Here's Why Dave Navarro Was Almost Kicked Out Of Jane's Addiction
Dave Navarro definitely has a recognizable face. His jet black beard, deadly eyeliner, and heavily tattooed skin all contribute to make his appearance unforgettable. He's also been everywhere, including his gig the host of Ink Master for a whopping 13 seasons. Before that he was known for his celebrity marriages, especially to Carmen Electra in the early 2000s, but the start of Navarro's fame was as the guitarist for Jane's Addiction. He's played with several other bands since he joined Jane's Addiction in 1986, but that's where it began.
Jane's Addiction has a bit of a rocky history, including the time Navarro almost got kicked out of the band. He could have been booted from the band for a number of worthwhile reasons. Maybe his work on Ink Master was taking up too much of his time. Maybe the rest of the band was jealous that he got to marry Carmen Electra. But the one that nearly got him kicked out was a pretty outrageous situation, and no one saw it coming.
Not even several breakups could separate Navarro from Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction blew into the '80s like a speed-fueled bulldozer ramming through hair metal and paving the way for the grunge movement. They managed to put out a whole two albums before deciding the band was over in 1991. Don't worry, it was only a minor blip in the band's history — the first of many, since the band has broken up and reunited several times over the years, releasing their last record in 2011.
The story of the first break up is a bit unclear, and the only people who seem to know what happened are the band's two major personalities, frontman Perry Farrell and guitarist Dave Navarro. The band had just returned from 13 straight months of touring, which isn't easy on anyone. Navarro, according to Guitar World, blames the breakup on Farrell's "intensity" as well as the band's rampant drug issues. Whereas Farrell says, "The breakup was based on emotional reasons. I felt that I couldn't go on expressing ideas because they were getting constantly knocked down. Everything I brought up was looked at with disdain, negativity. We were at the top — the top of our game, the top of the world. But artistically, I had run up against a wall. I just needed to go in a different direction."
Regardless of the reasoning, it started a rocky road for the band, yet they managed to come back together. Navarro remained.
You might think it was the drugs, but you'd be wrong
"I know that I went home and slammed a bunch of coke and heroin, and I know those guys did too, and we never picked up a phone again," Navarro told Guitar World in reference to returning home after their 13-month stint on the road. The guitarist's history with drugs isn't exactly a secret hidden. This year, according to Detox Rehab, Navarro celebrated 15 years of sobriety, but the time before that was a heroin-and-cocaine-fueled crapshoot.
Drugs entered Navarro's life early on. He was only 15 years old when his mother and his aunt were tragically murdered. His drug use may have become an escape from the copious amounts of trauma that battered him following the tragedy, but that isn't why he started using, and he wants the world to know it. "I did NOT find a body and I did NOT turns [sic] to drugs after this event. To say so, would do a great disservice to those who have lost loved ones and not turned to self-medicating. I was well in my way to using drugs even before this took place," Navarro posted to his Instagram (found via NME). Drugs were a huge part of this rocker's life, but they weren't what almost got him kicked out.
Almost fired over a Facebook post
Oh yeah, you read that section title correctly. Navarro almost lost his job for a Facebook post, and it wasn't even a post he made. Alternative Nation says Navarro's guitar technician, Dan Cleary, had apparently made a Facebook post sometime since 2008 (real specific, right?) that offended Jane Addiction's vocalist Perry Farrell, and Farrell wanted to fire him. The guy must have gotten over the whole thing, since Cleary is currently playing in Farrell's new band, Kind Heaven Orchestra.
"You know what I love is you were going to get fired over a Facebook comment years ago by Perry and now me and Perkins are fired, and you're in his band," Navarro says while joking with Cleary during a Dark Matter podcast, quoted at Alternative Nation.
To be fair, he wasn't going to be outright fired over the situation, but he did give Farrell an ultimatum. If Farrell wanted Cleary gone, he'd have to fire Navarro, too. Like, way to stick up for your guy. "But Dave had my back huge during that. You said, 'If you are firing Dan, you are firing me.' Or firing something similar to that. So thank you for that," says Cleary.