FEATURED IN THIS ISSUE
1. THE STONE PONY INTERVIEW WITH THE EYELINERS
2. CALENDAR OF EVENTS
This Week at The Stone Pony: Skate and Surf Aftershow Party with The Dirty Water Dogs (Friday), Joan Jett and The Blackhearts (Saturday)
New on the Stone Pony Calendar: J.G.B. featuring Melvin Seals (April 23), Soozie Tyrell (April 30), Gavin DeGraw (May 8), The Stills (May 14), Nils Lofgren & Gary U.S. Bonds (May 30), The Great Bamboozle with G. Love, moe., Sonic Youth and more! (June 4-6), John Eddie (June 12), Dave Mason (June 19), Clarence Clemons Temple of Soul (July 3), David Allen Coe (July 16)
JOAN JETT RETURNS TO THE PONY STAGE WITH THE EYELINERS AT THE SKATE AND SURF 2004 AFTER PARTY
In what has become a yearly tradition, Joan Jett and The Blackhearts return to Asbury Park on Saturday evening, April 17. Jett began her career with the seminal Southern California teen group The Runaways in the late 1970s, and became known to even the most casual music fans when her hit "I Love Rock'N'Roll" spent seven weeks at #1 on the Billboard charts in 1982. Consistently performing and fostering new projects, including her own Blackheart Records label, Jett has been at the forefront of American culture and music for over twenty years. Returning to the Pony for what will surely be a memorable evening, the Blackhearts are currently supporting the new 2-DVD release "Real Wild Child: Joan Jett Video Anthology," featuring 35 music videos from throughout her groundbreaking career.
One of the latest additions to Jett's Blackheart Records are The Eyeliners, who are currently working on their Blackheart Records debut with Jett's long-time musical collaborator and producer, Kenny Laguna. The Eyeliners, comprised of sisters Gel on guitar, Lisa on bass and Laura at the drum kit, hail from New Mexico but play rocking punk that would put them at home in the fabled pits of New York, Detroit or Los Angeles. Having spent a couple of years working on material since the release of their last CD, The Eyeliners are clearly posed to take a huge career leap, and the new album should help take their music to the next level.
Somehow, the Newsletter caught up with the Eyeliners in between photo shoots and studio hopping to answer these questions about the new album and the advantages of sisterly songwriting teams. In their responses, the sisters told us how, when composing, they come up with ideas for choruses and bridges simultaneously. Apparently, it works the same way for interview questions, and all three contributed to their answers in this joint interview.
The Stone Pony: Let's start off with your childhoods growing up in Albuquerque, New Mexico. What was your first exposure to music, and how did you get your hands on your first instruments and start playing?
We grew up listening to rock n roll - Elvis, The Beatles, Little Richard, etc. Because that's what our parents listened to and we just naturally loved the rock n roll. Looking back, I think we always knew we wanted to play music. When we were real little, we would use the cardboard rolls from the paper towels as drum sticks, and we had this old guitar that was way outta tune that we used to bang on.
I didn't actually start playing guitar until I was about 13. Actually, Lisa and I started at the same time. Laura learned to play the drums just a few months before our first show.
The Stone Pony: Since Albuquerque isn't exactly known as a hub of the punk scene, how did you become familiar with the sound and who were some the early bands whose music you learned? Where were some of the first places that you played, and what sort of reaction did you receive?
We first got into punk through friends when we were teenagers. Lisa had friends that were older than her that introduced her to punk. From there, I would always hear her playing the stuff around the house, and I loved it. Laura's boyfriend at the time was also like a brother to me, so he always used to give me tapes of his favorite bands.
Some of the first punk songs we learned to play were by the Ramones, Stiff Little Fingers, Descendents, Op Ivy, etc. Our first shows were at our friends' house parties which was always a lot of fun. As far as our first real club shows, they were at clubs that don't even exist anymore - The Dingo Bar, Club 909, Golden West. We always got a good reaction, even though for some of our first shows we would just play to five people. We were the first all-girl punk band in town, so I think people were pretty stoked about that.
The Stone Pony: Some of your press talks about the "prestigious college degrees" that you've earned, but doesn't go into specifics. What degrees do you have, and what schools did you earn them at? What were your original plans as far as career goals, and how did you end up pursuing a musical career?
Lisa got her degree in Computer Science, Laura got her degree in Elementary Education. We started the band when I was in high school and I went to college for a year before I decided to drop out and focus on the band. All three of us went to the University of New Mexico. It was all our plans to go to college and get jobs. We all got scholarships so that we would be able to go to college. Once we started the band, though, it was way too exciting and we were having way too much fun, that we knew that the band was what we wanted to do without a doubt. We figured we could have regular jobs once we get old, and this was the time to be in a band.
The Stone Pony: Jump ahead to the big news these days, that your next album is going to be produced by Joan Jett's legendary producer, Kenny Laguna. How long were you in discussions on who would be involved with the next record, and what were some of the factors that led you to decide that you wanted to work with Joan and Kenny?
