Perry Farrell has broken his silence following his onstage brawl with guitarist Dave Navarro that has led to Jane’s Addiction cancelling the rest of their tour.
Navarro announced Monday that the band would no longer continue with tour dates, blaming Farrell’s ‘mental health difficulties’ after they came to blows last Friday during a concert in Boston.
Perry Farrell, 65, is now apologizing to his bandmates and fans of the group for his ‘inexcusable behavior.’
‘This weekend has been incredibly difficult and after having the time and space to reflect, it is only right that I apologize to my bandmates, especially Dave Navarro, fans, family and friends for my actions during Friday’s show,’ Farrell said, via Variety.
He concluded: ‘Unfortunately, my breaking point resulted in inexcusable behavior, and I take full accountability for how I chose to handle the situation.’
His wife, Etty Lau, had previously tried to defend Farrell’s behavior claiming that he was upset by being ‘drowned out’ by his bandmates playing too loudly.
Eyewitnesses said Perry Farrell began ‘shouting’ at Navarro during ‘Mountain Song’, which escalated until their bust up during ‘Ocean Size.’
Attendees said Perry Farrell ‘had a huge bottle of wine with him all evening, Navarro and Avery kept chatting with each other the whole show and seemed angrier than normal.’
The show in Boston came a week after the band played two sets in New York City, as part of a reunion tour after the group got back together for the first time in 14 years earlier this year.
On the first night of the New York City shows, Farrell told a crowd at the Pier 17 space that he was not in great shape for the performances, with attendees saying there appeared to be bad blood between the bandmates.
Perry Farrell told the crowd: ‘Ladies and gentlemen, I have to be honest with you. Something’s wrong with my voice. I just can’t get the notes out all of a sudden.’
Bassist Eric Avery took to Instagram after the show to speak to fans, saying he was ‘looking forward to getting another crack at this spectacular rooftop venue tonight. I’m optimistic we will be better.’
In a review from CL Tampa the week before Friday’s outburst, a critic wrote that Farrell ‘struggled’ and ‘spiraled’ when the band began playing ‘Mountain Song’ after ‘chugging from a full bottle of wine’.
He ‘launched into many nonsensical rants’ about cow pastures, mushrooms and politics, the review said, and only stopped when Navarro ‘deliberately cranked out a loud, piercing chord on his guitar, as almost to silence Farrell and get the show back on track.’
The review, written by critic Gave Echazabal, noted that Farrell’s swigging from a bottle of wine came as he struggled to keep up with his heavy-metal bandmates.
‘Farrell’s delivery was either late, or disjointed, and it was hard to pair his lackluster performance with the absolute, defined power the band was churning out behind him,’ Echazabal wrote.
He added that the after watching Farrell become fixated on the bottle of wine, ‘one almost got the feeling that this wasn’t the first bottle he’d uncorked for the night’.
On Monday, Navarro, 57, told fans the tour would no longer continue.
‘Due to a continuing pattern of behavior and the mental health difficulties of our singer Perry Farrell, we have come to the conclusion that we have no choice but to discontinue the current US tour,’ Navarro said in a statement.
He continued: ‘Our concern for his personal health and safety as well as our own has left us no alternative. We hope that he will find the help he needs.’
‘We deeply regret that we are not able to come through for all our fans who have already bought tickets. We can see no solution that would either ensure a safe environment on stage or reliably allow us to deliver a great performance on a nightly basis.’
Navarro signed off the statement with a heartbreaking message, adding: ‘Our hearts are broken. Dave, Eric and Stephen.’
This was the first tour in 14 years that featured the band’s original lineup.
‘We all hope that Perry gets the help he needs so he and the band can someday re-capture the magic that is Jane’s Addiction.’