Something Bigger Than The Universe
Primitive funk? Yep. Hard rock power? Got it. Nice melodies? A lot… Stadium Arcadium, the new Red Hot Chili Peppers album, should make everyone happy. John Frusciante and Chad Smith tell us how to mix ingredients to make a nice dish.
If you have to get in trouble, do it in Chateau Marmont. These were the words of a big fish from a film company in 1939, concerning one of the most famous hotels in Hollywood. A few decades later rock’n’roll stars took those words to their hearts. This is the place where Jim Morrison tested his swimming skills by jumping to the pool from the roof of his bungalow and where Led Zeppelin saved their precious time driving their harleys into the hall. The place served the Red Hot Chili Peppers, too. John Frusciante got here after he’d burned down his house and when heroin was his life passion. Yet he didn’t have bad memories as he came back during the recording of By The Way, at the time working also on his solo record Shadows Collide With People. Anthony Kiedis recorded the vocal tracks for their previous album here as well.
Marvelous architecture, a lot of green and many corners of Chateau Marmont – as it is a big building with a lot of varied-sized houses – make everything seem discreet and calm. One can’t forget about the closeness of Sunset Boulevard’s most entertaining part. And Laurel Canyon, a street connected to both past and present day of the Peppers. This is probably why the band decided to conduct the promotion of their new album at the end of February here… feeling very comfortable.
This is not Metallica, with giant bodyguards and an agent glancing at his watch all the time. Undisturbed John, for example, was sitting on a parking, next to Chad Smith’s Harley. He was talking to an African-American guy, whose role we will discover later during the interview. The drummer was typically making friends with the journalists who had been invited to the bungalow no. 2 (the one which, according to some sources, was the scene of John Belushi’s death). He was participating in listening to their new material. After a little pattering and asking: “Great drummer, isn’t he?”, he left the room saying ‘Good night, kids’. Meanwhile at the pool, Flea and Anthony were discussing the charms of living in Australia.
That was the free time. Later came work. Teraz Rock was supposed to have two interviewees. In one of the bigger bungalows’ patio waited Chad Smith. Before I could say anything he came out with this statement…
[interview with Chad Smith]
We really want to play in your country! I know we’ve got loads of fans there. Hopefully we’ll be able to make it on the next tour. We’ll be in Prague, so that’s gonna be close. So I think a gig in Poland is possible as well. In Detroit, where I grew up, there’s a big Polish community. I played at clubs in Hamtrack, which seems to be one of the biggest Polish enclaves in the States. [population: 22,000, with Polish immigrants in majority, but also people from South Asia and the Middle East.] I don’t know much about your customs and culture, but I’ll do my homework gladly.
It’s nice to hear that, especially because there is some great material to play. Your bandmates were saying that the new album was going to be “primarily funky”. And, to some extent, it is.
– It wasn’t a concious decision. We never plan what direction or sound we’ll go for. It’s a matter of the moment, atmosphere… But indeed, on the last two albums, though we had some funk elements, we were exploring more melodic sides of our style. Harmonies sung by John, Anthony’s melodies and some instruments parts were very rich. There were many sound layers… We didn’t give up on our previous style – we just wanted to change, to experiment a bit… This time, with these 28 numbers, we can present more or less all musical styles that we like. As for the funk pieces – they are a bit sloppy, messy, or simplified… Doing this kind of things is very natural for us. On the other hand, these elements intertwine with melodies, even within one song. Like in Tell Me Baby, where you’ve got bass slapping and a funky guitar part, and then the chorus which has a beautiful melody that stands out. I think that this kind of approach is new in our band.
I would also say that this is the most guitar-driven RHCP record. You must be enjoying the classic, hard-rock songs, like Readymade.
– Oh yeah! [the artist clearly got enthusiastic.] That chorus, where I use the cowbell… I haven’t done this since The Righteous & The Wicked on BSSM. And that riff, like Mountain. John did it on purpose, because he was friends with Johnny Ramone, who was an admirer of Leslie West’s guitar style… When John was wondering what part would fit there, he thought about something Johnny would like to hear. And so it came – Mountain, Mississippi Queen, cowbell, that sort of thing… I love playing that kind of music. It’s fun that, on the one hand, I can play a simple, hypnotizing rhythm, and on the other hand, go crazy like in this song.
