Perry Farrell (born Peretz Bernstein; March 29, 1959) is an American singer-songwriter and musician, best known as the frontman for the alternative rock band Jane's Addiction. Farrell created the touring festival Lollapalooza as a farewell tour for Jane's Addiction in 1991; it has since evolved into an annual destination festival. Farrell continues to produce Lollapalooza with partners William Morris Agency and C3 Presents. Farrell has also led the alternative rock groups Porno for Pyros and Satellite Party.
Biography[]
Born as Peretz Bernstein in Queens, New York City, New York, he spent his grade-school years in Woodmere, Long Island, and moved to North Miami Beach, Florida, with his Jewish family during his teens. His father was a jeweler and his mother was an artist who died by suicide when Farrell was three, an event later noted in the Jane's Addiction songs "Then She Did" and "Twisted Tales".
His early musical influences included The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Sly & The Family Stone and James Brown. Soon after, he discovered David Bowie, Iggy Pop and Lou Reed. Following graduation from high school, Farrell moved to California in the early 1980s to live as a surfer. There, he lived in his car and made money working construction and waiting tables.
He has a son, Yobel (born 1998), with ex-girlfriend Christine Cagle. In 2002, Farrell married Etty Lau Farrell, a professional dancer and singer who has performed in all the Jane's Addiction shows since the 1997 Relapse tour. The couple now have two sons together, Hezron Wolfgang and Izzadore Bravo.