Stephen Perkins: Jane's Addiction's drummer, decoded
Stephen Perkins co-founded Jane's Addiction in 1986 and has drummed for Porno for Pyros, Infectious Grooves, and Banyan. Guitar Center Drum-Off host and Watts Conservatory board member.
Jane's Addiction · reviewed by the Change Your Strings editorial team ·
Stephen Perkins co-founded Jane's Addiction in 1986 with Perry Farrell, Dave Navarro, and Eric Avery, and has drummed for the band through its various reunions since. He also co-founded Porno for Pyros, drummed in Infectious Grooves, formed the instrumental project Banyan, and toured with Tommy Lee's Methods of Mayhem in 1999 and 2000. He has hosted Guitar Center's Drum-Off multiple times, including the 2026 National Finale, and sits on the board of the Watts Conservatory of Music.
Who Stephen Perkins is
Stephen Perkins, born September 13, 1967, in Los Angeles, co-founded Jane's Addiction in 1986 alongside Perry Farrell, Dave Navarro, and Eric Avery. His drumming, which Wikipedia's own summary describes as blending rock, jazz, swing, African, Indian, and Latin styles, anchored the band's run from Nothing's Shocking (1988) through Ritual de lo Habitual (1990) and its later reunion records.
Outside Jane's Addiction, Perkins co-founded Porno for Pyros with Farrell after the band's first breakup in 1991, drummed in Infectious Grooves alongside Suicidal Tendencies' Mike Muir starting in 1989, and formed his own instrumental project, Banyan. He toured with Tommy Lee's Methods of Mayhem in 1999 and 2000, and played in The Panic Channel with fellow Jane's Addiction member Dave Navarro starting in 2004.
Jane's Addiction's status is unsettled as of this writing. The band's 2024 reunion tour ended after an onstage incident between Farrell and Navarro, and by 2025 Perkins, Navarro, and Avery had sued Farrell, who countersued in turn. Navarro has said he sees no chance of a further reunion; the three bandmates have said they are working on new music together without Farrell.
The ArtistFirst archive auction
On September 10, 2026, Perkins is offering a wide slice of his personal gear archive through ArtistFirst, the collectors' marketplace ANALOGr. A portion of the proceeds supports the Watts Conservatory of Music, where Perkins has served as a board member, teacher, and performer since 2024.
What's in the collection
- 1992 DW kit
- Porno for Pyros-era kit, orange finish
- 1997 DW kit
- Champagne Sparkle Short Stack
- 2006 DW kit
- Jimmy Page Custom, Sunburst
- 2008 DW kit
- Tribes Kit, Exotic Series
- 2010 DW kit
- Jazz Series, Titanium Satin
- 2011 DW kit
- Custom, Black Gun Metal Sparkle
- Percussion
- 1993 Meinl Marathon Congas, Remo Mondo Conga Snare, mini congas
- Other pieces
- Jane's Addiction-branded road cases, acrylic kits, a DW Trashcan Raw Kit
Modern Drummer, which broke the news, plans follow-up coverage on individual kits in the collection in the weeks leading up to the sale.
What he's not selling: the still-current Remo connection
The archive is historical: gear that traveled with Perkins through specific tours and recording periods. Separately, and unrelated to the sale, Remo's own current product page for its Controlled Sound Clear Black Dot drumhead lists Perkins under Played By, the same listing that documents Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers) and Mike Portnoy on that head. It's the one piece of Perkins' current, actively-documented gear CYS can verify as of this writing.
Current · Remo product page, Played By
Remo Controlled Sound Clear Black Dot
Listed on Remo's own current product page alongside Chad Smith and Mike Portnoy.
Source: Remo, Controlled Sound Clear Black Dot product page.
This is a starter profile. Documented rig detail will expand as sourced specs are confirmed.