Today we celebrate the birthday of the talented and diverse guitarist Dave Navarro.
So here are some interesting facts about the guitarist and actor:
(Photo: Tim Mosenfelder)
1. His full name is David Michael Navarro and he was born on June 7, 1967, in Santa Monica, California.
2. When he was 16 years old his mother was murdered by her former boyfriend, Dave was supposed to be with his mother that evening but at the last minute decided to stay with his father.
3. His mother's death was very difficult and put Dave into a deep and long-standing relationship with drugs. In 2015 he released a documentary called "Mourning Son" which depicts the murder of his mother and the years in which he later dealt with her death.
4. Three years later Dave began his career with the band of his life - "Jane's Addiction". He came to the band through childhood friend Stephen Perkins with whom he played together in the school orchestra. Stephen recommended Perry Farrell and after an audition, he joined the band together with Eric Avery.
5. Very quickly, "Jane's" became a sensation in the Los Angeles clubs and especially in the "Scream" club where they were a regular opening show. After courting several record companies, the band signed with "Warner Bros. Records" but conditioned the release of their "debut" album on a local independent record label called "Triple X".
6. In 1987 the band released their debut album, which was a live performance album recorded during the band's performance at the famous "Roxy Theater" club in Los Angeles.
7. In 1988 the band released their first studio album "Nothing's Shocking". The first single from the album "Jane Says" reached number six on Billboard and the album was a huge success. It began to pave the way for the band as one of the most influential and successful in the development of alternative rock in the early 90s.
8. But... the beginning did not have only a positive side!! Although the album was created by all band members, Farrell decided he wanted 50% of the royalties for writing the lyrics and another 25% of the remaining fifty for the contribution to writing the music, a total of 62.5% of the band royalties leaving 12.5% for the rest o f the band members. Although the band almost fell apart, the record company intervened and resolved the dispute when Farrell got what he asked for. The conflict and the "solution" created a deep rift between the band members that would continue on.
9. In 1990 the band released their second album "Ritual de lo habitual". An album that Dave claimed he does not remember at all the making process since he was deep in drugs and this whole period was erased from his memory. The album is split in two with the first part, songs 1-5, consisting of strong hard rock songs, and the second part, songs 6-9, all dedicated to Farrell's ex-girlfriend - Xiola Blue - who died from a drug overdose and is mostly influenced by progressive rock. Two singles from the album "Been Caught Stealing" and "Stop!" won many plays and gave the album great success.
10. After the release of the album Dave decided to get cleaned from drugs and had begun rehab along with his bandmate bassist Eric. The two would end each performance when they return to a separate hotel and not to the tour bus with the rest of the band members and the tour crew.
11. During the tour to promote the album, the rift between the band members began to grow, especially between Dave and Farrell who were documented arguing on stage during a large number of performances. Farrell said that at the end of the tour that he realized his drug and narcissistic rituals did not allow him to get along with anyone and it caused the rift to deepen and indeed at the end of 1991 Avery and Dave decided to complete their contract commitments and leave the band.
12. That same year Izzy Stradlin left "Guns N 'Roses" and Axl Rose courted Dave asking him to replace him. Despite many invitations from Axl to come and play with Slash he never showed up. A year later Dave received an offer from the "Red Hot Chili Peppers", but he elegantly refused them.
13. In 1993, Dave and his friend Avery formed the band "Deconstruction" which also included drummer Michael Murphy. Together they released in 1994 their only album bearing the band's name which was a kind of direct contrast to Farrell's "Porno for Pyros" album that was issued after "Jane's" breakup.
14. That same year, Dave agreed to the offer and joined the "Red hot Chili Peppers". Together with them, he released the band's sixth album "One Hot Minute". The album was a huge success and sold very well. Dave who didn’t relate to the band’s funky side gave it a heavier and even psychedelic sound.
15. During the tour to promote the album the relationship between the band members began to deteriorate as Dave and Kiedis contributed to the deterioration by heavy drug use. In 1998 Dave left the band, some say it was a mutual decision and some say he was fired due to increased of drug use which led to general dysfunction.
16. In 1995 Dave recorded his first EP called "Rhimorse". He wrote, created, and recorded the EP entirely on his own. The EP contains 5 songs that were recorded on one track without separation. The EP was not officially or commercially released but leaked online.
17. That same year Dave participated in the recordings of the song "You Oughta Know" by singer Alanis Morissette which came out on her album "Jagged Little Pill".
18. In 2001, Dave released his debut solo album "Trust No One". Dave recorded the album back in 1988, playing all the instruments on the album. The album focuses on Dave's difficult personal experiences like the drugs, the divorce, and the lonely life of a rock star. Dave said it was a very difficult and demanding experience that made him realize that he would rather be part of the band than a soloist.
19. In 2002 Jane's was reassembled and Dave returned to play with Farrell and Stephen with Chris Chaney joining on bass. A year later they release their third album "Strays", 13 years after the release of their previous album. The first single from the album "Just Because" earned the band a Grammy nomination.
20. That same year Dave formed a cover band called "Camp Freddy" in collaboration with his Jane's friend Chris Chaney and drummer Matt Sorum. The band used to host many artists such as: Scott Weiland, Chester Bennington, Sebastian Bach, Jerry Cantrell, Fred Durst, Tom Morello, Corey Taylor, Zakk Wylde, Steven Tyler, Ozzy Osbourne, Lemmy, and more and more ... In 2014 the band changed its name To "Royal Machines".
21. In 2003, Dave appeared with his then-partner Carmen Electra on an MTV show called "Til Death Do Us Part," which documented the couple's wedding.
(Photo: Pinterest)
22. In 2004 Dave participated in the "Celebrity Poker Showdown" program, the name says it all so there is no need to explain.
23. After an intense tour in 2003, Jane's broke up again for unknown reasons, when Dave wrote on his website that the breakup was due to the same reasons as the first time.
24. In 2005, Dave formed the band "The Panic Channel" with the rest of the newly disbanded Jane's band plus singer Steve Isaacs. They released together one album called "One a year later".
25. In 2006 Dave would host along with model Brooke Burke on the reality show "Rock Star". In the first season of "Rock Star: INXS" they held auditions for the role of the singer of the band INXS and in the second season of "Rock Star: Supernova" they held auditions for the role of the singer of the band "Supernova" which was composed of his previous band "The Panic Channel".
(Photo: Ollie Millington)
26. In 2007, Dave directed an adult movie called "Broken" as part of a reality show where celebrities direct adult movies (porn for those who did not understand).
27. In 2008, Jane's reunited for the third time and began a small tour in the North of the United States along with "Nine Inch Nails".
28. In 2011, Jane's released their fourth and final album "The Great Escape Artist". The album combines post-punk styles with influences from bands like Muse and Radiohead.
29. Among his other on-screen appearances in movies and TV series, Dave participated in 2012 in four episodes of the excellent series "Sons Of Anarchy". Another interesting appearence is in the reality competition "Ink Master" where he shows and talks about his various tattos.
30. He has collaborated with many other artists from different worlds such as: Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Marilyn Manson, Christina Aguilera, and many more.
Feel free to listen to his only solo album "Trust No One".