Perry Farrell
(born Peretz Bernstein
on March 29, 1959) is an American musician who is the frontman for the alternative rock band Jane's Addiction. Farrell created the touring festival Lollapalooza as a farewell tour for Jane's Addiction in 1991; it has since evolved into an annual festival. Farrell continues to produce Lollapalooza with partners William Morris Agency and C3. Farrell has also led the alternative rock groups Porno For Pyros and Satellite Party. Peretz (???
) is his Hebrew name, as well as his DJ moniker DJ Peretz
.
|
PERRY FARRELL TICKETS
|
Early life
Farrell was born in
Queens, New York and moved to
Miami with his family during his teens. His father was a jeweler, and his mother committed
suicide when Farrell was three, an event later noted in the Jane's Addiction song "Then She Did". Early musical influences included
David Bowie,
Prince and
Lou Reed. Following his graduation from high school, Farrell moved to
California in the early 1980s to live as a surfer, lived in his car and made money working construction and waiting tables.
[1] [2] [3] [4] Farrell has been sighted at premier surfing destinations throughout the world, most notably
Bali, in 2001.
Professional career
Psi Com
He became the frontman for the
gothic rock band
Psi Com in
Los Angeles, and traveled in a larger community of area musicians including the bands
X,
Fishbone, and
Black Flag. Psi Com broke up around 1985 and Farrell met Eric Avery through mutual friends. The two began jam sessions which would become the initial foundation for Jane's Addiction. It was during this period that Peretz chose the pseudonym Perry Farrell for himself as a play on the word 'peripheral'.
[5]
Jane's Addiction (1985 – 1991)
Jane's Addiction made its name in mid-1980s LA by building up a rabid fan base with legendary, high-energy shows in small LA rock clubs, driven by Farrell's high-pitched singing, manic dancing and drug-fueled general showmanship. In 1991, prior to Jane's Addiction dissolving, he, Ted Gardener, and Marc Geiger created the
Lollapalooza festival as a farewell tour for Jane's Addiction. Lollapalooza ran annually as a travelling festival until 1997. Farrell is therefore generally acknowledged as one of the "godfathers" of alternative rock music. Jane's Addiction, prior to their first break-up released three albums
Jane's Addiction
,
Nothing's Shocking
and
Ritual De Lo Habitual
with the latter being their most critically acclaimed. A B-sides album from the
Ritual
sessions, titled
Live and Rare
was released in Japan.
In 1993 Perry Farrell and Casey Niccoli released a film called
Gift
that features Jane's Addiction. It is a romantic tragedy, with gothic and drug themes. Gift was released by
Warner Brothers.
Porno for Pyros (1992 – 1998)
Following the break-up of Jane's Addiction, Farrell formed
Porno for Pyros with former bandmate
Stephen Perkins as well as newcomers
Peter DiStefano on guitar and
Martyn LeNoble on bass. Together they released two albums,
Porno for Pyros
and
Good God's Urge
.
During this period, Jane's Addiction also reformed for a brief reunion tour with
Flea replacing Avery on bass. The 1997 'Relapse Tour' was supported with the release of
Kettle Whistle
, a rarities album featuring four newly recorded songs.
Solo career (1999 – 2001)
To kickstart his solo career, Farrell released
Rev
in 1999, a compilation featuring songs from his previous two bands as well as two new solo songs. In 2001, he released his debut solo album,
Song Yet To Be Sung
, whose lyrics are inspired by
Kabballah. It received a mixed critical reaction.
He occasionally
DJs under the stage name of DJ Peretz.
Jane's Addiction's 'Strays' Era (2001 – 2004)
Farrell is sometimes credited with changing the fortunes of the
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
[6] Following the festival's disastrous first year in 1999, the event was not held in 2000. In 2001, a decision was made to organize the festival again, but just a few months before the festival was set to occur, there was still no headlining group. Farrell, who was friends with the festival's organizers, decided to reunite Jane's Addiction for the 2001 event, which helped draw large crowds and allowed the festival to yield a profit (which was not the case in 1999). This also started a Coachella tradition of reuniting at least one major artist each year. To date, Farrell is the only performer that has played every Coachella.
Farrell again toured with Jane's Addiction in 2001 and 2003. In 2003, Jane's Addiction released an album
Strays
. They toured extensively in
North America and
Europe, as well as performing at the
Big Day Out festivals in
Australia and
New Zealand. Internal struggles saw the band split up again in early 2004. A "Best Of" release following the break up of this incarnation of the band was released in 2006, titled
Up From the Catacombs
.
Satellite Party (2004 - 2008)
thumb
Farrell recently formed a new band–theatrical entity entitled
The Satellite Party. Satellite Party is an entire piece of music, with a story line that is a fantasy version of his relationship with his wife,
Etty Lau Farrell. Etty sings and plays her part on the record as well as the live stage shows. Satellite Party made its debut in Los Angeles at The Key Club on
July 18,
2005, followed by a performance at Lollapalooza 2005, held in
Grant Park in downtown
Chicago on
July 24, 2005.
Their debut album,
Ultra Payloaded
, was released on May 29, 2007, on
Columbia Records, with contributions from artists such as
John Frusciante and
Flea of the
Red Hot Chili Peppers, electronic dance producers
Hybrid, former
Red Hot Chili Peppers/
Pearl Jam drummer
Jack Irons,
Joy Division/
New Order bassist
Peter Hook, and
Fergie of the
Black Eyed Peas.
[7]
Satellite Party performed at the
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 27, 2007. On
June 29,
2007, Satellite Party performed alongside
Pearl Jam,
Kings of Leon and
Queens of the Stone Age at
Rock Werchter, Belgium. They also performed at Buzz Beach Ball 3 in
Kansas City,
Missouri (a concert sponsored by
KRBZ), and EndFest 16 in
Seattle, Washington.
