Improbably, the Jane's Addiction conflict has been resolved on a peaceful note.
The band's classic lineup was in the midst of a reunion tour, releasing new music, and teasing an album when everything went to shit last year. During the band's show at Boston's Leader Bank Pavilion, frontman Perry Farrell started an onstage fistfight with his bandmates; the rest of them (Dave Navarro, Eric Avery, and Stephen Perkins) immediately quit the band and started working on music without Farrell. Those guys sued Farrell, and he sued them right back. It's been a mess.
Now, in a message jointly posted by the Jane's Addiction and Perry Farrell accounts on Instagram, Farrell has apologized to fans for what went down in Boston. Here's what he wrote:
To everyone in Boston, and around the world.
I'd like to address what happened on stage last year. I've reflected on it and know I didn't handle myself the way I should have. I apologize to our patrons and my bandmates for losing my temper and for disrupting the show.
Jane's Addiction has been at the center of my life for decades. The band, the songs, the patrons and the impact that we've had on music and culture mean more to me than any words I could ever possibly write down.
My aim has always been to give our audience the best possible show, something real, honest and positive. In Boston, we fell short of that, and I'm truly sorry to everyone who was impacted.
From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank each and every one of you for your continued love and support.
Perry Farrell
A lot of commenters on the post are suggesting Farrell should be apologizing to Navarro and the rest of the band too. But it looks like he maybe already did. In a separate post from the Jane's Addiction account, the other three band members write that after the Boston brawl, "we unilaterally determined it would be best to not continue the tour and made inaccurate statements about Perry's mental health which we regret." The message explains that the four band members have come together "one last time" to resolve their differences, then looks forward to their "separate musical and creative endeavors." Here's the full text of that statement:
We would like to clarify the events surrounding the cancellation of the tour after the show in Boston in September 2024.
After that show, without notice to Perry, we unilaterally determined it would be best to not continue the tour and made inaccurate statements about Perry's mental health which we regret.
Today we are here to announce that we have come together one last time to resolve our differences, so that the legacy of Jane's Addiction will remain the work the four of us created together.
We now look forward to the future as we embark on our separate musical and creative endeavors. Jane's Addiction will forever live in our hearts. We are proud of the music we created together.
You, the fans, are our lifeblood, and we will always appreciate you.
It sounds like Jane's Addiction is still definitively over, but amends have been made, and a vibe shift around the band has transpired. Or at least that's the official position; presumably those lawsuits are not moving forward?
