Jane's Addiction is the Saturday night headliner at DeLuna Fest. / Special to GoPensacola.com
JANE'S ADDICTION AT DELUNA FEST
Jane's Addiction is set to play at 9 p.m. Saturday on the main stage.
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If you've been to a big music festival in the United States, you owe a bit of respect to Jane's Addiction.
Lead singer Perry Farrell sparked America's love affair with giant, day-long (or longer) music festivals when he created Lollapalooza 20 years ago. Jane's Addiction headlined the inaugural year of the festival — which was initially a tour, but now is headquartered in Chicago, with a new spin-off in Chile.
The festival took off, and so did the band. While Jane's Addiction was already successful, the band's second studio album, "Ritual de lo Habitual," became a smash in part because of Lollapalooza, and songs such as "Been Caught Stealing" and "Stop!" became instant classics.
So in a very real way, there may have been no DeLuna Fest without Jane's Addiction. Fitting, then, that the band headlines Saturday night at this year's festival.
For such an iconic band, it might be odd to hear that Jane's Addiction's next album, due Oct. 18, is just its fourth. But the band — which also features guitarist Dave Navarro and drummer Stephen Perkins — has a tumultuous history that has found it spending as much time apart as together.
"I met Dave Navarro wen I was 13 and Perry when I was 17," Perkins said during a phone interview to promote the band's DeLuna Fest appearance. "The truth is, we can't stay away too long. But we won't do it for the money. If we're not getting along, life is too short, especially in an artistic situation. So that leads our decisions. We don't want to fake it. So it's really when it feels right."
That meant a 13-year hiatus from recording between "Ritual" and 2003's "Strays," and another eight years until this year's "The Great Escape Artist."
Not that the members have been silent all those years. In addition to occasional tours, Perkins and Farrell had the successful band Porno for Pyros, Navarro did time in the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and all three have done solo projects and performed with other groups.
Perkins said the time apart helps build perspective.
"When the band started, my whole pie was Jane's Addiction," he said. "Now, it's just a small part. Now, I know how to keep it separate. You need to have a life separate of the band. I think that helps. There are a lot of conversations we have to have that drive things, that aren't with our instruments that drive things. When you go into the studio, it's not all fun and games. You have to suffer a bit to make something special. So we went in and tested the waters, and it's been really creative, to create a new experience."
Perkins admits that being in Jane's Addiction can be a volatile experience.
"It's like a really hot relationship with a girl, it's very hot and fiery," he said. "Hopefully, it lasts for a while. I feel an anticipation in the band, and I feel that people are excited about music, and there's a sense of art. I love playing, and I love having new music that feels that big. When we're together, we feel young again. The world is your oyster, especially when you have your boys with you. I feel like the future can be for a long time together. We've learned how to get through situations good and bad. I think there's a belief in what we're doing. It feels good."
DeLuna Fest attendees will get a good sample of that feeling, as Jane's Addiction plans to offer some of the new album as part of its headline set.
"We've got three or four (new) tunes in our machine gun ready to pull the trigger," Perkins said. It depends on what kind of mood we're in. But the new songs, just like the old music, are timeless and emotional."
