La Mano, May 2006
Last modified: 11:14:13 CET on 24 Sep, 2008 |
May 2006, La Mano (Argentina)
Many thanks to Leni, for the translation
Click the thumbnail for scans
The Red Hot Chili Peppers have a new album: Stadium Arcadium. In an exclusive interview in Los Angeles, Gloria Guerrero talked with Flea, the Pepper that Argentinian people love.
It's ten a.m. and we are listening the new Red Hot Chili Peppers double album in the bungalow #2 of the Chateau Marmont Hotel, in Hollywood. It has a lot of rooms, a lot of bathrooms, a kitchen and dining room, and this living room where 25 journalists are sitting around an audio player. Here, in the same place, states that John Belushi died. Here, Led Zeppelin did orgyes. John and Joko also composed songs and meditated for days, here too, sitting in the floor, the same we are on.
Red Hot Chili Peppers manager introduces the CD, explains that the tracklist is not the same on the finised disc, and says that some mixes are not definitive too. There are a lot of journalists from Spain, Chile, Mexico, some from Central América and even a Swedish that write in Spanish. Argentina is represented by only 2 journalists, Silvia Maestruti, and me. After listening two hours of rock and funk, and still hearing the Flea's slapping in our heads, we both sit in the yard of the hotel, waiting for the interviews.
In late 2004, near three years after of By The Way (which only sold two millon copies in the United States), Anthony Kiedis, John Frusciante, Flea and Chad Smith, decieded to do a new album. But short: "Only a dozen of songs, instead of seventeen, just for changing)", said the singer. But some months later, they had recorded thirty eight songs, and they liked them all. Someone suggested the idea of a triple album, being edited like Sistem Of A Down did (with six months between the albums). "At first we liked the idea", said Kiedis in January 2005, "but, more we analized it, more we were thinking it would be like a nightmare: if you release three albums, one each six months, you will wait near two years to get the entire album. No one is so patiently". So they decided to choose twenty five songs and do a double album, Stadium Arcadium, each one with an own name: Jupiter and Mars. Finally, they got to add three more songs.
You can imagine the reunions of the productors and the advisers, fighting for the definitive list.
- No, if we left "Hump The Bump", get out "Torture Me".
- I'm going to torture you!, "Torture Me" stays on the album.
- Fine, but "Death Of A Martian" goes to Jupiter..
- No, "Martian" goes to Mars, are you kidding me?.
Indeed, "Early '80s", it's a song that Kiedis wanted to be on the album, but it didn't. Now, let's see, anybody knows what they are going to do with the ten "lost" songs?.
It's six p.m., it's getting dark and Flea is sit on a room of the bungalow of the Chateau Marmont. He thinks.
Those songs? Will be out. I don't know exactly where, but they will be out.
They will be in a new album?
- No. Because they are songs from this time, and for a new album we compose new songs. We are going to put them like bonus tracks, or something like that, you know.
- Nothing is lost, everything is transformed.
What do you think about it?
- I love the album, I feel very comfortable with this music... it's the best album we did until now. I think we are in the top of our creativity. We have a mutual level of cooperation like never before; each one respects the views of others, and we gave encouragement between us to do it the best we could. And I think we gave the best of us. I really think that in this album, our energy... flows. It's an honest picture of who we are. I ever loved our music; I mean, it's obvious that I love it, our music is us, we put it blood, I'm proud of what we do. But about how it fits in the context of the history of music, and about how it fits in the context of the music that is listened in the world today, I can't say that our music is better that this, o better that that. But what I can say it's that it represents with honesty what we are. It's our heart. We don't compose with the intention to get linked to some world situation; but we try to be conscious, to realize about the energy of the world, we become aware about this, but we play from our hearts and in our way. We aren't interested in fit in any radial format or so... we only make the music that we like. And to grow all that we can. And to never lose the things we have learned, except that ones that are not needed.
Taking into the previous album, what would be the distance between By The Way and Stadium Arcadium, or what is the continuity?
- Well... I think this album has a higher scope than By The Way. I like By The Way, and I'm proud of it because it was a big change for us, in a lot of aspects: it was much more melodic album that this one, and John took it in a very different mode, with a lot of over recordings. I think this album takes what By The Way had, re-does it, and makes it better. I'm sure that in the recording all of us learned, that's why we feel Stadium Arcadium more deeper, and much more comprehensive. Seriously, we are in our best moment. About what you asked me, I find it hard to put this in perspective, because I'm emotionally connected with both albums. But for me, By The Way wasn't a happy experience, because I wasn't fine, neither with the music we were doing, and neither with the band. Indeed, it was the first time in the history of the band that I didn't felt comfortable expressing myself...
