The Gandharvas/Jane's Addiction

Thought I'd post about both bands at once since they are so similar in sound. Any fans?

I love both bands quite well. The Gandharvas is basically a Canadian Jane's Addiction, but they are unique as well. The vocals are a dead ringer for Perry Ferrell though.

I always liked how Jane's Addiction combined metal, goth, punk and alternative and had their own sound that really sounded like none other. I like all their stuff (at least what I've heard of it - I don't have any of their newer releases).

The Gandharvas is more alternative than Jane's Addiction, but sound kinda like if Jane's Addiction had gone down the more alt path.

Let's discuss both bands ...

Never heard of the first, love Jane's Addiction though.

It must be a generation thing because people aren't familer with them from when they were originally popular hate them. My gf's son says they remind him of Maroon 5 and he usually likes interesting and cool stuff.

Sold For A Smile may be one of my favorite late nineties alternative albums. I first saw one of their videos on the old MuchMusic. Downtime actually got some airplay on the local rock station for a few weeks. I actually found the album in a .99 bin. Watching The Girl is a really great song.

Jane's Addiction is a group that I really dug in my college years but for whatever reason kind of just stopped following. Been years since I've ever listened to any. I'm sure it would bring back interesting memories if I ever dug some out.

Love Jane's Addiction, couldn't care less about 'been caught stealing' and half of Ritual De Lo Habitual but that period between 1987-88 when the released the live debut album and Nothing's Shocking is nothing short of amazing. Those albums are just one spooky dark swirling psychedelic mix of Led Zeppelin, The Birthday Party, The Gun Club and The Stooges with jazz, prog and funk mixed in for good measure. Cutting edge Hard Rock that paved the way for what Perry would dub the 'Alternative Nation'. If you get past the hairspray, the LA rock scene in the 80's couldn't be beaten apart from Jane's you had Redd Kross, The Gun Club, Rock City Angels, X, Dramarama, The Bangles (Early), Coma-Tones, The Three O'Clock, The Nymphs, Celebrity Skin, The Joneses, Guns N' Roses, Love/Hate, Concrete Blonde, Tex And The Horseheads etc.

As far as Jane's Addiction goes - I really like all of the stuff I had from them. "Ritual De La Habitual" is my fave though.

I've only had one album from The Gandharvas - "Sold for a Smile". I'd like to get all their stuff. 'Watching the Girl' is a great song and probably my favorite by them.

Anybody ever get into the 'post' Jane's Addiction band, Porno for Pyros? I know they were WAAY more alternative, but I liked them too. Though not nearly as much.

The latest Jane's Addiction Strays was ok. I bought it on the release days with the bonus dvd and the songs are cool but lack the swirling hard edged weirdness that I loved about them.

Kettle Whistle is definately worth picking up if anyone doesn't have it. It's a combo of new songs, unreleased songs, demos, live and the majority of it is great. The newer stuff on it is really sick sound electronic rock and I really dig it, particularly So What.

I like Porno for Pyros, I have their 2 albums, the first is ok but I really like Good God's Urge. Tahitian Moon is a master piece of great post-grunge music.

Huge JANE'S fan here....I love the s/t and "Nothing's Shockng"after that it seems like they tried too hard or something and the intimacy or whatever was gone. They were better when they were sort of secret, I guess...then again that's how it is...

"Nothing's Shocking" is a magical album...timeless...brilliant and unique.

As Ratt poison mentioned...there were a ton of fantastic "fringe" metal acts that were around in the 80's...they flourished in and around the "glam" scene but all had more to offer....he listed some great great acts that all would do well to investigate....although he forgot: LIQUID JESUS and PIGMY LOVE CIRCUS...both great bands.

Pigmy Love Circus was supossed to be the next big thing, and then Nirvana happened :o

When NIRVANA happened....alot of really great bands didn't.

I mean there were loads of great bands either freshly signed or on the cusp that were just abandoned and let to wither away.

Or left to release their debut's with no support or promotion of any kind (NYMPHS for one)

I'm not really familiar with any of those 'fringe' bands. I love Jane's Addiction though.

I've not heard Kettle Whistle or Strays. But those first 3 albums all ruled with ferocity IMO.

I'm a fan of Jane's Addiction.

brontotex wrote:

I'm a fan of Jane's Addiction.

Cool! What's your favorite album?

"Standing In The Shower Thinking" is my favorite Jane's song. Listening to some of this yesterday, that debut and Nothing's Shocking really still sounds fresh today. Like Shiney said, "timeless" and "brillant" . And Kettle Whistle is a must have.

Never cared too much for Porno for Pyros but that may have been because by that point I felt Perry Ferrell was way over-exposed. Might have to reconsider and check some out.

Redd Kross, Dramarama, Gun Club, and Nymphs - how did record companies miss the boat with those bands. That really was a great scene that should have been huge in the alternative music rise of the 90's.

My favorite Jane's Addiction albums:

1. Ritual De Lo Habitual
2. Nothing's Shocking
3. Jane's Addiction


Favorite songs:

1. Three Days
2. Jane Says
3. No One's Leaving
4. Aint No Right

I usually say that the 80's LA rock scene that Jane's Addiction spearheaded was the test run for the 90's Seattle rock scene or the alternative 90's. But unlike the brilliant LA scene, Seattle suffered from only having a handful of really vital brilliant creative bands and another handful of good bands. LA had so many creative genre bending weird and brilliant bands.

True.

I bought Whores: An Oral Biography Of Perry Farrell and Jane's Addiction today and i can say i'm totally immersed in it.

If you want a documentation of the 'real' LA rock scene of the 80's get this. Inger Lorre, Ian Astbury, Jeff Ament, Daniel Ash, Flea, Texacala Jones etc. and the band members/families/friends and other LA 'illumanati' recount brilliantly the rise and fall of this once in a life time band.

Interesting things i've taken from the book so far is the two different camps that made up Jane's. You had the artier Perry Farrell and Eric Avery side of things who were way into Joy Division, Bauhaus etc. and then you had the 'Heavy Metal' camp of Dave Navarro and Stephen Perkins. And that Perry and Eric were very cautious about accepting Dave and Stephen in the band to start with.

That their explains Jane's better then anything i've read before and totally made me get it, it was that 'clash' so to speak is that made them so great.

Jane's Addiction great band that won me over live, in 1988 I went and saw Iggy Pop and the opening act was Jane's Addiction, I had never heard of them but they blew me away with their very short opening set, a few days later I bought " Nothing's Shocking" which at the time I thought this was their debut, IMO the true start of the alternative rock revolution that would explode in a few years began with this album. This is the first album that I had bought that would toe me in to to other bands that were not traditional HM, punk,or hard core acts, they seemed to have combined all their influences and it exposed me to a another world of music, for that alone I will be forever grateful for Jane's Addiction.