Dotmusic.com interview 2001
19th February 2001, Dotmusic.com
Part 1
You might think that being an integral part of one of the biggest bands on the planet would be a time consuming occupation. Not so for John Frusicante who has refused to put his feet up and chosen instead to write, record and produce his third solo album. dotmusic went in search of the man who came within a whisker of quitting music for good.
John Frusicante is an intriguing character who’s obviously been to the edge but thankfully is back doing what his does best – making music.
While ‘To Record Only Water For Ten Days’ is a million miles away from being a Red Hot Chili Peppers record and won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, you feel that this was never the aim. Presented in almost demo form, Frusicante explains that it’s just a natural process for him to write and record music and then to release of it.
“When I write my songs I’m always singing them to my friends,” says Frusciante. “To me one person is no different to 200 people or 250,000. To me the spirits are who I’m playing it for – the spirits inside the people.
“Even when I’m writing in a notebook I feel I’ve got all these ghosts just looking at me. I feel like I’m being watched all the time. To me being in a room writing a song is no different to playing it for a bunch of people.”
dotmusic caught up with Frusciante after his solo shows in London (where he played the songs “how they were written, just me and a guitar”) and found out that the his first solo album was recorded prior to quitting the Chili Peppers when he “realised that it was the last music I was ever going to make. When I recorded it I had no intention of releasing it.”
His second solo record, ‘Smile From The Streets You Hold’ was predominantly from that same period. He also revealed that during the whole time he wasn’t in the band he only “recorded three songs in six years”.
So what promoted his album?
“Being in the Chili Peppers I’m constantly focusing on my guitar playing but it’s a natural function for me to write songs. These songs are written late at night after I’ve been working on the Chili Peppers. It happens very quickly.
“It’s something I naturally do, it’s like breathing. There’s no forethought, it’s not there for any purpose except to make me feel good. I love singing and I love writing lyrics. I live, eat and breathe music. All I think about all the time is music.”
How does this style of working differ from being in a band?
“In the Chili Peppers a song starts out a five second riff that’s cool as a guitar part. Flea will have a little bass line or I’ll have a riff you bring it to the band and we all piece it together. It’s a slow process. From the moment…it’s initiated when we’re jamming it could be five or six months before the song is finished.
“With my songs the moment I get the idea to the song being down is an hour or two hours. I don’t stop writing until the song is finished. These are two completely different types of inspiration. I hear the textures in my head as feelings and I try to find the electronic sounds to match these feelings in my head.”
Which do you prefer?
“There’s no preference. They are both natural functions for me. It’s like asking what do you like more, breathing in or breathing out?”
One thing’s for sure the circumstances surrounding Frusicante were entirely different during the period he worked on this album so dotmusic asks if this affect the sound of the record.
“I’m coming from the same place but then I was more erratic and scattered and now make sure that every single note is in its right place.
“My first couple of albums, a lot of the time I’d be improvising the singing. I was trying to find myself as a songwriter. The songs were more experiments than compositions. Since I started playing guitar again three years ago, when the inspiration for a song comes it’s my responsibility to finish it and to make it the best it can be.
“Now I know what spirits I’m working for, what part of the universe I represent, I know what feelings I’m supposed to give to people, it’s just a matter of making sure that every song is finished.”
Video of part 1
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