos or a structure of a song. But I'd love to do that because I put a lot of hard work into the records I make. It can be fun to go back and take a listen. Also, there are a few [new] tracks that'll be on the CD. They are songs that we haven't really played live yet, but they're written out.

You were one of the first female musicians to start her own record label, Blackheart Records, more than 25 years ago, and it was done out of necessity because 23 labels rejected you.

That's crazy, right? As an artist, you want some control over what you're doing. But it's common -- we all want to be signed to a major label. It's part of that dream: being in a band, signed to a major label, have a big record come out. But nobody wanted anything to do with me, my music or my band. It was really... tough.

Why do you think you were rejected?

I don't know. It's really hard for people to see it -- that atmosphere and mindset that people had about girls in music or girls in rock 'n' roll 25 years ago. I'm not playing the typical girl role and I've taken a lot of shit. It's hard for me to judge. I can't tell what it is about me. I don't walk around smashing s---; I'm not that kind of scary person. I don't know what about me was so threatening.

Regardless, I know that we sent them a few songs: 'I Love Rock 'n' Roll,' 'Crimson and Clover,' 'Do You Wanna Touch Me' and 'Bad Reputation.' We got a good deal of rejection letters. People wrote back, 'You have no songs here,' 'Drop the guitar.' It was incredible! These companies turned down not one hit but four songs that wound up being hits. That's just a part of rock 'n' roll. Now, either the companies don't listen to what we send them, or the people that listen can't hear hits or they're so blinded by their prejudices that they can't get beyond that. Whatever the reasoning, it's kind of scary. In the end, it was good because I kept control of my music. I guess it turned out for the better.

It's especially ironic then, given that you've since become an icon -- a pioneer in both punk and rock -- particularly on the female front. How does that sit with you?

It's very humbling. I don't think it makes sense, even beyond people saying it to me. It's a really nice feeling. It's great that people think that.

Describe the girl who founded the Runaways back in the '70s.

Boy, well, we were all very typical teenage girls but we all had very distinct personalities -- styles, so to speak. We were all somewhat different, but the music took us and we definitely came together with rock 'n' roll ethic. Cherie [Currie] had that British glitter sound. We'd switch off on vocals and I'd do more rock 'n' roll stuff and she'd sing the more melodic, popular stuff. Jackie Fox was probably more of an intellectual. Sandy West would have been the sports girl, the surfer girl. And Lita [Ford] would be a combination of party girl, surfer girl -- total vixen and sexy mama. We were just a bit between rebels and sex symbols.

People would say I'm the tough one. People would say I'm the mean one. I had a certain sense about music and about my personal style. I wasn't comfortable in dresses -- it wasn't my thing. It was about pants and leather and dark hair and dark makeup. At the time, it wasn't the way that girls would do it. The thing that always gets to me is in rock 'n' roll, you own your own sexuality. In pop music, you say, 'You can do what you want to me.' Rock 'n' roll says, 'I'm gonna do what I want to you.' When girls are saying that, it could be really threatening. I never got that. I don't understand it.

You recently performed at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction, yet you've yet to be inducted yourself despite years of eligibility. When will it be your turn?

Well, I tell you, I don't really think about it too much. I don't worry about all of the awards. If I get inducted at this point, I would be honored by the people whom I've played with for many years.

In the summer, you will be touring as part of the second annual True Colors tour. What does it mean for you to be on a tour that's sole purpose is to support and brings awareness to the LGBT community?

It's really vital to raise issues that are important to the community. But beyond that, gay, bi, transgendered people love rock 'n' roll, too. That's what it's about -- the music. There are many other issues that need to be brought to the forefront and it's great to be involved in that. I've known Cyndi [Lauper] for years as well, so it will be great to be on the road with her.

Throughout your career, journalists have asked you about your sexual orientation and you've yet to say outright what it is. Why do you think people are so curious?

You know, I... why does anybody want to know anything to that extent? They want to know until they know, and then it's not a big deal. First of all, don't dictate to me what I have to declare about myself. It's about setting boundaries. If you open up a door to your whole life, once that door's open, you can't shut it. You can't open it up for some parts and keep it closed for others.

