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Rock musician Perry Farrell: "I annoyed David Bowie, stupid of me"

2019-09-05T08:40:30.867Z


At the weekend, the Lollapalooza Festival is rising in Berlin. And who invented it? Perry Farrell. This is where the singer of Jane's Addiction talks about Donald Trump, the fall of the Wall and stress with his greatest role model.



one day: Mr. Farrell, for four decades you are a singer, songwriter, DJ and organizer. What drives you?

Farrell: No money at all. As an artist, I live for human interaction at concerts. Making music, singing and dancing in front of an audience - that's it. A therapy for the soul. A lonely island would not be for me. Who should I perform for?

One day: Her musical influences include the Einstürzende Neubauten from Berlin, where the German offshoot of the Lollapalooza festival series takes place. Do you have a special connection to Berlin?

Farrell: The new buildings have always been a groundbreaking band for me. And Berlin is a special place. Before my first trip, I was scared because I'm Jewish and I know what happened in World War II. But my concerns were unfounded. I first came here 30 years ago when the wall fell after a peaceful revolution. 1989 was an important year for freedom and democracy, for the whole world. When I was in West Berlin to promote my first Jane's Addiction album "Nothing's shocking", I got to know artists who came straight from the eastern part and told exciting stories. These memories have burnt into my brain.

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Singer Perry Farrell: "Before my first trip to Berlin I was scared"

one day: With Lollapalooza you have revolutionized the festival culture since 1991 (video), today it is one of the most important pop festivals in the world. What does "Lollapalooza" stand for?

Farrell: Originally, the whole thing was meant only as a farewell tour of my band Jane's Addiction, but from this developed a festival, a music event with a fairground character. The name comes from Lollipop, the festival should be like a big, colorful lollipop for many tastes. Everyone can be there and join in, it is a very inclusive event, nobody should be marginalized. Quite the opposite of what is currently happening under Trump in the US.

one day: In the new song "Pirate Punk Politician" you go to court with Trump: "I'll cut your job, I'll raise your rent, cause I'm your so-called President ..."

Farrell: Right. I've just learned that Trump recently hosted a golf tournament at his Florida estate, with big-bosomed ladies in tight white blouses as caddies. Maybe I choose him. Irony out.

one day: He was chosen despite all the protest songs and actions against him - can art cause nothing today?

Farrell: Yes. Artists have to open their mouths, but you can not impose an opinion on people. Trump likes to show how powerful and ingenious he is, treating women and immigrants like second-class people. I believe that he will not win the next election, but we, the good guys. But not every Trump voter is a bad person. A farmer in the Midwest who has to work hard from morning to night lacks the time to study politics. He wants simple, clear answers. They are simple people , and I do not mean that disrespectfully. They just believe his lies and think he's on their side. I myself am an idealist, not a nationalist. It's not just about America, it's about the planet we all live on.

one day: You are also politically active and sat in 2007 with Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister, in Downing Street together ...

Farrell: ... to talk about climate change. The problem was already present at that time, now it is an emergency, no one can close his eyes to it. I've been working on global warming since the nineties, including with Greenpeace as a Lollapalooza partner. Everyone plays a role in the orchestra of life. This is my.

one day: Do you live in an environmentally friendly way?

Farrell: Sure. We use solar energy for our house, recycle, drive hybrid cars. My sons are 15 and 17, I talk to them about responsible use of nature and resources. But I have to lead them carefully to the cause, otherwise I'll do the opposite. If you turn up a good song too loud, it will miss its effect.

One day: You were born as Peretz Amber. How did the stage name come about?

Farrell: The original surname is Bernstecher (he spells) . I am Jewish, with Austrian, Polish, Galician and Romanian roots. When immigrating my ancestors, the authorities changed the name to amber, as did many immigrants with complicated names. My stage name Perry Farrell comes from the term peripheral , meaning secondary, irrelevant, or marginal. I discovered punkrock for myself and wanted a name whose meaning somehow sounds like punk.

day: How did you grow up - sheltered childhood in New York?

Farrell: In itself. My father Abraham, whom everyone called Al, was a jewelry designer in the Diamond District, Manhattan. He was artistically talented and even designed jewelery for celebrities such as Elton John, Adam West, Alice Cooper, Keith Richards and John Lennon. Once singer Natalie Cole celebrated New Year's Eve with us. My family was not rich, rather average middle class. We lived in a small town on Long Island.

one day: At a young age you had to cope with a heavy stroke of fate.

Farrell: The death of my mother, I was four. She suffered from depression and took her own life. My sister and I found her in the garage, poisoning herself with exhaust fumes. She loved my father and us children, but could no longer endure her anguish. I wrote the song "Then she did" about it.

one day: When you were a teenager, you moved to Miami.

Farrell: In high school I was a shy, quiet boy, an artist soul. I only had one buddy and one friend and then joined the surfers and skaters community. I must have inherited my design talent from my father. When I left my parents' house at the age of 17 and went to California, I stayed afloat in Los Angeles with jewelery design, but also worked on the building or worked as a waiter. Nevertheless, I had to spend the first time in my car because it was not enough for my own room.

One day: They grew up with the music of the Beatles, by Led Zeppelin, Lou Reed, David Bowie and Iggy Pop. Was it your goal to become a rock star yourself?

Farrell: Rather surfer. My family would never have thought possible that a musician would become me. Actually, I should work with my father as a jewelry designer.

one day: Why did not this happen?

Farrell: The mafia broke our business. My father was involved in some grisly machinations. He once went to school with the infamous gangster boss Meyer Lansky and his brother. There was probably a connection. Suddenly he had coal, could afford a Mercedes sedan and go with us on vacation in the Catskill Mountains. Then we suddenly moved head-over to Miami. Only later did it dawn on me that he was probably on the run from the mafia. Then these guys came to our store, hardcore mafiosi, they looked at them. And they sucked my father out financially. He was all too much, he suffered a heart attack, got three bypasses and died a little later. I feel complicit in his death until today. The fact that I left home when I was 17 broke his heart.

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one day: On her new album "Kind Heaven" there are not only garage rock but also new wave and electronic dance music, even jazz bonds. Producer is Tony Visconti, longtime companion of David Bowie. Have you fulfilled a dream?

Farrell: Absolutely. His productions, whether for Bowie, Iggy Pop or T. Rex, have been with me since my youth. However, when Bowie was alive, I never thought of asking Visconti. He was until the last work "Black Star" Bowie's house producer, because I did not want to disturb.

one day: How did you get to know Visconti?

Farrell: He had invited me as musical director to participate in a tribute show honoring Bowie's life and work, alongside Sean Lennon, Cyndi Lauper and Debbie Harry.

one day: Did you also meet David Bowie?

Farrell: A few times. Unfortunately, I had a stale aftertaste. Because I made a mess.

one day: What happened?

Farrell: We had exchanged our private phone numbers. Then I stupidly leave my phone in the taxi. Somebody found it, discovered Bowie's number and bombarded it with sms in the style of "Yo, dude, what's up !?" David called to me completely irritated: "Perry, what the shit?" He was angry, rightly so. Another time, I was invited to a charity project to protect the Amazon. I also wanted to win Bowie for that and sent him an e-mail, but overlooked that 120 other recipients were in copy. So everyone had Bowie's private email address. Too stupid of me. I upset Bowie, my biggest role model. Then he died - and I no longer had the opportunity to apologize to him. Despite everything, I think he liked me very much, but I was probably too lost to him.

Source: spiegel

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