Confirmation: John definitely not in Swahili Blonde anymore
Written on July 24, 2010 in Collaborations, Swahili Blonde & with 14 responses
Tags: announcement, demanti, departure, DVD, official, Swahili Blonde
While it's certainly a bit upsetting the story with the unofficial first-hand comment got the attention of mainstream media who are in it for presumably different reasons - as well as some upsetting comments - it sure is a breath of fresh air to get a confirmation that John indeed is not a member of Swahili Blonde and that, despite some people saying otherwise, he was the project's member beforehand.
After the above story and the reached The Fader, their editor, Matthew Schnipper, reached out to Swahili Blonde publicist Tim Jones who confirmed this. Here's what he said:
“He plays on every track on Man Meat but then quit the band. He felt obligated to perform at least a song the other week as tons kids drove very far to seem him play thinking he was in the band still. I don’t think he’ll be making anymore cameos though. Probably won’t be on their next album I hear, but he definitely left his mark on this one.”
So, unlike some other situations where it's becoming clear that the "right" people were never notified of what happened, this case is dismissed - John is not a member of Swahili Blonde and it's likely that he won't be a part of their live line-up again, either, perhaps even not the studio album. However, the seven stunning songs peppered with his funky guitar, ranking from the up-tempo LeMampatee to the ecletic Tigress Ritual, which he also co-wrote, are still awesome, so support the band and buy their album, check out their next tour dates or watch their first music video for the above-mentioned song, LeMampatee.
At the same time, the creators of an upcoming surprise related to John's guest appearance at the band's maiden show cannot keep their mouth shout, so go and see what you're all in for and give the idea a thumb-up! I am sure it will be appreciated.
This said, back to the daily routine of waiting for another stellar collaboration to happen, hoping for a blog entry and/or news on the 11th (12th?) solo record. As we all know, the wait is sweet, like real sugar, not corn syrup, and it usually pays out bigtime. I'll leave you with this quote on John's time with this particular band, courtesy of Margaret Wappler of PopHiss, and some recent beautiful things that came our way.
It's been plastered around the Web that this is Frusciante's band -- and while it's true that he plays guitar on the lion's share of "Man Meat," he's no longer a part of Swahili Blonde; word is that he quit last month, something he did a couple of times with the Chili Peppers too. I guess these are the kinds of inexplicable mash-ups that happen in Los Angeles: One moment John Frusciante is sending out blasts of guitar skronk in your quasi-experimental band and then the next, he's gone with the pink sunset.
The beautiful things that happened AFTER John left RHCP in autumn '08:
All posts on The Empyrean
The Heart Is A Drum Machine - with a 45-minute interview
Official RHCP book to be released in October
Me And My Friends - the picture book on RHCP
Another upcoming film where John will be interviewed
Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Quarter's "Sepulcros de Miel
Omar Rodriguez-Lopez & John Frusciante album
The Mars Volta's "Octahedron"
An awesome live jam on radio from Mike Watt's podcast
N.A.S.A.'s "Way Down" where John did something (and no one ever said what)
Little Joe soundtrack
Wu-Tang Vs The Golden Phoenix soundtrack
Warpaint EP, mixed by John and more
Rick Rubin book released - a lot of insight on the creative process
Michael Rother's plans
John was voted the best guitarist of the last 30 years
...and let's not forget Speed Dealer Moms
14 Reactions to Confirmation: John definitely not in Swahili Blonde anymore
Pravila za komentarisanje:
there is a god.
LIAR ALERT!!!! MANIMAL ARE LYING AND THINKING WE ARE ALL IDIOTS HERE!!!! WELL, WE ARE NOT.
their official statement was likely inspired by what the grimygoods writer thought, that frusciante felt obliged to play one song - not true . that "EKAP" page that covers half of sb members every now and then and supports manimal updated their status and said he would join them long before the show even took place. :@:@ i assume that he felt bad for leaving the band or that he wanted to give them a good start-up because he is a nice guy.
someone else suggested that frusciante was rehearsing with sb before the show - whats up with that? did he have to teach that brilliant other guitar player how to play? i don't think so, he was rehearsing because he would have played with them either way.
had someone said all of this, guess what? majority of people would still come only because of him as they'd expect a cameo, even thought he had not done any cameos for years now. i don't blame him for anyhing and i doubt he was willingly a part of this scam, rather a classic oliver twist, but too old to be cute when that clueless. this is 2010. buddy, get online. think of your reputation. i think someone made a similar point in a couple of comments last week.
and they will still be making money and getting publicity from people's confusion as this was not mentioned on bands myspace and facebook or labels website. it's only here, on fader and exclaim as well as related forums. how vile does this have to get?????
I say get that dvd (yay, dvd) done and never promote anyone from manimal again, even if they get frusciante's attention so much and he makes love to all of them and learns pole dancing for their show that's so great that they hand over cassette tapes and all visitors know each other amongst themselves.
speaking of dvd, they don't look thrilled about it either. i assume they're so big that they already don't need support from honest fans working their asses off? no word after "Ernesto Mejia" and "Iva Tanacković" revealed it in that linked post.
