Perry Farrell
Alternative / Rock
Perry Farrell (born Peretz Bernstein in New York City on March 29, 1959) is a musician who, as the frontman of Jane's Addiction, was one of the pioneers of alternative rock. Peretz (???) is his Hebrew name, as well as his DJ moniker ("DJ Peretz"). His stage name is a play on the word peripheral (although Farrell also happens to be his brother's name).
Farrell was born in Queens, NY 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 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. Perry Farrell has also been known to be an avid surfer, having been sighted at premier surfing destinations throughout the world, most notable Bali (see Surfer magazine) in 2001.
He quickly became the frontman for the gothic rock band Psi Com in LA, and traveled in a larger community of area musicians including the bands X, Fishbone, and Black Flag. Psi Com broke up around 1985 when other members fell in with religious cults, and Farrell soon met Eric Avery through mutual friends. The two began jam sessions which would become the initial foundation for Jane's Addiction.
Jane's Addiction made its name in mid-1980s LA by building up a rampant 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 consecutively 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.
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. Farrell put the band on hiatus to concentrate on a Jane's Addiction reunion, however there are plans for a third album in the next few years.
[edit]Jane's Addiction 'Relapse'
In 1997 Jane's Addiction reformed for a brief reunion tour with Flea replacing Eric Avery on bass. They supported this with the release of Kettle Whistle, a rarities album featuring 4 newly recorded songs.
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 (Jewish mysticism). "Song Yet To Be Sung" received a mixed critical reaction and was generally met with poor reviews from fans. He occasionally DJs under the stage name of DJ Peretz.
Farrell again toured with Jane's Addiction in 2001 and 2003. In 2003, Jane's Addiction released an album, Strays, which was well received. They toured extensively in North America & 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 final death of the band was released in 2006, titled Up From the Catacombs.
Farrell recently formed a new band/theatrical entity entitled The Satellite Party. Satellite Party made its debut appearance 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. In November 2006, Satellite Party played with the Doors at the Whiskey-a-go-go on the Sunset Strip, for the Doors' 40th anniversary. Their debut album, Ultra Payloaded will be released on May 29, 2007 on Columbia Records. Satellite Party recently performed on April 27th 2007 at Coachella in Indio,CA
In December 2001, Farrell risked his life by flying into politically-troubled Sudan with other members of Christian Solidarity International to negotiate the release of Sudanese slaves. Jane's Addiction donated their earning from one concert for the redemption of over 2300 people, who had been enslaved under terrible conditions. Once the redemption agreement was signed, Farrell started up freedom parties at various redemption sites "armed only with a boom box and his legendary voice."
"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 up with Tony Blair at 10 Downing Street on the 31st January 2007 to discuss global warming, and presented the Prime Minister with a CD of his new band Satellite Party’s track, ‘Woman in the Window’.
Farrell married Etty Lau, a professional dancer who has performed on all the Jane's shows since the 1997 Relapse tour, in early 2004. The couple now have two sons together, Hezron Wolfgang and Izzadore Bravo.
In 2006, Farrell performed at Purimpalooza, which celebrates the Jewish holiday of Purim, and the birthday of Chabad Rabbi Langer. It was a concert for all ages and presented different Jewish musical groups. Taking place in Ruby Skye in San Francisco, crowds of people came to see bands including Moshav, Chutzaph, Perry Farrell, and Matisyahu. Purimpalooza turned out to be a success, attracting a very diverse crowd to fill up the entire venue.
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