Red Hot Chili Peppers
Bridge Over Troubled Water: Our 1993 Red Hot Chili Peppers Cover Story
This article originally appeared in the August 1993 issue of SPIN. Until April 1986, when the return of Jack Irons, the Red Hot Chili Peppers‘ original drummer, brought some welcome reinforcements, bassist Flea was fighting a losing battle against frontman Anthony Kiedis‘s and guitarist Hillel Slovak’s growing addictions. Any drugs Flea had used in the past were of the recreational variety—pot and the occasional tab of acid. Alone, however, he was unable to stand against the tide of self-destruction that was threatening to sweep the Red Hot Chili Peppers into the abyss. For Flea, Irons’s return didn’t merely slot into place the last piece of the band’s jigsaw of friendship; it also offered him some breathing space. “Hillel was a wild partier. Before he got carried away with the ...
Red Hot Chili Peppers’Blood Sugar Sex Magik Turns 30: Artists Reflect on Its Legacy
“There’s the thing with the Chili Peppers: We put socks on our dicks, and we’re never going to outrun it,” Flea told GQ in 2019. “People are always going to think of that. I feel that ultimately the measure of art that we or I created, as good as it is, over time will stand for what it is. The core essence of it, the cerebral part of it — the emotional, spiritual, and physical — are things that will always survive.” With the Red Hot Chili Peppers, there’s always been that delicate balance of junk-swinging funk-rock jock and peace-promoting psychedelic muso. And no album better represents that symbiosis than the group’s 1991 blockbuster, Blood Sugar Sex Magik. While it may be forever remembered for a handful of massive singles (the pulverizing “Give It Away,” the pensive “Under the Bridge”)...
Red Hot Chili Peppers Announce 2022 Stadium Tour
The Red Hot Chili Peppers will embark on a stadium tour starting June 2022, back again with guitarist John Frusciante. The U.S. leg begins in July 2022. The band announced the huge tour in a hilarious, Saturday Night Live-style video. Check it out below: [embedded content] Frusciante plays himself and visits the local news station KHOT to talk to newscasters John Hammerswaddle (Anthony Kiedis), Todd the Squirrel (Flea), and Randy Raindrops (Chad Smith) about the upcoming tour. The band is celebrating the 25th anniversary of their widely acclaimed Blood Sugar Sex Magik. The Rick Rubin produced, 1991 record was a huge stepping stone in the sound of funk-rock, and also featured Frusciante. The Chilis performed tracks off the record at Woodstock 1994. This marks the first time Frusciante ...
September 24, 1991: A Banner Release Day for Musical Masterworks
I walked into Rhino Records in New Paltz, New York on September 24, 1991, with one mission in mind: copping the new cassette by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. After months of reading about the band working on the follow-up to their 1989 breakthrough LP Mother’s Milk with Rick Rubin, the time was finally nigh. Heading into the store after school, the metallic gray Rock and Roll Over-evoking cover art for Blood Sugar Sex Magick was staring right at me from the new releases shelf. I snatched up the cassette, along with Ceremony, the new Cult album, which had come out that day as well. I lumbered over to the counter and was greeted with a side-eye from the store manager as he surveyed my purchase choices. “So you’re not getting Nevermind?” he asked. “Huh?” “The new Nirvana album,” he s...
To Live and Die in L.A.: Our 1996 Red Hot Chili Peppers Cover Story
This article originally appeared in the April 1996 issue of SPIN. “Los Angeles is my favorite city in the world!” declares super foxy Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Dave Navarro, offering as proof of his conviction the city’s name tattooed on the back of his neck. “I would never live anywhere else.” Navarro, drummer Chad Smith, and I are wedged into Newsroom, a trendy Beverly Hills restaurant/coffee house/media mill where omnipresent TV monitors serve up the latest from the E! network with your rice-milk cappuccinos. “But I feel like the bad is taking over,” says Smith, an unadulterated rock dude and Detroit native who, Navarro says, wrote the book on that city’s infamous evening of arson known as Devil’s Night. “I wouldn’t want my kids growing up here,” admits Smith, who at age 33 s...
Red Hot Chili Peppers to Sell Entire Song Catalog for $140 Million
Forget “Give it away give it away give it away now,” the Red Hot Chili Peppers have sold the rights to their song catalog — which includes the hits “Scar Tissue,” “Under the Bridge” and “Californication” — to Hipgnosis Songs Fund. Over the past year, the fund has also purchased stacks in the catalogs of artists like Tom DeLonge, Neil Young, Lindsey Buckingham, LA Reid among many, many more. Singer Anthony Kiedis won’t be able to sing “Give It Away’s “I can’t tell if I’m a kingpin or a pauper” lyric with a straight face, as the band reportedly netted $140 million for the tunes, Billboard reports. Kiedis, bassist Flea, drummer Chad Smith and guitarist John Frusciante are the Chili Peppers’ main writers, and their songs generate between $5 million to $6 million a year for publishers,&nbs...