Compared to experimenting with arrangements from the previous albums, a lot of songs here sound pretty raw. For example She’s Only 18.
– This song sounds like Funkadelic. I must admit, we used to call it Funkadelish. When we come up with a new song, we write down a working title on the board. Mostly it’s an association with a certain genre: Clash-funk, Talking Heads, Neu!, Wu-Tang, or Funkadelish. As for the chorus, John wrote it with this heavy, dark, Sabbath style in mind. What he wanted to achieve was a feeling of slowing down tempo, without an actual change… It did make this sound raw. On the other hand, there are lots of expanded pieces – with an orchestra, guitar effects, choirs… Those were the solutions we tried on two previous albums. Generally speaking, the whole album is very varied. I think people should like that, listening to such material should be a cool experience. You can hear a lot of different approaches to music on this CD, but everything sounds like the Peppers. I’m proud that we have our own sound. It doesn’t matter if it’s raw, hard-rock or based on a pretty and quiet melody.
After 15 years you’ve come back to the Laurel Canyon mansion. Was it a nice deja vu?
– We were forced to go there… The early plan was to record in the same studio where the last two albums were made – in Cello, a place with a very rich tradition. But it was closed a month before the beginning of our sessions. So Rick said: Why don’t we go back up, to the Mansion? It’s comfortable, away from the noise… I wouldn’t call it deja vu, though. You know, it’s been 15 years… We were the first band to record there. Then there were Slipknot, Marilyn Manson, System Of A Down, the Mars Volta… It was like meeting an ex-girlfriend who slept with a bunch of other guys and is a little worn out. It’s nice to see her again, but it’s not the same. And then again, we are different people now, we play different music… But I have to admit, it’s really comfortable down there, we can get great sound there. Nice place to work.
The last time your band mates lived in the Mansion for a while. Was it the same this time?
– Oh no, one of them stayed there for a few nights if anything. It didn’t concern me. In the first week of the recording my son Cole was born. I had to be at home – with my wife and kids… I got up at night and changed diapers. I mean, at 2, 4 or 6 in the morning… There were times when I was really tired with recording, which requires concentration and takes a lot of energy. Then I asked: Nancy, please, let me sleep in the guestroom. [laughs] My wife was very supportive, it was an exciting time – new music, new human being… Beautiful.
John told me 4 years ago that there was a moment when you put too much interest in drinking and partying. I understand this is over now?
– Yes, I went overboard. But I got over that. I think I was interested in that lifestyle, because I was feeling unhappy. Now it’s different, I’m a happy man now. I’ve got a wife, a great kid… I feel more responsible, like a breadwinner of the family. I can’t pass on bad values, I want to set a positive example to my son. And after all, you can’t get wasted when you are supposed to get up at 8 o’clock every morning. It’s easy to party on tour, you’re changing places all the time and people are encouraging you to such behaviour. You’re with them only this one night, you wanna show them you’re having a good time…
Tell me about the – supposedly special – rehearsal room in which the new material was born.
– It’s the same place where we were writing stuff for BloodSugarSexMagik. Uhm… In a way we repeated a lot of those experiences! We came to this room before our gigs and thought it was cool, with a nice vibe, so we decided we should go back. This crazy couple runs it, Bill and Shylo. They are harley-lovers and the whole place is sort of 70’s-California-rock style. Jackson Browne, Eagles… The room bears the name of Lowell George from Little Feat. Such places can be really vulgar, plain, with dirty carpets and old stinky couches… Ours has a character. A lot of wood, patchworks, fabrics on the walls…
How long did it take you to create Stadium Arcadium? And did anything from the Greatest Hits session, which produced some unpublished songs, get on the record?
