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ntertammen

Tuning In
To The Music Scene .

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Porno For Pyros' Perry Farrell returns to the
Lollapalooza tour this year with an ecological message.

GARY GRAFF SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

erry Farrell has a distinct
color in mind for this
year's Lollapalooza tour.
Green.
The Jewish singer, who front-
ed the rock band Jane's Addiction
and now leads Porno For Pyros,
has been a principal organizer
and guiding spirit of the festival
since it began in 1991. But he was
noticeably absent from last year's
edition, which was marked by a
preponderance of hard rock and
heavy metal such as Metallica
and Soundgarden.
"It wasn't really that big a
thing; the initial, preliminary
meetings just didn't excite me ...
so I just decided that I'd rather
put my concentration into [other]
things," Farrell, 38, says. "It was
just that simple."
But this year brings him back
to Lollapalooza. For one thing, the
acts are a more varied and ad-
venturous bunch, covering the
metallic grind of Tool and Korn,
the electronic influence of The
Prodigy, Orbital and Tricky, the
hip-hop of Snoop Doggy Dogg and
the more organic sounds of Julian
& Damian Marley and roots rock-
ers the Old 97s.

p

But topping the list, Farrell
says, there's an ecological agen-
da he wanted to pursue this year.
"I make no mistake that the
Lollapalooza is my biggest mouth-
piece," says Farrell, born Perry
Bernstein, the son of a diamond
dealer in Queens, N.Y. "And [the
organizers] were very receptive
to helping to do this.
So it was a very easy
decision; of course I'll
work on it. Now I'm
interested."
What Farrell envi-
sions is an elaborate
campaign that in-
volves discussions,
debates, demonstra-
tions and even civil
disobedience, both at
the Lollapalooza
shows during July
and August and in
other locales. He's or-
ganizing a protest
gathering for next
Thursday near the
White House in
Washington, D.C.
He hopes there
will be music, and
he'd like to have

speeches from Vice President Al
Gore as well as sponsors of new
congressional legislation to open
records of toxic dumping.
In fact, Farrell explains, he'd
like to create a standard of
protests that offers something
other than people yelling at each
other.

Left: Tool will perform on the main
stage at Lollapalooza.

Above: Paul and Phil Hartnoll of Orbital
will bring their music to Lollapalooza on
July 15.

So Farrell is perfectly happy to
• The Green House, which will
feature information and a kind of have Lollapaloozers come out to
hear the bands. The way he sees
"toxic Jeopardy" game.
• The Brain Forest, a theater- it, it's a great way to lure them in
for the festival's other elements.
in-the-round.
• The Temple, a structure
made from 10-by-20-foot silk- 1; Lollapalooza '97 takes place at
2 p.m. Tuesday-Wednesday, July
screened art panels.
15-16, at the Pine Knob Music
• Civil disobedience training.
Of course, most people come to Theatre, Sashabaw Road at 1-75,
Lollapalooza for the music; the fes- Clarkston. Main stage acts are:
tival's first mission, in fact, was to Orbital (July 15), Devo (July 16),
give modern rock bands such as Tool, Snoop Doggy Dogg, Tricky,
Jane's Addiction and Rollins Band Korn, James, Julian & Damian
a larger platform than main- Marley. Second stage acts are:.
stream media afforded them at eels, Summercamp, Artificial Joy
the time. It worked; by the end of Club, Jeremy Toback and Old 97s.
1991, "alternative" was the mar- July 15 is sold out. Tickets are $34
keting buzzword of the early '90s. pavilion and lawn.

❑

Perry Farrell, center, with Porno For
Pyros bandmates Stephen Perkins, left,
and Peter DiStefano: "What I'm trying
to say is there's no reason you can't
learn and party."

"I don't profess to be a scientist
or a politician, but I'm pretty good
at throwing parties," he says.
"What I'm trying to say is
there's no reason you can't learn
and party."
Information and action will
also be the themes of the Lolla-
palooza midway this year: