Jane’s Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro will sit out the band’s forthcoming tour with Smashing Pumpkins, as the musician is continuing to suffer from the effects of long COVID.
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In a message to fans posted on the band’s social media, Navarro confirmed he will not be performing on the tour, as he is still experiencing a “continued battle” with long COVID he has been fighting since December of last year.
The guitarist said that while he had hoped for a full recovery by the time the tour started in Dallas this weekend, he is still “very fatigued” and, as such, “will not be able to join this leg”.
Navarro added that he was particularly “gutted” about not being able to take part in the tour as original bassist Eric Avery has returned to the fold and the tour would have seen the band’s original lineup reunite. “That will have to wait until I am recovered,” Navarro said.
Filling in for Navarro will be Queens of the Stone Age guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen, whose other projects have included Failure and A Perfect Circle. Navarro added that while his bandmates are on the road, he will be in the studio in Los Angeles working on new Jane’s Addiction material.
“Though I am saddened to not make this tour I am focussed on making a full recovery and re-joining the guys when I am able,” Navarro concluded his statement. “I truly wish the band well on this tour and I am confident they will bring everything to make it a fabulous show! Go get em guys! Maybe I can get to a show one night and watch my own band for the first time ever.”
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Back in May, Navarro discussed his lengthy battle with long COVID, which forced the band to pull out of this year’s Welcome to Rockville festival in Florida. “Been sick since December and supposedly will be back to my old self in… nobody knows how long,” the guitarist wrote in a since-deleted post on Instagram.
“If there are any of you who are still suffering long after your negative results, I’m just saying you aren’t alone,” he continued. “The fatigue and isolation is pretty awful but try to spend your time with the ones you love and stay creative. That’s how I’m trying to get through this thing.”
Jane’s Addiction’s North American tour with Smashing Pumpkins will run throughout October and November, wrapping up with a gig at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on November 19.