Dave Navarro
With his six-string skills best described as a merger between heavy metal,psychedelia and modern rock, Dave Navarro became one of alternative’s first true guitar heroes (with such notorious bands as Jane’s Addiction and The Red Hot Chili Peppers). Born on June 7, 1967 in California, Navarro became mesmerized by the guitar as a teenager, due to his discovery of the incomparable Jimi Hendrix. This led to an appreciation of a wide variety of musical styles – in fact, when he met singer Perry Farrell initially, he was in a speed metal band (along with drummer Stephen Perkins). Navarro, Perkins, Farrell, and bassist Eric Avery formed Jane’s Addiction in the mid-80′s, and alt-rock has never been the same since.
Navarro was one of the first rock guitarists to not just confine his playing to one style – something that had become commonplace in the 90′s, but was virtually unheard of in the 80′s (could you have really pictured Eddie Van Halen guesting on a punk rock record?). His playing on such landmark Jane’s albums as 1988′s Nothing’s Shocking and 90′s Ritual De Lo Habitual was like a breath of fresh air – Navarro knew when to shred away, and when to lay low and add textures to the compositions. Unfortunately, the band split up by 1991.
Later he and Avery resurfaced with the experimental band Deconstruction, who issued a self-titled debut in 1994, but broke up as well soon afterwards. Navarro kept himself busy with session work in the meantime (guesting on Nine Inch Nails’ Further Down the Spiral, Alanis Morissette’s mega-seller Jagged Little Pill, Porno For Pyros’ Good God’s Urge, and others). In 94’ Dave joined another immensely popular band, The Red Hot Chili Peppers – his live debut with them being Woodstock.. His studio debut with the Peppers, 1995′s One Hot Minute, was a hit, but proved to be lackluster. After a lengthy worldwide tour of arenas, Dave re-joined Jane’s Addiction’s for a brief U.S. tour in 1997, recording a few new tracks with them (issued on the compilation Kettle Whistle).
Navarro abruptly quit The Red Hot Chili Peppers soon after the Jane’s reunion tour wrapped up. He immediately threw himself into his next musical project, entitled Spread, and started work on a biographical account of a year in his life. Trust No One marked his solo debut in summer 2001. In 2002, Jane’s Addiction reformed and started work on a new album. The band entered the studio with veteran rock producer, Bob Ezrin and toured with Lollapalooza 2003 in support of the album. At the same time that Jane’s was busy in the studio, Dave was also busy working with Camp Freddy. Camp Freddy is a large rock jam comprised of well known rock musicians (Matt Sorum, Donovan Leitch, Billy Morrison, and Dave Navarro, and recent addition Chris Chaney). They have played select shows throughout 2003-2006 playing with the likes of Ron Wood, Steven Tyler, and many other talented musicians. In 2003, Dave, and his fiance’, Carmen agreed to have their wedding preparations filmed for an MTV show entitled, Til Death Do Us Part. The show was a great success and was released on DVD Fall 2005. Dave’s book, “Don’t Try This At Home” was released October 5, 2004 on Regan books and became a Los Angeles Times bestseller. Dave co-hosted 2 seasons of the Mark Burnett ROCKSTAR reality series INXS and SUPERNOVA with Brooke Burke. Dave and his band The Panic Channel released their album “One” in August of 2006. They toured with Rockstar Supernova in January/ February of 2007. Dave has his own internet radio station, SPREAD RADIO LIVE, which he broadcasts from his house (www.spreadradiolive.com). Dave’ broadened his creativity with his internet talk show, Dave Navarro’s SPREAD TV, broadcast on Maniatv.com, and available on iTunes. The show highlights a myriad of avant-garde subjects , artistry, and the human condition. Dave is currently touring with DJ Skribble performing live mashups, a blend of live guitar, hip hop beats and acapellas. Dave hosts his own radio show on Indie 103.1 online called, Dark Matter. Dave will be touring this Spring/Summer/Fall with Jane’s Addiction.
twitter: @davenavarro6767
