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Jane's Addiction

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Jane's Addiction

Jane's Addiction was an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985. For most of its career, the band comprised vocalist Perry Farrell, bassist Eric Avery, guitarist Dave Navarro and drummer Stephen Perkins. After breaking up in 1991, Jane's Addiction briefly toured in 1997, reunited in 2001 and then parted in 2004. The band's varied musical style was influenced by punk, heavy metal, gothic rock and psychedelic rock.

Jane's Addiction was one of the first of the burgeoning alternative rock movement to gain mainstream media attention and commercial success in the United States. Their initial farewell tour launched the first Lollapalooza festival, an annual touring alternative rock showcase. As a result, Jane's Addiction became icons of what Farrell dubbed the "Alternative Nation" during the 1990s.[1]

History

Formation

Jane's Addiction formed out of the ashes of frontman Perry Farrell's previous band, Psi-com. In the summer of 1985, Farrell was searching for a new bass player for the faltering Psi-com when he was introduced to Eric Avery. Farrell and Avery bonded over a mutual appreciation for Joy Division and The Velvet Underground and began to practice together, even though Avery never did become a full-fledged member of Farrell's disintegrating group.[2] Later, Eric's sister introduced the duo to Stephen Perkins, whom she was dating at the time.[3] Perkins in turn suggested that his friend (and Dizastre bandmate) Dave Navarro might be a suitable guitar player for the new band, dubbed "Jane's Addiction" in honor of Farrell's housemate, Jane Bainter, who was heavily addicted to drugs.[4]

Success

The band became a sensation on the Los Angeles club scene, primarily headlining at Scream. They soon gained interest from a variety of record labels. While they had decided to sign with Warner Bros. Records, the band insisted on releasing their debut on an independent record label first. The first record, Jane's Addiction, was a live recording with heavy overdubs released on Triple X Records. Their major label debut Nothing's Shocking was released in 1988. The band was nominated for the inaugural Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance Vocal or Instrumental the following year.

The band's full breakthrough came with the release of Ritual de lo Habitual in 1990 which also was certified Gold. The singles "Stop!" and "Been Caught Stealing" topped the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and the video for the latter song won the first MTV Video Music Award for Best Alternative Video. Also that year Perry Farrell organized the first Lollapalooza festival, featuring Jane's Addiction as the headliners with Butthole Surfers, Nine Inch Nails, Siouxsie & the Banshees, Rollins Band, Living Colour, and Ice-T. However, tensions had emerged in the band and soon it became clear that Lollapalooza was to be the band's farewell tour.

The "Ripple" single that the band produced for the Grateful Dead tribute album Deadicated was the final studio track for this incarnation of the band. Internal strife, especially between Farrell and Avery, and rampant drug usage led the band to break up in 1991 after playing two nights at Hawaii's Aloha Tower concert facility (an event which included Farrell and Perkins performing part of the final show completely naked).

Separate paths

The band members pursued other projects in the 1990s. Farrell and Perkins formed another band, Porno for Pyros, who had some success with their two albums, Porno For Pyros (1993) and Good God's Urge (1996); meanwhile, Avery and Navarro formed Deconstruction and put out a self-titled one-off album in 1994. Since then, Dave Navarro has been seen in a host of different bands and cameos, including Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill, Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, and most notably the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 1995 and 1996.

In 1995 Perkins had started a band named Banyan, with core members Nels Cline, Mike Watt, and Willie Waldman (with revolving studio guests), and released a self-titled CD on Cyber Octave. The second CD was released in 1998 for Cyber Octave called Any Time at All, and in 2004 the third CD was released called Live At Perkins Place on Sanctuary Records.

Porno for Pyros briefly reformed after the release of Good God's Urge, with both Dave Navarro and the Red Hot Chili Peppers's Flea guesting. Porno for Pyros recorded "Hard Charger" in 1997 for Howard Stern's movie, "Private Parts" soundtrack, even performing live in New York with Howard introducing them to play "Hard Charger" and "Mountain Song."

