With his six-string skills best described as a merger between heavy metal, psychedelia and modern rock, Dave Navarro became one of alternative's first true guitar heroes. Born on June 7 in California, Navarro became mesmerized by the guitar as a teenager, due to his discovery of the incomparable Jimi Hendrix. This led to an appreciation of a wide variety of musical styles - in fact, when he met singer Perry Farrell initially, he was in a speed metal band (along with drummer Stephen Perkins). Navarro, Perkins, Farrell, and bassist Eric Avery formed Jane's Addiction in the mid-80's, and alt-rock has never been the same since.
Navarro was one of the first rock guitarists to not just confine his playing to one style - something that had become commonplace in the 90's, but was virtually unheard of in the 80's (could you have really pictured Eddie Van Halen guesting on a punk rock record?). His playing on such landmark Jane's albums as 1988's Nothing's Shocking and 90's Ritual De Lo Habitual was like a breath of fresh air - Navarro knew when to shred away, and when to lay low and add textures to the compositions. Unfortunately, the band split up by 1991.
Later he and Avery resurfaced with the experimental band Deconstruction. Their eponymous debut was issued in 1994. Unfortunately, they disbanded soon after. . Navarro kept himself busy with session work in the meantime (guesting on Nine Inch Nails' Further Down the Spiral, Alanis Morissette's mega-seller Jagged Little Pill, Porno For Pyros' Good God's Urge, and others). In ''94 Dave joined another immensely popular band, The Red Hot Chili Peppers - debuting with them live at Woodstock. His studio debut with the Peppers was 1995's One Hot Minute. After a lengthy worldwide tour of arenas, Dave re-joined Jane's Addiction for a brief U.S. tour in 1997, recording a few new tracks with them (issued on the compilation Kettle Whistle). Navarro left The Red Hot Chili Peppers soon after the Jane's reunion tour wrapped up. He immediately threw himself into his next musical project, entitled "Spread".
Spread evolved into his first solo record Trust No One, released in 2001. In 2002, Jane's Addiction reformed and started work on a new album, "Strays". The band entered the studio with veteran rock producer Bob Ezrin and toured with Lollapalooza 2003 in support of the album. At the same time that Jane's was busy in the studio, Dave helped start a project called Camp Freddy.
Camp Freddy is an all-star cover band comprised of an ever-changing line-up of rock royalty and featuring the core band: Matt Sorum, Donovan Leitch, Billy Morrison, Dave Navarro, Chris Chaney, and recent addition Scott Weiland. They have played select shows with the likes of Ron Wood, Steven Tyler, Slash, Macy Gray, Rob Zombie, Steve Jones, and many other talented musicians.
In 2003, Dave and his then fiance, Carmen Electra, agreed to have their wedding preparations filmed for a successul MTV reality show entitled Til Death Do Us Part. In the Summer of 2005, Dave along with Brooke Burke, co-hosted the successful ROCKSTAR:INXS. This summer, ROCKSTAR:Supernova, finds Dave not only returning as co-host, but serving as an executive producer as well.
Dave has launched his own Internet radio station, Spread Radio Live. Dave does live broadcasts from his home where he can rant freely without the confinements of FCC regulations and play whatever music he wants. The station really focuses on featuring Independent Artists and has even gone on to sponsor live events for them to perform and be heard.
