"I don't feel I've quite made it in the music industry the way I could someday, to be honest."
With the possible exception of the inventor of the beer helmet, few men have done as much to change the face of the summer tour as Perry Farrell has. In 1991, when the Jane's Addiction frontman decided his band needed a proper send-off before breaking up, he launched the Lollapalooza Festival, which went on to become one of the most-imitated package tours of the decade. By 1997, teen pop was on the rise, and alt-culture felt a bit played out -- Metallica had headlined the previous year's fest -- so the tour took a six-year hiatus. As with past Lollapaloozas, this summer's return engagement is heavy on heavy alternative (Audioslave, Queens of the Stone Age, Incubus, the Distillers), though the bill also features hip-hop group Jurassic 5, the Donnas and a headlining set by Jane's Addiction, who are touring behind a new record for the first time since 1990's Ritual de lo Habitual. Due out July 22nd, Strays was recorded last year in Los Angeles with Pink Floyd producer Bob Ezrin.
RS: Did you go to many big summer festivals when you were a kid? PF: There really weren't any traveling festivals when I was growing up. The ones I remember most would probably be the Us Festivals here in Southern California. It was a two-day event, in the location that is now Blockbuster Pavilion. They had people like David Bowie, Van Halen, the Talking Heads, the Clash. I was probably twenty, twenty-one.
RS: Any high points of the festival? PF: I do remember bopping around with no shoes on for two days. That was the first time I thought to myself, "I've got this funny feeling I'm going to be part of something like this one day." At the time, I was a waiter. The bartender at the place where I worked was also a producer, so he'd let me cut a demo. That's as far as I'd gotten. But I remember being there and having this precognitive feeling that this was going to be part of my life, that it was in my bloodstream.
RS: Do you remember any of the music? PF: I remember the depth and beauty of the Talking Heads. It was also the first time I was going to see David Bowie, one of my idols. I got as close to the front as I could. As a result, I lost my shoe and my ride home.
RS: Tell me about your first summer of fame, where you really felt like you'd made it. PF: I don't feel like I've quite made it in the music industry the way I think one day I could, to be honest. As far as my band being known, it's one of those things, man -- we were not an overnight success. We started in clubs, putting on our own shows. It wasn't like snap! It wasn't like we were discovered on Star Search.
RS: The first Lollapalooza tour must have been a pretty intense summer for you. What was that like? PF: Well, Lollapalooza sprang out of a Jane's Addiction tour. I had decided it would be our last tour. People told me to ask for everything we wanted that tour, so I gave them a nice long list. I didn't get the hot-air balloon -- that would have been nice. But we got almost everything else.
RS: What are some other memories from the first Lollapalooza? PF: From my heart, I can tell you I loved to see the urban acts -- Ice-T and then later Ice Cube -- go over well with audiences not accustomed to seeing urban acts. Having all these white kids with their hands in the aii-yah, like they just don't caii-yah. And, gosh, you had Nine Inch Nails there, putting their guts into every minute of their set. I also always enjoyed the last song Jane's would do, "Chip Away." Drummers -- I don't know if you know this, but they usually get along famously, especially a gang of them in a traveling festival. So for that last song, we'd bring out every drummer who wanted to come out for this polyrhythmic number. Ten to tweleve people, sometimes.
RS: Who is the best friend you've made through summer tours? PF: I'd have to say Flea. I was just snow-boarding with him yesterday. It's nice to have somebody you know who can remember those days and still be vital and superexcited about the future.
RS: Why brind back Lollapalooza this year? PF: I've noticed a big swing in music. There are young groups developing at the right pace, playing clubs. The pop ethos had its flurry, but now people are picking up instuments again, writting songs, songs you can close your eyes and appreciate. These are groups that won't be based on looks. I mean, don't get me wrong: I'm seeing a lot of adorable people inb these new bands, too. I'm just saying their hearts are in the right place.
