Saturday, October 16, 2010

i have great affection for janes addiction 1.0. not only the music but all it represented and all it has done for me personally. i owe it a great deal. i have never been one to say, like musicians often do, that i didnt want to talk about it because i had moved on. ive been happy to answer questions about my experience in interviews or conversations with folks or friends. but i have always tried to stay on my own side of street, so to speak. i tried, not always successfully, not to just talk shit. but in so doing i think that the truth has at times gotten an incomplete presentation. so this time around, as i left, i decided not to let all the half truths, mischaracterizations and misunderstandings to go unaddressed. i decided that i wanted to create a small record of my story while dispensing with concerns about stepping on toes, hurting feelings, disillusioning, disparaging etc. i just wanted to answer some questions candidly as if i was just talking privately to a friend. i wanted it to be on camera so that anyone interested could have access to the source material. no editing. no quotes taken out of context. i reached out to sonny at xiola.org. an unofficial janes addiction site that has maintained the conversation about all things janes for many years. because of the net i was able to directly read/hear the feelings of people like them and i carried those voices with me throughout the past couple of years. in most ways i failed creatively this time around. but i take small solace in the fact that i know i made all my decisions based on what i thought would produce the best quality work, that would challenge and best represent the wild spirit of janes 1.0. living is a messy business. we do what we can. so be it.

so i now take a large step, personally, toward placing janes back into a box and putting it back onto its shelf in the hall closet. now i need my coffee. sonny has posted the first installment here. he will be dropping more. each week i believe.

31 comments:

Michael Bird said...

The term "Artistic Integrity" gets thrown around a lot but everybody who's put down their fanboy sunglasses and looks at this with objectivity can tell you're responsible and to be respected with the Jane's legacy. Thanks for this. I understand why it happens -- that you guys needed to close camp and just be a band... but the number of near misses become difficult to ignore from the outsider's perspective. It's good to finally hear a proper explanation. I understand people and their flaws so I don't think I'm going to end up hating anyone in this no matter how bad they might end up looking. But the truth is that most of us fans who date back... we're kinda just getting things confirmed we've suspected for a while. Thanks again for the sanity check.

matt volpe said...

Hey Eric

Thanks a lot for posting this and letting us all know. It was very cool of you to recap the legacy and the history of events that took place when you first went back with JA. I look very forward to viewing more of the interview as Sonny posts it. I can see by how you are talking and getting it out, this was/is a somewhat theraputic experience for you in closing out the JA chapter of your life. Good for you man. I am as guilty as any JA fan or fan period when it comes to feverishly wanting to know the real going ons of the reunion and all. Such is being human, I suppose, aye? Kudos amigo. Be well. Matt

El Bicho said...

Eric, thanks for sharing this part of your life with us. I find myself fascinated by the business of the music business as much as I am the music.

Unknown said...

thanks eric. you set the bar by which other musicians/artists should strive to reach. you deserve much more credit and gratitude, than you get.

el goatbird said...

eric. serious respect and gratitude.

el goatbird said...

you rule.

skullneck said...

I could easily see how you got to a point (in the past) where you just said fuck it I am done even talking about this shit.

Thanks for setting the record straight. The drama that has been the last 25+ years is fascinating from a fan perspective. Keep doing what you do and look forward to the future.

JM said...

When/if I have kids, you will be one of the very few examples I would be able to give them regarding artistic integrity. Can't describe how good it feels to be a part of the so-called "ja community" and to be able to enjoy this. It's almost like having a conversation with you.

Take care!
JM

Bret Helm said...

thanks for these video interviews, eric! - bret

Semiramis said...
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Semiramis said...

I liked what I have heard of the interview you gave xiola thus far. Your perspective seems the most honest. Its so sad these guys have turned so shallow and fallen so far down the Hollywood rat hole and they don't even know it.

"adversity makes men, and prosperity makes monsters."

andy said...

thanks for doing the interview- downside @ xiola

Daniel Jones said...

Very strange seeing you in this type of setting, but really enjoyed hearing a face to face conversation regarding your decisions. Anyone left with an artistic soul will be able to tell your art as a distinct characteristic of something so honest and beautiful. Thank you so much for all that you have done as an artist, not just with Jane's Addiction, but Polarbear was very nice, in fact I listen to why something instead of nothing quite often, over and over again...never get tired of it.

Also I can't believe how long it has been already since the NME show. Did not feel like it has been that long.

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Unknown said...

Hi Eric,

Really enjoyed your comments. Is good to know
you really tried to get things going.

Hope Sonny post more. But I would really like
to know if you got at least one song done with Trent
or not.

In other topic there's this new book called " Janes
Addiction at the Studio" on Amazon I was wondering if you
are aware of it cause I get the feeling no band members are involved, but I order it cause Dave Jerden and other guys who worked with you talked (I hope) of the dinamics the band had at the studio.

Well saludos and hope to hear more music
from your part.

José

Anubis said...
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Anubis said...

To me, the question of Opium vs. Hash is a no-brainer; while both may be able to get you HIGH...only Opium can deliver you to HELL, & then.... tenderly pick up your shattered carcass, gently kiss your fevered brow, &....POW, deliver that indescribeable, blossoming, golden explosion of relief.... of warmth ...so good..better than sex...it leaves you crying with gratitude. Now, psychedelics(lsd, ketamine, peyote, ect) are on an even higher level of pure pleasure, but with the added depth and meaningfulness. They make Opium and Hash seem like childs play.

