Jane’s Addiction Hire Josh Klinghoffer as Dave Navarro Stand-in
Jane’s Addiction announced Josh Klinghoffer will take over touring guitar duties in the continuing absence of permanent member Dave Navarro.
Navarro – who, like Klinghoffer, was once a member of the Red Hot Chili Peppers – continues to deal with the effects of long COVID, which also kept him away from the shows Perry Farrell and company played last year. It’s the first time in the group’s history that they’ve toured without him. Those shows were covered by Queens of the Stone Age guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen.
“As a band we are in a great place, writing new music, and the bond is tighter than ever,” a social media statement read. “We all hope Dave can be out playing with us when he feels healthy and ready. For the near future, our brother Josh Klinghoffer will jump in for the upcoming shows on the West Coast, South America and some additional international shows.”
It continued: “We want to thank you for being there with us over these 30-some odd, odd years. You know we’re going to keep throwing down for you.”
Last year Klinghoffer – who later became a touring member of Pearl Jam – reflected on his decade with the Chili Peppers, which began with John Frusciante’s departure and ended with his return. “[F]or as much as I love those guys and loved playing with them, it was also enormously stifling creatively,” he said. “They’re an established band with an established sound, and I learned over time how little deviating from that was possible.”
Navarro joined the Chilis in 1993 and left in 1998. He later said the band’s fans had never accepted him, but that he understood why. “It’s not the Chili Peppers to them,” he reflected in 2017, while noting that he hadn’t forced his way into the lineup. “Someone offers you a gig and you take the gig. Why are you the guy that gets all the shit?”