If you’ve been following the recent Jane’s Addiction hoopla, you’ll know that they’re a.) recording a new album and b.) it’s probably without bassist Eric Avery (who’s recent addition to the lineup made the reunion so interesting in the first place). However, now there’s a new face to mix things up and fortunately for the band, he’s also from the sunny west coast.

If the self-deprecating Jane’s fans over at xiola.org have any basis to their claims, then former Guns N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan will be filling in for Avery. Last Friday, after some deep investigating via Twitter, the fan site posted, “according to perry farrell’s twitter account, the band is writing. this includes dave navarro, stephen perkins, and a “new writing partner”. no word yet who that is.”

However, on the following day, probably after hours of countless net surfing, they concluded:

wow, so it’s been an active 3 days or so. duff mckagan might be the mysterious writing partner/bassist, that perry spoke about. Jane’s Addiction got together in perry farrell’s garage on monday without eric avery, but with a new writing partner. we assumed the writing partner would also be a bassist to fill in where eric is leaving.

Then they divulged on how it isn’t really Jane’s Addiction and yadda yadda yadda. But the main gist is that Avery is out, McKagan is in, and while they’re all sloppy-yet-glitzy L.A. rockers… it’s pretty much a new Jane’s Addiction.

Still, 2003′s Strays wasn’t too bad.

Special thanks to the L.A. Weekly blog.