Eric Avery

Eric Adam Avery (born April 25, 1965) is an American musician.

He is best known as the founding bass guitarist and co-songwriter of the alternative rock band Jane's Addiction, with whom he has recorded two studio albums.

A core member of Jane's Addiction during its initial lifespan, Avery co-founded the band in 1985 with frontman Perry Farrell, and recorded two studio albums, Nothing's Shocking (1988) and Ritual de lo Habitual (1990), before the band's acrimonious break-up in 1991.

He finally performed with Jane's Addiction – for the first time since 1991 – at the NME Awards in 2008.

The relationship led to the booking of the "NIN/JA" (Nine Inch Nails/Jane's Addiction) tour, on which Avery played, and which evoked the first Lollapalooza tour of 1991, starring Jane's and Nine Inch Nails.

Following Jane's Addiction's dissolution, Avery and guitarist Dave Navarro formed Deconstruction with drummer Michael Murphy, releasing one studio album in 1994.

Avery has recorded tracks for, toured with and briefly dated Alanis Morissette, as well as creating another side project, Polar Bear, in 1994.

He was once suggested as the replacement bassist for Tool by former Jane's Addiction and then-current Tool manager Ted Gardner.

Eric declined the invitation, saying he wanted to concentrate on Polar Bear.

As seen in the film Metallica: Some Kind of Monster, Avery auditioned for Metallica, after the departure of bassist Jason Newsted.

The role didn't quite fit Avery and the band went with Ozzy Osbourne and Suicidal Tendencies bassist Robert Trujillo.

The following year, Avery began a solo project named Polar Bear, which he focused on between 1995 and 2000.

Declining to take part in Jane's Addiction's 1997 and 2001 reunions, Avery eventually rejoined the band in 2008.

"I've asked him," said Farrell before 2001's Jubilee Tour, "but he says he wants no part of it. What else can you say but, Good luck to ya?"

Avery has also performed with Peter Murphy, on tour and on 2004's Unshattered.

Avery worked briefly with the revived Smashing Pumpkins, but ultimately did not join the band.

He was not paid for his work, but said the sessions were a lot of fun: "I went into [the Pumpkins] with the same mentality I took with me when I auditioned for Metallica – I expected to have a good story to tell my wife. I had no expectations. I had heard nothing but bad things about working with Billy, but I went, and I found it to be a really inspiring time."

From 2005 to 2022, Avery was the touring and recording bassist for Garbage, which he joined as sideman and with whom he recorded three studio albums.

Alongside his work with Jane's Addiction, Avery is a former member of Alanis Morissette's backing band, and has been a touring and session musician for Garbage since 2005, contributing to the albums, Not Your Kind of People (2012), Strange Little Birds (2016) and No Gods No Masters (2021).

Avery toured with the band Garbage to promote 2005's Bleed Like Me.

Avery unofficially joined the Smashing Pumpkins in 2006 for a short spell, and was briefly a member of the rock supergroup Giraffe Tongue Orchestra.

Billy Corgan ended up playing bass on what would become 2007's Zeitgeist and hired Ginger Reyes for live performances.

In 2007, he contributed original music to the feature film documentary The 11th Hour.

To date, Avery has released two solo studio albums under his own name, Help Wanted (2008) and LIFE.TIME. (2013).

Eric Avery was born in Los Angeles, California.

His father is the actor Brian Avery, perhaps best known for playing Carl Smith (who Dustin Hoffman famously keeps from marrying Katharine Ross) in The Graduate.

Avery and Dave Navarro met as classmates at St. Paul the Apostle Grammar School in West Los Angeles, a Catholic parochial school founded by the Paulist Father.

Eric went on to St. Monica High School of Santa Monica, California, and Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, California.

Dave was classmates at Notre Dame with Stephen Perkins.

Stephen met Eric's sister, Rebecca Avery, and they dated.

Rebecca suggested that Eric and Perry Farrell audition Stephen as the drummer for Jane's Addiction after Perry and Eric cofounded the band.

Avery kept a fairly low profile after the first demise of Jane's Addiction, participating in the Deconstruction project with Navarro immediately after Jane's Addiction's breakup, but initially declining invitations for Jane's reunions.

He also released his debut solo album Help Wanted in April 2008 through Dangerbird Records.

Jane's played secret club shows in October and November 2008.

On March 19, 2009, at South by Southwest Music festival in Austin, the quartet performed a 45-minute set at an abandoned Safeway grocery store.

Jane's Addiction's official website was updated in February 2009 stating that there was to be another club show soon.

Photos of Avery, Perkins and Navarro, taken by Trent Reznor, appeared on Nine Inch Nails' official site, which led to speculation that Reznor was helping Jane's record new material.

The original core line-up of the band embarked on a co-headlining tour with Nine Inch Nails, with Avery departing in 2010 due to ongoing tensions with Farrell.

In 2022, Avery rejoined Jane's Addiction after a twelve-year absence, in advance of a co-headlining tour with the Smashing Pumpkins.

In 2013, Avery joined Nine Inch Nails in preparation for their extensive Twenty Thirteen Tour, before parting ways with the project ahead of the tour's commencement.