Dave Navarro Answers Questions at 6767.com

Dave Navarro has posted five Q/A responses over at his website 6767.com.  Two of the things he addressed was the opportunity he had to join Guns ‘N Roses back after Jane’s Addiction broke up, the common question about renaming the band now that Eric Avery has re-departed, and him doing another solo album.

It’s an interesting read, check out the whole Q&A after the jump or here:  http://6767.com/2010/04/03/time-to-start-up-here-again/

Here is the full Q&A:

1. Did you take Axl’s offer (joining GnR) seriously, but then your “personal life” got in the way? Or did you not really even want to try out? (Circa 91)

You hit it right on the head, actually. The truth is that I was pretty conflicted. I was interested in playing with GnR but I wasn’t certain that I wanted to jump into such a huge band at that time, right on the heels of the first Jane’s break-up. In addition, I was pretty heavily strung out back then. Even though I wasn’t sure about the move, I did want to jam with those guys but my drug use prevented me from even making it down to the rehearsal space. Another consequence of addiction. Since then I have had the pleasure of playing with each member of the band separately. After I cleaned up I went on to record Deconstruction with Eric Avery which remains one of my favorite collaborations.

2. You stated that the time with Billy and the Spirits recently was an enjoyable experience, What do you think of the First 3 new songs from the Pumpkins?

I think that the new SP songs are incredible and I was lucky enough to play some of them with Spirits. Billy is one of the most talented musicians I have ever worked with and I learned a lot from him in the short period we toured together. I am hopeful that we will one day do something similar again. We found that we had unique chemistry when we were both on the guitar. We locked up in a pretty amazing way and played off one another in a way that neither of us had experienced while at the same time pushing each other to really delve into our instrument.

3. What guitars/amps are you using for recording? Also, you dropped down a full-step for the live Jane’s stuff – are you planning to do that for recording as well? Does that affect your playing at all?

I’m not sure about recording yet as we are simply in the writing phase so I have been using the PRS, Ibanez, Marshall, Fender set-up. Essentially my live rig. Lately we have been working in just a half step down. The full step down definitely takes some getting used to as I kind of had to re-learn how the strings respond in that tuning. For instance, the amount of pressure required to bend to a specific note in the standard tuning is completely different and can sometimes sound out of tune if I’m not careful. Also, I have to be wary of how hard I hit the strings, as the lower register can vibrate and buzz beyond what is desired and can sound muddy. There is a risk of dynamic loss.

4. Since Eric was such a huge part of the Jane’s songwriting and sound on NS and Ritual, why not call yourselves a different band name now that you are playing with Duff?

Eric was and remains a huge part of Jane’s. He has decided to leave for his own reasons. The three of us have spent the majority of our careers in this band and have had several line up changes over the years. Changing the name wouldn’t make sense for us. It would be another situation entirely had Eric been asked to leave or if we didn’t intend on playing music from XXX, NS and Ritual. Had that been the case, I would totally agree. I have had experience being the “new guy” in an already existing band that had only two founding members. Never in a million years would I have expected them to change their name.

5. I know you’re working with Jane’s but are you thinking about putting out another solo album any time soon?

Thinking about it yes. Soon? Probably not. I am pretty deeply focused on working with Jane’s right now. We have been going over back catalogue and writing with Duff several days a week. However, the process of introducing a new member requires more than that. There is a musical and personal education that must take place. Learning dynamics, sensibilities, personalities and many other details is essential. We have been having a great time with all of this and have been expanding on what we can do individually and as a group. Its deeper than just learning some songs for Duff. He has to learn about us and we have to learn about him. Playing the older stuff is like a crash course on Jane’s while writing is an accelerated class for all of us. It’s pretty great to be in both classes at once, something we have really never done in the past with a new member.

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