Janes Addiction

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Jane's Addiction was an American rock band featuring Perry Farrell (vocalist), Dave Navarro (guitarist), Eric Avery (bassist), and Stephen Perkins (percussionist). The band formed in Los Angeles in the mid- 1980s and dissolved in 1991. Jane's Addiction briefly toured in 1997 and then returned in the early 2000s before breaking up again.

Jane's Addiction emerged on the Los Angeles music scene during the 1980s with a style influenced by punk, heavy metal, funk and psychedelic rock styles; singer Perry Farrell once described Jane's Addiction as a cross between Duke Ellington and Bad Brains. Jane's Addiction was one of the first of the burgeoning alternative rock movement to gain mainstream media attention and commercial success in the United States. Jane's Addiction initial farewell tour launched the first Lollapalooza festival, an annual touring alternative rock showcase. As a result, Jane's Addiction became icons of what Farrell dubbed the "Alternative Nation" during the 1990s.

Jane's Addiction are ranked #35 in VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock

Jane's Addiction formed out of the ashes of frontman Perry Farrell's previous band, Psi-com. In the summer of 1985, Farrell was searching for a new bass player for the faltering Psi-com when he was introduced to Eric Avery. Farrell and Avery bonded over a mutual appreciation for Joy Division and The Velvet Underground and began to practice together, even though Avery never did become a full-fledged member of Farrell's disintegrating group. Later, Eric's sister introduced the duo to Stephen Perkins, whom she was dating at the time. Perkins in turn suggested that his friend (and Dizastre bandmate) Dave Navarro might be a suitable guitar player for the new band, dubbed "Jane's Addiction" in honor of Farrell's heroin-shooting housemate, Jane Bainter. Jane's Addiction became a sensation on the Los Angeles club scene, primarily headlining at Scream. Jane's Addiction soon gained interest from a variety of record labels. While Jane's Addiction had decided to sign with Warner Bros. Records, Jane's Addiction insisted on releasing their debut on an independent record label first. The first record, Jane's Addiction, was a live recording with heavy overdubs released on Triple X Records. Jane's Addiction major label debut Nothing's Shocking was released in 1988. The album was certified Gold and Jane's Addiction was nominated for the inaugural Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance Vocal or Instrumental the following year.

Jane's Addiction full breakthrough came with the release of Ritual de lo Habitual in 1990. The singles "Stop!" and "Been Caught Stealing" topped the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and the video for the latter song won the first MTV Video Music Award for Best Alternative Video. Also that year Perry Farrell organized the first Lollapalooza festival, featuring Jane's Addiction as the headliners with Butthole Surfers, Nine Inch Nails, Siouxsie & the Banshees, Rollins Band, Living Colour, and Ice-T. However, tensions had emerged in Jane's Addiction and soon it became clear that Lollapalooza was to be Jane's Addiction's farewell tour.

Though Jane's Addiction had only released two studio albums (Nothing's Shocking and Ritual de lo Habitual) and one live album (Jane's Addiction), its effect on the rock and alternative music scenes was enormous (similar to how the Sex Pistols and Nirvana's brief careers achieved the same effect). Jane's Addiction became the poster child for a new wave of artful and thoughtful rockers who were eschewing the confinements of commercial rock music and stretching to express themselves both musically and theatrically. In its heyday, Farrell created Lollapalooza, the alternative rock festival that revolutionized the North American concert promotion world by bringing together an eclectic mix of musicians, exhibitors, and attractions for a high-energy weekend of music and alternative lifestyles.

The "Ripple" single that the band produced for the Grateful Dead tribute album Deadicated was the final studio track for this incarnation of Jane's Addiction.

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