Jane’s Addiction frontman Perry Farrell has always strived to create a space for creativity and freedom, and in a new interview with Metal Hammer magazine the singer urges that we should all “start looking for that utopian world.”
Farrell is releasing a nine disc box set of (largely) retrospective solo material, The Glitz; The Glamour, in November, and in a new interview with Metal Hammer’s Jonathan Selzer, he reflects upon his life in music, from his first band Psi Com, via Jane’s Addiction, to Porno For Pyros, Satellite Party and beyond.
“I was a young man who was trying very hard to aspire towards greatness,” says Farrell. “I wanted to be the type of person that [The Doors frontman] Jim Morrison was, or [Joy Division’s] Ian Curtis was… what those men shot for was greatness, and at least I made the attempt.”
“If you’re shooting for greatness like ‘Make America Great’ that’s bullshit,” Farrell clarifies. “If you’re saying, ‘Let’s make the world great’, then that’s brotherhood, that's a great spirit… What I’m trying to tell you is, man, in this dystopian world, start looking for that utopian world… You have to have a message that is helpful and healing.”
Reflecting on his hugely influential late ’80s and early ’90s output with Jane’s Addiction specifically, Farrell says, “I think we gained our freedom by doing excellent work, and that gave us our right to experiment. Our label trusted us, and we were fortunate. People were always saying something is dying, like, ‘Rock ’n’ roll is dying.’ They weren’t seeing something growing.”
The Glitz; The Glamour is released on November 6 via Last Man Music.
The new issue of Metal Hammer features an exclusive 50th anniversary Judas Priest celebration, plus new interviews with Mastodon, System Of A Down, Ghostmane and more.
