Janes NS show LA 9/20

[bman]

Good Job SR! I can't believe the mental anguish you went through over this decision! Have Fun and go up close!

[Romeo]

I gotta go. Pickin up tix today.

SUCKER!!!

I'm debating on where or not to go to a FREE show. I may have to wash my hair that day....

[SR]

Yeah, well.....they're old....PF represents everything I despise, but over the years I have played NS from the beginning to end more times than I can count; it is my fave r&r album of all time. This is a one off and I'll fall into some selective memory that will increase my quality of life if for fleeting instances.....

[SR]

I'll be wearing a AND.org T with SR on the back

[Romeo]

I'll be wearing a AND.org T with SR on the back

[blackula]

I gotta go. Pickin up tix today.

SUCKER!!!

I'm debating on where or not to go to a FREE show. I may have to wash my hair that day....

Tickets are on "sale"? Where do I find them?

[SR]

For Hollywood, here....

http://ssmf.com/

or the Jane's site probably......NY, no idea

[blackula]

For Hollywood, here....

http://ssmf.com/

or the Jane's site probably......NY, no idea

My bad, thought you were talking about NY

[poppyman8181]

For Hollywood, here....

http://ssmf.com/

or the Jane's site probably......NY, no idea

My bad, thought you were talking about NY

Do you guys think Jane's will have any guest play with them? Angelo Moore maybe even Flea?

[SR]

Although I didn't agonize as much as bman thinks....more matter, less art might have been the better path here.....I'm looking forward to this even with. Diminished expectations. Hadn't thought of any special guests but I think it can be said with confidence ea will not guest

Is there anyone else going from la?

[kv]

For Hollywood, here....

http://ssmf.com/

or the Jane's site probably......NY, no idea

My bad, thought you were talking about NY

Do you guys think Jane's will have any guest play with them? Angelo Moore maybe even Flea?

doubt it etty and thats it is my guess...flea wouldn't be caught dead playing that

[bman]

Angelo will play on Idiots Rule for sure.

[SR]

Angelo will play on Idiots Rule for sure.

Those guys are on the road constantly.....at least Norwood is.

[henry]

Interesting LA Weekly interview by a friend of mine in advance of the show this Saturday:

Perry Farrell on Revisiting Nothing's Shocking and Jane's Addiction's Early Days
http://www.laweekly.com/westcoastsound/ ... early-days

[SR]

No mention of Avery. Douche

[Romeo]

No mention of Avery. Douche

Perry is the ultimate history revisionist

[creep]

I have this new project I'm working on called Kind Heaven where I am embracing technology... the experience won't work without a cell phone.

i sooooo hope this actually happens. every interview where he mentions it it sounds more and more ridiculous.

[bman]

Perry's memory is swiss cheese. He mentions coming to LA in the 70s. Wasn't he in Miami Beach in high school in the 70's?

[Hype]

Perry's memory is swiss cheese. He mentions coming to LA in the 70s. Wasn't he in Miami Beach in high school in the 70's?

He joined Psi Com in 83 I think (or am I getting that mixed up with when Psi Com formed?... the album Perry's on was released July 85...), so it's not impossible that he was already out in LA in '79, but more likely it was early 80s. I forget the exact timeline... mostly because I really don't care anymore.

Also, he was born in '59, so he would've been done high school by 78...

[tvrec]

Perry's memory is swiss cheese. He mentions coming to LA in the 70s. Wasn't he in Miami Beach in high school in the 70's?

he also says "we moved out," which is interesting since the story he has always told was about him on a greyhound bus, leaving his "we" behind. He is probably conflating his family moving south to Florida (oh, the stereotypes) with his own move out to LA at some later point.

[Pandemonium]

Also, he was born in '59, so he would've been done high school by 78...

Perry's less than a month older than me and I graduated in '77.

[Hype]

I gave him an extra year

[Romeo]

according to wiki

Farrell moved to California in the early 1980s to live as a surfer.

[creep]

somewhat interesting interview. the guy sure is nutty. nice to know that perry feels bad for the people struggling because they only make 250k a year and have to pay more taxes. i also love when he brings up kind heaven.

Jane's Addiction will perform 'Nothing's Shocking' in its entirety on Friday.

This weekend, Jane's Addiction will be the focal point of the Sunset Strip Music Festival, a two-day long event celebrating the legendary strip's long musical heritage. On Friday night, Jane's will be honored at a private event at the House of Blues, then Saturday the band will headline the first day of the festival by performing Nothing's Shocking in its entirety. Joining the band on the bill, which will include three outdoor stages as well as performances inside iconic venues such as the Roxy and the Whisky A Go-Go, are Empire of the Sun, who will close out Sunday, Birds of Satan, Failure, Tove Lo, Mayer Hawthorne, the Last Internationale, Cold War Kids, Bun B, Killer Mike and many more.

As Jane's get set to receive the Elmer Valentine Award, for their legacy and impact on the Strip, frontman Perry Farrell sat down with Billboard at his home to reflect on his memories of the Strip as well as share his fascinating thoughts on politics, the music business and Jane's Addiction's future plans.