It really boils down to this: I want to please everybody. I want every guy and every girl thinking that I'm singing these songs to them, because I am. If I make a hard, fast case on where I stand then that takes away a lot of the fantasy. Music entails a lot of fantasy. I want people to be able to go there with me. Some people might think it's a cop-out. I don't care. That's how I feel.

In addition to social activism, you're quite active in politics. You've visited the troops many times and avidly supported Howard Dean in the last presidential election. Are you following the upcoming election, and if so, who are you supporting?

I'm still pissed about what happened to Howard Dean [laughs]. Yeah, I'm following along and I will support whichever Democrat that wins and gets to the election. It makes me a little bit nervous that Hillary Clinton and Obama rip each other apart in the primaries, but I think it's good to have a healthy debate about a lot of these issues. A lot of people are getting involved. That's really important. Everybody's lives are on the line.

You turn 50 in September. What does that mean to you?

I don't think about the number. It all comes down to how I feel. Right now, I'm having fun and I'm feeling good. That's all that counts.

Joan Jett Interviewed By Al, X-8, & Gerrard on December 14, 1978 at Power Burger with Stan Lee, Lisa Carlos, Ken and who ever else walked by. X-8: Oh you got a new base player.

Joan: Yeah, her name's Lorie McAlister and she 's 21. She's played bass for a long time and she's really good. We've rehearsed with her for about ... this was our fifth day today. We got three days left, then Tuesday we go to San Francisco for two days and Palo Alto for a gig, then Santa Cruz then back here to the Whisky, UCI and then the Golden Bear.

Al: Where's Vicki Blue?

Joan: She's sick. I'm serious, I swear to God. I don't want to tell you what but she's sick which made her unable to go on tour. She got too flipped out, I mean not mentally sick, physically....

Al: No hard feelings?

Joan: Oh no. I still call her and talk to her all the time. I'm supposed to go to New Orleans with her in February or something.

Al: Why'd you do that Slade song on the album?

Joan:Because I liked it. I suggested it and just everyone liked it. I like it because that's the kind of stuff I grew up with, glitter stuff and Rodney's. It's a great title.

X-8: No more connection with Kim Fowley?

Joan: Oh no, not at all.

X-8: We shouldn't go into that, he might kill us. Tell us about your audience?

Joan: Any audience to tell the truth, we haven't even played in front of an audience in six months since Europe, except for some dumb celebrity thing we did in Century City. Have you ever heard of Harold Robins? Well his wife threw this big homecoming thing for him and we played. It was a previewing of Annie and they wanted a band to play and Toby, our manager, got us the gig. Steve Jones was in town and we were doing a song he wrote "Black Leather."

Joan: So the last song of the set he got up and jammed with us. You name it, Za Za Gabor, they were all there, Jacqueline Bisset - all these huge fuckers were there and they were plugging their ears and by the end of the set, they were all walking out. It was really great, really fun. There was a review of the party in the LA Times but it only talked about us.

Stan: Suzanne Sommers was there wasn't she?

Joan: Yeah, we got our picture taken with her. What a jerk that bitch is!

Stan: Suzanne Sommers was there wasn't she?

Joan: Yeah, we got our picture taken with her. What a jerk that bitch is!

Stan: Hey, leave her alone!

Joan: She's a jerk!

Stan: I'd like to see her.

Joan: Oh fuck you, horny bastard!

Stan: Well, I like girls.

Joan: Not this one, not if you get to meet her.

X-8: Does she have a good ass?

Joan: How could you tell?

Stan: I just saw her in Playboy and it had her tits in it!

Joan: She's so movie starish, phony smile...

X-8: I hear your audience is getting lesbian?

Joan: I don't know. It's hard for me to see out there sometimes plus sometimes I'm not really thinking about it. But I saw alot of guys out there. Yeah, I heard something about that. "Runaways dyke audience." And some people going "Hey Sandy, what a fox!" But I don't think that's the majority of our audience, though I don't care if they're anybody. I don't give a shit if they're transexual or bisexual, gay. I don't care, just so long as they like it and enjoy it.

X-8: What's your own personal closet habits?

