Perry Farrell had originally planned for a giant burrito at the first Lollapalooza for all attendees to share, a new book revealed.
Last week (March 25), the book Lollapalooza: The Uncensored Story of Alternative Rock’s Wildest Festival was published. The oral history paperback details the ambitious and bizarre conception of the touring music festival by Farrell, who had originally conceived it as a farewell tour for Jane’s Addiction.
To promote the book, authors Tom Beaujour and Richard Bienstock appeared on Rolling Stone podcast Rolling Stone Music Now to discuss the facts stranger than fiction in the book.
Beaujour and Bienstock discussed how Farrell aimed for a communal environment at the festival, which was unique at the time for touring around the country, instead of being held at a fixed venue on a string of dates.
Part of the experience, Farrell envisioned, was to include a giant burrito meant to be shared by all festivalgoers. Farrell was “obsessed” with the idea, Beaujour revealed. “It’s truly the most prodigious health hazard you could think of, but that was what he was really going for,” Beaujour said.
The authors revealed more tidbits from the book, including how Farrell and Jane’s Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro had already “come to blows” on day one of the tour – “Dave Navarro [told us], ‘I didn’t even know that it was a Jane’s Addiction farewell tour.’ He was like, ‘I thought we were just touring!’” Bienstock revealed.
Others include how the gear of Nine Inch Nails “literally melted in hot weather” because all of it was plugged “into one electrical outlet”. Beaujour recalled the booking of Pearl Jam for Lollapalooza 1992, when they were slotted in advance for an early-day set but had exploded in popularity just before the festival. The same would happen at a Lollapalooza decades later due to Chappell Roan’s record-setting performance in the early afternoon.
However, it’s the topic of Green Day that is also noteworthy – Farrell dismissed the punk rock band as a “boy band” and originally fought against their inclusion in the Lollapalooza 1994 line-up.
“Billie Joe Armstrong was super bummed out because they love Jane’s Addiction,” Beaujour said. “The first minute of the interview, he is just like, ‘Perry was just being a straight up dick.'” Listen to the full podcast here.
Last year, Jane’s Addiction cancelled a portion of a tour and announced a hiatus after Farrell started an onstage fight with Navarro. Farrell has since apologised, taking to Instagram to address his fans and bandmates after the “incredibly difficult” time, while the other band members have since teased new music without Farrell.