A shocking murder, heroin addiction, and onstage fights. Jane's Addiction were one of alternative rock's standout acts in the 90s, but behind all that success, the band and its members endured countless tragedies.
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00:00A shocking murder, a heroin addiction, and on-stage fights, Jane's Addiction were one
00:05of alternative rock's standout acts in the 90s.
00:08But behind all that success, the band and its members endured countless tragedies.
00:14Perry Farrell is a flashy rock star who parlayed his status as the frontman of Jane's Addiction
00:18into side careers as a music festival organizer, concert promoter, and philanthropist.
00:23Farrell's personality and philosophies take inspiration from both of his parents.
00:28He told Spin,
00:29My dad was a real character, a fun guy.
00:32He was a jewelry designer and repairman.
00:34I got a lot of creativity from him.
00:36My mother was a fine artist.
00:38She loved to take throwaway things and make art out of them."
00:41In late 1962, when Farrell was three years old, his mother died by suicide.
00:47Farrell told The Guardian,
00:48"'I remember it, yeah.
00:50There are some things that have deep-seated emotions for me, but you can't change it and
00:54you move on.'"
00:56According to Farrell's former partner Casey Niccoli, the musician penned his mother's
01:00suicide on his father, Al Bernstein.
01:03Niccoli told Spin,
01:05"[Perry blamed him for his mother's death.]
01:07Al was bringing a lot of women into the house and doing drugs and stuff when he was younger."
01:12Jane's Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro was raised by divorced parents.
01:16He primarily lived with his mother, model Connie Navarro.
01:20In 1983, the elder Navarro split up with a boyfriend, John Riccardi, and he responded
01:25with extreme violence.
01:27Navarro told The Howard Stern Show in 2001,
01:30"'He had broken into the house and kind of held me up and handcuffed me and basically
01:36got pretty violent and then let me go.'"
01:38A week later, Riccardi returned to the Navarro home in West Los Angeles and killed Connie
01:43Navarro.
01:44The musician was 15 years old at the time, and he went to live with his father, who resided
01:49nearby.
01:51Riccardi was the main suspect in the murder case, and he avoided capture by police for
01:55nearly eight years.
01:56When he was finally apprehended in 1991 after his case was featured on America's Most Wanted,
02:02Riccardi was convicted for the double murder and received a death penalty.
02:06In 2012, the death sentence was overturned, then converted into life in prison with no
02:11possibility of parole.
02:14Following the breakup of his band Psycom, Farrell formed a new act in 1985, recruiting
02:19Eric Avery to play bass guitar.
02:21Avery brought in his childhood pal Chris Brinkman to be the lead guitarist in the initial
02:25lineup of the group that would eventually be known as Jane's Addiction.
02:29However, Brinkman had a significant problem with substance abuse, and after around 18
02:34months as the band's guitarist, he was fired.
02:36In 1997, Brinkman overdosed.
02:39His unresponsive body was discovered in a motel in Hollywood.
02:43Brinkman was 31 years old.
02:46The Jane name-checked in Jane's Addiction, and the central character of the band's 1988
02:51breakthrough hit, Jane Says, are actually the same Jane, and she's a real person.
02:56In 1985, Farrell and bassist Eric Avery lived in a home and rehearsal space in Los Angeles
03:02with several other people, including a woman named Jane Bainter.
03:06Farrell and Bainter eventually became fast friends.
03:09She was heavily dependent on heroin, which inspired Farrell to name his group Jane's
03:13Addiction.
03:14Jane Says consists primarily of phrases uttered by a woman addicted to drugs who doesn't want
03:19to be and who feels trapped in a controlling and abusive relationship with a man named
03:24Sergio.
03:25Bainter told Spin in an interview,
03:27"'Sergio' was a drug dealer who lived nearby.
03:30I was strung out, and he was using that to manipulate me."
03:34In 2018, Dave Navarro shared his personal history with suicidal ideation.
