Jane's Addiction is an American band which began in the late 1980s, and returned in the early 2000s. The band was influenced by punk, Gothic rock, metal, funk, hard rock and psychedelic styles.

History

Formed out of the ashes of frontman Perry Farrell's previous band, Psi-com, Jane's Addiction are 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 his friend (and Dizatre bandmate) Dave Navarro might be a suitable guitar player for the new band, dubbed Jane's Addiction (in honor of Farell's housemate, Jane Bainter). With this lineup, the band released three major albums Live at the Roxy, Nothing's Shocking, and Ritual De Lo Habitual.

Though the band had only released three albums, their effect on the rock and alternative music scenes was enormous. They became the poster children for a new wave of artful and thoughtful rockers who were eschewing the confinements of commercial rock music and stretching out, expresing themselves both musically and theatrically. In their hey-day, Farrell created Lollapalooza, the alternative rock festival that revolutionized the concert promotion world by bringing together an ecclectic mix of musicians, exhibitors and attractions for a high energy weekend of music and alternative life-styles.

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 and rampant drug usage lead the band to break up in 1991 after playing two nights at Hawaii's Aloha Tower. The band briefly reformed in 1997 for the Jane's Relapse tour, with Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea replacing Avery, 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. Again, Avery declined 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 1991's Ritual De Lo Habitual. 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 their final album, "Strays". During the recording process, Lenoble was fired from the band, and replaced by Chris Chaney , a friend of Perkins.

Shortly after the release of Strays, Jane's Addiction broke up again. Although details surrounding the band's demise are sparse, guitarist Dave Navarro claimed that the reasons for the breakup were essentially the same as they were in 1991.

Discography

The band also made a movie called Gift, a modern gothic tragedy.

External links

• Jane's Addiction's official web site
• All Music Guide entry for Jane's Addiction
• Superb Fan Site