Being a part of the music industry is a really challenging job regarding the competitive market dynamics it’s built on. Add to this the intra-band disputes, creative disagreements, or conflicts about the roles in the band, and the fall of some bands can be just as quick as their rise to fame. Jane’s Addiction was one such example.
Having made a rapid entry into the metal scene in the mid-1980s, the band would experience their first farewell after approximately six years. Even if they reunited later, the band would never have a fully stable career. After their first breakup, they reunited three more times, and the last one is ongoing.
The reasons behind all of their separations were similar: unbearable tensions between bandmates. It’s not just in the members’ statements; even at their concerts, this volatility between them was almost palpable. That’s why their farewell was not a big surprise for the audience. These breakups have another thing in common; after each one, Perry Ferrell came up with a new band to get over their breakup.
Frontman Perry Farrell had great expectations for Jane’s Addiction. He loved the music they made but wanted to take it even further. He wanted to be in the Beatles’, or Doors’ league, to push the band’s limits. Although different parties have different stories about the band’s breakup, according to Farrell, his artistic ideas bounced back as if there was a wall between him and his bandmates. Burned by his passion for doing something extraordinary, he wanted to go in a different direction in which he could express his artistic ideas however he wanted.
Besides, Perry really loved the work they did with Jane’s Addiction, so all of their breakups hurt him. To cope with the separation, he again found a solution in music. One of these ‘rebounds’ was Satellite Party, which he founded in 2004. He had ex-Extreme member Nuno Bettencourt with him when he formed the band. But when Extreme put together his original lineup in 2007, he left. Just like Farrell shelved Satellite Party in 2008 when Jane’s Addiction got together. It seems that for both of them, this rebound was no substitute.
They released an album together and toured before returning to their old bands. ‘Ultra Payloaded’ was dropped in 2007, and names such as RHCP’s John Frusciante and Flea and Black Eyed Peas’ Fergie were guests on the release. However, after four years, when Jane Addiction came together, Farrell shelved the project immediately to return to his true love. In a statement he made years later, he revealed that he was working on different materials for Satellite Party, but there were no projects under that name after their breakup in 2008.
