Red Hot Chili Peppers

Guarded area, armored response and the names of the diverse renowned security firms great me on the road to the house of Anthony Kiedis, the lead singer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. It is a curvy road, to the top of one of the most famous Hollywood hills. With every curve I come closer to the neighborhood of those inaccessible white letters, which magically attract millions, but usually are subtracted from sight by a layer of smog.

Just when I’m starting to untangling an analogy with show business, I arrive at number 6730, the address the lady of the record company gave me. A charming white villa with 3 floors, where you have to climb never ending stairs before even getting to the front door. When I press the doorbell at the gate surrounded by security emblems, the gate opens with a buzzer without even asking my name. With open mouth of admiration and fatigue – have to start working on condition – I climb the long stairs to the top, where Anthony stands, with a phone between his head and naked shoulders, waiting for me. If you would like to take off your shoes, he lisps between some “yes’s” and “uh-hums” and points to the white marble floor, which needs to stay clear of black marks. My shoes off? Scared of black marks? Who would have guessed that from one of the most fanatic stage torturers of the 80’s? Who would have expected him in such a mansion anyway?

Hollywood

‘I’ve been living here in LA since I was little, always in tiny, often filthy little rooms: on several spots near the Hollywood Boulevard, above bars, with 5 other people in one-room-offices without shower or toilet… After our record we were in a position to earn a lot of money from either record- or merchandise-companies. I was 27 and worked 7 hard years in this band, so when people started giving us all that money I thought: excellent, I go to the Hills and buy a wonderful house. But if someone would take away all my money and I have to return back to a little shack in Hollywood it would also be fine. These are simply my circumstances of life.’

Was the view on the Hollywood letters important to you when you bought this house? Are those letters to you the proof you succeeded where others have failed?
‘My success was more an accident. In my opinion, you are more impressed by those letters than I am. It wasn’t one of my demands for my broker, but it’s surely a bonus. Hollywood is my home. How much bullshit there is circulating in show business, I’m a product of my environment, whether you like it or not. And here I spend my time. Behind my house there is a park where it is not allowed to build. You should see the view from my swimming pool. Today I swam 80 laps as preparation for next tour, to train my heart, lungs and blood vessels. In short to get the complete blood circulation- an respiratory-system in perfect condition.’

Do you do other training before you get on stage?
‘ I have a fucked up back. When I was 16 I jumped off a building and I had a shattered vertebra. So now I have to do certain weight excersises, to build up extra muscles in my back. Otherwise I get in trouble halfway in tour. I really want to be a tornado-man on stage. And I hope to be able to sustain that the rest of my life. Until I am 100 years old or so…’

Satan

The reason of my visit to Kiedis’ house is because of the rising of a new Red Hot Chili Peppers-album, BloodSugarSexMagik. The album is produced by Rick Rubin, who Kiedis likes to call “the bearded wonder”.

Wasn’t it an odd decision to work with someone who got his biggest successes in rock, when the new album is more groove orientated?.
‘When I met Rick for the first time I didn’t think he was the right producer for us. I thought: this big guy with that beard and sunglasses will never feel the four-dimensional colorific splendor of the Red Hot Chili Peppers: making people happy and offer an alternative for the money generated non-music bullshit formulas, which take the upperhand on radio and TV. Rick did things like Slayer and Danzig, of which the last one sees itself as the Son of the Devil and I was scared that he adhered this kind of negative energy. But Flea kept talking in to me. That he had so much experience, also in the musical area we were in. After speaking with a lot of other producers, we still decided to work with Rick. That seemed a good decision. Rick doesn’t take that satan-stuff for real, he is one of the most intelligent people in musicbusiness and one of the most kind, warm hearted teddy bears I’ve met in ages.

Do you know anyone who takes this satan-stuff for real?
I think Glenn Danzig really beliefs in it. But he still has to ask his mother’s permission to drink goat blood in weekends. Rick on the other hand just has a good sense of musical needs of the Americans. Apparently millions of white trash-bastards in America want to rebel because of the pseudo-demonism, against the society which can be civil asphyxiating and narrow-minded. That is their way to say: ‘Fuck you, I’m going my own way.’

Rubin is known for being a rock-producer. Meanwhile your songs just become more funky.
‘Rick didn’t write those songs. We did. His job wasn’t to change our direction, but to express our ideas. In this respect he is like a chess grandmaster. He takes what we have to offer and adds the finishing touch. He makes us feel comfortable and doesn’t squeeze musical changes out of it, because he knows it’s not honest, and would make us less powerful. At most he makes delicate, but ultra important manoeuvres in the arrangement of our songs. He is very smart and if he says something it is most of the time spot on. For him that is apparently a big step forwards. People who worked with him 5 years ago usually didn’t like it. If I tell you he didn’t have a big mouth, not unnecessary coming with all sorts of suggestions en what he tells you is very to the point, they say: wow, it feels like his attitude evolved.’

