Porno for Pyros

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Porno for Pyros
Background information
Origin	Los Angeles, California, USA
Genre(s)	Alternative Rock
Years active	1992 – 1998
Label(s)	Warner Bros. Records
Associated acts	Jane's Addiction
Former members
Perry Farrell Stephen Perkins Martyn LeNoble Peter DiStefano Mike Watt

Porno for Pyros was a US musical group and was Perry Farrell's and Stephen Perkins' next project after their former band Jane's Addiction.

[edit] History

Following the demise of the extremely successful Jane's Addiction project, frontman Perry Farrell and drummer Stephen Perkins formed Porno for Pyros after acquiring guitarist Peter DiStefano and bass player Martyn LeNoble. Prior to releasing their eponymous first album, Porno for Pyros - Legend has it that it was named after Perry was riding a bus looking at a Fireworks magazine, when someone behind him said "That looks like a Porno for Pyros" - embarked on a nation-wide tour to support their new band. By the time their debut album was released in 1993, the anticipation surrounding the project was enough to briefly drive the album to the #1 position on the Billboard top 20 list. Reaction to the album was mixed, with some fans ecstatic, and others disappointed. The video for the album's first single Pets received heavy airplay on MTV. Following the album's release, Porno for Pyros continued a heavy touring schedule, including an appearance at Woodstock 94. Unlike the relatively straight-ahead rock shows that were the hallmark of live Jane's Addiction, Porno for Pyros live shows relied heavily on props, extras, and special effects (including, but not limited to pyrotechnics).

For their follow up album, Good God's Urge, bass player LeNoble left the band after completing the lion's share of the bass tracks. Ex-Minutemen bassist Mike Watt was brought in to finish up the album tracks, and join the band on tour. The album also featured the post-Jane's reunion of Farell with guitarist Dave Navarro, who made a guest appearance on Freeway. The band again set forth on a heavy touring schedule. It's interesting to note that on several tour stops, Porno for Pyros played Mountain Song, a popular Jane's tune. Other than being a sure crowd-pleaser, in retrospect it seems like a foreshadowing of the later Jane's Addiction reunion efforts. Further touring by the band was scuttled when DiStefano was diagnosed with cancer.

Perkins and Watt subsequently formed the jazz-punk improvisation group Banyan and, along with DiStefano, occasionally perform sets of Stooges cover versions in the Los Angeles area under the band name Hellride.

In the Jane's Addiction/PFP book, 'Whores' (by Brendan Mullen) it says that a third PFP album was penned, but never recorded.