Dave Navarro

Template:Guitarist infobox David Michael Navarro (born June 7, 1967) is a guitarist who has played in the rock bands Jane's Addiction and, for a short while, the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Currently, Navarro is a member of The Panic Channel and the cover band Camp Freddy.

Biography

Navarro was born in Santa Monica, California to James Raul Navarro and Constance Colleen Hopkins. Navarro's paternal grandfather was a Mexican immigrant who was orphaned after the Mexican Civil War. His mother Constance worked as a model, appearing on the television show "Let's Make A Deal". Navarro was the only person in his paternal family not to speak Spanish, as James and Constance divorced when he was 7 and he spent the majority of his time with his Anglophone mother; she was murdered eight years later in March 1983 by her boyfriend, who was arrested in 2004 after a viewer tip when Navarro appeared on the television series America's Most Wanted. Navarro has two half-siblings on his father's side - a brother and a sister, who are 27 and 31 years younger than him, respectively. He attended the private John Thomas Dye School in Bel-Air, where he first met Eric Avery.[1]

Navarro has been married and divorced three times. He married his first wife, Tanja, in a pagan ceremony in 1990 and his second wife, Rhian, in a civil ceremony on October 15, 1994. Navarro married model and actress Carmen Electra, on November 22, 2003. On July 17, 2006, Navarro and Electra announced their split to Star Magazine. Navarro posted a message on his blog the following morning saying "I just want to say thanks for all of your love and support. I'm sure that you can understand that I wish to keep all personal matters private." Electra filed for divorce on August 8, 2006.

It was rumored in August 2006 that Dave was dating porn actress Jenna Jameson,^[1] but Navarro has denied this on his blog.^[2]

Navarro's personal life came under some scrutiny after he admitted to having experimented sexually with other men. During an interview in May 2006 with the online publication dot News Magazine, Navarro stated: "I will tell you that I've come to realize through my experimentation over the years that I'm not gay, nor am I bisexual. But at least I know that in the sense that I've never been aroused by a man, but I've been in situations where I could potentially be aroused. Since it didn't work, I know I'm not gay. So I was open to it working, let's just say that." When asked about if he had to be gay, he replied that he'd choose to experiment with Johnny Depp.

Navarro has long struggled with drugs, including a lengthy addiction to heroin that was documented in his 2001 autobiography, Don't Try This At Home, which was co-authored by Neil Strauss.

Professional career

Navarro started playing guitar around the age of 12 after hearing Jimi Hendrix and formed his first band South Dakota Railroad in junior high (where he also met future bandmate Eric Avery). In high school, he formed the band Dizaztre with Stephen Perkins on drums and Rico Quevedo on bass and vocals.

Navarro joined the band Jane's Addiction in 1986 with Navarro playing guitar, Perry Farrell on vocals, Avery on bass, and Perkins on drums. The band became successful and became legendary in the alternative-rock music scene. Personal tensions, however, led to their breakup in 1991. The Lollapalooza festival tour was created by Farrell as a farewell tour for Jane's Addiction.

Navarro then formed Deconstruction with Avery on vocals and bass and Michael Murphy on drums, and the band put out one self-titled album before breaking up. Navarro then joined the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 1993 after the departure of guitarist John Frusciante, and filled the band's great need for a suitable guitarist.

Navarro only recorded one album with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, One Hot Minute. During his Chili Pepper days, Navarro also guested along with Flea on Alanis Morissette's 1995 Jagged Little Pill album.

At that point, stating he wanted to focus on his upcoming solo project, Spread, and was not interested in recording and touring with the Peppers, and allegedly also because the band's chemistry was not working well anymore. ^[3], Navarro left the band in 1998.

He kept working on the Spread album, which at first included Chad Smith from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Jane's Addiction also reunited for a few shows in 1997, 1999 and 2001 with Flea and then Martyn LeNoble replacing Avery on bass. Navarro also played bass and guitar in 1999 for the band Nancy Raygun with his then-girlfriend Monet Mazur.

In 1998, Marilyn Manson asked Navarro to play a guitar solo for Manson's song "I Don't Like The Drugs (But The Drugs Like Me)", which appears on the record Mechanical Animals, to which Navarro agreed, earning himself credit for the solo in the album's liner notes.

Navarro also contributed work on the second album Hotel Paper from Michelle Branch, and played guitar in her first single "Are You Happy Now?"

