Jane's Addiction Biography

Jane's Addiction was an American rock band, named in reference to Jane Bainter, an ex-heroin addict who was a housemate of the band. The band formed in the late 1980s, dissolving in the early 1990s. They briefly toured in 1997 and then returned in the early 2000s before breaking up again. The band was influenced by punk, heavy metal, funk, hard rock, progressive rock and psychedelic styles; singer Perry Farrell once described the band as a cross between Duke Ellington and Bad Brains.

Ranked #35 in VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock [1]

Formed out of the ashes of frontman Perry Farrell's previous band, Psi-com, Jane's Addiction is often compared to iconic '70s rockers Led Zeppelin. 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. Although Farrell and Avery worked well together, Psi-com disbanded before they managed to play live with their new bassist. Later, Eric's sister introduced the duo to Stephen Perkins. Following this fortuitous introduction, Perkins 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. With this lineup, the band released three albums: Jane's Addiction, Nothing's Shocking, and Ritual de lo Habitual.

Though the band had only released two studio albums and one live album (Jane's Addiction), its effect on the rock and alternative music scenes was enormous. It became the poster child for a new wave of artful and thoughtful rockers who were eschewing the confinements of commercial rock music and stretching to express themselves both musically and theatrically. In its heyday, Farrell created Lollapalooza, the alternative rock festival that revolutionized the North American concert promotion world by bringing together an eclectic mix of musicians, exhibitors, and attractions for a high-energy weekend of music and alternative lifestyles.

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 (an event which included Perkins and Farrell performing part of the final show completely naked).

A greatest hits album titled Up From the Catacombs - The Best of Jane's Addiction was released on 19th September 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 is assumed to be made up of B-sides, live material and other unreleased material as well as a DVD of some kind.

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 Perkins had started a band named Banyan, with core members Nes 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.

Jane's Addiction briefly reformed after the release of Porno For Pyros, with both Dave Navarro and the Red Hot Chili Peppers's Flea guesting. The band 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".

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 and No Doubt bassist Tony Kanal. The Satellite Party unveiled new material at Lollapalooza 2005. The band, who signed with Columbia Records, will release their debut album in February 2007.

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 were given. 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 ten years. The result was the group's final album, Strays. The second single from the album, True Nature, was featured in the video game MLB 2005.

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 US 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 featuring The String Cheese Incident. Left high and dry, the other members then decided to move on without Farrell. But with the complete cancelation of the 2004 Lollapalooza festival due to dismal ticket sales, Perry decided he once again wanted to be in Jane's Addiction. Unfortunately, the other members had already laid it to rest due to Perry's disloyalty to the band. Although exact details surrounding the band's demise are sparse, Navarro claimed on his website [2], in June 2004, that the reasons for the breakup were essentially the same as they were in 1991. {See below to read the full announcement}

The following was posted on Navarro's site in June 2004:

State of the Union

OK. We know we can't avoid this anymore so we will give it our best shot. What's the deal? The deal is that it simply didn't work out. Sometimes things just don't work out. In all honesty, we have broken up and rejoined roughly four times over the years. Perhaps that should shed some light as to where we are now. We really don't know. We do know that we really gave it everything we had this time and we actually made a really great record after so many years of silence. That was definitely a great thing and we are all proud of it. We were able to do a lot of shows and travel and see the world again. We had some amazing times. Why didn't it work out? So many reasons. Some of them over 15 years old, some of them new and none of them worth mentioning. Maybe we are just a volatile combination. Maybe that is why we were so great. The bottom line is that we are all extremely creative and motivated people and I know we will all continue to create and work on many different projects.

After 20 years, just like in any relationship, you have your highs and lows and some amazing memories that can never be replaced. We were able to create great music together, and for that... We feel blessed. But sometimes relationships don't work, no matter how much time or energy you put into them... and at that point... you realize it is healthier to go your separate ways than to keep trying to recreate the magic of the early years. Sometimes people grow apart in the relationship, it is nobody's fault really... just a fact of life... an inevitable creative dissolution. Sometimes the best creative relationships are the most combustible and they aren't meant to last forever.

We know this doesn't answer all of your questions, but hopefully it answers some of them. We would personally like to say, "thank you" for all of the love and support you have shown us over the years, we greatly appreciate it and we love you.

Stephen, Dave & Chris

Jane's Addiction was a revolutionary act in the music industry. They came around at a time when glam metal and hair bands were dying out, but still receiving most of the attention. Their new wave approach to music helped make it possible for upcoming bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam to have huge impacts on otherwise uninterested audiences. Janes Addiction helped pave the way for the grunge movements ultimate success. Lollapalooza, the large music festival created by Farrell and Janes Addiction helped make future recurring festivals such as Bonnaroo, Locobazooka, Warped Tour, H.O.R.D.E., Lilith Fair and Ozzfest huge successes. Lollapalooza itself was preceded by Ian Astbury's 1990 two-day festival A Gathering of the Tribes [3].

Core Members