Jane’s Addiction frontman Perry Farrell discussed how Lollapalooza became a huge musical festival in a new interview with Chicago Tribune.
Lollapalooza was conceived as a Jane’s Addiction farewell tour, including opening acts such as Nine Inch Nails, Siouxsie and the Banshees and Butthole Surfers. Farrell said in 1992 he knew he was going to “put Jane’s down for a time.”
As the 1991 tour was successful and the record industry loves success, they went right to the next year and had the Red Hot Chili Peppers perform in the second tour. Farrell said: “I figured why not? I was up for another party.”
“Lolla started out as a scene for the alternative kids, and a lot of money was thrown at it. Rolling Stone called it a ‘cash cow’ in 1995. I can’t say they were very wrong. Everyone was selling something. Managers, agencies, record companies — everybody was. That’s life. There’s nothing I can do about it except study it and try to keep it sweet, truthful, honest. You see the money people coming, and you bring in more things that are exciting and delightful and funny and pleasing” Farrell said.
Perry Farrell also said he is not excited by the new wave of EDM artists who are attracting huge crowds at Lollapalooza. He said: “Believe me, I’ve got questions myself. I hate EDM. I want to vomit it out of my nostrils. I can’t stand what it did to what I love, which is house music, which was meditative, psychedelic — it took you on a journey. … I sometimes cringe at my own festival.”
On the other hand, he recognized the audience wants EDM: “You’d have to do away with pop to escape it, and if you want to do a festival you can’t do away with pop.”