Nandi Bushell Gets Flea’s Approval With ‘Under the Bridge’ Cover
The 10-year-old rock phenom Nandi Bushell dropped her latest cover on Sunday — an enthusiastic rendition of Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Under the Bridge” — and she got the stamp of approval on it from none other than Flea himself. The legendary RHCP bassist tweeted “always love to Nandi!” after the young prodigy tagged him and his bandmates in her tweet announcing the cover. always love to Nandi! https://t.co/hT3ZuyCBd5 — Flea (@flea333) February 21, 2021 Of course, supporting Bushell has proven to be a valuable decision for artists in recent months, because otherwise, she may very well challenge them to a musical battle and then outplay them on social media for all to see. Just ask Dave Grohl how that feels. The unique take on the RHCP track comes hot on the heels of Bushell’s lates...
Watch Post Malone Cover Black Sabbath and Alice in Chains With Slash, RHCP’s Chad Smith, and More
Bud Light Seltzer’s New Year’s Eve livestream was appropriately headlined by the human incarnation of Bud Light itself, better known as Post Malone. But if fans were expecting Posty to stick with his own tracks, they clearly hadn’t been paying attention to last year. Much like how the Crocs collaborator busted out his own take on Nirvana classics toward the beginning of quarantine, he closed the year with “Rooster” by Alice in Chains and “War Pigs” by Black Sabbath. And similarly to how the Nirvana set featured Travis Barker on drums, Malone got some help from his famous friends like Slash, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer (and Will Ferrell lookalike) Chad Smith, and Jane’s Addiction bassist Chris Chaney. The stream also included sets by Steve Aoki, Saweetie, Jack Harlow, and Sebastian Y...
Red Hot Chili Peppers’ John Frusciante Drops New Single and Video from Upcoming Electronic Album
John Frusciante‘s recent return to Red Hot Chili Peppers hasn’t stopped his latest electronic music pursuit. The third single from his forthcoming album Maya, titled “Brand E,” has arrived alongside a trippy, sci-fi inspired music video. “Brand E” takes inspiration from jungle and breakbeat, with alluring, melodic overtones that fans familiar with Frusciante’s previous forays into dance music might recognize. The aggressive, organic drums and old school synths create a nostalgic atmosphere while the track retains an overall modern edge. The music video examines Frusciante as the Observer, exploring Los Angeles with a tiny pair of binoculars. Lee Bootee stars alongside him as the Blind Follower, as well as Tanya the cat portraying Maya. Fruscia...
Neil Peart Tribute Show to Feature Taylor Hawkins, Chad Smith
Taylor Hawkins of Foo Fighters and Chad Smith of Red Hot Chili Peppers highlight an all-star group of drummers who will pay tribute to the late, great Neil Peart of Rush. The event, which takes place this Saturday night (Sept. 12) will serve as a benefit for brain tumor research at Cedar-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. A ticket to stream the event will cost $12.99 and will be aired on Fite.TV. The tribute is part of the 2020 Modern Drummer Festival. Other drummers performing include Rick Allen of Def Leppard, Charlie Benante of Anthrax, Ray Luzier of Korn and many, many more. The late Rush drummer died from a brain tumor in January of this year after an undisclosed battle with the illness. See the full list of performers below. Rick Allen (Def Leppard)Kenny Ar...
John Frusciante of Red Hot Chili Peppers is Dropping an Electronic Album
John Frusciante‘s recent return to Red Hot Chili Peppers isn’t curbing his desire to produce electronic music. The fabled guitarist, who had said he “came back to the band because [he] knew that [he] could continue to play electronic music,” has announced a new electronic album called Maya, which is slated for a release on October 23rd via Timesig. Named after his beloved cat, who passed away after a battle with cancer last year, the record is inspired by jungle, breakbeat, and hardcore. “I don’t have that interest in singing or writing lyrics like I used to,” Frusciante said. “The natural thing when I’m by myself now, is to just make music like the stuff being released this year. I really love the ba...
John Frusciante Shares ‘Amethblowl’ From Upcoming Solo Album
Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante has shared “Amethblowl,” which is off Maya, his upcoming all-instrumental electronic solo album. The record is dedicated to his cat Maya, who recently died. The guitarist says in a statement, “Maya was with me as I made music for 15 years, so I wanted to name it after her. She loved music, and with such a personal title, it didn’t seem right to call myself Trickfinger, somehow, so it’s by John Frusciante.” Maya is inspired by his favorite music: ’91 to’96 UK breakbeat hardcore and jungle. Listen to the single below. Frusciante left the Chili Peppers following the group’s 2006’s double Stadium Arcadium album. When he rejoined in December 2019 the guitarist replaced Josh Klinghoffer. Pre-orders for Maya are available at Frusciant...