– We began working on it in November 2004. Writing took us about 9 months, with some breaks for single gigs. A little longer than usually, but we were doing so well that we just couldn’t stop. A few times when we thought we were done, that we have enough good numbers and we just need to do some minor changes… new cool things appeared. During the Greatest Hits session we wrote 16 songs in a very short time. Two of them appeared on the record, a few on the singles, Leverage Of Space and Rolling Sly Stone were put on a live album, and the others didn’t have complete vocal tracks. To tell you the truth, we could make a whole “lost album” of it, which should be published one day… At first, we were considering taking 10 old songs, writing 10 new ones… We would have an album made in 6 months. But we’ve never done that. We want the songs to reflect who we are as people, as artists, musicians. It was important, especially to John, who says that he plays totally differently now than a year before. So it resulted in 38 new compositions. Lots of music.
Do you already know what you will do with the rest?
– I don’t think that they will appear as a whole separate album. I guess some will make B-sides, they will be available on iTunes… They will be published for sure. They should be available.
What about the plans regarding the CD with rare RHCP songs? It was suggested somewhere around the release of the Greatest Hits.
– Yes. We’ll do it.
After this record?
– I don’t know. [a meaningful smile]
Recently Flea said that the recording of By The Way was “an unpleasant experience” for him. That’s surprising.
– I don’t know what he had in mind. I didn’t feel this way. Maybe it was about the tension between him and John. For us, it’s best when everyone has an equal input in the creative process. On the last record, John was a little dominant when it came to ideas and suggestions. As a musician responsible for one of the two melodic instruments in the band, he might have entered Flea’s territory a little too much, made him feel uncomfortable. But it’s only my guess. This time we shared the work, everyone had a lot of great ideas, we listened to one another and respected our opinions. The best option for the song always won.
Tell me one thing – what do you think of Anthony’s autobiography? It says that until the end of 2000 he was relapsing into taking hard drugs. Were you aware of the problems he was having?
– Yes. Although it didn’t show. He’s not one of those fun guys who brag about it; it was more like his dark secret. When he wasn’t around for a while, we were thinking: Uh-oh, we’d better check it. But I haven’t read the book, so I can’t confront what he wrote with what I know. Maybe I’ll read it one day, now it’s not very interesting to me. I believe Anthony has the right to publish his thoughts, it’s his decision. At the moment I can only assure you that everything in the band is great. Everyone is happy, healthy, we recorded a great album and we’re all excited about it.
There was a documentary film about the band on the Greatest Hits CD. There was a scene in which, moments before the concert, the other guys were practising yoga and you were… drinking beer. Don’t you feel a little alienated?
– Yeah, you’re right, sometimes I feel that way. Every person is different, but these three definitely are similar when it comes to free-time activities. But it’s my choice, I decided to have this lifestyle and I’m alright with it… I’ve been playing with these guys for 18 years now. I think our band needs some kind of balance that makes it work, that is the reason why we’re successful. The balance that makes us go on stage together, travel, work on our music… If we were the same, it wouldn’t work out. I think the drummer should be the backbone of the band – balanced, solid, so that the rest could rely on him.
The single, Dani California is, according to Anthony, “a song about the cultural death of the west shore of the USA”. Do you agree with this diagnosis?
– I can’t think of a specific example of such a phenomenon. I believe it does relate to the whole world, really. Places change because of the things happening – good and bad… Anthony sings about California a lot, because he’s a product of his environment. He approaches the matter very sincerely, like in songs about relationships, or love. But I’m not gonna analyse his thought, I think he wouldn’t like to analyse them too much himself.
So I guess you won’t help me with the title too much.
– Not really. Since BSSM the titles of our albums come from the song titles. For me, Stadium Arcadium is just a couple of good sounding words, I don’t think about them too much. To be honest I think it’s about a big, cosmic, galactic, out-of-this-world feeling… About something bigger than the universe. But what the hell does “arcadium” mean?
[Interview with John Frusciante]
The second conversation took place in one of the rooms on the floor. The fact that it was occupied by John Frusciante was obvious when I saw a note written in a characteristic handwriting: Strengthen the rhythm. Move to the left. Cut before second verse. I glanced at it while waiting for the artist. The notes obviously concerned one of the songs they were still mixing. When Fru at last came in, I was really surprised. I remembered our interview when By The Way was released. Unshaved, a little sloppy, he dived into the armchair. Now he was sitting on a chair, bolt upright. He was impeccably shaved and had a pair of glasses that made him look serious. With a totally different manner of speech and a strong voice, he didn’t pause, or lose the track. As he was eating a candy bar, he asked me:
Wanna have a bite?
