Dave Navarro found fame as the guitarist from alternative rock band Jane's Addiction. The band became successful in the early 90s, with their first two albums being acclaimed around the world and making Dave one of the most important rock guitarists of the decade.
In addition to his stellar rock career, the star also gained prominence following his public relationship with Camera Electra. Soon after, Dave Navarro found that he was interested in a lot more than just music.
He had countless different artistic projects throughout his career, including his love for tattoo work. This led him to become the host and one of the judges in Ink Master. For those who love the show, here are some interesting facts about Dave Navarro.
Updated on June 21st, 2021, by Michael Chaar: Dave Navarro has proven himself to be quite the rockstar Following his debut with Jane's Addiction as their guitarist, the musician ventured off into an array of rock groups, including Red Hot Chilli Peppers! In 2012, Dave Navarro joined Ink Master as a host and judge, further expanding his business opportunities. Today, Dave is focused on his own line, Duel Diagnosis, which is both an art and apparel store that Navarro launched in 2019.
10 He Co-Hosted Two Other TV Shows
Ink Master is the most important show in Dave's presenting career, but years before, in 2005, he co-hosted Rock Star: INXS with model and actress Brooke Burke. The show was a singing competition, and the winner would become the vocalist for the Australian rock band, INXS.
Related: Everything We Know About The 2021 Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Inductees
The year after, Dave and Brooke worked on the second season of the show, Rock Star: Supernova. This time, the singers competed to be the lead singer of a supergroup formed by Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee, former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted, and former Guns N' Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke.
9 He Made A Documentary
Dave Navarro lost his mother when he was 15. She was killed by her partner, and Dave tells the story in the documentary Mourning Son, which was directed by his best friend, Todd Newman. He talked about how making the documentary helped him:
"Everything I’ve done in my life has been about walking through fear and getting on the other side of it and going, 'That wasn’t so bad.' Everything: performing, dating, TV, radio, marriage, divorce, drug addiction. Here’s the best way to put it: I’ve been given the opportunity to look at the darkest element in my life and walk away."
8 He Was Part Of The Red Hot Chili Peppers
For those who don't follow Dave's musical career, this might have been missed. In 1993, right after the first breakup of Jane's Addiction, Dave joined the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the band released an album in 1995 entitled One Hot Minute. He stayed in the band for five years, until he was replaced by RHCP's former guitarist, John Frusciante.
The band's singer, Anthony Kiedis, explained in his book Scar Tissue that Dave's drug use had become unmanageable and that the chemistry between the band wasn't good, which led to them replacing him.
7 His Relationship With Carmen Electra
Dave's relationship with actress and supermodel Carmen Electra is no secret. The two of them got married in 2003 and divorced in 2007. But the interesting about their relationship is not the marriage itself, it's that they are still friends.
Related: Twitter Trolls Machine Gun Kelly As He Wins Billboard's Top Rock Artist
The two of them have not only parted amicably, but they've remained very good friends, and contrary to what usually happens when two celebrities split up, they've protected each other publicly. "We're still really good friends," Carmen said a few years ago. "We have a connection and it's undeniable and I'll love him forever."
6 He Wrote A Book
In 2004, Dave Navarro officially added writing a book to his long list of accomplishments. He wrote the book Don't Try This At Home with Neil Strauss, a famous best-selling author.
The book was described by SPIN as "a disturbing, salacious scrapbook ... a maddening, engrossing read." It documents a year in Dave's life and shares intimate anecdotes and moments of his life. "This chronicle of a year in Navarro’s life is also a gritty portrait of his descent into drug use and self-destructiveness, and his struggle to find meaning," Neil Strauss's website reads.
5 His Battle With Addiction
Dave has been very outspoken about his struggles with drug use and how hard it was for him to get sober. After years of rehabilitation and perseverance, he got sober, and he's been spreading awareness about the importance of helping people overcome that disease ever since.
"I can’t tell you how many drug addicts that I’ve worked with and hung out with that have been in the throes of their addiction and said, ‘I don’t know what to do.’ They were helpless," he said. "If our communities made treatments available, the answer [for addicts] would be available from the onset."
4 The Above Ground Concert
Along with his friend and bandmate Billy Morrison, Dave Navarro created Above Ground, which is an organization dedicated to spreading awareness on mental health issues and suicide prevention. They held concerts in 2018 and 2019 and donated the profits to MusiCares. The organization was inspired by Dave's own mental health battles, but also by the suicides of Chester Bennington (Linkin Park) and Chris Cornell (Soundgarden).
Related: Travis Barker & 9 Other Celebrity Rock Star Boyfriends
"After we lost Chris and Chester, who were both friends and I’d played with both of them, I was just really profoundly struck by their deaths," said Dave.
3 The First Lollapalooza
Perry Farrell, the creator of the festival, also happens to be the singer in Jane's Addiction. During the first Lollapalooza in 1991, Dave Navarro and Perry got into a fight (neither of them remembers exactly why). Perry Farrell talked about the fight when he shared some of the most important stories of the festival.
Apparently, because of the fight, Dave wanted to leave, even though the band hadn't finished their set. "He finished the show, but we hated each other from that moment for … a long time," Perry said. Shortly after, Jane's Addiction broke up.
2 The Story Of His Lost Guitar
Jane's Addiction's first album, Nothing's Shocking, was very important to Dave, and he had a custom-made Ibanez guitar with the art from the album cover painted on it. In 1991, while he was battling his drug addiction, he pawned the guitar, and even though he intended on getting it back, he lost track of it.
It seemed he had lost it forever, but last year, 28 years after the last time he saw it, a manager at Guitar Center bought it from a customer and returned it to him. "A lot of the great Jane's Addiction songs were written on this guitar, the music that just changed my life and put it in a different direction," Dave said about it.
1 He Started Duel Diagnosis
Dave Navarro has always proven himself to be quite the businessman! Whether it be a focus on music or other areas of the arts, it is no surprise that he would find a way to combine just about them all.
The star began Duel Diagnosis, a "unique and non-conformal act, and apparel establishment" as described on their website, back in July 2019. Dave has launched an array of collections and limited edition art pieces that have since catapulted the company to great heights.
