Well, I love her. But it wasn't always so. In high school I couldn't understand what the hell that noise was coming out of her mouth and why, why, why would anyone want to record it...??? Then I hit college... and post college... and life... which I didn't control myself but instead I allowed
to control ME for a time. When I next heard Janis and started reading a bit
about her I suddenly understood. Her addictions controlled her, her past
pain controlled her, and she never got a grip on that fact before it was too
late. Music was the only thing she COULD control and she was putting her soul
right out there whether it was pretty or not. The story of Janis' life was a
stark message to me to not only get a grip on my own demons but to never fear
putting my soul on the line in my music or performances, regardless of whether people find it aesthetically pleasing...for only then can I ever be considered as great an artist, inspiration or teacher as Janis.
- Darci Monet
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Darci Monet, Los Angeles
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Janet Bilenky, Philadelphia
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Janis is the only white female influence on my music and singing... I don't know how to begin to put into words the profound effect she's had on me... I get compared to all different people, most of whom I've never even heard, but last night after a gig an older black guy came over and said, "You remind me of Janis Joplin, she took black music into herself and made it her own"... I hang my head in humility - I know I don't sound like her, but I do try for her freedom and abandon and I'm not afraid to sound (and look) ugly...
- Janet Bilenky
Gosh...Janis! I read one of the books written about Janis when I was younger and was blown left and then right. First of all my heart was wrenched from my chest when I read she was voted 'The Ugliest Man on Campus' during her college years. Then my heart was boxed back up when according to this book, a man that loved her very much and really tried to help her get clean from heroin was not taken seriously by Janis - she was too far gone. Deeply insecure and pretty unreachable from so many years of substance abuse. There will never be another Janis. Never.
- Christina Fasano
Christina Fasano, alias the Funky White Girl, is funking up the 21st Century.
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Christina Fasano, the Funky White Girl, Los Angeles
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Erica Smith, New York City
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Janis was at the top of her art because she could not fake it. The kind of music she sang demands that the singer yield to it completely, otherwise it just won't fly. Think of her back in Austin, even when she was doing folk, singing a song like 'Hangman, Hangman' and blowing a hole through the roof. So much of her music carried generations of woe; even the contemporary songs had that knowing quality. And Janis could channel it, she knew what songs like that are made of.
- Erica Smith
Erica Smith is a folk singer based in New York City. You can read an extensive interview with her at Newbeats.
Janis Joplin is a big influence in my life and in my music. I feel some sort of connection with her when I hear her music, clear down to my gut.
- Jessie Payo, Jessie and the Raindogs
Jessie Payo is a teenage blues vocalist. Her song, 'Soul Child,' is about Janis. It held the #1 position on the MP3.com Blues Vocalist Charts for four straight months in 1999.
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Jessie Payo, Los Angeles
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