janesaddiction.org

The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution
November 12, 1990
CONCERT PREVIEW
Jane's Addiction
Lead rocker Farrell hints he'll go cold turkey from Jane's Addiction
Author: DEVAULT, RUSS; Russ DeVault Staff writer STAFF

Singer-songwriter Perry Farrell hints that Jane's Addiction's current tour and album may be the last for his rock band - but not because he's been beaten by censors or low pay. Mr. Farrell says he enjoys performing, but deplores out-of-control concert scenes and the rigors of nightly shows - the current tour includes only 25 - but he cites neither as a reason for his tentative plan to give up Jane's Addiction.

Singer-songwriter Perry Farrell hints that Jane's Addiction's current tour and album may be the last for his rock band - but not because he's been beaten by censors or low pay.

"Censorship is just a minor irritation and we're just getting to the point where we're making some money," Mr. Farrell says from Los Angeles, his hometown. "So if I wanted to play it safe, I could continue working with Jane's Addiction in the same format. But I think the art would suffer and there's a lot more out there that I want to experiment with."

A career change - perhaps to films - might come as bad news to his fans, who quickly bought up all 1,000 seats for the group's concert tonight at Center Stage Theatre. Jane's Addiction has produced one independent and two major-label albums that span the gap between heavy metal and traditional rock 'n' roll - with a few borrowings of traditional music from other lands - and have been almost unanimously hailed by critics.

Both the 1988 LP "Nothing's Shocking" and the current hit album "Ritual de lo Habitual" feature covers by Mr. Farrell. Nude female Siamese twins with flaming heads graced the cover of "Nothing's Shocking," which had low six-figure sales. The original art for "Ritual de lo Habitual," which has sales of about 500,000, features a nude male and two nude female figures that appear to be made of papier mache (Mr. Farrell, his girlfriend and a mutual friend were the models).

Warner Bros. called for an alternate cover for the band's second LP, because several major distribution chains refused to carry "Nothing's Shocking." Mr. Farrell cheerfully supplied a white cover with the First Amendment printed on the front and a message about Adolf Hitler on the reverse, but there has been no demand for it.

"I think it's a little exciting in a way," Mr. Farrell says of the problem. "It gives you something to work off, and while suppression can never be a great thing, agitation can be good for artists."

Nevertheless, Mr. Farrell doesn't think politicians should involve themselves in artistic issues.

"I can't believe they're grabbing headlines and carrying on about what's going on in the arts when there is so much more they could worry about - the homeless, pollution and crime, for instance," Mr. Farrell says. Not surprisingly, political issues show up in the band's songs, which also deal with relationships and tend to be cryptic. But the band's performances are basically excursions into industrial-strength rock 'n' roll blasted along by guitarist David Navarro, bassist Eric Avery and drummer Stephen Perkins.

Mr. Farrell says he enjoys performing, but deplores out-of-control concert scenes and the rigors of nightly shows - the current tour includes only 25 - but he cites neither as a reason for his tentative plan to give up Jane's Addiction.

"I think you owe it to yourself to move from time to time - to change occupations to put some excitement into your life," he says. "I've given up my whole life to this and now I'm setting myself up for another one."