In 2002, Jane's Addiction again reunited and recorded a studio album, with Chris Chaney now playing bass. Following the release of Strays in 2003, Jane's Addiction again broke up in mid-2004. Navarro has since formed a new band called The Panic Channel with Perkins and Chaney and singer Steve Isaacs. Their debut album was released August 15, 2006 on Capitol Records.

In addition to his musical work, Navarro has briefly appeared in two movies, Floundering (1994) and Uptown Girls (2003). Navarro also wrote a movie review column entitled "Movies & Crap" for Bikini magazine with his cousin Johnny (although they referred to themselves as brothers in the column). He has written for Details, Nylon, Ray Gun, and Us Weekly magazines and co-written a photo book entitled Don't Try This at Home. And he also has made several appearances on the television series Celebrity Poker Showdown, playing no-limit Texas Hold 'Em in support of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.

Navarro appeared on Punk'd with his third wife, Carmen Electra, after they were both punk'd by Ashton Kutcher during a hit-and-run chase. He and Electra also starred in 'Til Death Do Us Part: Carmen & Dave, an MTV reality series that documented the events leading up to the couple's wedding.

In 2004, Navarro contributed his guitar ability on Dead Celebrity Status' debut album, Blood Music. He played guitar on their lead single, "We Fall, We Fall." Also in 2004, Navarro contributed his guitar work to Glenn Hughes's album Soul Mover.

In 2005, Navarro served as co-host of the reality TV show Rock Star: INXS alongside Brooke Burke. During the competition to determine a new lead vocalist for INXS, the exposure and success of the show made Navarro's name much better known among mainstream music fans.

In 2006, he has focused his energies on his new band, The Panic Channel which is made up of himself, Stephen Perkins and Chris Chaney of Jane's Addiction, and lead singer Steve Isaacs. He also has started an Internet radio station called Spread Radio Live, where he hosts non-FCC regulated radio via the internet along with other hosts such as Electra, Messy Stench, and the SuicideGirls' Bee Jellyfish. Navarro also worked on a new season of Rock Star called Rock Star: Supernova, which premiered in North America on July 5, 2006 and ended on September 13, 2006. They are forming the band Supernova which features Gilby Clarke (formerly with Guns N' Roses ) on guitar, Jason Newsted (ex-Metallica) on bass and Tommy Lee from Mötley Crüe on drums with the lead singer, Lukas Rossi, having been selected at the end of the show's run. On the final episode, he committed to working with Rockstar: Supernova Runner-up Dilana on her upcoming album.

Navarro is currently working on a drama program involving the police with his biographer, Neil Strauss. ^[4]

Equipment of Choice

Dave has been using PRS Guitars since the early Janes Addiction days. he began with standard shredding guitars and eventually went to PRS Custom series. His signature PRS is always his number one stage guitar. He has several copies of it in his possesion. He has several other application guitars as well but they are also very sparsely used.

He used a Parker Fly Deluxe for the Chili peppers days during the live versions of "My Friends". He used it for its super clean tones that would sound almost identical to an acoustic. Dave also openly admits that "Its one of the ugliest guitars ive ever seen", as quoted from the Dave Navarro instructional DVD.

During this era, dave went with a more treble based guitar in the Fender Stratocaster. he had several in his possession. All of them were a 3 single coil pattern but he also had a modulus stratocaster made.

Dave has also been seen playing Gibson Les Pauls, Kramer (Van Halen Signature) Guitars, Fender Telecasters, Takamine Acoustic 12 strings, and even a Hello Kitty Squier Stratocaster given to him by Carmen.

Dave exclusively plays through 2 Marshall amplifiers which are dubbed Tanjerine and Peach.

With effects, Dave prefers Boss. He uses a Boss Octave Pedal, 2 Boss DD3 Digital Delays, a Boss Turbo distortion for extra volume during soloing, A Dunlop Cry baby Wah Pedal, Marshall Footswitch,and few other pedals.

Discography

With Jane's Addiction

1987 Jane's Addiction (live at the Roxy in Los Angeles, California January 26, 1987)
1988 Nothing's Shocking
1990 Ritual de lo Habitual
1991 Live and Rare (Japanese release of rare and live tracks)
1997 Kettle Whistle (a compilation that included new songs, live tracks, and old rarities)
2003 Strays
2006 Up From the Catacombs (Greatest hits album)