There are a lot of reasons to celebrate if you’re a Jane’s Addiction fan, foremost the fact that the original lineup is together and touring for the first time in a decade and a half. But for drummer Stephen Perkins, it’s so much more than that, and then some, as come tomorrow night (September 13), when the groundbreaking outfit plays Leader Bank Pavilion, it will be his 57th birthday.
“I was telling somebody I don’t age while I’m playing drums, so maybe drums on my birthday, I’ll go backward… maybe,” he tells Vanyaland. “I don’t know.”
Playing drums since he was eight, Perkins has witnessed the ups and downs within the group from the earliest days, especially the fragile friendship between frontman Perry Farrell and bassist Eric Avery, which has caused the latter to be the reluctant one to take part in any lasting reunion. This led to a revolving door of bass players over the years, with Perkins the one often left rebuild the musical foundation of Jane’s, which is alternative in the truest sense of the word. But, he says, it’s worth it on a number of levels.
“What we see and hear and witness on stage tonight is old friendships and a trust to stretch the music, to bring life to a song that was written in 1986,” he says. “Make sure that what is happening in the room. When Perry says ‘three, four,’ what I feel is the same thing that the audience members feels. This is a joyous moment. We’re playing to complete strangers, but it still feels family-like, and when Perry is singing ‘Summertime Rolls,’ you see couples holding each other and you’re thinking, ‘This could have been their first date song.’ And it’s pretty magical. It really touches my heart.”
Now that things are truly rolling along, with guitarist Dave Navarro finally back in the fold after battling long Covid, Perkins is at his happiest. Vanyaland caught up with him on a day off in North Carolina for a 617 Q&A (Six Questions; One Recommendation; Seven Somethings) to discuss how the reconvening came to be, which thus far has produced the single “Imminent Redemption.” The drummer also talks about the challenges of Avery’s absence, coming up during the sleaze-baked ‘80s of the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles, and which bands he’d most like to see back together.
:: SIX QUESTIONS
Michael Christopher: Did you ever think you’d see the day when the classic lineup of Jane’s Addiction would finally be on stage together not just for a show, but for an extended tour?
Stephen Perkins: There was always the thread in the back of my mind that that’s what the goal and the bullseye was. As far as how do we get there and why we got there? No, I did not see it happening again. I really didn’t. And when Covid hit and everything was ripped apart, really, what is important and if we die today, what did we leave behind? And it’s not how you die, it’s how you live. And how we live is putting our heart into the music, and that can be painful. So, that’s why I thought maybe it wouldn’t happen again because there’s a lot of forgiveness and also understanding.
Like everyone says, it’s like being married to three or four people. When you’re married, you know that argument’s not going to break you up and you have to get your words out, you’ve got to get it off the chest, and then you start over. You’re still married, you’re not going to not break it up because you don’t agree. I think now we all realize if we don’t agree on something, we can still move forward as long as we get it off our chest and we talk about what we all want.
But it was quite a surprise. [Porno for] Pyros was working in the studio for a week up in Hollywood Hills at a home studio, and then I think it was Saturday we stopped working. Sunday morning, I got a call that Perry and Eric were at the studio working on something. Big surprise to me. So, this is the song “Imminent Redemption,” you hear Perry say, “Bring in the drummer” – that’s real time writing the poem saying, “bring in the drummer, where is he?” So that’s how organic it was. It was such a surprise to me.
We were talking about wouldn’t it be great if Perry and Eric started talking and working? And that beginning of Jane’s Addiction is where it started. “Pigs in Zen” [was] Eric onstage at a party playing that riff – that was in ‘85. And I think the best thing about, in a real honest way, the best thing about Jane’s is Perry and Eric somehow getting a quiet space together, because his lyrics and his basslines are so, they’re almost like haikus. You don’t change the bassline; you don’t change the words. And I think that’s where it starts. And when I got up there that afternoon and joined forces as a trio, it sounded like the third Jane’s Addiction record. But until that Sunday morning, it was completely not on my radar.
***
There’s been so many roadblocks and false starts over the years. It was going to happen. It didn’t happen. Then it’s happening, but then Dave gets long Covid, and it’s like, “God… will this ever go down?” How important is it not just for the members of the band to be doing this, but for the fans of Jane’s Addiction who have been with you guys for the ups and downs to see this finally come to fruition?
I had this conversation with Navarro on the bus. When Black Sabbath toured, and they had Tommy [Clufetos] on drums. Great. But imagine if Bill Ward was there. But I was telling Dave, imagine for the audience that we’re all there and what that feels and sounds like and those memories of the great… I guess it’s almost like a healing process when you hear these songs together again and we’re playing them, it’s that circular energy. We see them react. We’re in that moment of that crescendo experience and we’re bringing everybody together. It’s really an honor to be part of that – all the ingredients in this blender, and then everybody can drink the tequila and the margarita drink and it’s just perfect. And that’s kind of what we’re bringing is this great experience from an honest band trying to get it together. And then our audience witnessing this live.
