JANE'S ADDICTION: NOT AS SHOCKING, STILL AS GREAT

photo credit: Maria Ives

A week ago, I went to see Jane's Addiction play at the State Theater in New Brunswick, New Jersey. My head is still vibrating from the experience.  They were amazing.

I did a review of the concert for CBS New York as a preview of their concert last Friday night in Brooklyn.  But I had to be professional when writing for CBS.

It's hard to explain how radical they were back then. The combination of sexuality and intelligence, power and sweetness, loud and quiet, classic rock and punk rock and heavy metal, it was just different, scary and thrilling.  Plus you knew that all of the guys in the band were probably living dangerous lifestyles, it really added to the danger.

These days, the guys probably live a bit more sensibly.  Perry was drawing from a flask and from a wine bottle throughout the night, but you never felt the show would go off the rails: Jane's meant business.  They seemed determined to bring the same power and vibes that they did back in they day.  They were, in fact, really powerful.  Perry Farrell hasn't lost any of his shaman-like frontman super-powers. Dave Navarro's guitar playing still rips your face off.  I know people criticize him for his celebrity status outside of music... but really, when he hits the stage, it's all about his playing.  He is still amazing. Stephen Perkins brings a weird tribal thing to heavy rock drums, it's perfect for this band. Chris Chaney has a difficult job filling in for Eric Avery, but he holds it down, without standing out too much. I saw them with Avery in the band a few years ago, and that was unbelievable.  But this show held up to the original lineup.  That's saying a lot.

photo credit: Maria Ives 

At first, I wasn't too sure about their recent album, last year's The Great Escape Artist.  It may not be as classic as Jane's Addiction, Nothing's Shocking or Ritual de lo Habitual, but some of the songs really held up live:  "Underground" and "Splash A Little Water On It." A song from their last album Strays (which also featured Chaney), "Just Because" was one of the highlights of the show.

No, they aren't as dangerous as they were then. But other than The Stooges, who is?  Perry is a dad and a businessman, and Dave has responsibilities.  And anyway, they don't need to be as dangerous as they used to be, they just need to be as great.  At the State Theater, they were. I can't wait to see the next tour.

ROCK HALL INDUCTIONS: THE RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS

The current lineup w/ ex-drummers Jack Irons & Cliff Martinez
photo courtesy of WNCX in Cleveland 

I was fortunate enough to have attended this year's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.  See my full report for CBS Local Digital here.

One of the highlights for me was the induction of The Red Hot Chili Peppers, a band I've been a fan of for more than two decades.

I was curious which members of the band would be inducted, and who would show up.  There are basically two classic lineups: first, Anthony Kiedis, Flea, drummer Jack Irons and the late Hillel Slovak on guitar. And second, the most popular lineup, Anthony, Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante, who quit the band for the second time a few years back. All six of those guys got in.

But I was wondering about the lineup from their first album: Anthony, Flea, drummer Cliff Martinez (who recently scored the film Drive) and guitarist Jack Sherman. Plus, guitarist Dave Navarro, who replaced Frusciante the first time he left, and Josh Klinghoffer, who is in the band now. Oddly, Martinez was inducted but Sherman wasn't.  If their 1984 self-titled debut is considered to be such a milestone in the band's career, why wouldn't everyone from the album be inducted?  I think the answer lies in that Martinez left under good terms, while Sherman was fired, and I think he later sued the band. The thing is, management shouldn't be deciding who is included, they shouldn't be able to re-write that history.

THE RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS - A BEGINNER'S GUIDE

I was really excited to hear that The Red Hot Chili Peppers are one of the artists being inducted into the Rock and Roll of Fame in 2012. I've been a fan for over twenty years: I was turned on to them in about 1989 when they released Mother's Milk. I have gotten every album since on release day (if not earlier), and I picked up all of their earlier albums too. The band has been though so much -- death, addiction, near implosion -- but somehow their music makes me feel good to be alive.

