La Mano, May 2006
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 AM and we are listening the new Red Hot Chili Peppers double album in the bungalow #2 of the Chateau Marmont Hotel, in Hollywood. The bungalow has a lot of rooms, a lot of bathrooms, a kitchen and a dining room, and this living room where 25 journalists are sitting around a stereo. Here, in the same place, John Belushi died. Here, Led Zeppelin had orgies. John and Yoko also composed songs and meditated for days right here, sitting on the same floor as we do now.
Red Hot Chili Peppers’ manager introduces the CD, explains that the tracklist is not the same on the finished album, and says that some mixes are not final, either. There are a lot of journalists from Spain, Chile, Mexico, some from Central America and even a Swedish man who writes in Spanish. Argentina is represented by only two journalists – Silvia Maestruti, and me. After listening to two hours of rock and funk, and still hearing the Flea’s bass slapping in our heads, we both sit in the yard of the hotel, waiting for the interviews.
In late 2004, nearly three years after By The Way (which sold two million copies in the United States only), Anthony Kiedis, John Frusciante, Flea and Chad Smith, decided to make a new album. “Only a dozen of songs, instead of seventeen, just for the sake of change”, said the singer. However, some months later, they had recorded thirty eight songs, and they liked them all.
Someone suggested the idea of a triple album, being released with the same dynamic as System Of A Down did (with six months between each two albums). “At first we liked the idea”, said Kiedis in January 2005, “but, the more we were analysing it, the more we were thinking it would be like a nightmare: if you release three albums, one every six months, you will have to wait for almost two years to get the entire album. No one is that patient!” So they decided to choose twenty-five songs and make a double album, Stadium Arcadium, each disc with its own name name: Jupiter and Mars. Finally, they got to add three more songs.
You can imagine the reunions of the producers and the advisers, fighting for the definitive list.
– No, if we leave “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” is a song that Kiedis wanted to be on the album, but it won’t be. Now, let’s see if anybody knows what they are going to do with the ten “lost” songs.
It’s six PM, it’s getting dark and Flea is sitting in a room of the bungalow of the Chateau Marmont. He thinks.
Those songs? They will be released. I don’t know exactly how, but they will be released.
Will they be be on another album?
– No. Because they are songs from this period of time, and for a new album we will compose new songs. We are going to put them out as 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 the music… it’s the best album we have done so far. I think we are at the peak 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 ourselves. I really think that on this album, our energy…flows. It’s an honest picture of who we are. I always loved our music; I mean, it’s obvious that I love it, our music is who we are, it’s in our blood, I’m proud of what we do. But when it comes to how it fits in the context of music history, and how it fits in the context of the music listened to around the world today, I can’t say that our music can get better that this, or better than that. But what I can say is that it represents, in all honesty, who we are. It’s straight from our hearts. We don’t compose with the intention to get associated with some large issue; but we try to be conscious, to grasp the energy of the world, we are aware of this, but we play from our hearts and our way. We aren’t interested in fitting in any radio format or so; we only make the music we like. And we can pull that out, without losing the things we have learned, except those we don’t need.
Back to your previous album, what would be the difference between By The Way and Stadium Arcadium, or what are the similarities?
– 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 did it in a very different way, with a lot of overdubs. I think this album takes what By The Way was, remakes it, and makes it better. I’m sure that in the recording all of us learned a lot, that’s why we feel Stadium Arcadium is more deeper, and much more comprehensive. Seriously, we are at our best. About what you asked me, I find it hard to put that 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 wasn’t feeling comfortable expressing myself…
During these twenty three years, the band was always 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 happen, for several reasons. On this new album, I feel comfortable, I’m much happier with the result and I think that it will reach the people, that they will be able to feel the unity of us working seriously together, shining together. It’s something that goes beyond the music notes, beyond the music craft; it’s a concrete “element of love”, and I think that’s what the people will feel in their hearts. There’s a lot of that in this album. I think it’s the best album we have made so far.
The first single is “Dani California”. With all due respect, it’s pretty plain. There are a lot of excellent songs on Stadium Arcadium that could open new horizons… If you had the chance, would you have chosen this song as the first single, or another?
– I don’t know, maybe… I think it’s a good choice, but I don’t know… It could have been another song, but I’m not good for these things… Look, you have to understand that, if it was my choice… if I were the boss, we would be still playing in small clubs.
Seriously?
– Yes, when it is about business or commercial success… I’m very bad at that.
Some years earlier I asked Anthony and John, whom they had their bets on as the next big band, and they bet for The Mars Volta. In fact, you played on the band’s new album.. What would you say about the next big thing?
– Patti Smith
…?
– Yes.
Flea laughs with all his teeth showing, even the hole between his two front ones. He’s fascinated with Patti Smith. He seems to be spoiled by the lady; his most recent collaboration was in 2005, for the 30° anniversary of Horses, when he shared the celebration (now edited on CD) with two original members of Patti’s band -Lenny Kaye and Jay Dee Daugherty, Tom Verlaine – who was invited for the 1975’s Horses, and Tony Shanahan, they played the entire album live on a festival in London, plus a cover of “My Generation”, by The Who. If it were not because Smith is one of our favourites, we wouldn’t even doubt in qualify her like one of the biggest promises. But there are other ladies to talk about.
“Dani California” is 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 used on “Californication” and “By The Way”, and now too…
Anthony says that she represents “all the girls he met in his life”…which doesn’t help.
– Oh, well… It’s a mystery. Which one is his relationship with this character, or if she’s real, and if she lives on this planet, I don’t know…
And the third song is called “Charlie”. Is Charlie someone?
– I think… well, again, Anthony was the one who wrote the lyrics, 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 own brain, it could be a drug, it could be anything. It’s funny: when we were composing this song, it ever sound like a Clash song to me, 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 magnÃficos”… That’s why I called the song “Clash Funk”. So we started singing… “Charrrlieee”… (sings screaming). It sounded like a Clash song… It’s an interesting detail, although it has nothing to do with The Clash, neither music, nor lyrics-wise… And The Clash it’s my favorite band of all times. I love The Clash.
In your songs, there are a lot of references to Los Angeles and California. 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 place… I don’t live in Los Angeles or Hollywood anymore, 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’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…Although 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 for not being in a war, of not living through ugly situations, lucky for having the freedom of making music that makes people happy… I know that, for a lot of people, on this planet, that’s unimaginable: 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 suffer, I’ll do it.
After twenty years and so many side-projects by each one of you, what keeps you in 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 most prolific solo career. As for 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… she filled me with inspiration. And with every person that I play, like I did with Tracy Chapman on her new album -I play with everybody (laughs)-, well, that makes me feel a better musician I think. As for the Peppers, the important thing is that we love our music and that our band has its own life. It keeps itself alive and it does what it does: it keeps giving an opportunity to be loved. And that’s what music is: an expression of love.
Talking about love, here in Argentina everybody saw you with a…
– River T-shirt! I love River! (laughs 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.
