CLUB SCENE
Waikiki gig deejay's next adventurous stop

By Derek Paiva
Advertiser Staff Writer

Perry Farrell will spend a night behind the turntable at Wave Waikiki under the alias DJ Peretz. Perry Farrell aka DJ Peretz With Quadraphonix, DJ Alika, DJ Daniel J, G-Spot, KSM 9 p.m. Saturday Wave Waikiki $15 ($10 advance) 941-0424, 591-3500 Also: An after-show party takes place until 7:30 a.m. at Virus; $8.

As far as extracurricular gigs for musicians go, at least it's semi-close to Farrell's day job. And a gig the ex-Psi Com, ex-Jane's Addiction, ex-Porno For Pyros lead screamer will bring to Wave Waikiki tomorrow night under the alias DJ Peretz.

Born Perry Bernstein, Peretz ben Hannah is Farrell's Hebrew name.

Farrell has claimed a longtime passion for electronica — his preferred turntable leaning — dating back to an early '90s Jane's Addiction tour where he briefly shared the stage with techno godfathers Orbital. Later in the decade, Farrell decided to attempt combining the alt-rock he was more popularly known for with his growing electronica fascination and deep record collection by gigging at clubs and a few notable parties as a deejay. Ever the musical chameleon, Farrell has been spinning on occasion ever since.

New Year's Eve 2000 saw Farrell as Peretz headlining "2001: A Sound Odyssey," a turntable function at the The Space (now The Maze) in Waikiki.

His 2001 CD "Song Yet To Be Sung" displayed a few elements of Farrell's Peretz alter ego with its drum 'n' bass, breaks and electronica leanings. In addition to releasing "Song," Farrell also reunited last year with Jane's Addiction members Dave Navarro and Stephen Perkins for a brief concert tour.

In December, Entertainment Weekly reported that Farrell had played an unknown role in the release of 2,300 Sudanese women and children from slavery. In the middle of a two-decade long civil war, Sudan's Muslim north has used slavery as a means of subjugating the country's Christian and animist south. The group he assisted, Christian Solidarity International, said Farrell led "emancipation dances," singing with a boom box and encouraging freed slaves and slave traders to dance. (After his record label arranged a tentative interview time for this article, Farrell opted out for personal reasons.)

Reviews of Farrell's turntable/mixer skills have mostly referred to him as able, with an obvious passion for the music and the art form. Others have knocked Farrell for bringing an audience to his Peretz gigs less in attendance to appreciate his mixing or music choices than to be in the same room with the guy who founded Lollapalooza and wrote "Jane Says."

Say what you will about Farrell's adventures in deejaying, we're betting a night with him behind the turntable can't be any worse than Jewel reciting selections from "A Night Without Armor."