Each night the songs are different. Sometimes “Three Days” will be 12 minutes, sometimes it’s 14 minutes. It’s playing music off each other. And I think the audience gets to feel and see that. And that’s really important for me because… We never did it for the money. That’s why we keep breaking up. If we did it for the money, we would’ve been together for 30 years. We did it. We love making the music when it’s right and it feels right. And I think that’s a real lesson for everybody in the room. To me, I don’t know the future after today what it is, but tonight we have a show.
Over the years, I always thought it was hardest for you to have a revolving door of bassists as one half in the rhythm section. Did you feel more affected by the shifts in the role of bass players coming in and out?
Yeah, let’s go with it. We got Flea in ‘97. Martyn [LeNoble] in 2001. Chris Chaney. Duff McKagan, of course. [laughs] We had Dave Sitek write the record with me and Navarro for The Great Escape Artist where he was playing bass, guitar, keyboards, turntables. So yeah, the reality as a drummer playing the old songs with different bass players, that’s definitely a combination of practice and maneuvering… being myself, but also listening to what they’re bringing. Because Eric is such an unusual musician. He plays bass with a pick, he writes a song and he’s okay not to go off that. And he doesn’t jam anywhere. He stays in one place while me and Dave can go fly from the nest and come back and he’s still there waiting for us.
But as a drummer, it’s always exciting. Looking back at all the great bass players I’ve worked with, Mike Watt, Les Claypool, Flea, Chaney, they all have changed me a little bit and some more than others, but no one has really got me a genuine understanding of what I can do on the drum set more than Eric.
When we rehearsed the songs again with Eric and Troy [Van Leeuwen], when Navarro couldn’t come out, I was telling Eric, “I’ve played these songs more than any other musician in the world, ‘cause I’ve had to work them with so many bass players.” Weeks with bass players, just working it out and figuring out how the songs feel, the tempo changes, the gear changes…It’s never frustrating to have new players in my life. It’s always just a challenge. But it’s been fun, and it hasn’t really given me anything in the negative sense except friendships. When they leave, you have this tight friendship and then they’re gone suddenly.
But you can always reach out and make more music with them.
***
When you were coming up during the heyday of the Sunset Strip, the glam metal in the ‘80s, while everyone was trying to get into the clubs to see Poison, RATT, Motley Crue, all those guys were coming to see you.
Well, the Strip would end at midnight, 1 a.m. Our after-hours, late-night Los Angeles downtown would start at 1 a.m. So there was this combination of the cats on the Strip; Faster Pussycat, Tommy and Nikki from Motley, Steve Pearcy from RATT… they needed somewhere to go late night. And we were playing these parties where X, Minutemen or Firehose, Fishbone, Chili Peppers, that was kind of the scene that we were playing to. But a lot of the Strip cats were coming to the party, and so, it was this great combination of punk rock and metal that was never kind of glued together until me and Dave showed up. Because when me and Dave showed up, we were only 17.
And still into metal.
We still loved the fireworks and the technical wizardry of metal. Iron Maiden, Rush and some of the bands that were really throwing down. And Perry and Eric were so involved with the cinematic version of music, which is Bauhaus and Joy Division, Siouxsie. Everything that Jane’s Addiction was putting together at The Scream at two in the morning and looking out in the audience and seeing metal and hairspray and piercings and black lipstick and everything was kind of mashing together. It was almost like if you’re a Jane’s fan, back then, you had a Metallica poster and a Cure poster. You were somewhere between there. [laughs] And that’s kind of what our record collection was like.
When did it hit you that something was going on? Something was afoot in the underground scene of Los Angeles. Beyond the Whisky, beyond The Troubadour.
Everybody was really kind of staying in their own lane back then. And Jane’s Addiction was just trying anything. “Summertime Rolls” and “Up the Beach” and “Jane Says”… ”I Would for You.” You weren’t hearing anything like that on the Strip. And then songs like “Mountain” or “Had a Dad” or “Idiots Rule” that were a little straight ahead, you weren’t hearing anything like that late night L.A. either. It was completely new and fresh. Bob Forrest and Norwood Fisher, from Fishbone, they said they were at one of our first shows at Raji’s, and they looked at each other and said, “Things are changing. This is different.” They noticed it immediately. Like, “This doesn’t sound like anything that’s happening right now.”
The narrative has always been that alternative music was sort of the reaper to hair metal. How do you view that?
Well, I think it was going to run out of gas. Everything on the Strip was signed up [to major labels]. Everything across the nation looked the same. I’m not sure where Cinderella, what town they’re from…
Philadelphia!
Yeah. Yeah. Okay. [laughs] But they looked [like they] could have been from L.A. Kind of like what happened with grunge. If you live in Miami and you’re trying to play grunge music, it’s not really genuine. You’re surrounded by Latin music and salsa. And so, what I loved about Jane’s Addiction was it was an original band, but what it did nationwide and globally, it was a ripple. We threw a little stone into the river, into the lake. It was still water, and the ripples kind of went to the edges and they keep going even past those edges. It was a real change. I don’t think we put anything to bed. I think things were kind of running out of gas. What happened in the ‘80s was just so bland. Even though Jane’s Addiction was 1986, what I felt like – I loved Motley because I was 14 and able to see some danger. But if you think about what everybody was doing, it was this repeat. Everyone was trying to replicate the blueprint. No one was wanting to move forward. And so we were just at that moment that we didn’t want to be derivative of everything else around us.
