Joan Jett was the dark rock ’n’ roll heart of The Runaways, the band she formed with the help of svengali Kim Fowley when she was 16. Now 52, she’s the patron saint of riot grrrls everywhere, having kick-started a women-in-rock revolution with a single power chord. EYE WEEKLY spoke to the icon about Floria Sigismondi's new Runaways biopic, her relationship with her bandmates and teaching star Kristen Stewart how to "fuck her guitar."
Has it been an emotional experience watching your story unfold onscreen with a bunch of people who are seeing this very dramatized version of your own life?
It’s been really surreal, in a pleasant way, you know? There were a couple of moments that I got emotional — not during the movie, but talking to people afterwards, to people who saw it that knew me then. It's most interesting to speak to people who really knew me well and hear what they thought. And they really believed Kristen [Stewart] as me, so that’s impressive when it’s coming from Pat Smear of The Germs, who was a friend of mine — I produced their record for them, many years ago.
Have other members of The Runaways come to the premieres as well?
Well, Cherie [Currie, whose autobiography the film is based on] was obviously there. Sandy West has passed away. But you know, [Sandy's] family came, some of her sisters, so they felt Sandy would’ve been really happy and that she was there in spirit. You know that’s really kind of bittersweet for me because Sandy would’ve really wanted this to happen, and I really wish she was here to see it. She’s the one I started this whole thing with, and she would be so excited to see our music out there again. And just… [continue] the mission to to let girls know that it was OK to try different things. And not just music, any walk of life — try not to be afraid. Or even if you’re afraid to just jump into it.
Absolutely. That was one of the most striking things for me when I saw the film, I loved it and it made me instantly want to start a band.
[Laughs] Well, that’s great! That’s amazing! I think it’s inspiring, you know. it’s something you can do with your hands and it’s fun. And you can make some noise and you can get your feelings out and it’s social, because you’re with other people. To me, one of the best things is playing live. There’s nothing better. I like to play in big places — it’s been cool to see all those people out there — but really, if I had my choice, I’d much rather play a small club. You know, where people are right up against the stage, and the stage is tiny and everyone is smushed together. I like that. Maybe it’s because I’m used to it. It’s where I’m comfortable and I like to sweat. So anyway… go form a band! You should do it, too!
You’ve been quoted as saying that in rock n’ roll you own your own sexuality. Like, pop music is about "you can do what you want to me," but rock music is all about “I’m going to do what I want to you.” How do you think that relates to Kristen’s depiction of you? It’s a very sexualized performance.
You think?
Yeah, I think so…
OK, it’s good that you get that from her — that part of the thing resonates with the teenagers that are seeing it. I just felt that as a kid, when I was there, that people don’t respect the fact that kids feel these things. They expect them to just bottle it up and that it’s super easy, and that there’s a real easy solution to all this. Just do this, or just handle it this way, or just bottle it up until you’re 18 or until you’re 21 and then we don’t have to be responsible for you. Kids feel these things and people are searching and people experiment. It’s very natural for kids to be all over the place. And I think that, you know, certainly I was too. And I think Kristen did a great job of embodying that. I always told her that the guitar is very sexual, that when I play the guitar and the pickup where the sound comes from a guitar, you know… where the strings come over a guitar it’s a pickup… do you know what’s a pickup?
Yeah.
So my pickup is right on my pubic bone, it sits right there. So, sometimes, when it’s sitting just right... I’m not saying it’s a vibrator, but when you hit it right, it courses through your body in a way, that I guess is probably similar to sports, like a sports rush. Or just straight-up sexual. It’s not straight-up horny.
Right. You don’t rock it as a vibrator.
JJ: It’s not that, it’s not that. It’s more of a super powerful feeling but it is definitely connected to your genitals, for sure. So for Kristen, I knew she was having to think about this a lot. And I know they didn’t have a lot of time to learn things, so she’s thinking about you know, where to stand or the lyrics, or whatever. And if I thought she needed a little encouragement, I would yell, “Kristen — push it to the wood! Fuck your guitar!”
Really?
Yeah. And I didn’t even know I had said this, I heard it from her. She said it in an interview that she did at Sundance, and it’s really about, when you’re standing there, the wood should be right against ya. And so that’s the way I was teaching it — that’s who I am. You’ll feel it when you’re playing, you won’t have to think. You know what I mean? It helps you not to think — you don’t want to be thinking. You just want to be doing. If you think, you’ll fuck up.
Yeah exactly. It’s like a sensory experience. Do you feel like there’s an element of a love story in this movie between you and Cherie?
No, I don’t. At all. I just don’t see it. Teally, I had a love story between all the girls, really. I loved what we were doing, and I loved them certainly as friends. But there was no romance involved in this; it was more friendship and support that we were doing something that we felt was important. And just being supportive as a friend, I thought I was being loving — if you want to put it that way.
Do you think the lesbian sex scenes between Kristen and Dakota [Fanning] are going to overshadow the importance of the music in the film?
Well, I guess it’s titillating, so people go there. But to over-focus on it, or interpret it, um, as sort of a love story… I don’t see it. I just see it coming off as a thing that happened, you know? Cherie’s character is also making out with a guy, right there, so if anything… Yeah, I think it can get too much attention but, really, at this point, it’s there, so what am I going to do about it? Just keep trying to redirect it to the music. I mean, I always spoke about the music. These things that come up in the film were groomed from other sources, and not from me.
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