Joan: what?

X-8: Your private pleasures?

Joan: Well, if they're private, they're gonna stay that way... I buy every dirty magazine in the world. I like to read them. I do. You know how wives go "Why are you reading that?" Well, honey the articles are good." Well, it's true, alot of the magazines have really good articles. I always buy Hustler cause they're tasteless. Oui....

X-8: You check out the girls?

Joan: Well what the hell are you supposed to do, close your eyes?

X-8: What bands do you like now?

Joan: Besides the old Sex Pistols, Siouxsie & the Banshees, that's my new favorite. The album's really really fuckin' good, the best I've heard in years besides the Pistols album.

Al: What do the other Runaways like?

Joan: I like more punk than the rest of them. I mean see, I'm really narrow minded about music. I like one kind, ya know? I like Rock and roll, Chuck Berry but I don't have any of his records.... Lita likes Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow and the older stuff, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin. The new bass player is a Zeppelin freak, but Lita loves the Sex Pistols and the Clash. I love the Clash too.

Stan: You got a new roadie I hear?

Joan: Who?

Stan: Ken... the stripper.

Joan: I heard about that, he gave me a big speech about that.....

Al: Where is your strongest following at?

Joan: All of Europe is a really good market, better than here. States is so jaded, they've seen everybody here, everybody you could imagine. Record companies here are a lot more efficient and choosy in what they pick. They want something that sells. The same reason the American phone system is so much better here. They settle for second best over in Europe where as here, it's really particular. In Europe, you're already presented as a pop star, you're already in the magazines, big color pictures, they really build you up. Our label over there gives us a lot of support.

Joan: In the States our best areas are the Midwest, Texas and Ohio. We got the best reaction from like Huntington Beach, I mean they go crazy. Certain areas go for certain things, the Whisky's always been good....

Stan: Hey, its Darby on the streets, and Helen.

Joan: Where? I wanna talk.....

X-8: Yell! Go get him.

Stan: Naw.... I can't express myself.

Joan: Why, are you loaded?

Stan: Yeah, on Marijuana.

Al: How was the Lycium gig with the Dickies?

Joan: Really good. Didn't you think that was really great?

Stan: Yeah, our first big place.

Joan: I felt good cause we were playing with another American band cause alot of the English people try to like, "take the piss out of the Yankees", like I heard Ken, well he met the clash and he was backstage just sitting and the Clash started talking to him and they go, "Oh you American" and the girl next to him goes, "Yeah, that's why he doesn't have anything to say," like big competition.

Stan: He got an autograph so he was happy. They (Clash) signed his passport, he was happier than a pig in shit!

Joan: Sid vicious is a hero. That's my statement, I think he's a hero, especially if he gets off this, he'll be the biggest hero.

Al: Do you think he killed her?

Joan: I don't. I really don't.

X-8: Stan, ask her some questions.

Stan: You want me to interview her now?

Al: Yeah.... What's different in Europe?

Stan: Cheeseburgers are good here, there's tacos and there's soap operas.

Al: You said that the last time.

Stan: Well, this is her interview. I am just sitting here on Marijuana answering your questions.

Joan: Your mother will read this.

X-8: When you started, were you trying to push the female type deals? Like when you posed for surfer pictures in Cream?

Joan: I wasn't. Why do you think I wore a wetsuit? I hate that sex ass stuff.

Al: At the Golden West, you got really upset when Lita brought out that penis squirt gun.

Joan: It's stupid, it's unnecessary, I never liked it from the beginning, the corset and all that crap.

Lisa: Why did you dye your hair black?

Joan: That's my roommate. I've known for many many years.... Oh my hair because one of the Tubes said, "Hey, you ought to dye your hair black, like jett black."

X-8: How'd you like the party at the Tropicana?

Joan: Oh, were you guys there?

X-8: Yeah.

Joan: That's how I liked it, I was fucked up out of my head...

85-ös interjú:

AT A SOUTH BANK video studio, my first glimpse of Joan Jett comes when she is wandering around between takes. She looks the kind of thing one might find washed up on a beach after a particularly drastic oil spillage. She has a covering of black (leather, hair, face make up which intensifies the pallor of her flesh), has arms folded, is shivering and drawling complaints. Shaking hands with her is like holding a piece of ice. The reasons behind the appearance, however, become apparent later.