In the next few weeks, I hope to have a guest blogger write a real life testimonial about the band.  But I thought I'd give a quick primer on the group.  I'm curious which members will be part of the induction. Obviously singer Anthony Kiedis and bassist Flea.  I'm sure the guys from their most successful lineup, drummer Chad Smith and guitarist John Frusciante. And I kind of figure that original members -- the late guitarist Hillel Slovak and drummer Jack Irons (who later joined Pearl Jam) - may get in. But I wonder if Dave Navarro, who was in the band for one album (1995's well titled One Hot Minute) will be included. Or their newest member, guitarist Josh Klinghoffer, who is on their new album, I'm With You. (The Chili Peppers are managed by the same company that manages Metallica -- and when Metallica were inducted, bassist Robert Trujilio was included, even though he had only played on one album, Death Magnetic). Anyway, if you're just looking to get into the band, here are my recommendations:

The Compilations: the band's career took off when they signed to Warner Brothers Records for their 1991 LP, Bloodsugarsexmagik. 2003's Greatest Hits covers the WB era, which is mainly the Kiedis/Flea/Smith/Frusciante lineup. It has their most well known material. But if you're interested in their early stuff, which they recorded for EMI, check out 1992's What Hits!?, which mostly features the Kiedis/Flea/Irons/Slovak lineup (as well as some tunes from Mother's Milk, which was Smith and Frusciante's first album with the band).   They have yet to release any kind of career spanning collection, nor do they have any box sets.

The Classic Album(s): 1991's Bloodsugarsexmagik. I'm going to do a "#20yrslater" post on that album soon, it is such an incredible record. I'm sure the guys in the band think it is their best, it's certainly the album that made them stars, and it also made people take them more seriously.  I think the aforementioned What Hits!? does a great job of covering the Slovak/Irons era, but the best single LP from that time is 1987's Uplift Mofo Party Plan. Another classic is the group's reunion album with Frusciante, 1999's Californication.

But honestly, I have a hard time not liking anything by them. I also love Freaky Styley, Mother's Milk, By The Way and even the album with Navarro, One Hot Minute.

RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS - "I'M WITH YOU"

I read that Flea had been listening to a lot of Rolling Stones records while working on the new Red Hot Chili Peppers album, I'm With You (and Rolling Stone's review cited this fact also).  I would think that this was equal parts musical inspiration and "how did they do it?"

In other words: Mick and Keith have pretty much led the band since they took over the reigns from Brian Jones. But losing Jones was still a big deal, a big transition, for the band. After that, losing Mick Taylor was a big deal too.  But of course, The Rolling Stones have endured a number of key member changes.  So the question for the Red Hot Chili Peppers is: is new guitarist Josh Klinghoffer their Ron Wood -- the guy born to be a member of the group -- or is he their next Dave Navarro (i.e. guy who just isn't the right fit)?

(By the way, NO disrespect to Navarro, the album he did with RHCP, One Hot Minute, had some good songs, but it didn't quite work).

I've been listening to this album for a while, and I'm still having a hard time deciding.  I think it's a stronger album than say, One Hot Minute, but I'm not sure how many songs people will want to hear from this album when the Peppers are on tour in two or three years from now.  "Monarchy Of Roses" is a great opener, and would have been a way better first single than "The Adventures Of Rain Dance Maggie" which just sounds too much like past Chili ballads.  I do think Josh Klinghoffer fits in pretty well.  He's definitely different from John Frusciante - he's less guitar hero guy and more about textures (which is kind of what he added as an extra touring member of the band a few years ago).

A ballad that sounds different from prior mellow tunes is "Brendan's Death Song," about a late friend of the band.  I think it's pretty powerful, Anthony Kiedis sounds like he's haunted by memories of people he's lost. It's not mellow depression, but real sadness, and it's soulful.  I also like the more upbeat, piano-driven "Happiness Loves Company."  Frusciante added keyboards to the mix, but he was definitely a guitar guy first.  I get the feeling that Josh Klinghoffer is ok playing anything, as long as it fits the song.

I guess I just wish that the songs here were more memorable.  I'm surprised that some of these got past Rick Rubin, who usually won't let a band hit the studio until the songs are tight enough.

But the Chili Peppers is one of my favorite bands ever, and I'm loyal.  I'll look at I'm With You as Josh Klinghoffer's Mother's Milk - his intro to the group, and hopefully they have something like a Bloodsugarsexmagik or Californication left in them... or at least another By The Way. For now, I'm looking forward to seeing this version of the band live, and seeing how the new songs hold up to the classics in concert.  I think maybe the band would have benefitted from actually doing some shows with Josh before making the record.

JANE'S ADDICTION IN NOLA: A HALLOWEEN CLASSIC

Last Halloween, Jane's Addiction played the Voodoo Festival in New Orleans.  The vibe must have been amazing if you were there - but if you weren't, you should check out this DVD, Live Voodoo. It's one of the last times that they played with original bassist Eric Avery, who has since quit the band again. I saw the band last summer, and they were incredible.  I had seen them with Flea on bass, and with Chris Chaney, and both shows were great, but there's just something about the chemistry of the original four guys playing together.

