MARTIN —
Though she’s 51, Joan Jett can still be a “Cherry Bomb.”
Did you see her and the Blackhearts tear through “Bad Reputation” in classic punk rock style on “Late Night with David Letterman” last March?
It was like a preemptive strike against the image of her as a cute teen star Kristen Stewart, who played Jett in “The Runaways,” released in April.
Jett, who was not made available for an interview, still snarls while rocking and wearing skin-tight leather, though she’s a grandma’s age — it’s obvious she really doesn’t give a damn about her bad reputation.
Which is the perfect attitude for
.
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts will play the opening night of the fest July 22, at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Martin.
Larry “LD” Davidson, head of Otsego’s Davidson Express motorcycle shop and organizer of Chopper Fest, had been looking for a big musical act that would fit with the biker culture.
Jett just happened to be in the area on her summer tour.
“She was somebody that fit our program,” Davidson said. “I know it’s going to be our biggest show ever.”
Last year’s Chopper Fest had 5,200 people over four days, including a rained-out Saturday.
Then, “Thursday was totally off the hook,” he said, so to guarantee that this year, Davidson has made the Jett concert free.
There will be a $15 fee for parking. He pointed out, “It’s $15 per car, so if you pull up with four people in, that’s $15.”
And yes, you don’t have to be on a chopper to get in.
“Our crowd’s a mixed crowd. You don’t have to have a bike to come out,” Davidson said.
Joan Jett’s Bad Reputation
Born:
Joan Marie Larkin, Wynnewood, Penn., Sept. 22, 1958
Glam-rock:
When she was a teen, her family moved to suburban Los Angeles, where she learned guitar and idolized female rocker Suzi Quatro, of Detroit. She was also a fan of the hard-edged, sexually androgynous glam-rock, and hung out at L.A. clubs.
The Runaways:
At 15, Jett was already playing in an all-female band. Record producer and infamous sengali Kim Fowley discovered them in 1975, and renamed the teens The Runaways. Their self-titled 1976 debut was a hit, but with teen girls doing sexually-charged songs, the act was accused of being exploitive. Jett had some hand in this image, at least in the suggestive song “Cherry Bomb.” When Cherie Currie auditioned to be lead singer, Jett and Fowley wrote the song on the spot for her to sing, according to her official site
.
Blackheart:
The Runaways became bigger in Japan than in the U.S., and Jett took over leadership as the band disintegrated in 1978. Jett went solo in ’79, and recorded punk-influenced album, “Bad Reputation,” in 1980. She formed the Blackhearts to do 1981’s “I Love Rock n’ Roll,” leading to hits including the title track and her cover of “Crimson and Clover.”
Riot Grrrl:
Jett’s career slowed in the late ’80s and into the ’90s. But every hard-rocking “riot grrl” of the ’90s, such as L7 and Bikini Kill, named her as their major influence. She did “Pure and Simple” in 1994, but after that Jett and the Blackhearts kept active performing, but not recording.
"Let's see Madonna pull this off:"
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts’ 2006 comeback, “Sinner,” had critics noting she was still more punk than punks decades younger. Of the Blackheart’s live tour that year, The New York Times wrote, “Let’s see Madonna pull this off: Ms. Jett arrived in a skimpy bikini top and black leather pants worn so low you could see her hipbones. Her tattooed arms were toned and sinewy; her face was girlish, as if she had just stepped out of the ‘Bad Reputation’ video. Her fitness regime probably involves airborne kicks and rooster strutting. ... she is the hard-rock Dorian Gray.”
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
What:
Chopper Fest, four-day celebration of the motorcycle culture
When:
July 22
Where:
U.S. 131 Motorsports Park, Martin
Time:
9:30 p.m. concert, fest open at noon
Cost:
Free with $15 parking fee
Contact:
269-694-9579,