Death or Columbus: Which Comes First?

Jani Lane is a mess. After his stint on VH1’s Celebrity Fit Club last year in which he hit rock bottom and then was “rescued”, Lane (ex-Warrant singer) has returned to his old ways and that’s too bad. When Celebrity Fit Club wrapped up, Lane seemed to have sobered up (and lost weight along the way). But he jumped back into the touring thing too soon and all the temptations that come along with touring were smack dab in his face. And, as he’s proven time and time again, he just can’t resist temptation which is too bad.

Now, I’m a HUGE Jani Lane-era Warrant fan – I’ve probably seen that band in concert more than any other (except maybe The Damnwells). I LOVED Jani’s solo album, Back Down to One and have really been rooting for him to get past his demons and come back stronger than ever. But I’ve learned not to get my hopes up. Jani’s been on “tour” for the past couple of weeks – if you can call it a tour. It seems that night-after-night, reports have been hitting the web about how much of a mess Lane is and how he can’t make through a whole set, often not even making it through a few songs. Why anybody would take a chance on booking him is beyond me, especially when information about his fuck-ups are all over the web.

Anyway, according to Pollstar.com, Jani will be playing at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus on June 30. (You’re fucking kidding me, right? The same week that we’ve planned our annual vacation?????). Jani’s said that his recent “mishaps” at shows was due to the “flu”. Unfortunately, I’ve detected a patten in behavoir and I’d be surprised if the guy is still alive by the end of the summer. Believe me, I am praying to Axl that Jani works through his problems and is able to finish this tour and put out a great new CD, but I think that the guy has a serious problem and if he doesn’t get help soon, there will be no more Jani Lane.

Here’s a photo of me and Jani back in 1989.

And here is possibly the root of all the evil that plagues Jani on a daily basis.

It’s tough to feel bad for a guy who cashed all the “Cherry Pie” checks even if he didn’t like the song, but I do feel some sympathy for him as it’s obviously something he can’t handle (he appears to be under the influence of something during this interview even).

So … it’ll be interesting to see if he a) make the Columbus show and b) plays more than a few songs. I wish him the best of luck and if I happen to be in town, I absolutely will go to the show. I think, however, that even if I do go, I’ll be sorely disappointed.