When was the first time you went to the Sunset Strip?

When I first came to L.A. I was a dishwasher, busboy, waiter and I wanted to be an actor, but I was also writing songs, just for myself. I had a little P.A. and microphone and I would practice my voice and these songs I had written.

How old were you when you came here?

When I got here I was just about in my 20s, in my last years of my teens. So when I got here I lived in Oceanside, then Cardiff by the Sea, then Newport. It was all for surfing, I was designing jewelry and a graphic artist. I swore I would never come to L.A. because as a surfer I was very sensitive to nature. Driving I would see L.A., occasionally come up to go to these underage discos, we'd drive up from Newport Beach and go dancing up here and listen to shows. Michael Jackson would show up. People ripped their shirts off. I got to Cardiff and I was going to punk rock shows through the '70s.

So here I was coming up to L.A. and Sunset Strip, hanging out at disco clubs and roller-skating rinks. I went skating, but I lived in Hermosa Beach, I got a job, my first job as a busboy, opening up a restaurant. I was dating this cocktail waitress. I was a nobody whose girlfriend was getting banged by a coke dealer, that's how far I've come, Steve.

So when you go up at House of Blues to accept that do you think of all the people you've known along the way?

I think about the denizens of the scene. I hope that these cats come out, the Pleasant Gehman's and Tex & the Horseheads, Mike Mars, people that were the kings of the scene. That's why I invited John Doe, he was the king of the scene.

It's amazing to think of how both L.A. and you have changed in that time.

The world is a really complex place and the more you think about it I understand why people get conservative. When you consider all the nut jobs that are out there that need to be checked and you want your kids to be in a safe environment, in an educational environment, I get it. I understand a Republican's viewpoint, I really do. I don't dislike them as much as I used to. When I was younger and more naïve I used to just say, "F--- you guys." But these days I have more empathy for people with money. I have money now, so I understand wanting to keep your money, the money you worked hard for and also want to have a healthy environment for your kids.

Somebody once said to me, "I'm a Democrat socially, I'm a Republican fiscally." For me, I kind of am almost like that when it comes to politics because I think Obama's got it all wrong. The people that he's taxing are absolutely the hardest-working people and a lot of these people are the people that can't really afford the taxes that he's asking. The super-rich can afford to pay more. It doesn't really put much of a dent in their pocket, but he's taxing people that are really middle-class. I think it starts at $250,000; that's not a lot of money in California. And what is the first thing he does when he gets in office? Pays the banks off. So he can say what he wants. I thought he was a mediocre president.

He's not done yet.

No, but it doesn't seem he's about to do anything big anyway, does it? He did something nice for the environment. He had a 30-year plan to reduce dioxin emissions, but that kind of a law, somebody is gonna snatch that right up.

It's interesting you say 250,000 is not a lot.

That's one year. You ask a successful musician, for some guys that's a good year's labor being in that business.

You go back to being a busboy, and here you are sitting in this house.

Would I have ever thought that? No, I'll tell you what, my thought process was "I am going to try and buy a house." I asked my friend, Bill, who went to college, "How much do houses go for?" And he said, "You can get a down payment on a house for like $20,000." And I thought, "I don't know how I'm ever gonna get $20,000." Then it was explained you can go to a bank for a loan.

We are still not at the Sunset Strip.

I would come up here for shows at the Roxy, I saw OMD, X, Rickie Lee Jones, groups like that, Sparks, the Motels, Oingo Boingo, Tommy Tutone, guys that were new wave, the Knack. I missed Jim Morrison, I didn't see the Doors, bummed out. But that's what was available to us. Orchestral Manouvers were incredible.

And you did get to sing with the Doors.

Yeah, that is the best consolation prize one could ever dream of and fathom. The Doors invited me, there was a book coming out -- this was an odd story, and not a great one because the Doors were not speaking to each other at that time. John Densmore did not want to give the Doors name up for commerciality, and John wanted to keep the music of the Doors off commercials and he didn't want the other guys to go out and keep playing as the Doors. That's John for you, I like John, we're kind of neighbors. I liked all of those guys, Robby [Krieger] is a great guy. So I would go and play with John at Book Soup on the Strip, he was playing like percussion instruments. He, as a percussionist is just as interesting as he was for the Doors. He's got a jazz sensibility and his stabs that come out of nowhere. Then after that everybody went over to the Whisky and we had a good time, a lot of cats were singing with them. It's nice to see they made up. I hate seeing musicians who don't get along.

What was the best show you ever saw on the Strip?

One that stands out to me is the Oasis one because they were the it group of the moment and they were sitting there cursing at each other in this cockney thing. It was hard to understand, then the one brother would say something and the other brother would punch him. I loved that one, that was a good one.

For me, I ended up to go up there and Jane's records its first album and I wanted to make the first album a live album so nobody could take away or detract or do anything to the music people got to hear, the raw Triple XXX records, which was on Hollywood Blvd. Triple XXX was a Hollywood indie label. We had already signed to Warners, but we told them, "There's something we have to do beforehand." And they were okay with it. So we had all these record executives come anyway to see that show. And I remember I had everybody in the palm of my hand and I went on to tell them what a bunch of fat pricks they were. But I already knew I was gonna get signed to Warner Bros anyway, so I thought it was funny.