- During twenty three years, the band ever a place where, if I could or I wanted to express myself, I felt comfortable, simply being who I am, and in By The Way, that didn't happened, by several reasons. But in this new album, I feel comfortalbe, I'm much more happier with the result and I think that it will arrive to the people, to feel the... untouchable of this people working seriously together, and shining together. Is something that goes over the musical notes, over the music craft; it allows another concrete "element of love", and I think it's that what the people will feel on their hearts. There's a lot of that in this album. I think it's the best album we did until now.
The first single is "Dani California", that, will respect, I think it's more of the same. There are a lot of excellent songs on Stadium Arcadium that could open another ways... If you could had the chance, would you choose this song for the first single, or would you choose another?
- I don't know, maybe... I think it's a good choice, but I don't know... It could be another song, but I'm not good for this things... Look, you have to understand that, if it were my choose... if I were the boss, we would be still playing in little clubs.
Seriously?
- Yes, when it is about business or comercial success... I'm very bad at that.
Some years before I asked Anthony and John, who they thought that would be the new big band, and they bet for The Mars Volta.
In fact, you played in the new album of the band... What would you say about the new big promise?
- Patti Smith
...?
- Yes.
Flea laughts with all his teeths, even with the hole between his two front ones. He's fascinated with Patti Smith. He seems to be spoiled by the lady; his most recent colaboration was in 2005, in the 30° anniversary of Horses, when he shared the celebration (now edited on CD) with two original memers of the Patti's band -Lenny Kaye and Jay Dee Daeugherty-, with Tom Verlaine -who was invited in the 1975's Horses-, and Tony Shanahan; they played live the entire album in a festival in London, plus a cover of "My Generation", of The Who. If it were not because Smith is one of our best certainties, we doesn't even doubt in qualify her like one of the biggest promises. But there are other ladys to talk about.
"Dani Calfornia" means again Dani, the same pregnant girl from "Californication", and the same girl that appears on the "By The Way" song, who is Dani?
- I don't know (he smiles), you should ask Anthony. I know it's a character that he is using from "Californication" to "By The Way", and now too...
Anthony Says that represents "all the girls he met in his life"... that doesn't help.
- Oh, well... It's a mystery. Which one is his relationship with this character, or if it's real, and if it lives in this planet, I don't know...
And the third song is called "Charlie". Is Charlie someone?
- I think... well, again, Anthony was who wrote the letter, and the other day I asked the same thing: "Who is Charlie?". And what he asked was that Charlie could be anything: it's what inspires you, it's what moves you; it could be a person, it could be your own magic in your brain, it could be a drug, it could be anything. It's funny: when we were composing this song, it ever sound me like a Clash song, I don't know why, but when I play it I feel like Paul Simonon... I don't know why, but I imagine Simonon well-dressed, with his bass, moving, playing "Los siete magníficos"... That's why I called the song "Clash Funk". So we started singing... "Charrrlieee"... (sings screaming). It seems to The Clash song... It's an interesting detail, althought it has nothing to do with The Clash, nor in music, neither in the lyrics... And The Clash it's my favorite band of all times. I love The Clash.
You have a lot of references in your songs to Los Angeles and California mainly. The Chili Peppers seems to be deep in love with California, is that true?
- I'm sure we all love it. I love California, I love it. I love the ocean, the mountains, the desert, I love that space... I don't still live in Los Angeles or Hollywood, I live in La Jolla (like 150 miles from Los Angeles, it's a very nice and expensive place, with smart residences on the hills); I like Hollywood, but not for living there: there's a lot of people and it's very dirty. However, after a rainy day, like today (had rained the previous day), Hollywood gets nice. California it's a beautiful place. It has so much to give...
- Althought I don't live in the city, I like coming here for the art and the music, and for all the different cultures, which I love. I love driving on the seaside and see all that beautiful forests and mountains... It's wonderful.
I was lucky to grow here. I was lucky of not being on war, of not living ugly situations, lucky of having the freedoom of making music that makes people happy... I know that, for a lot of people, in this planet, that's very hard: they starve and have nothing. And they get killed, they get tortured, they suffer, and I was so lucky that I can't believe it... And everything I can do to help people that suffers, I'll do it.
After twenty years and so many individual works of each one of you, what keeps you to the Peppers? Or you just are together because you can work out of the band?
- It's always good playing with other people and do another things... John is the one with his most prolific solo career. About me, doing different things brings me new information and new ways of thinking music.
- When I was playing with Patti Smith I learnt so much from her... She's so a beautiful person, so amazing, so strong... that she filled me with inspiration. And with every person that I play, like I did with Tracy Chapman in her new album -I play with everybody (laughts)-, well, that's makes me feel a better musician I think, about the Peppers, that the important thing is that we love our music and that our band has it owns life. It keeps alive and doing what it does: it keeps giving an opportunity to love. And that's what music is: a love expression.
Talking about love, here in Argentina everybody saw you with a...
- River T-shirt! I love River! (laughts out loud). No, I love Boca, seriously... (laughs again). No, no... all I know is that Boca and River hate each other. In my opinion, football is what really matters.