Super Party

Compare Rubin’s method with George Clinton, who used to produce The Red Hot Chili Peppers.
‘Then you’re talking about two separate worlds. George was a master in creating a completely getting out of hand party-environment. We’ve had the time of our life, It was a Super party. He’s one of my biggest hero’s of all time. He’s made more magnificent records than anyone else. For me he stands between the Bob Marley’s, Stevie Wonders, the Sly Stones and the James Browns. To work with someone like him was a historical experience. We were then a lot younger, and we could handle such a situation. Five years later we handle things differently. We have enough creativity and ideas and don’t need input from another artist, no musical input from outside. At most the input of a chess grandmaster. That word always pops up in my mind when I’m thinking of rick Rubin.’

Disturbing noise while recording are always excluded by other bands. You like to tolerate them on purpose.
We have a whole other philosophy than most people, concerning recording albums. No one still makes human records. They all want this high tech, sterile pieces sound, that don’t support emotions or human feelings. Records these days all sound the same. Very cold, sterile, without warmth. When you play records from the ’60s – if you listen to Jim Hendrix, the Beatles or jazz – they are all warm with colorful sensations. Nowadays if you listen to a record the only color that pops in mind is grey, steel. So we collected a mixing desk of the fifty’s and a bunch of old equipment to record this album. We also didn’t go to a recording studio, but we just rented a house, where we could live together, wake up together and record together, without someone else his retentive environment would impose us other feelings. John was playing guitar in his bedroom, I sang all my melodies from my room. Sometimes there was a car passing by and was picked up by the microphone, but it didn’t matter, it was part of the thing. We didn’t want to adapt to the norm, to what was suitable for radio or TV.’

The house where you recorded, would be the house where the Beatles used LSD for the first time. How do you know that?
‘That’s a rumour that’s been going around for years. I wouldn’t bet my life on it. It also wasn’t important for me, but gave the history of the house some extra color. It’s a big old, beautiful mansion here in Laurel Canyon, build just before the 20’s. Rudolf Valentino lived in it. Houdini lived right across. It’s known that the house was some kind of a rock & roll-palace. Jimi Hendrix stayed there. The feeling and the vibrations of the house are rich and drained in history. Up to and including some murders which took place. It’s haunted too. Each time you entered some rooms you felt a chill over your spine and you got goosebumps. One night John was sleeping at the top of the stairs, when he heard a screaming voice of a woman, as if she was longing for sex. Later we heard that diverse parapsychologists and mediums detected one same sexual energy in the house.’

Peaceful

You said the recording of the voice and guitar were done from the bedrooms. Were those the places you felt most comfortable?
The biggest part of the guitars are recorded in the ballroom. The record is mostly recorded live. John refused to play every solo more than 2 times, but let us chose one of the 2. Because he couldn’t hear himself in the same room where the electric bass and live drums were recorded, he went to lay down in his bedroom for the acoustic guitar parts. The vocals – the only other overdub we did – I sang from my bedroom. The room had all sorts of Hollywood-relics and a magnificent view hill covered with all sorts of flowers. That was really peaceful. I also like to be alone when I sing.

Peaceful? That’s not the image we have of Anthony Kiedis.
To recall an artistic expression, you have to feel comfortable, be in peace with yourself. If there are certain forms of distraction, which make you feel uncomfortable or not enable you to concentrate 100% on the music you are working on you can’t achieve the optimal. When I’m alone and except for the trees no one sees me, I feel comfortable, and I can deliver honest art. The key to the creation of all art is to find inner peace. Then the truth just flows out of your body. When you are tense, or distracted, you distort what comes out of you.

On stage there is never such absolute peace, How can you ‘recreate’ the songs appropriately?
Doing a live show is completely different from making a record. It’s a completely different situation. You really have to set your mind on it. Recording and playing live have nothing to do with each other.

Don’t you feel comfortable on stage?
Yes I do! I meditate before getting on stage. After I’ve done my vocal- and stretch exercises, I usually go sit in a corner and I focus on the things I came to do. I try to be as open as possible, so that all comes out as natural as possible. When I get on stage the most important thing is to be one with the other 3 people in the band. So that we are on the same dimensional wavelength. From there on you just let your adrenaline and the energy of the audience to create a psychedelic chemical reaction in your soul and you just go wild. I sing much easier for 10.000 people then for 4. If I have to sing for 4 people I think to much… It’s a big mental preparation you have to make before you’re able to get on stage.

Paintings

When the phone rings, I see the opportunity to get e closer view on Kiedis his living room. I discover an impressive CD-collection, a model guitar I’ve never seen before, a TV, hifi-tower and loudspeakers in a messy setup and a dozen life-size paintings. The paint mixtures all show women with naked breasts, alternate between siren pose or for example a skull in place of the stomach.

