Jane’s Addiction frontman and Lollapalooza founder Perry Farrell‘s relationship with Metallica has the makings of a romantic comedy. Though the legendary singer and the world’s biggest metal band have ultimately ended up happily ever after, it took them a long and bumpy ride to get there.
Like the proverbial Elizabeth Bennett in rock n’ roll’s own tale of Pride And Prejudice, Farrell has admitted that he flat out didn’t like Mr. Darcy Metallica back in the day, and was “very angry” the first time they were commissioned to play Lollapalooza in 1996.
“I helped create the genre alternative, and alternative was against hair metal, teased-out hair, spandex, bullshit rock music,” he told Rolling Stone in a recent interview.
“Metallica, in my estimation at that time, wasn’t my thing. I was into alternative and punk and underground. My friends were Henry Rollins and Gibby Haynes and Ice-T.”
Lollapalooza, of course, first launched in 1991 as a farewell tour for Jane’s Addiction, and Perry says Metallica weren’t the first band that he didn’t want to play the festival. “Because I have an obligation to my patrons,” he said. “I’m all about genuine, authentic, heartfelt, the real deal. So I was not sure about Metallica back in those days. It’s my fucking party and I’ll have who I want.”
But since then, Metallica’s charm has steadily melted the cold, proud heart of Perry Farrell, and the frontman now admits that he’s turned the page. Not only does he “like their music”, but he’s also “honoured” to have them as one of Lollapalooza’s headliners in 2015.
In the same interview, Farrell also talks about his relationship with Kurt Cobain.”I met him briefly,” he said. “I must admit, I got high with him in the basement of the Palace when he came to Los Angeles, and I hung out with him at one of the MTV awards shows… We had a mutual respect.”
He also teased a mystery project he is working on, that he hopes will be his “shining and greatest achievement in life.”
“It’s very music-centric, but it is inclusive of technology, film, theatre and even the gastronomic arts. It’s going to be the greatest thing I’ve ever done.”
In the meantime, this year’s edition of Lollapalooza is scheduled to take place at Chicago’s Grant Park, from July 31st to August 2nd. Joining Metallica in the headline slot is Sir Paul McCartney, with more than 100 other acts filling out the bill.
Watch: Metallica – Turn The Page
Watch: Jane’s Addiction – Another Soulmate
Watch: Pride And Prejudice – Marriage Proposal
