Inside the New Jane’s Addiction: Duff McKagan on Band’s Plans

April 13th, 2010 by Andy Greene Leave a reply »

Photo: Lauren/FilmMagic

This past December, former Guns n’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan was having dinner with Jane’s Addiction frontman Perry Farrell. “He was kind of bummed,” says McKagan. “He had just heard that [original Jane’s Addiction bassist] Eric Avery was leaving the band.” McKagan offered to jam with Jane’s at Farrell’s home studio and within weeks was hired for the vacant bass position. “We’re from the same musical time, the same town, the same era,” says guitarist Dave Navarro. “It was a natural fit.”

A brief history of Jane’s Addiction, in photos.

Jane’s Addiction reunited in 2008 with Avery for the first time since the band initially split in 1991, but after a recent Australian tour, the bassist exited once again. “It was a decision Eric made,” says Navarro. “He’s focused on making a solo record.” McKagan adds, “I don’t have years of history with this band. So there’s no like, ‘Oh, what happened to that chick in 1989?’ still twenty-fucking-five years later. Everything’s been great.”

The group is taking it slowly for now, spending most of its time jamming at its L.A. rehearsal space. “I’ve never been in a band I wasn’t in from the beginning,” says McKagan. “So to play songs like ‘Been Caught Stealing’ is pretty fucking kickass.” Jane’s are working on their first album since 2003’s Strays and plan to launch a world tour in 2011. For now, they are focused on writing new songs.

“That’s 97 percent of what our time is geared towards,” McKagan says. “When I first sent some songs to Perry they were the in the usual style that I write music — verse, chorus, chorus, bridge, double chorus, etc. If you listen to a great Jane’s Addiction song, though, there’s no chorus! It’s just riff, and then it goes into some psychedelic jam....

Article Source: Rolling Stone : Rock and Roll Daily

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