Spin Interview w/Perry "talks new Jane's Addiction LP"

[hydro]

Perry Farrell Talks New Jane's Addiction LP
By William Goodman on February 4, 2011 2:06 PM


Friday, January 28, was a very big day for alt-rock pioneer Perry Farrell.

He celebrated his ninth wedding anniversary at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, with his wife and collaborator, Etty Lau, and unveiled the lineup for Lollapalooza Chile, the first international installment of the legendary rock fest, which he founded 20 years ago. He was also preparing to hit the studio with Jane's Addiction the following Monday to work on their long-awaited fourth album, The Great Escape Artist.

After a few setbacks, including the departure of founding bassist Eric Avery and his short-lived replacement, ex-Guns N' Roses low-ender Duff McKagan, Farrell, guitarist Dave Navarro, and drummer Stephen Perkins will hole up in a Los Angeles studio with their new songwriting partner, TV on the Radio multi-instrumentalist and production whiz Dave Sitek, to bring to life the musical ideas they have been trading online.

"We are taking great risks and writing in ways that we have never written before," Farrell, 51, says of the bandmembers, who are embracing digital technology -- synths, MIDI, effects, et al. -- for the first time in their 25-year career. "We're producing a really amazing piece of art, an amazing piece of music. It will make people say, 'This is strangely beautiful.'"

How did TV on the Radio's Dave Sitek get involved with the new Jane's Addiction LP?
When Duff McKagan decided he didn't want to work with us anymore, there was a moment of silence. Everyone had gripes, but at the same time, it was a sad time because we were building something together. It's like a sports team, then one guy gets traded or retires or gets injured. But your team has to go on. That's the state we were in. Our producer Rich Costey (Muse, Rage Against The Machine, My Chemical Romance, Weezer, Franz Ferdinand) said, 'Hey, I have a friend…' and it was Dave. Rich said, 'If you guys work together, there would be explosions.' So I looked Dave up. He was just finishing up a record of his own. But when we met, he was very enthusiastic. He's a true artist and with an original, contemporary sound.

Is he a permanent member of Jane's, then? Will he play with the band live?
Well, Dave's in TV on the Radio and he loves producing. I raised the idea of him playing with us. It makes sense since he's helping write and record. But I sense that his heart is in producing and writing and constantly doing that. I'm just happy that we're friends and writing partners. He's like a pretty girl that I'm sleeping with but don't have to marry [laughs]. But playing live is where it's at. It's as important as a record and, some might say, even more important. The record is a calling card and it's a tombstone -- it's what you leave behind and also what you're presenting to people.

What, exactly, is the creative process for the LP?
We are writing now like a modern band would write. When we started in the mid-'80s there wasn't personal computers. I'm very excited about all those technological aspects of music. So, our creative process is very different. We have options now to make music through technology and we're taking advantage of it; we're not afraid of it. But we're not just slapping loops together. We're true musicians. We're using technology for ideas and some of those ideas remain in the song. We'll write some tracks and send them back and forth, and we'll deconstruct a demo. Paradigms start to appear from this digital correspondence. We've already written three albums worth of music. But today, with everyone's short attention span, we'll only have nine songs on the album. You know, refine it down to 45 minutes of material. Next week, when we finally get into the studio together, these loops and electronic ideas that we've written through email will come together.

How do the songs sounding compared to previous Jane's releases?
Well, all I can say is that we're on the right track. It would be easy to say, 'I've got a big reputation. You're not going to tell me how to write a song. I know how to write a song. I know how to play my instrument. And here's an idea.' That's not going to cut it today. Everybody's ears need to be excited with fresh sounds, interesting chord structures, arrangements, and compositions. And it's not easy to come up with something original and fresh. What can help you are electronics. They've helped me to not rush and not be full of myself and realize my reputation isn't going to get you by.

You're recording many of the vocals alone for the first time ever. Is it difficult to self edit, when in the past the band would express their opinions?
Everybody is of course allowed their opinion. If they don't like something, they express it, usually, by not saying anything. Like, I won't get an email that says, 'Oh my god, that's a killer vocal!' I did one track that I thought was really funny. It was a song called, 'I Can't Party Anymore,' and I didn't hear anything back so I assumed they hated it. But then the very next song I sent in started a rapid fire. Within hours the band was emailing me, 'I love it,' and all that. I'm very fortunate that I get to write all the music that I want. I write contemporary rock with Jane's. And I also write house music with people like Kascade. Luckily, I have dual worlds. I can always escape to another world if I want to be sarcastic or punk. Or another to be romantic...

