Although the band split up after their second studio release, Jane's Addiction were seminal in the evolution of the Los Angeles music community in the late '80s: from the metal squawk of Guns N' Roses and Motley Crue to a burgeoning "alternative" scene that included bands like the Red Hot Chili Peppers (which Jane's guitarist Dave Navarro eventually joined). While one of Los Angeles' most popular rock acts during their years together, the quartet had only one nationally-known hit single, the quirky "Been Caught Stealing." Singer Perry Farrell made his most notable contribution to contemporary music, though, as founder of Lollapalooza, the traveling alternative rock festival.

In the mid-'80s, it seemed as if every gig in L.A. featured Jane's Addiction somewhere on the bill, and the unsigned combo were well-known enough to sell out the Roxy for two consecutive nights in 1987 for the recording of their self-titled live debut. Shortly after, they became the subject of a frenzied music-industry bidding war (and profiled in an L.A. Times article on the subject, along with hot property Tommy Conwell & the Young Rumblers) and Warner Bros. ended up the winner, putting out Nothing's Shocking in 1988. In 1990, Ritual De Lo Habitual was released, which contained "Been Caught Stealing," and Jane's Addiction headlined the first Lollapalooza the following year. Shortly after that triumph, Farrell broke the band up--not unexpected, considering the rampant tales of drug abuse and inter-group tension which plagued the group throughout their brief history.

After the dissolution of Jane's Addiction, Farrell went on to form Porno For Pyros with Jane's drummer Stephen Perkins (who's currently also drumming for Banyan), and he quit his active involvement with Lollapalooza for a time, only to return to the fold in 1997. He also started up another festival which has yet to reach Lollapalooza-size proportions, the more electronic-oriented ENIT. Navarro and bassist Eric Avery briefly had a band called Deconstruction, but Navarro was tapped for the Chili Peppers before they could do much.

As luck would have it, Navarro's stint with the Chili Peppers ended about the same time Farrell decided to put Porno For Pyros to bed. A Jane's reunion was in the offing; the only hitch was Avery's unwillingness to participate. Never one to let anything stand in his way, Farrell recruited Chili Pepper's bassist Flea to fill the void and the reunited Jane's Addiction returned to the touring circuit in 1997. To cash in on the reunion, Warner Bros. assembled the Jane's odds-and-sods collection Kettle Whistle. Rather than build on the tour's momentum, the members of Jane's once again went their separate ways, with Farrell and Navarro issuing the solo discs, Song Yet To Be Sung and Trust No One, respectively. When the solo albums failed to garner much attention, Jane's reunited once again with former Porno For Pyros member Martyn Lenoble in the bass spot.

In 2002, the bandnow with bassist Chris Chaney in the foldentered the studio with Bob Ezrin to record it first album of new material since 1990. Released in July 2003 on Capitol Records, Strays was supported by the return of Lollapalooza, the traveling multi-artist tour Farrell helped founded in 1991, just as Jane's Addiction packed it in the first time around.

This Biography was written by Mara Schwartz