Waiting for Joan to take an interview-length break, I sit in the dressing room with manager/producer Kenny Laguna. Brash, semi-crazed and attending to business, both on and off the phone he relates a torrent of tales concerning the lack of belief in the Blackhearts displayed by employees of record companies. Especially American ones.

"They're all a bunch of arseholes," he observes, "guys who couldn't get laid in high school." He sticks a digit in the dial, still pursuing the original tape of the 'Bad Reputation' LP to which they own the rights but can't possess the actual article due to Broadway Records going bust. Concurrently a song, 'Little Drummer Boy', is astray somewhere in Canada.

Meanwhile, this video has to be paid for today in cash (ten thousand dollars) and a fellow is despatched with a platinum American Express card to collect the notes as Kenny wrangles with the video company chief for a discount.

All this bustle at the heart of the Blackhearts stems simply from Joanie's desire to play "straight down the line rock and roll to the people of the world." They've toured continually for three years and one gets the feeling that if the constant motion was to cease the whole enterprise would collapse in rather a dramatic style.

Things are kept at a boil which explains why JJ hasn't slept for two nights, began filming today at 6am and doesn't plan on finishing until 4 tomorrow morning when she and her Blackhearts also catch a plane to Munich to begin a six week European tour.

Perhaps graciously in the circumstances, I am found time and Joan and I adjourn to the warmth of the tour bus.

While staggering around in a nearly somnambulist state when not required specifically to do anything – as if she's gained the necessary discipline of being able to sleep on her feet – she wakes up almost spectacularly when necessary.

I nibble on a biscuit and switch on my tape recorder. She fiddles with the top of an American Ginger Ale bottle.

"When I was 11 or 12 I finally got the balls to say 'Mom, Dad, I want a guitar for Christmas and I don't want no folk guitar."

The world shudders at the thought of Joan Jett playing a folk guitar.

"I was always aggressive, determined as a child, something of a tomboy, I loved sports, was very athletic. Me wanting a guitar didn't come as a shock to my parents. I mean, I wanted to be the first girl on the moon, the first female major league baseball player. There was something about being the first that motivated me. Besides, if my parents hadn't got me a guitar I probably would have run away."

Instead, at 14, she became a Runaway.

"The main thing that attracted me about being in a band was seeing the lights and all the kids yelling and screaming and I thought God! You can make all those people happy at once. That's still the main attraction. It wasn't the money and limousines – I was very naive then!

"But there was a time when I was very depressed. Between the Runaways and the time I met Kenny (like he'd been waiting for the cue, Kenny walks in, sits down, gets up to leave, "I was waiting for the cut down" – it doesn't come), just wanted to be in a band and on stage. I couldn't have settled for a job at a record company."

Sum-up the Runaways in a sentence?

"Probably the biggest influence on female rock and roll musicians that there will ever be. I'm the sort of person that reads a lot of mail. I found out that our music inspired tremendous amounts of girls to form bands, guys too. The fact that we could inspire people made me very happy."

Can pop music still be rebellious?

"Yes. But popular music is splintered into several different media terms. I consider us to be a rock and roll band ... straight down the line. I don't give a damn about my bad reputation, fake friends, sycophants. Oh yes, our music is rebellious in the traditional sense á la Chuck Berry, Elvis,these people are our idols."

The Blackhearts' touring itinerary has incorporated East Germany, Panama, Venezuela (their British tour is remembered by Kenny as "taking in about 20 cities, that's about how many people came") and a special highly secret appearance at the Olympics for the competitors.

"It was great to see all those athletes groovin'! All together from Sudan to Australia they got up and started dancing. Like the world had been brought together by rock and roll, it was just mind boggling. There were people dancing who'd never seen in the flesh rock and roll. American rock and roll."

Their Olympic invite tends to endorse the theory that the Blackhearts' take their 'straight down the line American rock and roll' around the world as (sort of) ambassadors of USA Kulture.

