For nearly thirty-five years now, it's been impossible to mention the guitar without thinking of this very special lady. Shredding gender boundaries as gracefully as she shreds guitar licks on Electric Mayhem hits like "Can You Picture That?" and "Night Life," Janice has earned herself a place in the pantheon of rock royalty. Labels like "pioneer" and "trailblazer" do too little justice to the achievements of this remarkable woman, who took a cheap guitar and a dream all the way to the top of the charts. She joined Electric Mayhem in the late 60s after performing for a few years as a solo artist in local clubs. "I was just, like, listening to Joan Baez and copying her as best I could," she says. In time, Janice's own unique, harder sound began to develop. Her creative use of distortion and feedback brought her to the attention of acid-rock pioneer Dr. Teeth, who invited her join his new band. With Janice's arrival, Electric Mayhem went to another level of artistic experimentation, and soon they graduated from small bars to larger venues.
This led to their discovery by Kermit the Frog and his aid in getting them a Standard Rich and Famous Contract. By the mid 70s, they were bringing their unique blues/rock sound to The Muppet Show every week, and their 1978 US Tour outsold KISS 2-1. Still, Electric Mayhem has certainly had their ups and downs over the years. They were reduced to squalid living conditions after the failure of their London tour--a subsequent tour a few years later was warmly received--and even gave up on the dream for a few months when a foray into Broadway theater met with disastrous results. Still, with Janice at the wheel the band has persevered, and today they have earned their status as legends of rock.
Tragically, Janice's talent has always been overshadowed by the tabloid scandals that have dogged her since she first arrived on the music scene. Her highly publicized relationship with Electric Mayhem saxophonist Zoot ended in calamity when he learned from a tabloid story that she was carrying on an affair with bassist Floyd Pepper. Despite the noisy gossip and hateful rumors that dogged them in their early years, Janice and Floyd have proven themselves true rock and role survivors--their relationship has now lasted over thirty years.
Then there was Janice's very public and very passionate endorsement of hallucinogenic drugs in the late 70s. While other celebrities, hypocritically or not, were making anti-drug PSAs and carrying on the appearance of upstanding citizens, Janice, speaking on behalf of the entire band, angrily told a reporter that without marijuana or LSD "Electric Mayhem would still be playing in bars between Florida and Hollywood" and "Maybe if more kids tried drugs, there would be, like, more hit records in the world." Though Janice has since backed away from these comments as "like, the arrogant ramblings of a young Muppet who was just, like, getting her first taste of stardom" they have haunted her ever since, causing continued strains with more "family friendly" retailers like Wal-Mart.
But no matter what the papers liked to harp on, Electric Mayhem was never about drugs or the member's personal lives. They were about the music. Even Dr. Teeth himself has long acknowledged Janice as the driving force behind the band's music. Though she sings lead on only two songs (covers of "Rockin Robin" and "With a Little Help From my Friends") her presence is felt on every record. Never given to flashy, self-indulgent solos, Janice always saw the role of guitarist as "bringing out, like, the feeling of music"--a statement as ambiguous and multi-layered as Janice herself.
The future looks bright for this rock legend. She is heading back into the studio with Electric Mayhem in early 2010 for a new album, and it is rumored that she will be the next rock star to get the Hollywood biopic treatment in an elaborate "music video motion picture" said to star Laura Prepon of That 70s Show fame.
Whatever the future holds, Janice and her music will continue to inspire young musicians just starting out on the path to stardom. The star, for her part, seems to accept and even embrace her role as an inspiration to women everywhere: "Every time a young girl picks up a guitar instead of a Barbie, I feel like I've, like, made the world a better place."
You can't argue with that.
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