03:39The guitarist wrote in an Instagram post he later deleted,
03:42"'I have been there, written the note, had the plan, the stockpile of meds, how to disperse
03:47my property among my family.
03:50I was ready to go.
03:51Luckily, as a last-ditch effort, I reached out.
03:53I spoke to my closest friends and loved ones.
03:56I sought therapy, and at times, psychiatry, alternative medicines, even hospitalization,
04:01whatever it took.'"
04:03On a 2021 episode of the podcast Appetite for Distortion, Navarro discussed his mental
04:08health and how getting a handle on it is an ongoing process.
04:12After revealing to the host that he has suffered from depression his entire life, Navarro added,
04:17"'I'm here to tell you that there is no external thing that is going to fix the deep-rooted
04:23problem of trauma.'"
04:25For about three decades, addiction clouded Dave Navarro's life.
04:29While he played guitar for Jane's Addiction in the 1980s, he was a heavy user of cocaine
04:33and heroin.
04:34The latter is a particularly risky substance, and Navarro was aware of the danger.
04:39He told HuffPost Live in 2014,
04:42"'When I picked up a syringe and shot heroin for my first time, I knew goddamn well all
04:47the possible consequences attached to that.
04:49I had friends who had died, heroes of mine who had died, and I did it anyway.'"
04:54Jane's Addiction broke up in 1991, for which Navarro takes the blame.
04:58He told Spin,
04:59"'I admit I totally blew it with drugs back in those days.
05:03My intake was certainly a factor in the eventual demise of the band the first time around.'"
05:08Navarro so closely associated Jane's Addiction with heroin that when the band reunited in
05:121997, his sobriety immediately ended.
05:16He recalled on his Dark Matter podcast,
05:18"'The second I got into the room for the Jane's Addiction rehearsal, it was like, this would
05:22be so much better on heroin.'"
05:25Farrell helped Navarro acquire heroin, and he suffered a lengthy relapse, using the drug
05:30throughout the tour.
05:32Navarro sought out sobriety in the late 1990s, first quitting heroin and cocaine, and then
05:37all intravenous drugs.
05:39After enduring at least one relapse, which involved opiates, cocaine, and crack, Navarro
05:43kicked his addictions in 2016.
05:46Throughout his time in Jane's Addiction, Perry Farrell's drug use was such an open secret
05:50that in 1993, Rolling Stone's readers named him Rockstar Most Likely to Die in the Next
05:56Year.
05:57Heroin and cocaine were the musicians' substances of choice, dating back to when Jane's Addiction
06:01formed in the mid-1980s.
06:03Farrell's partner, Casey Nicoli, told Spin,
06:06"'When Perry and I first started dating, we did heroin together a few times, long before
06:10it became a problem.
06:12We thought of it as a way of opening up our creativity.'"
06:16Nearly every member of Jane's Addiction in its first era found themselves addicted to
06:20heroin.
06:21Meanwhile, Farrell told Hits Magazine at the time that, unlike the other guys in his band,
06:25he had no plans to get clean.
06:27He proclaimed heroin to be great, and when asked to weigh in on its dangers, quipped,
06:32"'So's driving.
06:34You take your chances.'"
06:35The group's 1990 album Ritual De Lo Habitual, referring to the ritualistic nature of habits,
06:42got its name from Farrell's substance abuse.
06:44Farrell told Guitar World,
06:46"'In those days, we were hitting speedballs really hard.
06:49Our daily life would consist of waking up, going to a spoon, drawing back heroin-cocaine
06:54admixtures, slamming them, and getting your day going.
06:57So that was our daily ritual.'"
06:59"'I was loaded for practically 40 years.'"
07:03Farrell never seemed to consider his drug use a real problem, but admitted since becoming
07:07a father to three sons, he knew he needed to dial it back.
07:11Perry told The Guardian in 2020,
07:13"'There's a certain time of life to experiment because you have the energy, you've got the
07:18mind, but I don't want anyone to get hurt, I don't want anyone to die.
07:22I've lost loved ones over it.
07:24But I can't lie to you and say I haven't benefited from it either.'"
