Birth Name: David Michael Navarro Date of Birth: 06/07/1967 Place of Birth: Santa Monica, CA Current Residence: Los Angeles, CA Current Bands: Jane's Addiction, Solo Other Bands: South Dakota Railroad, Dizastre, Deconstruction, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Honeymoon Stitch, Brain Taco, Ruined Eye, Nancy Raygun Other Projects: Bikini Magazine, 6767.com, Ugly Meets the People Movie Roles: Soul Kiss - As Himself, The Gift - As Himself, Floundaring - Drug Kid, Three Days - As Himself Publishing Title: Embryotic Music
Dave Navarro, a lifelong resident of Los Angeles, is the son of Constance Colleen Hopkins and James Raul Navarro. Dave's parents divorced when he was seven and Dave went to live with his mother. In 1983, Dave's mother and aunt were murdered. The man responsible for this was a former boyfriend of his mother. This tragic event has clearly had a great affect on Dave's life. Thankfully, the man responsible for this horrendous crime was arrested and convicted of the crime. He was captured thanks to help from the television program America's Most Wanted. Dave was a key witness in the prosecution of this man.
Music has always been a major part of Dave's life. The music of Jimi Hendrix is credited as being the beginning inspiration point for Dave's passion for the guitar. His cousin Dan Navarro, now of Lowen & Navarro, helped Dave learn the basics. Dave's first band, South Dakota Railroad, was a classic rock cover band.
Dave's academic life was not one of much success. However, while in marching band, he met and befriended Stephen Perkins. Together, they formed a speed metal band called Dizastre with some classmates. Dizastre managed to have enough success to play a few L.A. clubs, however the project was fairly short lived.
Stephen Perkins is responsible for brining Dave into Jane's Addiction. Shortly after Steve joined, the band's current guitarist left to be part of a different band. Steve raved about Dave and got him an audition. Dave played a riff that would eventually be a part of Mountain Song, with that, he was in.
Jane's Addiction brought on a series of highs and lows for Dave. He was an integral part of what became an immensely popular band. Jane's Addiction had a record deal and was touring the country. However, the stressful lifestyle took its toll on him. It is no secret that Dave has used drugs and his tenure in Jane's Addiction was during some of the heaviest drug use of his life. It would be these drug problems that would lead to the band's demise. During this time, Dave was trying to remove the use of heavy drugs from his life, but they were always accessible, making it extremely hard to deal with his addiction.
Shortly after the demise of Jane's Addiction, Dave joined former Jane's Addiction bassist Eric Avery in his new project called Deconstruction. This project ended up only lasting one album. Dave had ambitions of touring with Deconstruction where Eric Avery did not. The band was dissolved amicably, and Eric and Dave saw it as full closure on their Jane's Addiction experience at that time.
Deconstruction was a turning point for Dave. The music he played was a different sound than what he had played with his time in Jane's Addiction. There were more musical layers in addition to working with samples and other sounds. This also marked the first time Dave's vocals were a major part of the band. Neither he nor Eric were known for their vocals in Jane's Addiction, yet the two, especially Avery, made their vocal presence clear.
Dave's skills as a guitarist are quite evident. He has worked with numerous other artists and has been a highly sought after by bands looking for a guitarist. When Jane's Addiction broke up, Dave was asked to join Guns 'N Roses by Axl Rose; Dave declined the invitation. Dave was also asked by the Red Hot Chili Peppers twice to join their band. Initially he declined, but the second time he jumped on board.
Dave's first major performance with the Peppers was at Woodstock 94. He was extremely nervous and to make the situation that much more uncomfortable, he had to perform in a giant light bulb suit. Dave hated the suit, and thankfully he only had to perform in it for a short time as the entire band shed these suits early in the performance.
Dave brought a different element to the Chili Peppers. The only album he appeared on was On Hot Minute which was met with a mixed reaction by fans and critics a like. The biggest thing working against the album was the fact that it was quite different than the band's previous work, and it was the highly anticipated follow up to the bands breakout mega success Blood Sugar Sex Magick. Dave's tenure with the Chili Peppers was brief as he left in 1998 to pursue his solo project.
Before leaving the Chili Peppers, Dave had a brush with his past. Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea and Dave were invited to play with Porno For Pyros on a track called Hard Charger for the Howard Stern biographical movie Private Parts. What followed was a series of live dates where three fourths of Jane's Addiction were back together performing both Porno For Pyros songs and Jane's Addiction songs. This caught everyone's attention, and the Jane's Addiction relapse was soon announced.
Relapse was probably a very appropriate word for Dave. It was the first time that he had made music with both Stephen Perkins and Perry Farrell since he was a part of Jane's Addiction. It was also the first time in a while that Dave was using heroin. However, from all accounts, even with the bad, it was a good experience for all those involved, and one that left the door open for later collaborations.
Dave recently announced his engagement to Carmen Electra, former Playboy model and actress. If he and Carmen do wed, it will be the third time for Dave. Dave's first marriage was to a woman named Tanya (or Tanja depending on who you ask) in 1990 in a pagan ceremony. The two received matching marriage tattoos.
In 1994, Dave entered his second marriage, one that would be ended in less than a year. This time it was to a woman named Rhian. The separation was not a smooth one, and Dave used the emotion that was inside him at that time to record the Rhimorse demos, songs that have never been officially released, yet managed to make their way outside Dave's house, even though he said they would never leave it. Initially he intended to give it away at local record stores in Los Angeles, but rethought it as he felt some of the parts might be hurtful to his ex-wife. Remnants of these songs did progress into the Spread project and have since been released officially.
After leaving the Chili Peppers, Dave decided to concentrate on his solo project; then called Spread. Chad Smith of the Peppers was part of this project initially, but had to leave due to his inability to devote more time into the project. He and fellow Pepper Flea can be heard on the Spread demos. Dave would later rerecord their work for whatever reason he saw fit before the songs were officially released. Due to conflict with an existing band, the name Spread was dropped, and the project was simply put out under Dave's name.
Dave has also written an, as of late, unreleased book titled Don't Try This At Home. Initially, the book shared the same name as his solo album, but it was changed right before the book original release date. This oft-delayed book has finally been shelved with no set release date due to concerns over some of the books content. The concept of this book is a year in the life of Dave, with visitors to his house being captured in the photo booth he keeps in his house. The book is coauthored by Neil Strauss, who also co-wrote Marilyn Manson's autobiography. Dave has said he is currently too busy to deal with this book, and will decide what to do with it when he has the time.
Dave is now concentrating on his solo career, performing live and making guest appearances to promote his debut album Trust No One. With plans in place for more Jane's Addiction tour dates, the future seems quite bright for Dave.
Source: http://one-percent.com