What enormous disrespect for people who made this band famous and likely play the biggest share in record orders, preorders and downloads- us, john frusciante fans.
That's too bad, I really liked watching the live show with him.
WTF is up with John? This no information thing is really getting to be a drag. Is he somehow silenced until the release of the new RHCP album, or is there a serious lack of concern or respect for the fans? All I know is I don't get it and it's making me question John's love for his fans.
WTF is up with John? This no information thing is really getting to be a drag. Is he somehow silenced until the release of the new RHCP album, or is there a serious lack of concern or respect for the fans? All I know is I don't get it and it's making me question John's love for his fans.
what does the new RHCP album have to do with anything?
in any case, i don't think john owes his fans anything.
Anna, technically, he does not.
But this is more or less a matter of conscience.
There comes a point where he's giving an impression of Jabberwocky's baby. And I don't think anyone would want to be Jabberwocky's baby. He could always take a nicer approach and be what we older fans like to remember from the days he was touring Europe with just an acoustic guitar - a clumsy cute Italian guy with a big heart, big soul, big smile, fingers strumming better than any other and a vocal range that gives you goosebumps. My friends and I were lucky to witness that - but the kids now? I assume they all can afford a trip to LA to see him play one song that is not even his own? I assume they all have the nose to figure out that an interview he gave is only a product of someone's imagination?
That said, I pity the poor souls who run this website - been visiting it for about five years and got impression that the only people who wanted to cooperate were the label John's solo album was released on (Hehe, saves them money, doesn't it? They can't even bother to make a biography page on John's blog or provide any means to contact them.) and creators of that music documentary. Everything else apparently requires Mulder and Scully to solve...? I don't know how old these people are, but assuming they're younger than me, just thought I would give them some words of comfort - it was never much different when it comes to websites. johnfrusciante.com was ran by some angsty manipulative kid and then, when he had enough ego to come out of his ears and rear-end, another similar type took over. All RHCP fake insiders, all butt-kissers. Now that there's no more RHCP link, can't we all just be friendly, really?
Oh yes, RHCP. Silencing John over RHCP album and RHCP in general? That's funny, tell me another. RHCP fanclub is being run by an uncarican apparatus, it's just that their apparatus is a bunch of old dinosaurs clueless about everything newer than a cassette tape and their butt-kissers has the luck of being connected to a major label like Warners. I remember reading about that mullet prom hat fiasco. At least that hat and the Japanese wave one were technically under someone else's copyright, even an idiot would know. Also, where is the lucky winner? Heh, that picture was likely thrown in by band management themselves. The real winner would be showing off...going to Paris, meeting the band...they would be HAPPY! I figured out that the content was set up, just like the other one where a professional film maker won. Imaginary contest winners all the way.
If Banshee's claims are right, then we were all scammed together and it all could have been avoided, had anyone on the Manimal label been human enough. It would help if John had a clue on what's being told about him, too. Does anyone remember the Horse interviews? There were Horse interviews in 2009, but also in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008. I am not sure who and how eventually found out they were work of fiction, but how many years would it have been going otherwise? That said, are there any other interviews we don't know are fictional? And how can someone get a real interview?
If John ever visits the Internet - and I had an impression that he was actually using it when that climbing-resting-reaching nonsense piece of text you all waffled about when it was deleted got a post of its own on his blog (Who told him? How did he know people liked it? Unlike many, I fail to believe that he's got superpowers...) - he should seriously get over negative criticism and be a bit warmer to people. Dude, for example, I love you and that does not mean I light candles in front of your poster or that I'm fantasizing about your toenails. I just continued supporting the idol I had in my early teens when he came back and I still do. How is that scary? How is that too much?
Sorry, I'm rambling. It's just that the last 20 years are flashing before my eyes - from seeing a boy too young to even shave sing Tiny Dancer at Pink Pop to this exact moment.
"What does RHCP's new album have to do with anything?"
Well, a few things... he could be censored from interviews and comment til the album is released for contractual reasons, like to include the story in the promotion when Rolling Stone and Spin and everybody write articles about the new album and how John left and how Josh came to replace him.
Oh and to Sad Fan, John at least USED to have the internet at one point, as a very reliable source once told me he did. Not sure about anymore.
I do think John owes some sort of explanation of his views after having previously been so forthright... it's kinda like your best friend suddenly not talking to you anymore after you talked to them all the time before.
I've been wondering if there's such a thing as not allowing someone to talk about anything until further notice, good that you brought it up. Technically, his last interview to date was the above linked podcast, The Watt From Pedro show appearance. That was late January 2009. I don't know what the blog counts as, but the only real entry made after the said time was the one Laura is referring to.
If the reasons are what you're stating they are, then I want to vomit at the person who wrote such a contract. Anything in the world that could limit a person's pyramid of basic needs is a crime to me. Very Kafka-esque, if true.
Re:Internet I would never doubt that he has it, some edits on the blog were literally made live and one was so specific that it just has to be a proof of that. I believe that's what Jaci was referring to.
