Jane’s Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro almost made it to Guns N’ Roses, but he had to turn it down for one reason.
In the latest issue of Guitar Player, the guitarist reflected on the idea that he might not have been the perfect fit for the band, even though others thought he would be.
“I don’t think that would have been the right call at the time,” he said. “I’ve played with Slash a million times since then. I love playing with Slash. But I think I’m a little more left-of-center than they were.”
“Guns was pretty much a straight-up, in-your-face rock band, which I f*cking love. But as a guitar player, I like to get down on my knees, turn delay knobs and make a bunch of noise like Kraftwerk or some shit. That does not work for Guns N’ Roses,” Navarro added.
Navarro had an audition with the band in 1991 right after Izzy Stradlin left the band. However, he missed it due to his addiction back then. “Axl really wanted me to join the band, and we talked nearly every day about ideas and the way the band could work with me in it. [But] I was just simply not present enough to do it,” the guitarist revealed during another interview. “I had an audition with the band that I actually didn’t show up to because I was immersed in my drug addiction…couldn’t show up in that shape.”
“It happened the way it happened. I went on to go and be in the Chili Peppers. And, oddly enough, Flea ended up joining Jane’s Addiction for a tour, and Duff ended up joining Jane’s Addiction for a tour. So at this age now, it’s all water under the bridge and we’re all part of this collective musical family and we all played together,” he added.
Even though he couldn’t get in, the Jane’s Addiction guitarist recorded ‘Oh My God’ with the band years later in 1999.