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Perkins says Duff McKagan is a "shot of vitamin B" for Jane's (© Jared Milgrim/Corbis)

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Jane's Addiction drummer Stephen Perkins says that the addition of bassist Duff McKagan to the band has given the volatile outfit "fresh energy. We feel really together now, very unified."

Given that, over their 25-year-career, Jane's Addiction have broken up not once but twice, and have seen a number of bass players (Flea, Chris Chaney) fill in during various reunions, "a nice shot of vitamin B," as Perkins describes McKagan, the ex-bassist for Guns N' Roses and apparently still an active member of the equally troubled Velvet Revover, seems like just what Jane's needs as they embark on the making of a new album, their first since 2003's Strays.

That McKagan was joining Jane's Addiction has been the subject of much media speculation during the past few months - even while the group were preparing for a February-March Australian tour with original bassist Eric Avery, who at the beginning of the jaunt was giving signals via Twitter that he might not be long for the band.

As soon as the run ended, word that McKagan was stepping in began to circulate in earnest, and in the last week guitarist Dave Navarro made the worst-kept-secret in rock official: Avery was out yet again, and McKagan was working with the group, not merely as a temp player but a full-time member.

Yesterday, Stephen Perkins sat down with MusicRadar to give us the scoop on how McKagan came to join Jane's Addiction, and he discussed the different dynamic the "rough and tough" bassist was bringing to the new batch of songs the group are setting out to record.

As always, there's lots of drama in the Jane's Addiction camp, huh?

"It's par for the course, really. The tour we did last year was a big success. We played great and everything felt really good. But Eric's decision is Eric's decision. I can't speak for him, but I guess this is something that's been on his mind for a while."

"Moving forward is something we all want to do now, but Eric didn't want to move in the same way" - Stephen Perkins on Eric Avery quitting Jane's Addiction

By that you mean his leaving the band once again?

"Yeah. I can't say we were surprised - it takes a lot to surprise us anymore. But now Duff has come into our lives and it's wonderful. Of course, we've known Duff for quite a while, even going back to his GN'R days. We never viewed Guns N' Roses as competition or anything. Back in the day, Jane's was always hanging out with the Chili Peppers and Fishbone and bands like that, whereas GN'R were a bit more on the Sunset Strip."

Even though you weren't "surprised" at Eric's decision to leave, when did you get the feeling that things weren't right with him and the band?

"You know, you have to go back to the beginning, to '84 and '85. We were four people who came together, we were all very different, we loved different types of music. Nothing about us fit. We didn't dress the same, our record collections couldn't be more different…These are things that can bring people together in very beautiful ways when the situation is lubricated properly; on the other hand, these are the same things that can create friction.

"Jane's Addiction has always dealt with extremes, whether they're musical - our polyrhythmic approach to music, with everybody going in different directions - or the way we work as a band. Moving forward is something we all want to do now, but Eric didn't want to move in the same way.

"I liked playing the old songs on tour, but now it's time to make new music. To do that, the band had to get in a garage or rehearsal studio and get on with it. Perry [Farrell], Dave and I were all on the same page with doing that; Eric wasn't. He didn't feel the same sense of commitment to making new Jane's Addiction music. Obviously, we couldn't force him to do something he doesn't feel, so that's kind of that."

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