Which brings up to the LP's title, The Great Escape Artist. What's the significance?
I love being able to escape my past, even though my past was great. I just love the future even more. I can personally not give a shit about what I've done in the past; I don't want it to handicap me from doing something even better in the future. The only way to do that is to have courage to escape the past -- both the mistakes and the remarkable things. You have to take risks. When it comes to being a musician and especially a live musician, I've thought long and hard about what type of music I've wanted to make. There have been people that have made protest or social commentary music, then there's music made to escape. Jimi Hendrix's music was escapism. Ziggy Stardust is escapism. Iggy Pop. They're not hung up on making people bummed out or angry. Their intent is to have people escape, like they have amnesia as to what their life is really about. It's about going to a place where they can be happy and wild and loose and sexual.

So, when you need to escape what do you do?
Music is always my great escape. I'll perform with Etty, or I'll DJ. Or I'll play live with Jane's, which is always an escape. I get to be that wild child and do whatever the hell I want onstage. And then to escape from music I'll do board sports. I still love snowboarding and surfing and skateboarding. My next snowboarding trip is to Whistler for my birthday. It's beautiful there. I ride bikes too. Actually, I have a bike that Lance Armstrong gave me when he won his sixth title. I love to go for long bike rides along the California coastline.

It's almost like a replacement for drugs…
Yeah! Exactly! I aspire to be the great escape artist.

http://www.spin.com/articles/perry-farr ... diction-lp

[nexis]

[Hidefumi]

"We're producing a really amazing piece of art, an amazing piece of music. It will make people say, 'This is strangely beautiful.

[spunkmuffin]

I love that Perry is taking his time....listening to what others say...I know with my own output that taking the time to get things right ...letting others have something you started iz really hard to do...taking it back in...changing yer baby...I really hope Perry is having alot of fun..I hope Dave and Stephen are finding a stronger place...while kissing the way that Perry made before...I really want to see all of them firing at their peak...a new door..a new sound...with the kiss of the past.....songs building to a orgasm...maybe a couple quick fuck me hard songs...one for when I think Im lost...a vibe that sayz we are all ok....been a ride hasnt it?... We made it!!!.....Make out

[humanoid]

c'mon now you know it's gonna be another stray's part 2 lp...

[spunkmuffin]

Well im smart enough not to make stray'z 2...what makes you think they are so dumb?....My biggest fear is they play it too safe....Go wherever the fucking song takes you....Go apeshit with the experiments ..make sumpthing hard to digest in one listen....go there....The place that is the great escape....sumpthing challenging...dont play safe...I think Jane's shoulda built on the re mix -lapse version of Kettle-Whistle or So What That was music to fuck too...even if it wasnt classic Jane's...I'm sure they would of struck gold again there..hold whats dear ...and build today...It is possible...I have faith...for me and all us old farts

[helicine]

c'mon now you know it's gonna be another stray's part 2 lp...

Way to be positive there guy. Do you wake up every morning and say to yourself "today is going to be a shitty day"?

[Jasper]

c'mon now you know it's gonna be another stray's part 2 lp...

Wut, another Strays part two? I didn't even hear the first Strays part two. And why don't they just call it Strays part three?! Was the first Strays part two part of a one-at-a-time, two-disc Strays part two set?

Shit, son, I got some catchin' up to do.

*edit*

You know, it could be much worse than Strays. You better start managing your expectations. Start looking harder at the potential downside of everything.

[TrevorAyer]

c'mon now you know it's gonna be another stray's part 2 lp...

Way to be positive there guy. Do you wake up every morning and say to yourself "today is going to be a shitty day"?

no its going to be yesterdays shitty day part 2

i am pretty sure whores and chip away were our very own strays part 2 .. i didn't think janes could suck the life out of such good songs .. i was wrong .. so yes we are officially on strays part 3 .. if we are goin down that road that is getting thinner

i am hoping that no power chords does not exclude some acoustic based material. its always been the classic girl jane says i would for u good gods pets a little sadness kinda acoustic songs that ground a solid janes record mixed with some good bass grooves for dave to noodle and stephen to hippy drum jam over with just a touch of punk rock. not too much of any one flavor. yeah thats the ticket

its all on perrys hair tho really, i dont think he can make a good record with that haircut. at least stephen and dave still look like rock stars with the mohawk and glam girl stylz. the fact that they think they will lose old hardcore fans is fair warning but not a good sign. i was hoping they would be trying to out do all previous records and blow everyones mind .. they seem somewhat content to be different than before and not neccessarily better.

i am glad that perry is trying so hard tho ..

[humanoid]

i've followed these guys since there strated and know well enough to know they ain't gonna come out w/nothing special.and i wake up happy every day...jane's addiction is dead.move on to other music and quit living in the past.