This performance in New Orleans, a place where Jane's definitely fit in, makes you forget about the bad solo albums, side projects and reality shows.  Perry Farrell is the shaman, Dave Navarro is a guitar god playing with a sense of danger that few other virtuosos can muster, and Stephen Perkins, known to play some kinda hippiesh stuff in his band Banyan, reminds you that he has the power of Bonham and Moon. Perry doesn't sing the way he used to - but he still has his charisma. It's a great performance.

So as I mentioned, Eric Avery has left the band again, Duff McKagan joined and quit, and now they're looking for a new bass player (they have two gigs booked in December).  It's really a bummer, but I do think Perry, Dave and Stephen can make good music together (their 2003 album, Strays was really good). But this DVD reminds you how great the band is with the original four guys.

But see for yourself: watch the live version of "Stop!" here.

DUFF McKAGAN JOINS JANE'S ADDICTION

It doesn't look like I missed too much while I was in Mexico, but for me, the biggest news is that, as rumored, former Guns N Roses (and maybe still current Velvet Revolver) bassist Duff McKagan has joined Jane's Addiction.

I found that so surprising.  Janes and Guns both came from L.A., but from very different scenes. Although I always did think that Guns were closer to punk rock than they were to the Crue or Ratt or the other glammier metal bands. Still, this is a development that would have been hard to predict in, say, 1991. But times change. And Duff comes from a more punk or "alternative" background than his Guns-mates.

Anyway, Rolling Stone says that Jane's is looking to have an album out by the winter of 2011, and then they are going to tour afterwards. I wonder if that means that the singer-less Velvet Revolver is over.  I think it's cool that Duff, Slash and Matt Sorum were playing together, I never cared for their singer Weiland though. Slash's new album comes out tomorrow.  Duff is on it, and so are former Guns members Izzy Stradlin' and Steven Adler. Also on the album, Lemmy, Iggy Pop, Ozzy Osbourne, Dave Grohl and Alice Cooper.  And Fergie.

DAVE NAVARRO POSES FOR PETA

I found this while looking on Dave Navarro's twitter for news about Jane's Addiction, in the wake of Eric Avery quitting. He just shot an ad for PETA. They probably didn't have to work hard to get him to get naked! But give the guy credit, he looks great, he's in his 40s. Before people start bashing me for linking to PETA, I'll say that I don't agree with all their headline-grabbing antics, and I don't love everything that they do.  But fur is absolutely barbaric, and there's no human(e) reason to wear it, ever.

BUMMER! ERIC AVERY QUITS JANE'S ADDICTION - AGAIN

Actually, I guess technically this is the first time that Eric Avery has quit Jane's Addiction: it's just that until recently, he never participated in any of the band's reunions. I saw one of the shows on their summer tour and it was incredibly powerful.  I'd seen Jane's reunions with Flea on bass and also with Chris Chaney, and both shows were awesome, but Avery is a unique player and his style totally fit the band. Eric announced it on twitter just a few days ago. Dave Navarro seemed to indicate on his twitter feed that the band are sticking together, and there are rumors that Duff McKagan will be playing bass for them. In fact, Navarro linked to a youtube video that shows Duff and Stephen Perkins jamming together and Rolling Stone says that Slash sort of hinted that Duff was doing something with Jane's. I really liked the one Jane's album that they did without Eric, Strays, which featured Chris Chaney, but it lacked the menace of their earlier work.  I guess that's inevitable no matter who is on bass though.

THE NEW RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS GUITARIST

Supposedly, former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Dave Navarro recently tweeted that he is not, in fact, working with the Peppers again (of course, he is part of the reunited Jane's Addiction, who played Aspen on New Year's Eve). But he did supposedly confirm that Josh Klinghoffer has replaced John Frusciante (who quit over a year ago, but just confirmed that bit of news) in the band (Josh and John both pictured here). The reason I say "supposedly" is because I couldn't find Navarro's tweet, maybe because he tweets so often, but more likely is that the Chili Peppers' people asked him to delete the post because they haven't announced anything yet. This is according to an unofficial Chili Peppers site, Stadium Arcadium (which is much better than their official one).

Josh Klinghoffer seems to be a great choice: he has toured with the Chili Peppers as an extra guitarist, he collaborated with Frusciante on one of John's many solo projects, and has also worked with Gnarls Barkley, PJ Harvey and Beck. Hopefully this works out better than the last time they had to replace Frusciante. Anyway, I guess some people will see the new version of the band later this month: they are scheduled to perform at the MusicCares Person Of The Year concert, which pays tribute to Neil Young.