Tell me Joanie, are you proud to be an American?

"Of course! Freedom of speech, freedom of a lot of things. There's a lot you can do in the States that you can't do in other countries. Even the most mundane things.

"This is an election year and my vote is already in. I refuse to talk about politics but I'm aware of everything that goes on. I'm used to all the slang terms that everyone calls Americans but we've got some pretty good ones for other people. I'm a YANKEE!"

On her tombstone Joan Jett would like to have engraved: 'This girl did something extremely important for rock and roll.'

She's uncertain as yet whether this has been achieved. 

JUICE MAGAZINE 2058 N. SYCAMORE AVE. HOLLYWOOD, CA 90068 - PHONE 310-399-5336 - EMAIL - INFO@JUICEMAGAZINE.COM

JOAN JETT

INTERVIEW BY STEVE OLSON

PHOTOS BY CODY SMYTH & MICHAEL RUBENSTEIN

A Girl, a Runaway, a Blackheart,
What some call a rock star...
I would think someone who is true to herself,
passionate about what she believes,
and truly LUVS ROCK & ROLL...
for all the right reasons.
If they say it can't be done, think again.
Baby’s been proving them wrong for a long time now,
and continues to do so, as well as fucking shit up as a true punk does...

Hey, Joan.
Hey, Steve. How are you?

Good. How are you?
I’m good. I’m good. Yeah.

You’re good?
Super good.

Where are you now? Are you in New York?
No. I’m in Austin, Texas. I’m getting ready to sweat. I think it’s like, 90 degrees out there. I’m doing a show later today.

Outside?
Yes.

So can we just talk about the past a little bit, so that the readers understand?
Sure.

Where did you grow up?
I was born in Philadelphia. I lived in Pittsburgh, PA for a couple of years, and then I lived in Erie, PA for a couple of years. I moved to Rockville, MD for five very formative years, from age 8 to 12. That’s when I started to get into rock n’ roll. I saw Black Sabbath when I was a kid. I saw the New York Dolls.

You saw the Dolls?
Yeah. I saw the Dolls in D.C.

Wow. How was that?
It was amazing. I was in the front row, and I stole David Johansen’s beer bottle. That was one of my first rock n’ roll souvenirs.

Perfect.
It was the whole band with Johnny Thunders.

Cool.
Then my family moved to LA.

Where in LA?
First we moved to Canoga Park. Later I moved to West Covina. I went from one valley to the other valley.

Nice.
Once I got to LA, I had these stirrings of wanting to be in a rock n’ roll band, and forming an all-girl band. I was close to Hollywood, so I thought I could make my dream come true.

How did you go about doing that?
Well, it was a very long, convoluted process, but I used to read about a club in “Circus” and “Creem” magazines.

Those were kind of like the Bible.
Yeah. Definitely. I used to read about a club called Rodney’s English Disco.

Oh, yeah. Absolutely.
It was this club on Sunset Boulevard. It was really geared to teenagers. They played all the British music that was coming out of England in the early ‘70s that the American kids had never heard because it was all disco in America in the mid ‘70s. So I’d go to this club, and all the kids dressed outrageously with huge platform shoes and glitter. Everyone was very androgynous. The boys wore make-up. Everyone was very flamboyant. It was all really cool to me. That’s where I was turned on to a lot of Bowie, T Rex, Sweet, Slade and Suzi Quatro. They were great records. They were three-minute songs with big choruses and handclaps and very prominent drums. Not to mention, I got to hear Suzi Quatro. Then I was thinking, “Here’s a girl doing it. It’s a girl playing rock n’ roll.”

Absolutely. “Glycerin Queen” and “48 Crash”. It doesn’t get better than that.
Exactly. So I thought, “If she’s doing it, than I can do it, and if I can do it, than there has to be other girls here in Hollywood that want to do it.” That was really the impetus. So I started talking to my friends to see if anyone played an instrument. I spoke to this girl that I used to hang out with named Kari Chrome. I thought she played an instrument, but it turns out that she was a lyricist. Her publisher and songwriting partner was a guy named Kim Fowley. She said, “Why don’t you talk to Kim? He might be able to help you.” I was very naïve. So I spoke to Kim a little bit. I told him that I played guitar and that I wanted to form an all-girl band. He asked me if I had any demo tapes. I didn’t even know what a demo tape was.

