For anyone who has nominally followed Perry Farrell’s career path, it should come as no surprise that Porno for Pyros, the band he founded after leaving Jane’s Addiction in 1992, is embarking on the Horns, Thorns En Halos Farewell Tour despite PFP having gone on hiatus and reformed three separate times over the past three-plus decades. And while the foursome that started out with Farrell, guitarist Peter DiStefano, bassist Martyn LeNoble (later replaced by ex-Minuteman Mike Watt) and drummer Stephen Perkins only cut a pair of full-length albums—the 1993 self-titled debut and the 1996 sophomore bow Good God’s Urge—the original line-up reunited to record a trio of tracks before hitting the road. For Farrell, who turns 65 in March, the three songs—”Fingernail,” “Little Me,” and “Agua”—are a part of his legacy he’s looking at that’s also playing into PFP’s future.
“I know now that I’m not going to be around in 25 years,” he said matter-of-factly. “Already, I’m considering what I’m going to leave behind. All of it from here on is going to be recorded and seen. Everyone is going to be holding up their camera-phones at the live event. They’re going to see it and its never going to change. Everything you’re going to do better be the best that you can possibly do. I don’t care if it makes money. I care if it’s great. I care if it’s so great that it can stand next to the other greats. I care that if it gives a different lens to look at the world through and if someone has learned another way, an alternative to the status quo. Then I’ve done my job. I think each and every one of those songs Porno did were just beautiful.”
An avowed environmentalist, Farrell has long walked the walk, throwing his weight behind partnerships with ecological non-profit organizations like the Surfrider Foundation and Re:Wild. Having recently returned from a four-day trip to India, the Queens native made a side-trip to the Maldives, where a snorkeling/scuba trip exposed him to the disturbing sight of dying coral reefs.
“When I was in the Maldives, I expected when I would go there and see these coral reefs and have an experience that I have never had before,” Farrell recalled. “And there I was—snorkeling over the reefs and they’re dying—they’re dead. They seriously look gray and broken. My scuba instructors out there were telling me that although they look dead, they could come back to life and need help. So we literally started replanting reefs. But you still haven’t solved the problem of what is causing the reef to die and that’s global warming. The water temperatures are heating up and I asked my instructor how much it needs to heat up to make a difference. They told me one degree will kill a reef. If we want to have a reef for our children, ourselves and our fish, we have to stop the world from heating up one degree—and that is a tall order.”
For Farrell, it’s taking PFP out on the road and with the new jam “Agua,” making a plea to his audience to start caring about having clean and safe water, an issue that’s been already raging around the world where water scarcity is becoming a major issue.
“With the song ‘Agua,’ I want to bring attention to the world’s water crisis,” he said. “That’s going to be the next war that’s already begun. It’s going to be over clean, fresh water. We’ve damaged our water system and I wanted to bring attention to the beauty, fun, importance and necessity of water. There are a few things I want to get the world focused on. And then we, meaning us, can accomplish anything. We find the common ground. The way I find common ground is not through politics. I find that most people stop listening to anything after 20 minutes. Unless it’s great music. Then their ears are glued to the sound. I want them to fall in love with water the way I’ve fallen in love with water.”
Farrell’s belief in the power of music and messaging is multi-generational as he intends this last touring go-round to also serve as a showcase for up and coming talent.
(Photo courtesy of Super Evil Genius Corp)
“The opening acts are D.I.Y.,” Farrell said. “My son’s friend is this cat Kavika has a band called Glossy and they’re connected around the country with other D.I.Y.s. The D.I.Y. scene in my estimation is the most exciting scene in the music culture these days. I would invite our patrons to get there early to witness the next generation. As for Porno, we’re always trying to connect and communicate with the audience through the universal language of music, like the great jazz era musicians we’ve really admired and emulated. The music industry is in dire straits because they’re making the music for the wrong reasons and it’s affecting the music itself. The result is that people have lost interest and respect for the show—the gig. For being drawn together to hear the message. That message could be love, it could be blue, it could be anger, it could be rage and you will get that at these shows. We’re going to hit [our fans] up and we’re going to deliver.”
Nowadays, Farrell is even less indebted to the music industry thanks to the label he’s founded. Along with the three new PFP songs, he mentioned the possibility of 2025 seeing a new Jane’s Addiction album despite being cagey about what other projects may lay on the horizon for him. And while this looks to be the final PFP tour, the idea of the band will always be within arm’s reach of the Lollapalooza founder.
“However, these things that I have not accomplished yet—they are going to be difficult to pull off if I even get to do them,” Farrell said. “Some of my fondest memories for sure will be from when I was in Porno. I’m not going to say that I’ll never play with them again. There will be times where I’ll make time to get together and write and record with them. But tours take a lot of time and a lot of room, shall we say, in one’s life. I’m not going to say never. There is something very special about Porno. It happened during the L.A. riots and the music and stories that we got from that era and time—I don’t think there are many better storytellers than Porno for telling about that particular time in Los Angeles. But there’s only so much time in one’s lifetime.”
Porno for Pyros will be appearing on March 8 at the Hammerstein Ballroom, 311 W. 34th St., NYC. For more information, visit www.ticketmaster.com or call 212-279-7740.
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