After a short reunion, Jane’s Addiction appears to have split up for good.
The band reformed after a decade apart in 2002 and released one studio album. However, Strays was a commercial disappointment, selling just under 400,000 copies since its July 2003. To longtime fans, last week’s announcement was disappointing, but not totally unexpected.
The statement, posted last Monday on Dave Navarro’s website, reads:
“We know we can’t avoid this anymore so we will give it our best shot. What’s the deal? The deal is that it simply didn’t work out. Sometimes things just don’t work out. In all honesty, we have broken up and rejoined roughly four times over the years. Perhaps that should shed some light as to where we are now. We really don’t know. We do know that we really gave it everything we had this time and we actually made a really great record after so many years of silence.
“That was definitely a great thing and we are all proud of it. We were able to do a lot of shows and travel and see the world again. We had some amazing times. Why didn’t it work out? So many reasons. Some of them over 15 years old, some of them new and none of them worth mentioning. Maybe we are just a volatile combination. Maybe that is why we were so great. The bottom line is that we are all extremely creative and motivated people and I know we will all continue to create and work on many different projects.
After 20 years, just like in any relationship, you have your highs and lows and some amazing memories that can never be replaced. We were able to create great music together, and for that… We feel blessed. But sometimes relationships don’t work, no matter how much time or energy you put into them… and at that point… you realise it is healthier to go your separate ways than to keep trying to recreate the magic of the early years. Sometimes people grow apart in the relationship, it is nobody’s fault really… just a fact of life… an inevitable creative dissolution. Sometimes the best creative relationships are the most combustible and they aren’t meant to last forever.
We know this doesn’t answer all of your questions, but hopefully it answers some of them. We would personally like to say, “thank you” for all of the love and support you have shown us over the years, we greatly appreciate it and we love you.”
Now, Navarro, Chris Chaney and drummer Stephen Perkins have formed a new band with Skycycle vocalist Steve Isaacs. The group has penned three songs and has begun recording with producer Danny Saber, who worked with Navarro on his solo debut, Trust No One.
Isaacs emphasized that he was not replacing Farrell as vocalist in Jane’s Addiction:
I am not replacing Perry. Even writing that like it were possible is crazy to me. Dave, Stephen, and Chris and I are just taking some time to do what is the most fun thing in the world to do – make music and write songs.
Will this “old band with a new frontman” project be a Velvet Revolver-like success or a Talk Show-esque failure? Only time will tell.
Credit: Ananova, 6767.com, steveisaacs.com