When news broke earlier this week that Jane’s Addiction was headed back into the studio, fans and purists excitedly thought it would mark the first time the full original group have recorded an album together since 1990’s Ritual De Lo Habitual. Unfortunately, the fog of uncertainty surrounding bassist Eric Avery and his future with the band seems to be lifting, and the news isn’t good:
The original lineup of Jane’s Addiction, which features Farrell, guitarist Dave Navarro, drummer Stephen Perkins and bassist Eric Avery, regrouped in the fall of 2008 and toured last spring with Nine Inch Nails. It was the first time the original quartet had performed together since 1991; the band’s two other reunions in 1997 and 2001 didn’t include Avery, and he was replaced by Chris Channing on the 2003 album Strays. It was a great album, but many core fans felt it “didn’t count” as a full Jane’s record because Avery wasn’t present.
Now, it should be noted that Avery said “writing” and not “recording” in reference to Jane’s, but that may be splitting hairs. The reunited Jane’s Addiction already scrapped a recording session from 2009, and their history of turbulence is anything but exaggerated.
Speaking of last year’s recording experience, Perry Farrell told The Pulse Of Radio: “We started to record and things got kind of ugly. You know, it’s one of those things where the headbutting really came out when we tried to write… But you know what? I’m very patient, because it’s only been, what, 18 years, so I can’t expect things overnight to be perfect.”
Nevertheless, Avery’s confirmed that he’ll be playing with the band when they head to Australia for a string of dates next month. Furthermore, Perry tweeted some clarification about recording, as well as the promise of South America dates and a new song, saying “Yeah, we wrote a ripper for all the he men to shout into the wild.”
