kenes
by Mike Gitter
liction
The Addiction began when Jane intro-
duced former roommate Perry Farrell to
bassist Eric Avery after the dissolution of
Farrell's "gloom outfit, Psi-Com. Former
speed-metallers David Navaro and Stephen
Perkins were the final shot in the arm, and
fans have been hooked ever since. Jane's
Addiction was the band everyone wanted but
no one knew what to do with. Fortunately.
someone let them do what they wanted, and
the result was explosive.
It was a classic case of the artistic versus
corporate. The band released a live album
called "Jane's Addiction" on the XXX label.
Within a few months they had signed a "com-
76
plete artistic control" contract with Warner
Brothers. Initially, the record company
wanted control over everything from the
album's production to its sleeve design. The
band fought back and won. The resulting Lp.
Nothing's Shocking, has emerged as the
commercial and critical sleeper of the year.
The album, featuring Farrell's sculpture of
nude Siamese twins on the cover, was ban-
ned in K-Marts all over America. Their video,
"Mountain Song." was considered "too
erotic" to be shown on MTV in its unedited
form-never the intent anyway.
Jane's is the sort of band rock and roll
needs. There's a refreshing sincerity about
them that sets them apart from the usual.
uninspired mass-appeal dreck. The follow-
ing quote session is with the band's
singer/spokesman Perry Farrell.
THE MOTIVATION
"I was pretty much into punk rock. It was
basically honest and had a stance that was
anti-establishment. I felt more at home with
that than anything else. I felt like they under-
stood oddballs. They were speaking about
things that had some validity and weight
behind them, things that mattered as oppos
ed to the standard metal rock band that
wouldn't give a shit if the syllables they
pronounced made any
sense. To me, they make
no sense anyway. Punk
was more of a party and
a lot more fun than most
rock anyway. It wasn't so contrived and it
seemed like the band took a backseat to the
audience. Everybody was equally as impor-
tant and it seemed like the kids were finally
getting back together for the first time in
years. Like Jello Biafra said, 'It's about doing
your own thing."
THE CHEMISTRY
"It's not important to ask every band.
member to be like each other. That stage of
this business has thankfully gone by. The
Beatles did that when they were first start-
ing and that was at the request of their
manager. By the time they did the White
Album they had outgrown the need to look.
like each other. If you want to do that, join
the army and see how much you like that.
It's not the way a person should live. I would
never ask or want anyone looking like me.
That's a big bore and a false put-on.
"When a band has their own style from
hanging out with each other, it's a great
accident and it should be cherished. I'm so
bored on the average that I do things to see
something new and original, which is why
I chose the band members that I did, I didn't
want a band of followers; I wanted people
who all had unique and original chemistries
so that we could come up with a brand new
recipe rather than going after a certain
sound. Because when you don't do that,
you're bound to do something that's been
done before.
"Everyone in the band has great big balls.
Eric is a really intelligent guy who loves
simplicity and repetition. Dave is completely
out of control. He may not know if he's com-
ing or going, but he never slows down. He's
technically brilliant, but he never works on
technique. He's a lot more spontaneous and
loves what he's doing. Steve is simply a
brilliant drummer-a rock solid backbone
that holds the whole thing together."
THE AUDIENCE
"You can't please everybody. In all my
travels I've met so many people that I think
most everybody is completely nuts. I think
that the way they approach life and their
systems of doing things are completely
wrong and the bigger our crowd gets, the
more retarded faces I see. Aside from not
having the slightest idea what we're about
as a band or as people, they haven't the
slightest idea what life is about. If this is what
DECADENCE
"That's a word that's totally misunder-
stood, especially by heavy metal bands that
call themselves Scandal. It's way overblown
in rock music. I don't have anything to prove
like a lot of folks. It's a matter of simply
enjoying yourself without hurting anybody.
People get carried away with what they
consider decadent. Nazi symbols are not
decadent; they're a symbol of being a moron
and standing for the wrong side. I think there
are a lot of other things you can do if you want
to prove your individuality and freedom. I
wish there was no such word; it was invented.
the masses are, that's fine, but they have very by people on the other side to describe what
little to do with what I do.
"Go to an airport some day and you see
that ninety percent of the people you see are
walking suits. Those are the sort of people
that look at me and laugh, and I think to
myself, I've got a joke that's funnier than that.
The only reason they've got a suit is that
they're trying to fool people into thinking that
they've got credibility and they're safe and
dependable. I think there's something wrong
with their psyche because they don't even
have the talent or dreams to dress them-
selves. They've joined the ranks of some
inescapable, imaginary army."
LOVE
"Love is something you want that you can
never have. You feel like somehow you've lost
something to somebody that you can't be
without. They have it and you'd follow them
to their death to stay near it. The irony of love
is that it can only be used against you."
INTERVIEWS
"I can't stand interviews. I like to talk to
people and talk to them about nothing hav-
ing the slightest to do with my band. In an
interview I'm put on the spot to be clever and
that's boring. You become 100 obvious. I
don't want to fully explain myself. I don't want
people to know everything about me. I could
be an idiot, a genius or totally full of shit. You
guess for yourself."
folks like me and you do quite naturally"
THE IDIOT RULE
"You can't possibly expect that one day
the world's suddenly going to be cool-it's
too much to ask. That's why I don't worry
about things and I don't try to preach or
change the world, as much as I'd like to. I
can't waste my energy on strangers because
when I'm gone, and for eternity, there's
always going to be that balance of truly in-
telligent people versus morons. There's
nothing I can do about it, and I certainly didn't
invent the system. Things have their own way
of balancing out. If we invent some big bomb
to destroy the world, maybe it will. Still, there
will be yet another strain of mutant that con-
tinues to grow and life goes on-I don't get
too bothered by it."
SUCCESS
"I've definitely gotten everything I want.
I've gotten to travel, I can make my living off
music, and as a result of that I now have the
money to go out and buy art materials, which
I was never able to do before. Plus, I really
love somebody, and that's all I really wanted
in life. I feel like a complete success. Sure.
I haven't the time to do all the art projects
I've wanted to, but hey, just take it one day
at a time, make the most of that day and wait
till tomorrow to start a new project. That's the
way nature shapes things."