As the person whom Jaci is pitying above (no multiple people - just me here, disappointed?), I too wish there was a normal way of communication, someone to handle issues for us, warm and kind people who give straightforward responses at the other end and someone who controls the claims by all young artists almost claiming to being John's siamese twins at this point.
To complete the "list of nice people" there was someone else who was nice - St. Acid, the person behind Bang Face. And Keirda Bahruth, the director of the upcoming Bob Forrest film which will feature an interview with John at some point. <3 for the two of them, always.
And something to think about, from the aspect of basic media studies: lack of solid information leads to solely one thing, eventually: speculation at its worst. As the receiver of some pretty wild "fan-mail" containing questions that are more out there than the outer space is, I had a lot of...uh...eeeh...how do you call that thing? Fun? No, the other thing - hitting the keyboard with my head, like this: hjzunngftrgz tr5 o.
And your last paragraph of this brought a tear to my eye. Honestly.
Sorry for my little interruption...everyone, continue arguing or whatever, perhaps our voices will be heard someday, so this doesn't end like the 14th of April 1912.
It could also be the official RHCP book. Perhaps the answer is in it? But who cares about the answer. If this is true, poor John. Poor, poor John.
Almost forgot about the fake Twitter account. So, this is apparently what 30 people retweet when "John" says it on Twitter: http://twitter.com/JohnFrusciante/status/13273076...
This sounds about as intelligent as something a 3-year-old would say: http://twitter.com/JohnFrusciante/status/12845272...
Let us not forget this: http://twitter.com/JohnFrusciante/status/52976949...
And there are people dumb enough to talk to that person and think that person is John. I am actually amazed. http://twitter.com/mynameissob/status/1764665679
Nearly ten thousand people follow that little punk; who even wished them a happy Purim. And the only person he is following is some random guy from Ireland. Come on! This is offensive to anyone with an IQ larger than their shoesize.
@Banshee:
"that "EKAP" page that covers half of sb members every now and then and supports manimal updated their status and said he would join them long before the show even took place. :@ :@ "
That status was updated - with the message that John would join the band for 1 song - only hours before the show took place and based on the announcement on the same day by a member of Swahili Blonde:
http://twitter.com/_EKAP_/status/18226821274
[QUOTE]
T O N I G H T!!! at the echoplex. SWAHILI BLONDE= crazy jungle funk spazz post-punk tango jazz????? avant-garde, experimental freak out????? yeah basically.Live band is: Nicole Turley, Laena Geronimo, Alan Myers, Dante White Aliano, Corridor Quinn, Arianna Basco, Heather Cvar, plus John Frusciante will be joining us fo...r 1 song. It's $10, but if you wanna go i can get you in for $8, just gimme your name (and your soul) Screening of "Le Mampatee" music video and then WEAVE! are opening it up, then us, then We Are The World. A night to remember!
[UNQUOTE]
"LIAR ALERT!!!! MANIMAL ARE LYING AND THINKING WE ARE ALL IDIOTS HERE!!!! WELL, WE ARE NOT. their official statement was likely inspired by what the grimygoods writer thought, that frusciante felt obliged to play one song - not true ."
The official announcement was published by Tim Jones (as mentioned in IM's above article), he works for Terrorbird Media <a href="http://(http://www.terrorbird.com/staff)," target="_blank">(http://www.terrorbird.com/staff), not Manimal Vinyl. That's a lot of assumption there.
"i assume they're so big that they already don't need support from honest fans working their asses off? no word after "Ernesto Mejia" and "Iva Tanacković" revealed it in that linked post."
Swahili Blonde thanked fans for their support on Facebook:
http://c3.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/146/l...
"I say get that dvd (yay, dvd) done and never promote anyone from manimal again"
Yeah, stop promoting a group of artists that are genuinely passionate about what they're doing and who pour their hearts out to make original music... only because you see ghosts of abuse. Let's just do that.
Although I understand and share the feelings of disappointment to a certain extent... we can't change Frusciante. He wrote a personal letter to the fans about his departure with RHCP (at that point the only official announcement) and that was a pretty decent thing to do. So thanks John.
I don't understand why you demand continuing support for Manimal if John is not a member of any of their bands, but you are getting many things wrong. I am not based in Los Angeles area, otherwise I'd sit down for a coffee with you and give you my two cents on this.
Regarding pouring hearts out to create art - I'm a painter and I have to ask you this: do you even understand the process of creating art? Have you ever created any art? Artists are there to change the world and carry out a message - it applies to everyone, from writers to film directors. Some abuse it for commercial reasons, to get wealth. Some mistake being an artist for leading a life where everything, including their art, is downright amateurism, but their personalities, posture, unavailability et al graduate long before their art does. Think about it. Think.
Not demanding anything, only reacting against those negative vibes. No need to move over to LA, I don't live there either. You make many valid points.
My recent post EKAP Emily Kokal Appreciation Page NEWS- Warpaints new album mixed by Andrew Weatherall http-lnkms-C3XKH &amp Adam Samuels Theyre still only halfway mixing @-warpaint &lt3