According to Jane’s Addiction’s longtime guitar tech, Dan Cleary, Taylor Hawkins from Foo Fighters helped bring the band back together.
“Taylor Hawkins was a big part of getting this thing back together again,” Cleary told Todd Newman in a new episode of Rare Form Radio. “Obviously, before he passed away, it was his kind of dream to see these guys do this one more time the right way.”
After the drummer died, Farrell shared a heartfelt video tribute to Hawkins, and called him his ‘best friend.’ Farrell also played with Foo Fighters at their last show on March 20. He joined Hawkins and the band on stage at Lollapalooza Argentina to perform ‘Been Caught Stealing’ by Jane’s Addiction.
In a talk with Allison Hagendorf last year, Farrell and his wife Etty also said that Hawkins helped bring the band back together. Perry shared Taylor’s last wish for the band, “He [Taylor Hawkins] didn’t tell me that [he was talking to Eric Avery] all he would say is, ‘Just have the guy write you some grooves, man, haven’t seen your grooves.’ It’s not that simple, Taylor. But Taylor wanted so badly to see Jane’s whole and complete.”
“Taylor Hawkins is completely well majority responsible for bringing the two of them back together,” Etty also stated. “Once when we were touring, we were talking about it, and Eric [Avery] said you know that at the very beginning when they started communicating because you can’t put aside 20-some years of difference and jump right in, there would be some preliminary conversations.”
She added, “Eric would say that he would have Taylor on the other line, and then he would say, ‘Perry just said this to me; what should I say back to him.’ Taylor, in the background, was talking to Perry about having Eric back in the fold at the same time talking to Eric about coming back in the fold for a good two years he was the mediator.”
The band recently got back together with their original members: Farrell, Dave Navarro, Stephen Perkins, and Eric Avery. They played some shows in the UK and Europe earlier this year before starting a North American tour in August.
However, last month, things got tense when Farrell pushed Navarro during a performance in Boston, which ended the show suddenly. Jane’s Addiction canceled their remaining shows and announced a break, saying it was due to the lead singer’s mental health issues.