Right.
We had a short conversation and I figured, that’s that.

How old were you then?
Fifteen.

You were a kid.
Yeah.

You were a kid with a big dream.
Right. I was just a kid with a big dream. A couple of days later, I was at the Rainbow, which is a restaurant on Sunset. Everyone hung out in the parking lot when it closed at 2 o’clock. That was the routine.

Right.
So the girl that became the drummer of The Runaways came up from Huntington Beach to Hollywood to hang out. She went to The Rainbow and recognized Kim Fowley. She went up to him and said, “I’m Sandy. I play drums in bands with guys, but I want to form my own girl band.” This was completely separate from my conversation with him. Sandy and I didn’t know each other at all. Kim told her, “I just met a girl that says she plays guitar and wants to form a girl band.” He gave Sandy my number and we got in touch. I took four buses to Huntington Beach with my guitar and my leather jacket. Sandy and I set up in a rec room and just played rock n’ roll. We called Kim on the phone and said, “Listen to this.” We played a few bars of something, and he said, “It sounds great. Let’s do it.” So the three of us, Kim, Sandy and I started auditioning girls to form The Runaways. That’s how we started.

You guys were huge in Japan.
Yeah. We were huge, like the Beatles. It was all very unexpected. Nobody told us that we were well thought of there. We went through a lot of shit in America and a lot of shit in England, too. Although they were a little more receptive and a little more understanding in England, we still took a lot of shit. But when we got to Japan, it was literally like we were The Beatles, but it was all girls that were fans. In America and Europe, it was mostly guys, yelling, “Take off your clothes!” In Japan, where women are really thought of as second class citizens, thousands of girls were chasing us down the street with hairbrushes, saying, “Brush your hair.” They didn’t want to be rude and pull your hair, so they’d give you a brush so that you could brush your hair.

So that they could have the hair in the brush as a souvenir.
Exactly. It was just incredible. So we were really big in Japan and really big in Scandinavia. It was the same thing in Scandinavia. It was all girls.

Really? That’s wild.
Yeah. There were boys too, but it was overwhelmingly more girls that we saw. When we got off the plane, it was all girls, standing there sucking on real pacifiers. It must have been a fad.

I bet.
Yeah.

Did you even expect that kind of reaction when you were first going to Japan and Scandinavia?
No. We didn’t. We had no idea what to expect. We were probably expecting the same sort of receptions we were getting elsewhere. It was somewhat receptive, but mostly it was people yelling derogatory things. But that wasn’t the case in Japan and Scandinavia. The people in Japan and Scandinavia were very great to us.

What about dealing with dudes in guy bands when you would play? Were they receptive? Or were they dicks?
There were a lot of dicks. There were some people that were receptive. A lot of people thought that it was cute, and kind of funny, but there were definitely bands that had a problem with us. One band that took us under their wing right away was Motorhead. The first time we went to England, Lemmy came over and gave me his bullet belt to wear. I thought he was giving it to me, but he took it back at the end of the show.

[Laughs.]
It was really cute, because here were these big tough biker guys that liked us. We did shows with them. It was really awesome. Then there were guys like Rush that gave us shit. But then you have to say, “Yeah, but they’re Rush.”

Right. There’s no comparison.
Rush. The Runways. Rush. The Runaways. I’ll take the Runaways any day.

So a lot of the guys gave you a hard time?
There were plenty of guys that gave us shit and were very nasty. That certainly carried on past The Runaways and into my own thing. I had bands say, “I can’t believe I have to share the stage with a bitch.”

What the fuck is that about? They’re just uptight and jealous.
It’s some weird testosterone thing. I don’t understand why they feel so threatened. I find it really interesting, as a social question about our society. What is it that gets some people so bent out of shape? They’re so locked into these roles that women have to be subservient and they can’t just own their own selves. I think with rock n’ roll, just the words “rock n’ roll” imply sexuality. They wouldn’t show Elvis from the waist down. Chuck Berry was thought of as someone who was going to come and take your 14 year old away. Rock n’ roll was always thought of as a very sexual medium. I think when a girl says she’s going to play rock n’ roll, she’s declaring that she’s owning her sexuality and telling you what she’s going to do with it and not the other way around. Some people find that really threatening.