‘Now I am able to buy all these beautiful paintings. I could also put my money on the bank or let some idiot invest it in all sorts of papers, but I prefer paintings. I love paint, colors, sculptures. That canvas over there is a Robert Williams. He’s my favorite artist. All his paintings have 3 titles. I’ll read the titles for you. This one is titled The Waterhead That’s Been Raised In A Box. The scientific name is Gifted With Both A Hydrosopholic Head And Imposed Congenital Deformation. Acune-Shaped, Kidnapped Victim Of Appelation Gypsies Benefits Trough The Portrayal Of A Marooned Interplanetary Visitor, With a Plea For Martian Ecology. And the revised title is Greek’s Magma On A Walking Slopblock. Robert Williams is my favorite artist. I have all sorts of books about him. I’ve also met him, and he is now a good friend of mine. I have 3 other paintings of him, in different places in my house.’

Does he inspire you also to make up new song titles?
No. unfortunately I haven’t been able to let me inspire by the creativity of other artists. I really have to isolate myself, to be myself and to turn my inner me outside. I know for sure it’s a unconscious reflection of what I experience around me, but I have to get it out myself.

Euphoria

What did you have in mind as title for your new CD BloodSugarSexMagik?
The song is about sexual euphoria, come to a point of mental delirium trough a loving sexual meeting. BloodSugarSexMagik are however also 4 self-containing elements. I see the music we play as magic. Music is one of the only things in the world we live in injects with magic.

Black & white picture

On stage I want to be a tornado-man.

Are there other forms of magic?
Yes. But unfortunately I live in a big city. And most of my receiving stations for magic are dull because of dead things: buildings, highways, cars, streets etc. Me, Flea and john just made a trip to Costa Rica. We were surrounded by rivers, jungles and waterfalls, monkey’s and oceans and horses etc. That helped us to experience the living world again.

You recently visited Prince.
Yes. I went to the Grammy Awards. The Chili Peppers were nominated and I could go on the plane of Warner Brothers, with the big bosses Mo Austin and Lenny Waronker. We went to the ceremony, but we didn’t win anything. Awards are just an excuse to have a party. After the party Lenny and Mo had to pass by Minneapolis, to meet with Prince. He just made a new record and they still had to arrange a few things.

After they had a long chat, the little big man invited me to listen to his new creation. Here and there he explaned a few things, sang me other choruses and played an imaginary guitar. I’ve heard from a lot of people he was a arrogant jerk, but he was extremely friendly. I’ve seen his work environment from close by. It’s almost you are in the Wizard of Oz, a complete Prince-Factory. In one room there are people making costumes for him, in the other TV-commercials. Impressive, that this little guy created all these jobs, and the gigantic studio…

It looks like the complete opposite of your own approach.
He is therefore also incredibly talented. He is on a wavelength where he is able to tap some incredible funky things out of this universe. Prince is mad.

Do you really believe in the existence of a big source in space where you can tap ideas from?
I do not NOT believe in. I would be an incredible egomaniac if I would say that I understand the cosmic operation of the universe. I just try to stay open for it.

Article by Mark Van Schaick

RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS –BloodSugarSexMagik (Warner Music)

Hot Mother’s Milk may be the best sold album in the Red Hot Chili Peppers history, it’s sure isn’t the best. If I listen to it now, I hear a band which is convulsively trying to prove that it’s still as brutal and controversial as before the death of guitarist Hillel Slovak and the thereafter leaving of drummer Jack Irons. Off course it has some big hits, but the studio wasn’t the best place to introduce John Frusciante and Chad Smith in the band.

Live the four really respond to each other and on BloodSugarSexMagik we hear a well-oiled machine. It’s their first CD for Warner, produced by Rick Rubin. That last has off course consequences on the sound, but don’t expect references to Masters Of Reality and Slayer: the 17(!) songs are especially characterized by a clear, honest sound. I can imagine that Rubin ruled with iron fist in the studio. In the pure funky tracks you hear a tight, relax base with always marvelous bass lines and here and there some ornaments, like the trumpet parts of Flea in Apache Rose or an extra heavy guitar.

In ballads I cCuld Have Lied and Under The Bridge (an ode to LA), a musing pop song as Breaking The Girl and the outro They’re Red Hot there are some acoustic guitars, flutes and violins. On such tracks Anthony sings lustily, but as rapper he’s still much more convincing. Also less interesting compositions (Give It Away, for example, a funk study on one chord) he seem to make it catchy with his gibberish. For the fans there is enough ‘pussy’, ‘motherfucka’ and ‘suck my dick’, but I assume you will be caught by the overall quality of the CD. The cast changes taken in account, is BloodSugarSexMagik more than Mother’s Milk the perfect successor of Freaky Styley and The Uplift Mofo Party Plan.

Article by Hans van den Heuvel
Photography by Hester Doove