Bret said...
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Pearls of Wisdom said...

Perry said he is going to be soaring. I hope to see him do it, bathing in blue light, in a zen master's robe, in front of thousands, chanting mantras and belting out new songs which ride my anus, balls deep. But I know he won't. He is afraid to spread his wings and fly up to the topmost plane, after all he might fall. So if you see the Buddha in the road, kill him!

Pearls of Wisdom said...

So Eric, what is going down with Dangerbird Records, are you still under contract with them or say byebye?

Bret said...

Are you envious JA 2.0 are working with D. Sitek? You should be, if he does for them like he did the band Celebration then there might actually be a chance JA 2.0 could make a cool album without you. I'm not holding my breath though, as Perry Farrell writes some of the corniest, cheeseball lyrics I've ever heard anyone do.

thechamp07 said...

Eric,
As a long time Jane's fan and in particular a fan of yours (you are one of the reasons I started playing bass), I was very pleased to see you finally comment on these matters. It seems that you always took the high road and I know a lot of us were interested to hear your thoughts. Jane's is such a mystery because of the small but powerful catalog and the unrealized potential I feel that could have been.
It has always seemed to me that you and Stephen were the ones who really cared about the music while the others were into celebrity itself. Jane's 1.0 was and forever will be a musical juggernaut that touched so many of my generation.
Thanks again for giving us a glimpse into your thoughts. I always cringe when I hear the stupid Entourage theme song and I can only imagine it's 1000 times worse for you. There are those of us who still appreciate you for sticking to your vision, Thank you!

Bret said...

"The fragile ego" - You nailed it.
Should be the title of his next work.

Ever notice how most of the words Perry writes is all about him, his life, or his spouse? What a bunch of egotistical self centered little twits. I mean it was kool when he wrote about heroin, threesomes, mountains and oceans but common.

thevoid99 said...

Hi Eric. I just saw your interview with Xiola. I'm glad you stuck to your guns man. I recently looked at the recent Jane's DVD and saw some clips. Man. I don't want to watch it.

I thought you guys were much better when I saw you back in Atlanta last year. You, Dave, Stephen, and Perry kicked ass that night. I've been a fan of the band since the mid-90s when I was just a teen.

I just hope you keep making some good music and do some stuff with Trent.

Shinobi Jedi said...

One of the greatest regrets of my life will having missed this one period in time to the original lineup of one of my favorite and creatively most influential bands ever.

There are only 3 concerts that I'd give anything to go see:
1. Original lineup of the Smiths
2. Zeppelin founding members reunion
3. Eric Avery playing Bass again and bring the spirit and soul back to Jane's.

I will be bummed forever that I missed that.

Though I was at that epic show you guys did at the very first Lalapalooza in Phoenix in '92.

(Talk about crybabies, how about Trent Reznor playing 2 songs in his set, being pissed at how things are sounding, throw a tantrum and storm off stage leaving everyone hanging! The manager comes out and promises NIN will do a makeup show. Which never happened. I stopped listening to that diva's music that day.)

With that regret being said, this interview offers some solace and consolation to missing those shows here in Los Angeles

Please know, you do exemplify artistic integrity to the Nth degree. And it's clear to anyone paying attention that you are the true spiritual backbone to what made Jane's the creative and musical influence they are, and have never been the same since.

I haven't had a chance to watch the full interview yet, so maybe it's addressed in there, but while flipping channels I caught "Married to Rock" and can't help but keep thinking that when this project came to light and your attention - that was the final straw that made you go "Yep. I'm out."

Always remember, they may carry the same name, but without you rocking the axe they'll never be the same band.

And if by chance, certain members can get it together so that it would be amenable to play with them one more time, under special circumstances - know that I will be there.

Cheers

mdmarkle said...

You are the keeper of what JA meant to real fans. Strays was like JA gone Vegas. As long as you are not there, there will only be two JA albums. I'm a huge fan and I don't even own Strays. I will admit, I saw the Relapse tour, Flea did a great job because of the reverence he has for JA. The idea that you are just a bass player is ignorant. I hear Deconstruction, Polar Bear, and your own stuff, and I hear your JA elements. Your were one fourth of the sound. They will never be JA without you. That music means so much to the fans, and only YOU had the guts to stand up for ART. Deconstruction is still one of the best albums of all time. You're the man, we all love you!

Joe Wall said...

I've never sat through 17 motherfucking episodes of anything but each piece of this interview felt like another clue bringing a long-unsolved crime to justice. Like many people my age (45), Jane's Addiction changed my life. Saw 1.0 several times, the last time being the first Lollapalooza at Waterloo, NJ. A lifetime ago. (For what it's worth: I loved the Deconstruction record.) Every time a subsequent tour was announced a war broke out between nostalgia and the sanctity of a remarkable period in my life that was made so much better by the music you and the band made. As it happens I now live in Melbourne, Australia. Remember seeing a Jane's concert poster and feeling the war begin anew. Didn't know you were involved -- probably would have gone if I did, if only to witness history, which is one sad reason to see a band that once shook the walls of concert halls and made self-righteous twits wet themselves. Your gobsmacking forthrightness and humanity has given me peace of mind that not going was the right decision. Like you, I trusted my gut. I wish you and your wife and Maximus nothing but the best, mate. Give me a shout if you're ever back in Oz.

petermartyn said...

Eric !!! Its soooo true what the ppl write here
THERE IS NO JANES ADDICTION WITHOUT YOU
Like there is no alice n chains without layne.