Relapse and new life

The Jane's Relapse tour followed, with Flea replacing Avery as bassist, after he declined an invitation to rejoin the band. Four years later, Jane's Addiction rose from the ashes again for a full-blown tour. The Jubilee Tour featured all the old Jane's Addiction songs, while showcasing the recent solo release from Navarro, Trust No One. Fans were told to expect a "Sexual Psycho Circus, I am not sure if you will want to quote me on that, but fans will see half-naked, penny rafters, guitar solos, and tribal drums..." This was exactly what the fans got. During renditions of Classic Girl, illuminated, scantily clad stage dancers filled the arenas. For the tour, again Avery declined any involvement. With Flea busy with the Chili Peppers, Porno for Pyros bassist Martyn LeNoble was brought in to fill the gap. Following the success of this tour, the band decided to record a follow-up album to 1990's Ritual De Lo Habitual and tapped Chris Chaney to replace LeNoble on bass. They entered the studio with legendary producer Bob Ezrin in 2001, recording as a band for the first time in over 10 years. The result was the group's final album, Strays. Some of the songs (or parts of songs) dated far back in the band's history, while others were brand new. Longtime fans were, for the most part, disappointed in the slick, nu-metal sound of most of the record. There was tension in the band throughout 2003 and disagreements over which festivals and venues to play, as well as artwork for the new album. The first single, "Just Because," was a minor hit, though the sixth song on the record, "Superhero," garnered much more exposure as the featured theme song of HBO's hit series "Entourage."

Lollapalooza returns

The band spent 2003 on an extensive worldwide touring in support of Strays, including, in a homecoming of sorts, a summer headliner slot in a reincarnated Lollapalooza U.S. tour. Following the 2003 tour Jane's Addiction broke up once again, as Perry Farrell refused to record or tour in order to focus his attention on the 2004 incarnation of the Lollapalooza Festival (which was later cancelled due to dismal ticket sales). Although exact details surrounding the band's demise are sparse, Navarro claimed on his website,[5] in June 2004, that the reasons for the breakup were essentially the same as they were in 1991.

When questioned on Camp Freddy Radio in September 2007 about a Jane's Addiction reunion, Navarro said it would never occur because the band members "did not get along on any level" and that it was "pretty bad."

Post-break-up

Navarro, Perkins, and Chaney have since formed a new band, The Panic Channel, with singer Steve Isaacs. They released their debut album, (ONe), on August 15, 2006. Perry Farrell has also moved onto a new project entitled The Satellite Party, with former Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt. The Satellite Party unveiled new material at Lollapalooza 2005. The band, who signed with Columbia Records, released their debut album, Ultra Payloaded, on May 29, 2007. Eric Avery recently announced signing with Dangerbird Records for the upcoming release of his solo album Help Wanted.

A greatest hits album titled Up From the Catacombs - The Best of Jane's Addiction was released on Sept. 19, 2006, and contained no rare or previously unreleased material. In addition to this, lead singer Perry Farrell has recently stated that Warner Bros. catalog arm Rhino is working on a Jane's Addiction box set. Currently its contents are unknown, but it's assumed to be made up of B-sides, live material and other unreleased material as well as a DVD of some kind.

NME awards reunion

Jane's Addiction performed at the first-ever NME Awards USA on April 23, 2008, with the proper reunited line-up of Perry Farrell, Dave Navarro, Eric Avery, and Stephen Perkins. This was the first performance with bassist Eric Avery since their 1991 Lollapalooza tour, 17 years earlier. The event was be broadcast via MySpace. The band played Stop and Mountain Song after their acceptance speech. It has not been confirmed if this performance will lead to a tour, but Dave Navarro has hinted at a future for Jane's Addiction on his blog at 6767.com [6] [7]

Timeline

The group was inactive 1992–1996, 1998–2000, and 2005–2007, during which periods all largely related bands and side projects occurred:
1992–1994 Deconstruction
1992–1998 Porno for Pyros
1994–1997 Red Hot Chili Peppers
1995–2000 Polar Bear
1995–2008 Banyan
2004–2008 The Panic Channel
2004–2008 Satellite Party

Members

Core members

Other members

  • Chris Brinkman - guitar (1985–1986)
  • Matt Chaikin - drums (1985–1986)
  • Ed Dobrydnio - guitar (1986)
  • Flea - bass (1997)
  • Martyn LeNoble - bass (2001–2002)
  • Chris Chaney - bass (2002–2004)

Discography

Main article: Jane's Addiction discography

Live albums

Studio albums

References

  • Mullen, Brendan. Whores: An Oral Biography of Perry Farrell and Jane's Addiction. Cambridge: Da Capo, 2005. ISBN 0-306-81347-5

Notes

  1. ^ di Perna, Alan. "Brave Noise--The History of Alternative Rock Guitar". Guitar World. December 1995.
  2. ^ Mullen, Brendan. Whores: An Oral Biography of Perry Farrell and Jane's Addiction. Cambridge: Da Capo, 2005. ISBN 0-306-81347-5, pg. 48
  3. ^ di Perna, Alan. "Birth of a Nation." Guitar World. March 1996.
  4. ^ Mullen, pg. 51
  5. ^ [1]
  6. ^ "Jane's Addiction to win NME Godlike Genius award"
  7. ^ " Jane's Addiction to reunite for award"


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