River Phoenix
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...
Unreleased Aleka’s Attic Songs Featuring Flea Coming For River Phoenix’s 50th Birthday
A pair of previously unreleased songs from River Phoenix’s band Aleka’s Attic will be released on August 23rd in celebration of Phoenix’s 50th birthday. The two songs were recently completed by Phoenix’s close friend, Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers. They’ll be released digitally and on 10-inch vinyl through LaunchLeft, the artist alliance founded by River Phoenix’s sister and former Aleka’s Attic bandmate, Rain. Last year, Rain Phoenix put out a double A-sided single featuring two unreleased Aleka’s Attic songs alongside a new collaboration between Rain and R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe. Rain also released her debut solo album named in honor of her late brother. Watch Flea discuss River Phoenix in an interview from 1995: [embedded content]
