This week on Billboard’s Behind The Setlist podcast, hosts Jay Gilbert and Glenn Peoples spoke with Jane’s Addiction frontman Perry Farrell about the band’s new era kicking off now with new music and tour dates, marking the first time the band's four original members (Farrell, Dave Navarro, Eric Avery, and Steven Perkins) have performed together since 2010.
LISTEN NOW: Behind The Setlist | Perry Farrell (of Jane’s Addiction)
With a vitamin IV in his arm during the interview, Farrell discussed how the new, aptly titled track and current live dates are a redemption for the band and looks forward to even more to come after just finishing up a successful European run. When the band decided to create the setlist this time around, “I guess we all decided that we would only do songs where the original lineup was all together,” he explains of their recent shows packed with songs from their 1987 self-titled debut, 1988’s Nothing's Shocking, and 1990’s Ritual de lo Habitual. “That's the decision that we made. I wanted everybody to feel comfortable and I think that was a good decision in that regard.”
“There are other songs that we could do with the original members, that I would like to see before everything is -- I don't wanna say busted apart -- but I don't know the next time we'll be touring again,” he adds. “‘I Would For You’ is a song that we didn't do at all. I don't know if we're thinking to do that one or not, and the first record we did a couple of covers. I don't know if we'll be doing them.”
Jane's Addiction’s new single "Imminent Redemption," Perry admits, “has to be” included in their upcoming set lists. “The tour is centered around the idea of redemption and the era that we're living in -- the era of redemption. It's gonna be a bumpy road, but then there should be peace for 1,000 years. I've studied mysticism for a good 30 years,” he says. “I'm really looking forward to the future of the world. I think we're gonna settle. Every day I wake up, I get a little fearful of what could get out of hand, who could be pulling the wool over our eyes -- but I pray, you know. Let's not kid ourselves. The world could be a very dangerous place, but it can also be very exciting and evolving, and we as a race, I see evolution and I'm really happy to be a part of the evolution.”
With this new tour, Perry explains, “I'm trying to start the fire, you know, a spiritual fire… You can start a fire with coal, you can start a fire with flint… they both start fire. But the one that started with flint, it's very difficult and it is latent. I feel that we've learned now how to start fires, even difficult fires... I feel that this time in man's history is gonna be so special… and we have to do it with joy. We have to bring God down from heaven to live amongst us and do it with joy, and we do it with prayer, do it with belief, do it with loving kindness. That's what I see for us. That's what this tour is about.”
Farrell adds, “We have to unify, we have to bring the world together, it’s not going to come by any one person. It has to be done with all of us agreeing on the redemption. I don't want to injure anybody, I don't want to talk badly even about anybody," he says, "but I shouldn't want to let people get away with murder and destroy this planet. My way of combating that is to sing, to wisen myself."
Speaking not only as the band’s frontman but also as original founder of the massive Lollapalooza festival, "I try to get through art and music and then I build the party, and I invite the best people I could invite -- and they invite their friends, and they wanna show up,” he says. “Then the next thing you know, you're standing next to people you'd never be standing next to, you know, and they're all getting off and they're doing their thing, and they feel safe and they feel welcome. There's not a person that I wouldn't love to see at Lolla.”
Listen to the full Behind the Setlist episode with Perry Farrell -- now playing on Audacy -- and follow along as hosts Glenn Peoples (Billboard) and Jay Gilbert (Label Logic) talk to artists to get the stories about the songs they play live. Most artists are known best for their recordings, but they love to be on stage. That's where the music feels at home. That's where they connect with the audience. How do they pick the songs to take the audience on a journey? Why do they cover other artists' songs? How many new songs can an artist fit into a 16-song set when people want to hear the classics? We find out.
Related
Just before dropping their latest single, "Imminent Redemption." on July 24, Jane's Addiction returned in mid-June 2024 with news of co-headlining North American tour dates with Love and Rockets which kick off on August 9 in Las Vegas, NV, and will run through September 26 in Indianapolis, IN. Tickets and special VIP experiences are available now. Take a look at the full itinerary below.
JANE’S ADDICTION / LOVE AND ROCKETS 2024 tour dates:
Fri Aug 09 — Las Vegas, NV — Fontainebleau Las Vegas
Sun Aug 11 — San Diego, CA — Gallagher Square at Petco Park
Tue Aug 13 — Los Angeles, CA — YouTube Theater
Thu Aug 15 — Phoenix, AZ — Arizona Financial Theatre
Sun Aug 18 — Irving, TX — The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
Mon Aug 19 — Houston, TX — 713 Music Hall
Wed Aug 21 — Rogers, AR — Walmart AMP
Fri Aug 23 — Durant, OK — Choctaw Grand Theater
Sun Aug 25 — New Orleans, LA — The Fillmore
Tue Aug 27 — Jacksonville, FL — Daily's Place
Thu Aug 29 — Tampa, FL — MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
Sat Aug 31 — Hollywood, FL — Hard Rock Live
Tue Sep 03 — Raleigh, NC — Red Hat Amphitheater
Thu Sep 05 — Portsmouth, VA — Atlantic Union Bank Pavilion
Sat Sep 07 — Atlantic City, NJ — Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena
Tue Sep 10 — New York, NY — The Rooftop at Pier 17
Fri Sep 13 — Boston, MA — Leader Bank Pavilion
Sun Sep 15 — Bridgeport, CT — Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater
Wed Sep 18 — Toronto, ON — Budweiser Stage
Fri Sep 20 — Rochester Hills, MI — Meadow Brook Amphitheater
Sun Sep 22 — Milwaukee, WI — BMO Pavilion
Tue Sep 24 — Chicago, IL — Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom
Thu Sep 26 — Indianapolis, IN — Everwise Amphitheater
Sat Sep 28 – Huntsville, AL – South Star Music Festival*
Sun Sep 29 – St. Louis, MO – Evolution Festival*
*Not A Live Nation Date