But as far as putting anything to sleep, you see the ‘80s come back, the ’90s come back. So, they have their moment and they go away. I’m not sure if there’s one band or one sound that changes that. People say grunge music changed everything. And it did. It became, people started dressing grunge and never heard the music. Target was selling grunge-like clothes, just like you see tie dye shirts everywhere. But back in the ‘60s, early ‘70s, you only saw it at the Dead shows. But it becomes something bigger than that, and they see dollar signs and then the art changes into a business. After Lollapalooza 91, alternative music was a real business. Buttholes and Rollins and Body Count can’t sell that many tickets, but you put ’em all together and you kick it across the world. Then that’s when all the promoters said, “Okay, cool. Metal’s done. This is the new…” “cha-ching!” [laughs]
:: ONE RECOMMENDATION
Right now, I am so into this band. They’re called Goat. They’ve been around for 10 years. But that’s all I listened to for the last two or three weeks. It’s Fela Kuti meets hard rock. It’s organic, and it’s a lot of fun to listen to. It really turns me on. And they all wear masks. I dunno what they look like. I could have sat next to ’em on a flight. They’re from Sweden, far, far away, and they’re a decade old, but they’re new to me.
That’s what’s turning me on. They’ve got so many great songs. “Run to Your Mama” is a good rock tune. And I would think that was the first tune I heard them play, but they’ve got seven or eight records and each record is different. And I’m a huge fan of African music, and they influence on the rhythm section and then the drummers in the band in percussion. And the girl who’s singing reminds me of maybe the first Sabbath record. It’s almost bluegrass.
If you think about how Ozzy sings and you listen to bluegrass music – I know that sounds strange – but if you listen to early Sabbath and some bluegrass, there’s something very similar on his approach and his phrasing and the way he places his energy on each word and each syllable. And that’s what I find with Goat is almost this early Sabbath vocal performance meets Fela Kuti, and then the guitar player loves wah-wah, reminds me of The Stooges. It’s just got everything I like about music. [laughs]
***
And the next thing I want to say though, as a musician, everyone wants to be liked, but you shouldn’t want to be liked as a musician. You can’t be. If everyone likes it, you’re not breaking any ground. So as an artist, try to break ground and don’t look for the pat on the back. Just go forward with what you believe. And obviously working your ass off on technique and chops, to me, that’s a personal experience. I sit alone all day and practice. But when I get on stage, all that goes away. I want to give my genuine soul to people there, and if they don’t like it, that’s okay. At least it’s me coming from the heart.
I think that’s wisdom for almost any discipline of artistry.
Absolutely. I mean, you got to think about Jackson Pollock, the day before he threw the paint. He was using brushes like everybody, and what kind of courage it took to throw paint. Someone’s going to say “That’s trash” or “You’ve lost your mind.” But it takes that moment to throw the paint. That’s what I want to be as an artist. I want to break ground not just for the sake of it, but because it hurts if you don’t.
:: SEVEN OF SOMETHING
So many fans are getting to live out their dream of seeing this lineup of Jane’s Addiction. You’ve already mentioned one in Sabbath, but who are seven acts that you wish you could have seen the original lineup play?
That’s amazing. Great question.
Well, let’s start from the beginning. I would love to see Benny Goodman with Gene Krupa. Gene Krupa started it all for me. Not only was he tribal and a sensitive musician, but he projected something that people got excited about. And that to me is something I would love to witness in person.
John Coltrane with Elvin Jones.
Miles Davis with Tony Williams.
Led Zeppelin.
Of course, the bands that I listened to the most as a young man were The Who and Led Zeppelin as a rock drummer. To see Keith or [John] Bonham would’ve done just miraculous things for me. And I still listen to Keith, and I love talking about Keith Moon because he’s such a musical organic drummer, and people think he might not be listening, but that’s all he does is listen. His whole drum parts are reacting. It’s never a piece.
Genesis with Peter Gabriel on vocals.
Fela Kuti.
I think the first punk band is The Doors. I mean, I know The Stooges had that aggression, but The Doors had that. They were so brave. Let’s start with the Doors, number one. Very fortunate, I’ve been hanging out with [John] Densmore and [Robby] Krieger and became friends with them, and I was just telling Navarro, “Can you believe we’re friends with the guys in The Doors?” I can reach out to Densmore and talk to him. And that’s the magic of music. If you’re a good player and you’re dedicated, you’ll have the chance to hang out with more cats like that, no matter what age.
JANE’S ADDICTION + LOVE AND ROCKETS + CRAWLER :: Friday, September 13 at Leader Bank Pavilion, 290 Northern Ave in Boston, MA :: 7 p.m., all ages, $89 to $111.25 :: Event info and Advance tickets
