The Daily Orange: In May you did a meet-and-greet with members of the Pentagon due to your support of the armed forces. Why is that so important to you?

Joan Jett: Going to meeting the troops is something I’ve done for years and years. It’s something I never spoken to the press about necessarily, because to me, it’s not a press issue. It’s something between me and them. But people are interested it in these times, so I’m talking about it. Really, a lot of them are music fans, and they need the moral boost a lot of the time. Depending on what is needed at the time and my availability, I do different things. Most of the time I like to go to different parts of the world and perform for the troops. It’s really a way to give back because it’s important.

DO: Have you ever been to Syracuse?

JJ: I love it. And they love the rock and roll, so it’s exciting to play there.

DO: We have a really great music school at Syracuse University. Any advice for people trying to break into the business?

JJ: Don’t expect it to be as easy as ‘American Idol’ or reality TV makes you believe; it’s really hard work. You take a lot of hits to your self-esteem, so that has to be expected. But if you’ve got a dream to work in this business it’s important that you go for it. Because if you don’t, you’ll regret it. And if you give it a shot and you don’t make it, at least you tried.

DO: You seem to have this recent resurgence of being trendy again. People of generations who did not grow up with your music are getting into it. Why do you think that is?

JJ: I’m the wrong person to ask. I’m the last person to know. I go out and play all the time and I do what I do, and I don’t think about being trendy or not. I try to put out good music and have a good relationship with my fans. I just went out and did the Warped Tour, so I guess that keeps you relevant and timely.

DO: What makes this new album, ‘Sinner,’ different than all the rest?

JJ: I don’t think anything makes it different. Pretty much it’s what people expect from our band. Straight up rock and roll. I guess what is different is some of the subject matter. I touch on politics and a little bit of spirituality- that’s different.

DO: Carmen Electra has stated that she’s had a crush on you since the age of 8, and then she was in your last music video. Where did that come from?

JJ: I got a chance to meet her. We both were doing a show in the same city, so we had a chance to meet. I’ve seen all the things in magazines about the crush. She’s very down to earth, unaffected by her fame, and it was the same time we were writing the treatment for ‘A.C.D.C.,’ and we thought it would be great to have someone like her in the video.

DO: What is a blackheart?

JJ: Blackheart is a loner, someone who goes their own way.

DO: Why does that appeal to you?

JJ: Really a heart is easy to draw on a bathroom wall, easy to draw with a Sharpie, really quick when you are on the road, so at the time that was a requirement. (laughs) But also, a blackheart is Jamaican slang for a loner, and I thought that fit me perfectly. I’m pretty social, but I’m fine being alone. I think I go my own way, and I don’t follow a lot of rules or society’s rules, and how they set them out for women to do what they can do, what they can be.

Published on August 30, 2006 at 12:00 pm