We're very excited to be working with both Kenny and Joan. We had been bouncing around different ideas of who to work with for our next album, and we had some really great people that were interested in working with us, but when the opportunity to work with Kenny and Joan came up, we knew immediately that was what we wanted to do! They just have the same vision as we do for The Eyeliners so it's a perfect match.
The Stone Pony: The album is going to be recorded in New York City. What studio will the production take place at, and what is the schedule for when you'll be there and how much time will be set aside for recording? What are your expectations for your time in New York, and how do you expect this experience to differ from your past recording experiences?
Well, we're bouncing around between a few different studios, which is amazing. You can really create different sounds at each studio and also you get a different energy and vibe at different studios, so that's been way cool. Recording this album will definitely be the longest that we've ever spent recording an album. For this session, we're doing eight songs in three and a half weeks, then we will be making another trip to NYC to finish recording the remaining seven songs.
The recording process is going to vary in many different ways. The length of time we spend in the studio alone will make a drastic change. The longest we've ever spent in a studio before was 10 days and that included mixing. When all is said and done with this album, we will probably spend close to two months in the studio.
Working with Kenny has been incredible, his track history is amazing. Plus, having Joan play and sing on some tracks on the album just blows my mind. And all together, just being in NYC gives us a new found energy to bring into the recording process.
The Stone Pony: Do you have a working title for the next album, or any idea of when it will be released? How about distribution? Will it be coming out on Joan's Blackheart Records label, Lookout! Records, or is that still being worked out?
We do have a working title that we are pretty sure we are gonna go with, but I don't want to say anything just yet. It should be released around Fall 2004 and it's going to be released on Blackheart Records because they unequivocally seemed like the best label for us. Everyone at that label is so amazing to work with, and they all believe in us so much. It's great to have that kind of support behind you.
The Stone Pony: You've announced that you'll be recording 14 songs for the new CD. Are these songs that you've been performing live, and are there any songs that fans will already be familiar with?
We have been playing some of the songs out live since our fall tour 2003.
The Stone Pony: It's been over two years since your last album, "Sealed With A Kiss," was released. How would you say your songwriting has developed in that time and is there anything you're consciously looking to do differently from past releases?
Our songwriting has progressed so much in the time that has elapsed between records. Also, we intentionally took more time between records specifically so that we could take more time writing songs. In the past, we had never really spent as much time songwriting as we would have liked.
I have to say, with this record we did make the conscious decision that we wanted to break any musical stereotypes that have been made about us in the past because a lot of times we've been labeled as something we weren't or that we weren't limited to. There have been a lot of people that got what we were doing, but many times I think people didn't really get what we were about so we really challenged ourselves musically and broke away from some things that we had done in the past.
The Stone Pony: Speaking of your songwriting, how does it usually work within in the group? Who tends to come up with ideas for songs, and how do you normally work through the song, figure out everyone's parts and finally settle on something that's worth adding to your set? How does being sisters affect the whole process? Do you find that you always get along, or do you tend to argue things out?
We always write songs as a group. There are times when Gel or Lisa will come to the group with music they've been working on or I'll have an idea for a melody, but the entire song will always be worked out and completed as a group. Other times we'll be practicing and someone will get an idea and we'll all jump in and the song just progresses. This is when the fact that we're sisters comes into play because we really have a chemistry when it comes to songwriting. We're always on the same wavelength and get ideas for choruses or bridges simultaneously. It's cool.
The Stone Pony: Your first 7" was released in 1997, so you've already had quite a career and now are poised for an exciting new chapter. How have your attitudes towards the music business changed over the last seven years, and are there any lessons you've learned the hard way that you feel will benefit you as your career continues to develop?
Well, I think we had a very naive outlook on what all was involved in this business because we didn't know anyone in bands or that had been involved in the business. We just wanted to play music. We were entering into foreign territory. So there were a lot of lessons to learn but we learned a lot really quick and a lot of lessons were learned the hard way.
The Stone Pony: Looking past the recording of the new record, what's the does your future look like, and what goals are you setting for yourselves in the long term? Do you see the music industry coming back around to embrace punk rock and where do you think the Eyeliners' sound will progress in the years ahead?
Well, you never know what the future holds, so we'll just roll with it like we've been doing. So our goals that we started with remain the same: to make music we love and as long as we continue to have fun and grow and progress as a band. And, if we happen to take over the world with this record in doing so, then so be it!
The Eyeliners' official website can be found at www.TheEyeliners.com. The Joan Jett and The Blackhearts website is located at www.joanjett.com.
Now at AsburyPark.net:
Governor celebrates state OK:
Revitalization of the city's waterfront is "the right kind of
redevelopment," Gov. McGreevey said as he visited Asbury Park to spotlight
the state's fast-tracked approval of a key application.
Thursdays at the Stone Pony: Ladies Night
The hottest Thursday night continues with Ladies Night
at The Stone Pony. Music by DJ Prime spinning the best in house, hip
hop, reggae and trance, 18 to enter, 21 to drink, ID a must! Doors
open at 9:30 pm, dress to impress! 25 cent Budweiser drafts 'till 11
pm, $1 drafts after 11, $2 shot specials all night. Comes see for
yourself why Thursday nights are the hottest with Ladies Night at the Pony!
