Yin & Yang in Hollywood
Drugs! Sex! Heineken! The Red Hot Chili Peppers used to be really bad boys. Nowadays they are do-gooders and trust on the holy agency of herbal panaceas.
Los Angeles, California, „Antoine, The Swan“ is sitting on a bed in his Suite of the Chateau Marmont Hotel on Sunset Strip. This Hotel was the second home for many rockstars and their excesses. It’s also the place where John Belushi died. Also Antoine is a rockstar with the microphon in his hand. He begins to sing but breaks up and starts crying like a baby. A big, bulky, bearded man behind him tries to hush him and gives him a cup of ginseng tea. The Swan calms down and starts to sing a beautiful, sad song.
„Antoine, The Swan“, also known as Anthony Kiedis, leadsinger of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, „greatest Rockband of the world“ (american music press), 39 years, 80 kilos and a tattooed muscle body with a size of 1,78 meters. The described scene in the first paragraph is not the first thing what a fan would connect with Anthony. But it’s real. „I cried a lot on the „By the Way“Session. It was a beautiful, emotional month which I was spending with Rick (Rubin, bearded man and producer from the Chili Peppers).
The reasons for this emotional blow-outs are deep rooted in their twenty years old band history.
„Many songs come from the time before I broke up with my girlfriend. When I start singing these songs, the intensive memories of her come up again. Sad ones but also happy ones which are really touching . But this is not the only reason for my tears. The new songs represent perfectly the state where we are now. Happy love, but also some kind of love which comes up from a dark place. I mean times of confusion, desperation, and depression.“
And there were lot of these times. Times where Kiedis was sharing his dirty Hollywood-apartment with an older woman and her daughter which he just left for selling his properties and spending this money for drugs „under the bridge downtown“.
Times where 25 years old Anthony participated the Alcoholics Anonymous, former guitarist Hillel Slovak died of a heroin overdose and times where new guitarist John Frusciante after reaching a musical peek with „Blood Sugar Sex Magik“ quit the band just two weeks before a Headliner-gig on Lollapalooza just for spending time with shooting up heroin and dancing on the cliff of death. Times where bassist flea and drummer Chad Smith were inculpated for sexual assault on female fans, neo guitarist Dave Navarro and Anthony got back on drugs and wrote mystic messages with blood on walls backstage of the concert halls. Times where Flea suffered on mental breakdown and a chronic fatigue syndrome was diagnosed caused of the death of his friend River Phoenix.
Times where Flea and Chad had motorcycle accidents included broken bones. Times where the Chili Peppers were funk-punks struggling with drugs with socks on their cocks, light bulbs on their heads or completely naked on stage and covering Jimi Hendrix „Fire“ on Woodstock-Festival and heating-up the atmosphere for the real fire.
„Stop, stop“ adjourns Kiedis the rollercoaster of band history. „Yes, we passed these times and worse once but these black stains define us as much as the moments of salvation, the moments where we overcame the bad.
It’s always the same game of good and bad, light and dark that is surrounding us. In the end we were always successful in transforming these bad experiences in something beautiful.“
It’s doubtfully that every album is beautiful especially the comatose „One Hot Minute“ of 1994. But „By The Way“ which will be released on 9th july seems to be auspicious and a grand follower of „Californication“ with 12million sold exemplars worldwide. Away from the crazy White-Trash-Funk and turning to an interesting, complex Westcoast-Pop-Rock.
At the time when we were doing this interview, the album wasn’t already mixed. The record label of RHCP allowed just a short sneak peak of new songs. The new songs are very good and fancy. „Lemon Trees on Mecury“ or the first single „By The Way“ impressing with their melodic Vocoder-Singing. „Cabron“ reminds on a sing-along-flamenco-song with Tequila-Feeling. „Universally Speaking“ surprises with it’s beautiful harmonic-singing of John Frusciante and the use of a string orchestra. But where is the funk?