Do you still get that nowadays?
Yeah. I just felt it super recently. I’m sure things are still said. It’s still out there. One of the Molly Hatchet guys said something about it not too long ago. I think people are more receptive now, though.

It still seems like men are a bunch of dicks.
I guess there will always be a certain segment that will never change. It’s like the 34% that still think Bush is doing a good job. That’s never going to change. There’s always the 34% that’s going to stay there, regardless of what he does. It’s the same with anything.

Yeah. I just wonder when humanity is going to set in and people will realize that it’s all good.
I’m coming to realize that I don’t think it’s ever going to happen.

No. It’s sad.
You just do what you can do while you can do it and that’s the best you can do. I think it’s all about moments now.

Right on. So The Runaways had their success. Why did you guys break up?
I think it all really came down to musical differences. A couple of the girls wanted to go in a heavier direction and I wanted to stay with mainstream rock n’ roll and punk rock. I was like, “Okay. Let’s just say goodbye.” So we broke up in 1979.

So you got to see the whole punk rock thing in England?
Yeah. I did. I left America in platforms and glitter, and came back all punked-out. I got to see the Clash early on, when people in America were just reading about them. I remember the people in LA were really excited, because we were the first people on the block to get to England and see what was going on. I went out and saw The Clash play on the first album. There were 2000 kids all jumping up in the air at the same time, which we had never experienced or even thought about in America. This was when they still called it pogoing. It was so overwhelming. It was just incredible. It was so powerful. It felt really good to see that and come back to the States and try to just carry that on.

Who were your influences then? Who turned you on in the whole punk scene?
I think it was everyone that came through that scene. Musically and emotionally, I was attached to The Ramones, and the Sex Pistols, definitely. I loved The Clash. My influences though… I think, early on, I was still influenced by a lot of the glitter stuff musically, but I found a lot of the punk rock structure to be very similar.

Yeah. I think it is. It’s just a little more simplified.
It’s the same with the bubblegum, too, like you were saying. It’s three chords with something hooky. As time moved on, X was a big influence. I must have seen X a billion times when I was in LA.

Likewise. I was 16, when I went to see X at Club 88 and the Other Masque.
You know what was a great show that I saw a million times? Devo.

Oh, yeah. Devo was amazing.
Devo were so radical when they came through in ‘76 and ‘77. They’d dress kind of nerdy and do all this crazy stuff. They’d beat the shit out of the keyboards and sweat all over the place. It was so dirty. I thought Devo were great.

I saw them in their little cowboy outfits up at the Mab’ in San Francisco, when I was young. It was like, “Whoa.”
It was good stuff. Then there were The Replacements and Social Distortion, and all the Dischord people. I just love what they do. I loved Minor Threat and Fugazi and that whole scene. That was pretty much where I lived, and still live.

I know it well. Did you hang out with Darby Crash and all those cats?
Yes, I did. I lived right across from the Whiskey. There’s a gas station across the street on the south side of Sunset. Right behind that gas station is a little two-story apartment building. I lived in the front apartment that walks right out onto the street. That was my place. Everybody came to my house to party before the concerts, because nobody could drink in the clubs. There was always a perpetual party going on there. I met Darby and those guys because they were fans of the Runaways. They used to come and hang out outside the studio and talk to me about forming a band. Once they did, I helped them.

You produced one of the Germs records right?
Yeah. I produced “GI”.

What a great record. I have to give it up to you. There was a lot of stuff going on, but when you hear the quality of that record, it seemed like there was a separation of productive value compared to some of the other stuff.
Well, you know what? There was a great engineer. I don’t remember his name, but he was great. We only had four days in there, and I was taking it really seriously. We were all pretty whacked out at the time, but I remember being really serious about it. We got the basic tracks done and then we did things that I’d learned with The Runaways, like doubling guitars and doubling vocals that added to the sound quality of the record. The band played great. We were all really serious for a few days and then I think on the last day I happened to fall asleep on the couch, which Darby epitomized in “Shut Down”, where he talks about me sleeping on the couch, but for most of it, I was right there.

