Dave Navarro is speaking in no uncertain terms about the future of Jane’s Addiction.
Navarro, guitarist for the popular rock band, spoke to Guitar Player about the onstage fight between him and frontman Perry Farrell that took place last September, telling the outlet that the incident “forever destroyed” the band.
“I have to speak in broad strokes here, because there are other individuals involved, and it’s still very tender and unresolved,” he began.
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“There was an altercation onstage, and all the hard work and dedication and writing and hours in the studio, and picking up and leaving home and crisscrossing the country and Europe and trying to overcome my illness — it all came to a screeching halt and forever destroyed the band’s life. And there’s no chance for the band to ever play together again,” Navarro shared.
“I have to say that’s my least favorite gig, without throwing animosity around, and without naming names and pointing fingers, and coming up with reasons.”
Navarro explained that before that fateful concert, the band was “gelling, really, for the first time” because they were older and more settled. He called the shows they played during that tour “some of my favorite Jane’s Addiction gigs of all-time.” He’d been forced to sit out on touring with the band for two years due to a battle with long COVID, and first returned to performing with Jane’s Addiction that May.
“There was no ego issue; it was just four guys making great music, just like we did in the beginning. I was just us on a stage, with people going f—ing crazy,” he told Guitar Player.
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“And that gig, September 13th, in Boston, ended all of that. And for that reason, that is my least favorite gig that I have ever played.”
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Navarro added that with the band, “The experiences are there, but the potential of having those types of experiences ended that night. And so, you know… it is what it is.”
During the Sept. 13 concert, videos taken by fans showed Farrell approaching Navarro, seemingly upset. He shoved Navarro with his shoulder, then advanced on him. Navarro held him back with a forearm to his chest, but Farrell threw a punch before one of the band’s techs intervened.
Farrell’s wife, Etty Lau Farrell, addressed the issue in a social media post at the time, offering a firsthand account of the incident. She claimed that her husband had been growing frustrated because he felt like the volume had been too loud and that his voice was being drowned out. She also wrote that he had been struggling with tinnitus and a sore throat for several nights.
She said that Farrell “lost it” when fans in the front row began complaining that they couldn’t hear him sing. According to her, the band began a song before he was ready, and “by the end of the song, he wasn’t singing, he was screaming just to be heard.”
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She crowned Eric Avery, the bass guitarist for Jane’s Addiction, the winner of the brawl, explaining that after Farrell was pulled away from Navarro, he approached Farrell from behind, then “put Perry in a headlock and punched him in the stomach three times.” Avery then apologized to the audience and ended the show.
Days later, Jane’s Addiction shared a statement announcing that read in part, “Due to a continuing pattern of behavior and the mental health difficulties of our singer Perry Farrell, we have come to the conclusion that we have no choice but to discontinue the current US tour. Our concern for his personal health and safety as well as our own has left us no alternative. We hope that he will find the help he needs.”
At the time, Farrell shared a statement with Fox News Digital that read, “This weekend has been incredibly difficult and after having the time and space to reflect, it is only right that I apologize to my bandmates, especially Dave Navarro, fans, family and friends for my actions during Friday’s show. Unfortunately, my breaking point resulted in inexcusable behavior, and I take full accountability for how I chose to handle the situation.”
A representative for Farrell did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on Navarro’s latest statements.
