#312 - Jane's Addiction - Nothing's Shocking (1988)

MUSIC HISTORY COMPILED BY ADAM BERNARD:

JANE’S ADDICTION BIO

After failed attempts at previous bands, frontman Perry Farrell finally formed the Jane's Addiction lineup we know with Dave Navarro on guitar, Stephen Perkins on drums and eventually Eric Avery on bass. They were one of the first alternative bands to start gaining mainstream attention and success in the late 1980s. They wanted their first release to be on an independent label, which they achieved on Triple X Records with their self-titled debut, which was a live performance at The Roxy. They went into the studio in January 1988 to record their first studio album, today's release. 

The band was dubbed "Jane's Addiction" in honor of Farrell's housemate, Jane Bainter, who was their muse and inspiration. "My girlfriend and I were sitting in the car…" Farrell recalled, "and we started to think about band names. She threw in Jane's Heroin Experience. I thought it wasn't vague enough. If you want to invite people in, you don't want to put heroin on your door." 

1991 BAND BREAK UP: Differences between the members on the issue of drug use on the "Ritual" tour led to a schism: Farrell and Perkins regularly partook, while Avery and Navarro abstained. Between shows, Avery and Navarro sought to avoid temptation by retiring to a section of the tour bus set aside for them and go to their hotel after shows. A Spin magazine article said  "They have learned that they cannot use drugs of any kind anymore without becoming slaves to them, and that slavery is death." In late 1991, Avery told Navarro that he planned to leave. Navarro quickly agreed to do the same. The two told their management, who in turn tried to convince them to play in Japan, but Avery and Navarro only wanted to play as much as was contractually obligated. The band played its last shows in Australia and Hawaii before disbanding. "It's weird to be at the end of a cycle like that," remarked Avery, "having run the gamut of the usual 'rock story' from beginning to end: you get signed, get strung out, break up."

The band reunited in 2001 and toured, and then released the album Strays, but the reunion only lasted a couple of years and broke up again at the end of 2003. Navarro claimed on his website in June 2004 that the reasons were essentially the same as they were in 1991. Perkins later stated, "We always break up if it's not real. We really can't fake it… We can make a million dollars for three months touring but we would fucking hate each other, which isn't good. Even with the nostalgia, it's not worth it if it doesn't sound good, or look good. One of the things with Jane's is that we have never been good at faking it. 

They got together again in 2008 and toured with Nine Inch Nails in 2010, but Eric Avery left the band for good after that tour. Former GnR bassist Duff McKagan took his place and has held that spot since.

BACKGROUND – NOTHING’S SHOCKING

This was the group's debut studio album, released August 23rd, 1988. It peaked at #103 on the Billboard 200. 

During the recording sessions, Farrell stated he wanted 50% of the band's publishing royalties for writing the lyrics, plus a quarter of the remaining half for writing music, adding up to 62.5%. Bassist Eric Avery said he and the other members were stunned by these demands. Farrell refused to compromise. One day album producer Dave Jerden drove to the studio to find Farrell, Navarro, and Perkins leaving; Farrell told him the band had broken up and there would be no record. Warner Bros. called an emergency meeting to resolve the situation. Farrell received the percentage he sought, and the other members received 12.5 percent each. Avery said the incident had a profound effect on the band, creating an internal fracture. 

Not long after the royalties dispute, Farrell and Avery – who had cofounded the band – had a falling-out. This was the result of Avery's newfound sobriety as well as an incident in which Farrell believed Avery had drunkenly tried to pick up his girlfriend. "Unfortunately," Farrell recalled, "the tensions between Eric and I affected the whole family. Some people were asked to take sides, and others just moped about because they didn't know what was going on." Perkins, however, is reported to have got along with Navarro, Avery and Farrell