Jane's Addiction's Return and 'Perry and Etty' (2008 - Present)
The four original members of Jane's Addiction played their first show together in 17 years at the first United States edition of the NME Awards on April 23, 2008 and have played two small shows in Los Angeles during Winter 2008. The band is also the first American band to receive the "God Like Genius" Award. The reunited Jane's Addiction re-debuted at SXSW in 2009 and kicked off a summer tour with
Nine Inch Nails.
Perry has recently released a number of solo tracks online, all of them recorded with the involvement of wife
Etty Lau Farrell.
Other musical collaborations
- Contributed vocals to the song "Hot Lava" on "Chef Aid: The South Park Album" (1998).
- Contributed vocals to the song "Children Of Night" along with Exene Cervenka for the Doors Tribute Album "Stoned Immaculate: The Music of the Doors" (2000).
- Featured on the Track "King Z" on Mad Professor's best of album "Method to the Madness" (2005).
- Featured on the Track "From This Day On" on Soulfarm's album "Scream of the Crop" (2001).
- Featured on the Track "Time of your Life" on Paul Oakenfold's album "Bunkka" (2002).
- Contributed vocals to the song "The Patience Bossa" along with Debbie Harry for the compilation album "A World of Happiness" (2004).
- Featured on the track "Revolution Solution" on Thievery Corporation's album "The Cosmic Game" (2005).
- Featured on the track "Dogstar" on Hybrid's album "I Choose Noise" (2006).
- Contributed the song "Go All the Way (Into the Twilight)" to the Twilight Soundtrack (2008).
- Contributed the song "Nasty Little Perv" to "NCIS: The Official TV Soundtrack" (2009).
- Contributed the song "New Moon" to the compilation album "A World of Happiness" (The 2009 Re-release only).
- Featured on the track "Killing Time" on Infected Mushroom's album "Legend of the Black Shawarma" (2009).
Work outside music
In December 2001, Farrell flew into politically troubled Sudan with other members of Christian Solidarity International to negotiate the release of
Sudanese
slaves. Jane's Addiction donated their earnings from one concert for the redemption of over 2,300 people. Once the redemption agreement was signed, Farrell started up freedom parties at various redemption sites.
"He began dancing and singing," said an associate; "I wasn't sure what would happen, but then everyone joined in. Everyone was dancing. Even the
Arab retrievers joined in. It was
Christians,
Muslims, and
Jews all dancing together. Arabs,
Africans,
Americans, and
Europeans — all."
Farrell also met with British Prime Minister
Tony Blair at
10 Downing Street on January 31, 2007, to discuss global warming. He presented Blair with a CD of the Satellite Party track "Woman in the Window".
Farrell is also an
environmentalist, and plans to become a
digital-only artist for his next release.
[8]
Farrell is the only person who has performed at all eight
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festivals to date, having appeared under five different names (Perry Farrell, Jane's Addiction, DJ Peretz, Satellite Party, and with Hybrid). DJ Peretz and
The Chemical Brothers are the only names to have appeared on the festival's lineup card more than four times.
Personal life
In 2002, Farrell married
Etty Lau Farrell, a professional dancer who has performed in all the Jane's Addiction shows since the 1997 Relapse tour. The couple now have two sons together, Hezron Wolfgang and Izzadore Bravo.
In a video interview with
Blender Online
, Farrell says of his wife, "Etty and I have been working together since 1997. The very first time I saw her come in and shake her... ponytail, I hired her and I fell in love with her on the spot. We travel together and we have a collective memory. So in another words, I don't remember anything and she just reminds me of everything. So we share this memory bank. And it ain't a bad thing waking up with a hot chick in your bed everyday."
PurimPalooza 2006
In 2006, Farrell performed at Purimpalooza, which celebrates the Jewish holiday of
Purim and the birthday of
Rabbi Yosef Langer. It was a concert for all ages and presented different Jewish musical groups. It took place in
Ruby Skye in San Francisco, and featured bands including Moshav, Chutzpah, and
Matisyahu.
Kidzapalooza
In 2005, music producer
Tor Hyams approached Farrell with the idea of creating a kids' stage with family-friendly fare at
Lollapalooza. Kidzapalooza came to be that year, produced by Hyams - initially as part of Lollapalooza, but as of 2009 it will operate as a stand-alone festival, debuting at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles in June with Farrell,
Gary Oldman,
Slash and
Ziggy Marley appearing in the lineup of artists.
[9]
Bands
- Satellite Party
- Jane's Addiction
- Porno for Pyros
- Psi com
Discography
Psi Com
Jane's Addiction
- 1987 Jane's Addiction
- 1988 Nothing's Shocking
- 1990 Ritual De Lo Habitual
- 1991 Live and Rare
(Compilation of B-Sides and the Remix of "Been Caught Stealing")
- 1997 Kettle Whistle
(Compilation of live tracks, demos and unreleased material)
- 2003 Strays
- 2006 Up From the Catacombs
(Greatest hits album)
- 2009 A Cabinet of Curiosities
(Box set)
Porno for Pyros
- 1993 Porno for Pyros
- 1996 Good God's Urge
Solo
- 1999 Rev
(Compilation featuring songs by Jane's Addiction, Porno for Pyros and two new solo songs)
- 2001 Song Yet to be Sung
- 2008 "Go All The Way (Into the Twilight)" Twilight Original Soundtrack
Satellite Party
Notes
- Spin Magazine
- Kevchino.com Indie Music Reviews
- farrell TV.com
- farrell
- MTV.com Perry Farrell Bio
- About.com
- Title Unavailable
- Perry Farrell has big plans for his latest "Party"
- Announcement on the Kidzapalooza site