As frontman of Jane's Addiction and founder of Lollapalooza, Perry Farrell has done plenty to cement his place in the history of alternative rock. Simultaneously a shrewd self-promoter and a shameless provocateur, Farrell has continued to openly court commercial success while retaining significant credibility as an activist and an adventurous musician. But the success of Farrell's latest project, the dance-oriented rock act Satellite Party, may require more hard-sell than usual, because the band's debut album, Ultra Payloaded, is entering a record-buying market that increasingly eschews the values and sounds that Farrell's generation made popular. (And which, perhaps ironically, drove a previous generation of rockers off the charts.) Farrell recently spoke with The A.V. Club about what Satellite Party is, who it's for, and whether he thinks he can still move units in 2007.
The A.V. Club: How would you describe Ultra Payloaded?
Perry Farrell: The term I use is "sedimentary rock," because it was built in layers. Sedimentary layers of sound, beginning with electronics and subsonic sounds and programs, and moving through to the enthusiasm of rock 'n' roll and rock 'n' roll instrumentation. Layered on top of that, we have unisex choruses, males and females. And on top of that, we've got a 30-piece orchestra. So it's a hybrid of sound. It's very modern, however, because the BPMs were set at hip-hop speeds and house-music speeds, so we could get into club rotations. I felt that rock 'n' roll wasn't being played in clubs any more, so it was a part of this musical adventure, to bring rock music back into the clubs.
AVC: Why is that important to you?
PF: Because today, people go out to clubs, and what they listen to mostly is hip-hop, pop, and R&B. And that's a shame, because there are some amazing rock musicians. The problem is that rock musicians never consider BPMs when they write their songs. They don't consider a club's house systems, because they're playing live. If only they'd consider those two aspects, a DJ would be able to get their cut, get their track, and spin it in right after Jay-Z.
AVC: Are you so interested in getting played in clubs because you're not sure there's a place for this album on radio today?
PF: Actually, I do think there's a place. I'm just not exactly sure where. The formats have changed so much, and even if you look at alternative music today, most of it isn't really that alternative. It's just good, strong, modern music. We've been getting lots of adds, and we've got one of the hottest new singles in America right now, so obviously program directors are picking up on it. But you never want to be exactly right with everybody. You want to be slightly ahead, and force a change of style.
AVC: In the early days of Jane's Addiction, there wasn't much commercial alternative-rock radio. How much do you think the existence of bands like yours caused that format to come into being?
PF:. Well, the big rock groups of the '70s were getting played, and the hair-metal guys, too. That really wasn't us. We came from post-punk, and we created the alternative nation. And it was very healthy for a long time. I don't know where radio is right now. Maybe they're looking for something new. That's why I'm saying, "Let's create something. Let's put some enthusiasm into the sound." There are lots of familiar elements to what I'm doing now, but it's like a child that comes from two different nationalities. It's just a beautiful new being.
AVC: Are you disappointed that the '90s radio revolution didn't last very long?
PF: Am I disappointed? Yeah. The reality of alternative music is, there aren't that many stations playing it any more, or so they say. And the perception is that young people don't care about it. But it's a false perception. If I can trade hats for a moment and be the owner and creator of Lollapalooza… 150 groups play my stages over the course of three days every year, most of them alternative-music groups, and last year we had close to 180,000 people attend. This year, we're expecting close to 200,000. There's definitely an audience. I can only imagine why songs end up on the radio today, and who's putting them there. But as far as I'm concerned—and I'm going around the world, looking and listening—guitar music is very, very strong in Europe and America. So we'll see what happens. I don't know. I sometimes wish I had a radio station, but I don't.
AVC: You could get on XM.
PF: Y'know, I've asked, and they've offered me a station. But I like the idea of a live feed. I don't like the idea of something canned. And a lot of the satellite-radio formats, it's canned DJs. So I'm thinking even past the idea of radio, and going into webcasting. That's where my interest is, and that's what I'm working on putting together right now. Something that doesn't necessarily play into radio formats, per se.
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