| Jon Farriss | |
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 Jon Farriss with wife Kerry Norris
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Jonathon James Farriss |
| Born | 10 August 1961 Perth, Western Australia[1] |
| Instruments | Drums/percussion |
| Years active | 1979-present[1] |
| Associated acts | INXS |
| Website | Jon Farriss from the INXS website |
Jon Farriss (born Jonathon James Farriss, 10 August 1961, Perth, Western Australia) is the drummer for the Australian rock rock band, INXS.
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Biography
Jon Farriss was born to Dennis and Jill Farriss, and is the second youngest of four children: brothers and fellow band members Andrew and Tim, and younger sister Alison[1], and was the youngest member of INXS until J. D. Fortune joined on lead vocals.
Farriss is known for integrating traditional rock drums with more funk and Dance influenced beats as well as acoustic drums and sequencers and pads. Examples of these techniques can be found in such songs as "Need You Tonight" and "The Stairs".
Farriss has also been credited with backing vocals on many of the band's earlier albums. Among his song writing credits with INXS (mostly collaborations with Michael Hutchence) are "Red Red Sun," "The Gift," "Deepest Red", "Faith In Each Other," "Back On Line," "Never Let You Go" (with Fortune) and the hit "Disappear".
Other work
Farriss auditioned to be in the band Guiness with future INXS band-mates Kirk Pengilly and brother Tim Farriss, but was rejected for being only nine years old at the time.[2] His first band was playing with a Christian choral group at age 11.[3] He played with bands such as Top Kat[1], Blackwater, and Fish.[4]
Farriss is credited as "Jazzy Jonny J" on Tim Farriss' album Deep Inside, a compilation of samples. He wrote and performed the song "You Never Used to Cry" on the soundtrack for the 1984 film No Small Affair.
Private life
Like his brother Tim, Jon suffers from hereditary multiple exostoses.
He was formerly married to the actress, Leslie Bega, from 14 February 1992 to 1999. After the death of his mother Jill in 1995, separation from Bega and loss of his "inseparable friend" Michael Hutchence (with whom he once shared an apartment in Hong Kong) and finally painful knee surgery - Farriss suffered from a nervous breakdown, fueled by alcohol and drugs.[4]
In 2006, he married his long-time girlfriend, Kerry Norris, in a small beach-side ceremony in Jervis Bay, followed by a party at their home in Hyams Beach. The couple's first child, Avani Jillian, was born on 6 October 2008.[5]
He shares a great friendship with the famous guitarist Steve Lukather (Toto).
References
- ^ a b c d Biography of Jon Farriss from the INXS website
- ^ St John, Ed; INXS (1992) (in English). INXS: The Official Inside Story of a Band on the Road. Mandarin. p. 8. ISBN 1-86330-207-7.
- ^ Bozza, Anthony; INXS (2005) (in English). INXS Story to Story: The Official Autobiography. Atria Books. p. 5. ISBN 0-7432-8403-8.
- ^ a b INXS. Story To Story; the Official Biography.
- ^ "Avani Jillian Farriss!". http://www.inxs.com/news/news.php?uid=2422.
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