07:28The highest tier of late-'80s and early-'90s alternative rock bands is akin to a brotherhood.
07:34The musicians who comprised bands like Jane's Addiction, Stone Temple Pilots, and Soundgarden
07:37mingled on the charts, on tour, and backstage at concerts and music industry events.
07:43Friendships developed out of common musical interests and aims, and when the people in
07:47that small, tight-knit circle die, the intense grief over their loss radiates.
07:52In December 2015, when Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland died of a drug overdose
07:57at age 48, Navarro broke the news on X.
08:00Farrell also released a statement of condolence to Billboard.
08:03He wrote,
08:04"'He had a way of getting into the music like few people can.
08:07He contributed songs we'll never forget to the musical library the whole world sings.'"
08:13In May 2017, 52-year-old Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell died by suicide in his hotel
08:19room after a concert in Detroit.
08:22Farrell, who met Cornell during the 1992 Lollapalooza festival tour and later befriended him, memorialized
08:28the singer for Variety.
08:29He wrote,
08:30"'Chris was one of the most talented singers of my life.
08:33I don't know what did Chris in, but I hope he's in a good place now.
08:37He was a super talent and the world should be happy they got to hear him.'"
08:41"'To not have Chris around, yeah, it hurts.'"
08:46In May 2024, Jane's Addiction announced that it would be embarking on a U.S. tour that
08:51would include all four original members — Farrell, Navarro, Stephen Perkins, and Eric Avery.
08:56The band even had two new songs they'd created together in 2023 and 2024, which was the first
09:02new music from Jane's Addiction in more than 10 years.
09:05The tour seemed to start out without any real hitches.
09:08By the New York shows on September 10th and 11th, however, one person took to the social
09:12media site Threads to call the show a train wreck.
09:16The person wrote,
09:17"'Perry' was on another planet, forgetting words, mumbling, singing the chorus during
09:21the verse, wandering offstage for long periods.
09:25The band sounded tight and Dave looked super f—ed.'"
09:28Some commenters had similar experiences, while others said the shows they saw were great.
09:33Days later, Farrell got into a physical altercation with Navarro onstage in Boston during the
09:37middle of a song, effectively ending the show and the tour.
09:41A public explanation first came from a post on Instagram by Farrell's wife.
09:45Then, a few days later, Perry finally released a public statement to Billboard, saying,
09:50"'This weekend has been incredibly difficult, and after having some time and space to reflect,
09:55it is only right that I apologize to my bandmates, especially Dave Navarro, fans, family, and
10:01friends for my actions during Friday's show.
10:04Unfortunately, my breaking point resulted in inexcusable behavior, and I take full accountability
10:10for how I chose to handle the situation.'"
10:13After news broke that the band's 2024 reunion tour was ending early, fans were left heartbroken.
10:19Responding to Billboard, a source close to Farrell said,
10:21"'He realizes that he waited too long to prioritize his well-being.
10:25His exhaustion and the toll it has taken on both his physical and mental health has gone
10:29too far.'"
10:31They also said Perry feels badly that he let down his family and his fans.
10:35Navarro, Perkins, and Avery also released a joint statement saying they couldn't see
10:39a way around canceling the rest of the tour.
10:41Forming in the mid-1980s, the members of Jane's Addiction had been through nearly four decades
10:46of playing music together.
10:47From that time, they've all dealt with their own addictions, tragedies, triumphs, and evolving
10:52relationships, and they were upset that it had to end this way.
10:56The three members said on Instagram that they felt compelled to cancel the tour due to Farrell's
11:00behavior and mental health difficulties.
11:03The band members went on to add,
11:04"'Our concern for his personal health and safety, as well as our own, has left us no
11:08alternative.
11:09We hope that he will find the help he needs.
11:11We can see no solution that would either ensure a safe environment on stage or reliably allow
11:16us to deliver a great performance on a nightly basis.
11:19Our hearts are broken.'"
11:20If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available.
11:25Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact
11:29SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.