The rumors are true: Trent Reznor will produce the new Jane?s Addiction album, and take Perry Farrell?s band on tour when Nine Inch Nails hit the road this summer for a U.S. tour. In a long post on the NIN.com Website, Reznor writes that early in Nine Inch Nails? career, he toured with Jane?s Addiction and the experience was ?truly the best times I?ve had.? Reznor goes on to reveal how a friend told him that Jane?s recent L.A. club performances were ?unbelievable,? which inspired him to contact the band and discuss the possibility of collaborating.
?Emails were sent, phone calls were made, dinner was arranged, ideas were discussed and the next thing I know we?re in the studio experimenting,? Reznor writes. ?We laugh, we get to know each other, we cry, we yell, we almost quit, we record lots of guitar solos, we discuss, we actually begin to all communicate, we yell some more, we become friends, we laugh again and we do some great things.?
While NIN fans are likely excited about the Jane?s Addiction news, it?s the second sentence of the third paragraph of Reznor?s post that most likely concerns the diehards: ?I?ve been thinking for some time now it?s time to make NIN disappear for a while.? Reznor has been uncharacteristically prolific in recent years, releasing With Teeth, Year Zero, Ghosts I-IV and The Slip in a four year span; by contrast, there was a six-year hiatus following 1999?s The Fragile. Fans have a legitimate reason for concern: should Reznor take another lengthy break from NIN, the project might not return until 2015.
With this year marking the 20th anniversary of NIN?s seminal Pretty Hate Machine, and following NIN?s production-heavy Lights In The Sky tour, Reznor also revealed that the Jane?s-and-NIN jaunt will be ?much more raw, spontaneous and less scripted.? According to Reznor?s Twitter, the rocker was nervous about testing out the new concert format prior to last night?s show in Auckland, New Zealand, but in the end Reznor writes, ?Very strange show for us to play. Completely different and exciting. Nothing was familiar to us. Mission accomplished!?
The NIN U.S. tour dates are expected soon, and we?d be shocked if a huge festival or two weren?t part of the itinerary. NIN are already booked for Bonnaroo and this morning both bands were announced for the Memorial Day Weekend Sasquatch! Festival in Washington?s Gorge. Jane?s Addiction at Perry Farrell?s own Lollapalooza, perhaps?