Joan Jett

CHICAGO – With a healthy dose of attitude, a dynamite lead singer and a predilection for time-honored rock ‘n’ roll, “Evol Walks” is a band that has rapidly emerged as a heavyweight contender. Now based in Los Angeles, Evol Walks has produced an EP, earned plaudits from artists and fans around the world, and played across three continents. The band’s hard edge takes its inspiration from the giants of heavy music, from roots in AC/DC and Black Sabbath, as well as Led Zeppelin, Joan Jett, Stone Sour and Monster Magnet, plus gives it a modern tweak.

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Lita Ford, lead guitarist of The Runaways.

CHICAGO – There are rock stars, and then there are the women of “The Runaways.” The girl group that spawned Joan Jett was also notable for proving that punk rock was not just reserved for dudes. Lita Ford, the lead guitarist, has just written a memoir of those heady days – “Living Like a Runaway” – and appeared recently at North Central College in Naperville, Ill., at an event sponsored by Anderson’s Bookshop.

CHICAGO – There’s a great moment early on in “The Runaways” where fifteen-year-old Cherie Currie lip-syncs to Davie Bowie’s “Lady Grinning Soul” at a high school talent show. Her hardened baby face defiantly stares into the crowd, as her peers accompany the performance with catcalls. Yet instead of dissolving into a puddle of girlish tears, Currie flips off the surrounding student body. She clearly doesn’t give a d—n about her bad reputation.

CHICAGO – Joan Jett rocks and her 1975 roots are on display in a movie bio about her first band, “The Runaways.” Kristen Stewart portrays Jett and Dakota Fanning takes on the band’s troubled lead singer, Cherie Currie.