[Laughs.] I saw the Germs the same amount of times I saw X and F-Word back then. We were the youngest kids there and they really didn’t dig us. They were like, “Oh, great. Some kids from Huntington Beach and Long Beach that are rowdy as fuck.”
People didn’t like you? Why?

We weren’t part of the nomad society. We were skater/surfer kids that just dug the energy. Brendan Mullen, the owner of The Masque of all people, would always say, “Get out. You can’t come in my club. You don’t belong here.” Then I became friends with Brendan. I was like, “Why can’t we come here? I have an ID that says I’m 21.”
That’s weird. I don’t really remember that happening to the young kids. You’d think they’d be embraced.

I did too, but it seemed there was a separation of, “You don’t belong here because you’re not from our city.” I remember it with X and a lot of those people. They were like, “You don’t belong here.” We were like, “Whatever. We’re still going to hang out because we dig what you’re doing.”
It was elitism.

Yeah. It was complete elitism. It was frightening and bizarre. I thought, “Wow. It’s kind of going against what I thought it all was about.” Who knows? I don’t care any more. I just thought it was bizarre.
Yeah. I hear stories like that, and I listen, and I think that you always have to make sure you never do that shit. With all the pressure and bullshit all around, it’s really easy sometimes to make people feel unwelcome. It’s important, especially when you’re trying to play music and connect with people to make sure that they do feel welcome. That’s who you’re trying to talk to, so it doesn’t make sense to try and ace them out.

Yeah. So how did you get the Blackhearts going and all that?
You knew Gary Ryan, right?

Yeah, the bass player Gary.
Right. He was Lorna Doom’s boyfriend.

That’s who I knew back then, through Gerber.
Well, let’s see. First, I met Kenny. I met him to write songs for a project. The Runaways had signed a contract for some movie. We were supposed to write music for this movie, but since I was really the only songwriter, I was the one under contract and I was the one with the most to lose if I broke the contract. So my manager at the time, called Kenny. I guess he knew Kenny from the past. He asked if Kenny would come out and write some songs with me. We needed eight songs in three days. So Kenny came out and met with me and we wrote a bunch of songs. We hit it off really well. He was able to see all the adversity that I was up against. People were giving me shit just because I was a girl and for no other reason.

Didn’t that piss you off?
Yeah. It pissed me off, big time. That’s what fires me up. Some people would tell me that I could do anything and then some people were telling me that I couldn’t play guitar in a rock n’ roll band. Girls play cellos and violins in symphony orchestras. Girls play Bach and Beethoven. You’re telling me a girl can’t play rock n’ roll? It’s not even about that. It’s a social thing. It’s not about capability. I think once Kenny saw that shit, he became really bonded to me. We became friends and songwriting partners and then I asked him to produce these songs we wrote together, and he did. Nobody wanted to deal with me on a management level, stemming from all that Runaways stuff. They were like, “She’s not talented. She’s got nothing.” So Kenny got stuck managing me. I specifically said that I wanted to form another band, but I didn’t want it to be girls, because I didn’t want all that judgment that comes along with it. I didn’t want to make another Runaways band. So we separated from that. I don’t remember if we auditioned people, or what, but it all came together. Then I had to move to New York, because when you’re a band with no money in LA, how many places can you go and still get home that night? There’s Riverside and Orange County and San Diego. But how many places can you play and still get home without spending money for a hotel? In New York, you’ve got Connecticut, you’ve got upstate, you’ve got New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Long Island, and you can still get home in one night. You have a wide area of places that you can cover, so we thought we could build the audience better. I wanted to get out of LA, because I didn’t like the energy. Everyone was laughing and going, “We told you it wouldn’t work.” I just wanted to get away from that energy and start fresh. So I came to New York and started anew.

Right. You’ve come a long way, baby. Let’s talk about the new record. I’ve got to tell you that the “ACDC” video with Carmen Electra and that song, I