BAD NEWS: NME REPORTS FRUSCIANTE QUIT RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS

Few posts in the history of No Expiration have bummed me out as much as this one: NME reports that John Frusciante has quit The Red Hot Chili Peppers. Again. The first time was in 1992, after the release of the band's all-time classic, BloodSugarSexMagik as they were about to headline the second Lollapalooza tour. They did that tour with a guitarist named Arik Marshall who didn't last past the tour (he went on to play in Macy Gray's band). After that, they got a guy named Jesse Tobias, who didn't last long at all (no shows, no released recordings) (he went on to play for Alanis Morissette and Morrissey). After that was former Jane's Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro, who they actually recorded an album (1995's One Hot Minute, not a bad album but it paled in comparassion to the Frusciante-era albums). Navarro wasn't into the band, and quit, and it looked like that was it for the band. During that time, Frusciante was a huge drug addict and this has been well documented. But he got healthy and rejoined the Chili Peppers rejuvinating everyone involved, and they put out the classic 1999 album Californication, the really good 2002 By The Way and the still good 2006 double album Stadium Arcadium.

Frusciante wasn't the band's original guitarist - he replaced the late Hillel Slovak - but I think they made their best music with him (with all due respect). NME reports that Frusciante is being replaced by Josh Klinghoffer, who collaborated with Frusciante on lots of his solo projects, and even toured as an extra musician with the Chili Peppers on their last tour. So, at least he is a friend of the band, it seems more organic than their process last time. Josh has also played with PJ Harvey, Beck and Gnarls Barkley, among others.

I wonder when the band will start working on their next record: that's going to be a tough one for sure.

BILLY CORGAN'S SKY SAXON TRIBUTE

Before Sky Saxon of The Seeds died, he was collaborating on a
project with Billy Corgan. Billy is now paying tribute to Sky with a new band called Spirits In The Sky, which also features Electric Prunes bassist Mark Tulin, Strawberry Alarm Clock keyboardist Mark Weitz, former Catherine drummer (and D'arcy's ex-husband) Kerry Brown, new Smashing Pumpkins drummer, 19-year old Mike Byrne, and Dave Navarro. Little Steven, take note! While Billy annoys me when he mouths off sometimes, one thing I've always respected about him (other than his great body of work) is how he gives lots of credit to artists that influenced him, even if they aren't necessarily considered "cool." I remember he interviewed Eddie Van Halen for a magazine (and wrote a tribute to Van Halen's Fair Warning), made a great speech about Tom Petty at the MTV Awards, did a great induction speech for Pink Floyd at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, wrote a great essay for a live Cheap Trick album, played guitar for New Order on one of thier tours, produced tracks for Ric Ocasek, collaborated on a song with Tony Iommi on his solo debut, and the list goes on and on.

JANE'S ADDICTION REUNITED

I didn't even want to write about this, because for some reason I didn't think it was going to happen, but the other night, Jane's Addiction reunited for a club gig in L.A. The full band: Perry Farrell, Dave Navarro, Stephen Perkins and even bassist Eric Avery, who hadn't participated in the band's reunions until their recent performance at the NME Awards. Dave Navarro wrote about the gig on his blog, giving credit to the other guys who have played bass for Jane's over the years, but saying that it isn't really Jane's without all four guys.

Without getting my hopes up too much, I gotta think this will lead to something else. Then again, if money is thrown into it, Eric may just split. I give him credit: clearly he is interested in making a buck: I bet his gig in Alanis Morissette's band pays well, and he tried out for Metallica. He just doesn't want to mess with the memory of his band. Still, I'd love to see the band with him back in it, and so would lots of other people. I can see them doing Coachella and Lollapalooza this year, but hopefully, they'll come to NYC as well.

JANE'S ADDICTION: GODLIKE GENIUSES

British magazine NME is going to be honoring the almighty Jane's Addiction at the NME Awards, being held in the U.S. for the first time. They are getting the aptly titled "Godlike Geniuses" award.  Perry Farrell, Dave Navarro and Stephen Perkins will perform, but no word yet on whether or not bassist Eric Avery, who has never participated in any of the band's reunions will show up.  His solo debut, Help Wanted, came out earlier this week though. 

To me, Jane's were one of the great bands of my generation, a shoo-in for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame the minute they are eligible. Here's hoping that the guys can get over their differences: the last Jane's reunion (which saw them record a really good album, Strays, and headline the last Lollapalooza tour) supposedly ended badly, allegedly due to issues having to do with spouses. 

I don't know if I want to see Jane's reunite again; they've done it three times already. On the other hand, they've all proved time and time again that something about the chemistry of the band is much greater than the sum of their parts.