If rock stars were superheroes BANYAN’s ferocious new full length, “LIVE AT PERKINS PALACE” (out October 12 on Sanctuary Records), would be the stuff of comic book collecting fantasies. Over the course of their previous two full-length albums (1997’s “Banyan,” and 1999’s “Anytime At All”), Jane’s Addiction’s resident skin pounding guru, Stephen Perkins, lead a rotating cast of a veritable who’s who in California’s collaboration happy music scene. Banyan seemed to consist
of everybody from eccentric beat junkies like Money Mark and the Dust Brothers, to Chili Peppers’ Flea and John Frusciante, to critically acclaimed Lou Reed collaborating bassist Rob Wasserman.
For “Live At Perkins Palace,” though, Perkins wanted to try and capture the very essence of Banyan’s ambitious live experience. In doing so, he trimmed the group’s far-reaching lineup down to its four core members. This time around Banyan consists of former Minute Men bassist and low-frequency iconoclast, Mike Watt handling bass duties, Wilco’s current ghost-birthing guitarist, Nels Cline, one-time Death Row records session musician, Willie Waldman on trumpet, and, of course, Jane’s Addiction’s tribal rhythm provider, Stephen Perkins, holding it all together on the kit.
