Stephen Perkins on Joy of Jane’s Addiction Reunion, Coming Up on the ’80s Sunset Strip

One of the more unexpected reunions in the past however many years was that of Jane’s Addiction. Not because bands reconvening is anything groundbreaking in these days of Oasis and Linkin Park, but because these guys had tried it over and over and over again across decades and always had the same problems split them up again. But now, following a successful European run this summer, frontman Perry Farrell, guitarist Dave Navarro, bassist Eric Avery, and drummer Stephen Perkins are doing it again and, by all accounts, doing it well.

I sat down with Perkins for my latest 617 Q&A over at Vanyaland, and he was downright joyful in describing the feeling of being back onstage together again, especially with his rhythm partner Avery laying down the fluid and formidable psych-funk-alt-rock foundation. He also talked about coming up during the hair metal scene of mid-80s Los Angeles and what would be his favorite reunions to see.

All this is more than enough reason to post a video of the Jane’s classic, “Mountain Song.”