Perry Farrell has always been a provocateur. As the flamboyant lead singer and frontman of Jane’s Addiction in the late ’80s and early ’90s, he combined an edgy, in-your-face sensibility with his band’s high-energy hybrid of metal and punk. By the time Jane’s Addiction disbanded in 1991, the group had paved the way for the grunge era and Farrell had earned the nickname “the godfather of alternative music.” He built his reputation by leading the band Porno for Pyros and founding the music festival Lollapalooza.

Jane’s Addiction reunited this year to release “Imminent Redemption,” the band’s first single with its original lineup in 34 years, and to embark on an extensive tour. Everything seemed to be going well when Farrell, 65, esquire for this part of our long-running interview series “What I have learned”, This is a conversation that has been reduced to the essentials and in which only the wisdom of the person concerned comes to light. But on Friday, September 13, just days after press time, Farrell had a nervous breakdown onstage during a concert in Boston. The singer got into a physical altercation with lead guitarist Dave Navarro in the middle of the song “Ocean Size” and had to be restrained. On September 16, the band announced that they had canceled the rest of their tour, and Farrell apologized to his “bandmates, especially Dave Navarro, fans, family and friends” for his behavior.

Part of what The advantage of Jane’s Addiction was that we were all very cocky because we all knew our instruments very well. That can be great because you get to hear incredible virtuosity, but you also lose something. You lose humility.

I have simplified my life over time. I don’t like people who hold their heads too high. I like people who are selfless.

I have one older brother, ten years older than me, and sister, eight years older. You may be wondering if it’s somehow weird to have children with a ten year age difference.

My family was a broken family. My mother tried to save the family by having a child. It ended horribly. My father just ran off with a woman and my mother ended up committing suicide. But there was something good too. The only good thing is that we all loved music. I got my love of music from my sister and brother. At that time it was the British Invasion.

On weekends, We were sitting on the porch in Flushing, Queens. People would come over, my brother’s friends, my sister’s friends, and I was allowed to hang out if I was the bartender.

When I first moved to California, it came from Florida. Even though I was born in New York, in the ’70s a lot of New Yorkers immigrated to Florida. Wise Guys went there. My father moved his store from West 47th Street to Hollywood, Florida.

When I first came When I came to Los Angeles, I didn’t know anyone. My life was basically washing dishes, being a waiter, busboy. I left home and had my own stories to tell.

I started as a singer around 1982. We had just come out of post-punk, gothic was very popular and we hadn’t yet invented what was called alternative.

I would comb my hair with bangs. I went to a thrift store, bought a psychedelic t-shirt and showed up for the audition. I didn’t even know how to hook up a microphone. So sometimes I would feel very embarrassed or depressed. They would ask, “Have you ever done this before?” And I’d say, “Well, I know I could front a band, but I’ve never done it.”

I rented a studio and I got a tape of Ziggy Stardust because I thought David Bowie was something I could do. That’s a really skinny boy.

We would go out every night to hear what the sound was like on the street. I found a house in LA. It was very old. It had been built for the movie stars. I just got a few different bands to move in there. You wrote your name on the board if you wanted to rehearse that night. LA was a breeding ground for all new bands at that time.

I have learned that if you want to really have fun and get really radical, you couldn’t go to the clubs. Back then, there was something called “pay-to-play.” Pay-to-play was this really grotesque thing where a lot of kids in the valley who still lived with their parents had to come up with, I think, $500 to get booked, to buy the tickets in advance.

When people give me recognition The reason I was the godfather of the alternative was because I didn’t have $500.

I saw where I could do things differently. As a singer, I noticed that nobody was using effects like guitarists were. To top it off, I started developing the art of dubbing vocals. I still think I’m ahead of the curve because most singers don’t use effects on stage. They don’t have a pedal board. I have a box that I keep near me because I use my hands a lot. I use my hands and my feet. It’s like I’m controlling something.

Muscles not really work with rock’n’roll. I see a band with muscles, that looks weird to me. They should fight. Skinny kids should do music or art. We don’t have to fight.

Part of the letter A good song is one where you give them a dash of familiarity and then a dash of “Wow, what was that? I’ve never heard that before.” That way they can pursue something they’ve never experienced and get there. And at the end of the song they feel smart because they’ve discovered something that almost nobody knows about.

I am lucky that I have Lollapalooza because otherwise I wouldn’t listen to as much music at my age. I like to see where music is going and then see how I fit in.

Everyone learns at such a fast pace. Before you know it, everyone knows your sound and is bored with you. I make it a point not to put out too much product. I take my time.

These days I try not to dress ostentatiously. There was a time when I liked to wear ostentatious things, to have suits made in London and hats made to measure by haberdashers. Nowadays I like to dress in a way that makes people trust me. I don’t want to be seen as someone who likes to show off.

The style that I try to fit in with “Shaman in the highlands of Peru.” I like to wear ponchos. But all of these things are available. If the common man wanted to look at me and maybe have some style, he could.

My father was a jeweler. He mainly traded in gold. I think pearl making has a lot of power and in our country pearl making has a long history.

In my stormy past, I was a very serious drug addict. But what I did – and it saved my life every time – was to take a trip and go surfing.

At my height I surfed with professionals, some of the best in the world. We lived on boats for a few weeks and I got better. Now it’s harder, but I never want to stop surfing. I believe that the sea, if you stay by the sea and swim in the sea, restores your health. It almost takes you back to the womb. You’re weightless.

I like to learn about Jah because I feel like that’s a point of unity for the entire universe. It seems like a lot of the battles that are starting are because of religion, and if we could just simplify religion, that might be the key to peace.

Sex is the best feeling in the world, right? To be loved and then to have such a close bond. I think it’s one of the most important discussions of our lives, knowing how to love properly and how to make love properly.

In my youth, I’ve had some great times in bed with people. But I wouldn’t recommend love triangles or too many lovers because everyone deserves proper attention. And a broken heart can kill you just as much as anything else.

How long do I want to be a touring musician? Until I die. But I can adapt it now at my age. I ask for a day off to heal. The voice is a very fragile instrument. Once it’s swollen, there’s nothing you can do about it.

Some of these musicians, they don’t care. They will play loud. And if they think the audience loves them, they will play even louder.

People had thirty years to learn to love us. They are not so insecure about us. We sing along, beautiful resonances in the room. I often get comments like “You changed my life.”

Maybe they hated themselves and now they love themselves. I’m glad I can still deliver to them.