Do you remember the first time Jane's played the strip?

I honestly don't remember the show, but I remember there's a place upstairs from the Roxy and I had heard it was a really cool club, but I think it's private. Back in the day when the Sunset Strip was going off, early '80s, one would make their own fliers. So the musicians, myself included as one, would go to places and hand out fliers for their show coming. So I was standing on Sunset right in front of the Roxy handing out fliers and here comes Jack Nicholson. I had dreadlocks and a nose ring and I got a little nervous because I was punk. He was obviously not punk, but I liked him anyway. And I hand him a flier, he stopped and he took it and he read it and he goes, "Thanks a lot, man." Then he walked upstairs.

For you, who was the coolest person to ever come to a Jane's show?

I'm a fan of Leonardo DiCaprio and I've heard that he's been to Jane's shows. But he came as a patron; he didn't want to be treated by us. I would have, I definitely would have. I think he's a great actor, I think he's in line with Jack Nicholson. Recently when we were here and Jim Carrey came. He's a genius, in my eyes. It was super to see him.

Another thing that has changed so much is the music business. What do you think of the new world of music?

You can't tell me that alternative can't make money. I have a hundred thousand people-plus a day showing up [Lollapalooza] and I could do that around the world probably 25 times, which means there's an audience. You, my friend, just have to figure out how to tap that audience and generate some money to make the world go round. It can be done. I just think these guys are lazy, I'm right back at square one where I was at the Roxy when I was calling them fat pricks who didn't know what was going on. I don't envy being a record executive. I don't envy people that work in the music industry. First of all, what they do nowadays is they scale back. Over the course of the last decade they've been scaling back, just like politicians. If you're a smart guy you don't get into politics. If you're a smart guy you don't get into the music business anymore. Isn't that sad? The saddest part about that is God will give a person the ability to make music, a genius if you will. And his future, what he's got to look forward to, is a life of uncertainty, insecurity. There are ways; I'm supporting myself very well, I'm a musician. I look at myself as a musician first, then a promoter. I look at myself as an artist even ahead of a musician. As the world changes you have to kind of keep up with the changes. But music is around us, it's all around us. Music has gone digital, true. But I don't look at it as, "Music's gone digital, oh we're f---ed." Some would say, "Music, you can download it, we're finished. There's nothing you can do." No, there's an entirely new world for musicians, for record executives. You just have to be respectful of the musicians.

How do you effect the changes you want to see?

I have a project I've been working on, it's called Kind Heaven. And most of my energies I would like to put into Kind Heaven for the next, might go as long as 18 months, until it's finished. And Jane's falls within that in that there's a new platform for musicians with Kind Heaven. I won't go into great detail, only to say that it's gonna be another venue that musicians are going to be able to perform and we need music for that. There's always gonna be a need for music, so why shouldn't the genius musicians get the chance to make music? That's what I am looking for. I'm looking to create places for geniuses to be able to create music, perform music and make a career out of music. That's what's going on with me and Jane's. In the meantime there's nothing wrong with going off to the Netherlands or the UK or the Sunset Strip and performing. What it is is cashing out on 25 years, Nothing's Shocking. It's one of those victory laps.

Are you now thinking about Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?

I have to be honest with you. There's something about that that irks me. I get this feeling they're gonna snub me for a while.

You guys were always critical favorites though.

Not with Rolling Stone. They took great pride in slagging us. Every once in a while they find some bad band to punch bag, "Not gonna give them a good review." They've been disrespectful to me, so I'm not in a rush for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. To me the genius album was Ritual, "Three Days," "Then She Did," I saved what I thought were the best compositions for Ritual. So it'd be great if it was a Ritual year.

Do you have anything special planned for SSMF? And who would you like to honor you at HOB?

I thought of Alice Cooper, Skrillex. Personally I'm doing a record for MusiCares, Bob Ezrin is producing it, we're all recording it at Johnny Depp's house, the music of Harry Nilsson. There are some really good songs he had. Alice is gonna be there, contributing on that one. Then I've got another one, Paul McCartney is doing a tribute record, so people like Willie Nelson, B.B. King. I picked "Got to Get You Into My Life," there weren't that many songs to choose from. I could hear that on the radio, really swinging hard. It's easy for the girls, it's summery, it's a got a nice flow to it.

[Hype]

somewhat interesting interview. the guy sure is nutty. nice to know that perry feels bad for the people struggling because they only make 250k a year and have to pay more taxes. i also love when he brings up kind heaven.

He sounds a lot like LJF there... in a delusional Fox News world where 250k (over 200,000 (or 5x) more than the median income) is "Middle Class", meanwhile the ACTUAL middle class has been decimated by 30 years of Reaganomics and Pseudoreaganomics... with wages staying essentially flat. Only 20% of Americans make MORE than $100,000 a year... That's 80% of the country living on less than half of what Perry Farrell thinks is "Middle Class"...

I know he lives on another planet, but that shit just really makes me angry...