„You’re looking for the funk? Well, the thing is that, funk is still their but it is a sneaky motherfucker. Funk don’t scream: „Here I am!“, no it comes over you if you don’t expect it. Funk will be always an important inspiration for us. One song which will be not on the album is the funkiest song which we’ve ever written. But it’s true that our sound had changed over the years. We sound like a modern Rock Band with a touch of ‘The Mamas & The Papas’.“
„Haha ‘The Mamas & The Papas’, that’s funny“ Rick Rubin about the comparison of Anthony. „By The Way“ is the fourth album which Rubin is producing for RHCP (after „Blood Sugar Sex Magic“, „One Hot Minute“ and „Californication“). He’s working with the Band on „By The Way“ for about one year. They started with working on 50 raw songs. But this time there were no Harry Houdini ghosts and no former playmate who’s cooking for the band in the hollywood-hills villa like in Blood Sugar Sex Magic“-session. Nowadays they are located in the Cello Studios or in Chateau Marmont Hotel for recording a new album. So Rubin is the man who’s able to judge how much the band is advancing and how they changed. „Everyone of them became more adult. They are more introverted and more spiritualistic. They played a lot together because of the „Californication“-Tour so they grew together. Anthony’s lyrics got more personality and they’re touching. His singing-style has also changed. He don’t sing in this funky, sexual motivated style anymore. Now, it comes from the deep of his soul. I just love his new style.“
A major part of the new Chili Peppers sound comes from the old, new, eternal guitarist John Frusciante. „Oh Man, John!“ moans Rubin. „He really expanded his horizon. John sang already on „Road Trippin’“ and „Scar Tissue“ but this time he was more involved. He played Keyboard, he sang harmonic-parts… it’s just incredible.“
It’s really incredible! John overcame his heroin addiction in 1998. „We were worried about him. We thought he would die“ Flea said. But John survived this dark chapter of his life. „John was on a really bad trip“ claims Rubin. „Especially after quitting the band, in this time about 1995, when he released his first solo CD ‘Niandra LaDes And Usually Just A T-Shirt’. He sold his guitars and didn’t care about music. Nowadays it’s a complete reverse. I’ve never met a person who lives the music like this man does. 24 hours, 7 days a week. We ‘re working in the studio for about 14 hours then he goes home and is practicing four hours more. Probably he’s listen to music until he falls asleep. Then he dreams of a new song. This guy is crazy. I think his addiction made this. The gap which heroin left is now filled up with music.“
„Of course, drugs leave deep holes and destroys a lot, but they also create good things. God safe drugs and alcohol! I would be not the person who I am today, without them. It’s a great feeling if you experienced drugs for yourself. You can live a great life with them for a while. But suddenly it turns and it becomes really dirty and dark and you have to quit it immediately. After quitting I got a incredible beautiful feeling which I never had before. Being sober gives you more inspiration and energy. This kind of being high is everlasting.
And on John’s role on the new album I have to agree with Rick. His guitar playing is touching me deeply. I recorded everything what he played in this hotel room and went home and let the riffs coming into me.
John who’s the youngest Pepper with 32 years claimed in his early years that he wrote „40-60 % of the music on ‘Mothers Milk’ and ‘Blood Sugar Sex Magic’.“ Today he refers to his bandmates. „Chad innovated complete new rhythms, good and hard beats. Together with my influences of Depeche Mode and New Order it becomes a complete new sound. The best what we’ve ever produced. It’s a miracle.“ So the musical motor is running very well. But also the private relationship got better. After John was leaving the band back in the 90’s he and Anthony didn’t communicate. „Just telepathically“. But that’s the past. Nowadays they are very close friends again. „We sat on a table, looked in each others eyes and in this moment we forgot why we were angry. We just saw the friendship and love which we felt for each other.“ John was just „surprised in which way Anthony’s character changed into a good.“ The band has also just good words for the former guitarist Dave Navarro. „Dave is an amazing musician and a lifelong friend.“ so Flea about Navarro.
Sounds like a lot of happiness but that’s not all. The Peppers became do-gooders. Anthony bought his father, actor Blackie Dammet (more or less famous for ‘Charlie’s Angels’ and ‘Magnum’-episodes) a three hectare land near Michigan Sea. Flea sold his house „The Castle“ for three million dollars to the oil baron John Getty, moved to a little house and founded the „Silverlake Music Conservatory“ a non-profit music school for children who are also taught by his bandmates (and a lot of other rockstars) whenever there’s time for it. On the cover of „Foodie“ a gourmet magazin the band is campaigning for healthy plain fare. Between the meals the band is feeding each other with herbal panaceas like the alga Spirulina and imunebooster Echinacin. Playing baskettball, doing meditation and stretching before the concerts is also a part of their daily program. Not all of them, Chad Smith, troublemaker of the band still needs his „icecold Heineken of my fridge“ for perfect preparation. So „tutto penis“ like the Italian used to say? No, not everything. Anthony misses one thing in his perfect life. „I broke-up with my girlfriend because I want children but she doesn’t. It’s the last challenge I would like to accept in my life. I just have to find the mother. I don’t know where to look I just know where I don’t find her like on Playboy-Mansion Parties or on dessous-fashion shows. Maybe I’ll find her at the supermarket or at the airport. The only thing I know is THAT I’ll find her, at the latest when I stop searching.“
