Porno for Pyros: Whatever Happened To the Band Behind Pets & Perry Farrell's Band?

Porno for Pyros: Whatever happened to the band behind 'Pets?'

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I cite my sources and they may differ than other people's accounts, so I don't guarantee the actual accuracy of my videos.

Jane’s Addiction would help bring alternative rock to the forefront in the late 80’s and early 90’s, but their time together would be short lived, only releasing two albums, before the band imploded. Frontman Perry Farrell would soldier on with his new projects including lollapalooza, a dark drug influenced semi-autobiographical film named Gift and Porno of Pyros, a band who a lot of people have request so let’s get to it.

Growing up in a broken home in Queens, New York frontman Perry Farrell would leave home at age 17 and hop on a bus and head for hemet california where a friend of his lived. He would look back at his upbringing saying “Now after years of my father telling me I’m never going to do anything, now I’m signed to Warner Bros. and he says we’re the best friends.
“Put it this way: I hated my parents when I was a kid, like everybody else, and I left. If I wanted to I could have stayed at home and been a fat little Jewish kid and had my dad start a business for me."

In 1986 Farrell would join up with drummer Stephen Perkins, guitarist Dave Navarro and bassist Eric Avery forming Jane’s Addiction. The quartet would soon become one of the hottest bands on L.A.'s underground club scene. They would release two studio albums including “Nothing’s Shocking,” in 1988 and their follow up Ritual De La Habitual. But drug abuse, and ego’s cannibilized the group and by 1991 they were done. Following the group's demise Perry Farrell had other avenues to explore and he would bring along drummer Stephen Perkins with him.
He would tell the LA Times in 1993 where Jane’s addiction went wrong revealing
“I just knew that I couldn’t conceive of playing indefinitely with people I don’t get along with. We weren’t getting along to the point that nobody was listening to musical ideas,” “If I said, ‘Hey, man, let’s try being adventurous here and putting, say, a flange on this instrument,’ if you’re not friends, you don’t listen to me. You tend to block out any suggestions. Suggestions grounded in love are always accepted. When they’re not grounded in love, everybody becomes cunning and wary of each other” he’d say.
By early 1992 Farrell would rejoin with drummer Stephen Perkins who just finished up playing with Mike Muir. Farrell would meet guitarist Peter DiStefano, during a surfing trip to Mexico & the three piece of Perry, Perkins and DiStefano decided to form a band and they just needed to audition bass players. DiStefano would recommend a friend of his he knew from the LA scene of the 80's who was now living in holland a bassist named Martin Le Noble who most famously played in the group the Thelonious Monster. Le Noble for his part almost never made the audition as he had a string of bad luck as the morning of meeting the band for the first time. Le Noble had just been evicted from the apartment he was living in. When he drove to rehearsal his car broke down resultingin him walking to rehearsal. He almost turned around and headed back recalling in the book Perry Farrell: The Saga of a Hypester. “But when we started playing, I knew.””

The band would produce a three song demo day in one day that got the attention of warner brothers who signed the group. By march of 1992 the band would end up coming up with a name Porno for Pyros. The name of the group has been the subject of much debate. Spin Magazine who did a profile of the band in 1993 as well as the book i just mentioned perry farrell: the saga of a hypester would claim that the band got their name from a magazine and not the LA riots with the book claiming the band came up with the name in march of 1992 almost a month before the riots broke out. But the book an oral biography of perry farrell & jane's addiction claims the name was inspired by the LA riots so take of it what you guys will.

The group's live debut would happen on april 4, 1992 at the hollywood palladium as part of the magic johnson ads benefit show alongside the beastie boys, the red hot chili peppers and henry rollins. Fans who turned up to the band’s shows may have been disappointed to see that no material from jane’s addiction catalog was played by porno for pyros with farrell recalling at the time “I don’t want to be like Chuck Berry,”, “doing the duckwalk across the stage singing ‘Maybelline,’ just because so

[AbsyntheAndTears]

Ah...they were my favorite band from the 90s. I will never forget seeing them live for my 16th birthday and Love & Rockets opened for them....which is one of my favorite bands ever.

[AggioSound]

The First Porno For Pyros album is a masterpiece with amazing groves throughout.

Truly a hidden gem for so many. I discovered it during the early stages of covid and was very influential to me musically.

Thanks for the video!

[ministerofdarkness]

I graduated high school in ‘93!! This tape was my soundtrack for the summer!!! PLAY LOUD!!

[RestrainingHollywood]

Their debut album is flawless. Sadness. Cursed Female & Bloody Rag are my Favs!

[lemurdream]

"We don't back stab each other."
Yeah. Kind of like demanding 62.5% of the royalties or else you'll quit the band. Right Perry?

[TheChristafershawn]

The reason Jane's addiction had internal problems was because of Perry Farrell's greed. Insisting that he receive 60% of the earnings while the other three split 40%. Meanwhile they we're all integrall to the songwriting and the sound of Jane's addiction.

[yasuke]

Jane's is my favorite band ever. PFP Is pretty good and Perry is a bad ass artist in every way. Thanks for this.🤘🏾

[loodath]

I still listen to Porno for Pyros, both of their albums are awesome! Love these guys and I can't wait for the new material!

[deebojones]

Saw PFP live for both albums. The second album was ahead of its time, the first album is fire and also Stephen Perkins finest drumming!

[pauldiezel]

Wow! Great story! My brother had pets on CD single. This channel reminds me how lucky I was to grow up with such incredible music.

[ZeeSuro]

Am the only one here that loves Tahitian Moon??? What an oddly beautiful song!

[southwestxnorthwest]

Pets is one of the best songs ever recorded

[A-small-amount-of-peas]

'Pets' is still in my playlist. Such a chill beautiful song even with the bleak lyrics

[glennaldosf]

Went to see Porno for Pyros at Trocadero in San Francisco... was great loved it. They made us wait for hours after Cornershop, but when they came on, they rocked. I think Mike Watt was on bass. Looking forward to their new album if they release it...

[whitecloak]

Peter is an incredible guitarist, thanks for covering one of my fav bands, Do Fishbone next. Please.

[carbonclimber]

Wow I saw PFP at Castaic Lake when they first came out. Peri got arrested for bringing nude dancers on stage, and a brand new band opened for them called RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE :)

[BipTunia_Microtonal_Cats]

3:50 Perry Farrel HAS become the old guy doing the duck walk. And punching the other, cooler ducks.

[kevinkappelman]

Love this band and so glad to hear they are working on new material. I was at the infamous counterfeit money show.

[jolieneige]

"Whores" was a very interesting read, recommend to any fan (of Jane's or PFP). Great music from these guys, nicely done video here.

[veerchasm]

I met Perry in 1984 at a house party after a Psi-Com gig in the high desert, I’m pretty sure he was high 😉