No, thank you. Congratulations – Stadium Arcadium is the most guitar-based album in the history of RHCP.
Yeah, there are lots of guitars here… Wait, I’ll chew this up… I’ve been avoiding it for a long time. When I first joined the band, I had a vision, to take Red Hot Chili Peppers in a more guitar-oriented direction. The stuff they had been doing earlier, relied more on bass. I wanted to make the guitar equally important. I don’t think I managed to do this. I tried on Mother’s Milk, but I didn’t have enough space left, and on the other hand I didn’t really know how to do it. As a result I simplified my playing, similarly to Hillel’s [Slovak, the band’s original guitarist] minimalist style, also on BloodSugarSexMagik. Around that time my personality started to reveal itself. I understood that simplicity is what I need to find out what I feel inside and what my style is going to be like. This approach made sense at that time and it was appropriate also on Californication and By The Way. I discovered a method of playing – to play much(?) below your technical skills… You know, if I could make 10 steps, I made only 2… I was inspired by guitarists who had much less? skill than me. It was interesting, technique seemed to be totally unnecessary. In the By The Way era I even hated solos. I was interested only in playing rhythmically, finding interesting chords. Now I rediscovered solos, to me it’s an artform. Very underestimated nowadays – people decided that it wasn’t cool anymore. The problem started in the ’80s, when everyone focused on the speed. It came to a point where technique overshadowed the essence. It doesn’t mean that we should forget about solos. You can take it in a different direction, some people – like Tom Morello – do amazing things with sound… As for me, right now I’m influenced by blues in the first place. I try to put these inspirations into the process of composing, into what I learned from The Beatles’ or The Move’s music. Their songs had a structure which created a beautiful harmonic surrounding. I want to combine it with guitar, electric blues. I also want to find undiscovered rhythms and create something new in the aspect of sound. I creatively use the studio, manipulate around the guitars with the use of electronic…
That’s strange, because the sound of guitar on Stadium Arcadium seems to be very raw, simple. Like it’s the amplifier and the room it’s in.
This is what I mean by creative use of the studio. If I mean an effect, it’s the air in the room. When I use a synthetizer, this filter kind of lets the air in and out. It creates an illusion of movement. Then I make the guitar seem very little, like a bug… And then suddenly there is an explosion of sound. Modular synth can play with reality, twist it. I don’t use it’s primary function – synthetized sound. I’m only interested in dealing with an actual instrument. The most important thing was to find the band’s rock side, to catch the energy of playing live… The amps were put in the room with drums. This gave us the space that the bands from the 60’s had, they always did it this way. In the 70’s amps were taken to another room, and that atmosphere vanished. We are trying to relive it. This is why the album is full of feedbacks. They can’t be avoided, sometimes it’s like the whole sound is going to break apart… But I enjoy taking this as far as we can. The new album is important to me, because I stopped playing safe. I’m done with limitations. I wanted the guitar to shine as bright as possible.
Rock is one thing, but we also have funk back here. Anthony claims this is in reference to the band’s early albums. I would say it’s more like BloodSugar…
– Frankly, I haven’t been listening to any of them lately. What I tried to achieve was a combination of everything the band had to offer. I thought it was a good moment to show as many different styles that are close to us as possible. You know, I felt like I was a part of this music the band created on their first three albums, too. Although we hadn’t even met at the time. This is still somewhere inside me and sometimes it pops out in rehearsal. Other times, it’s something from BloodSugar… Our band was always into different styles. The difference was that they appeared separately. I’m proud that this time they melted into one. Take Tell Me Baby for instance. The bass line is really funky, it resembles the style Flea was playing on the early records. On the other hand, there are such combinations of chords that never appeared. Plus, it all happens at one time, the chords and the clanging. It’s an example of the combination of all our styles. There is no division between a pretty song, a heavy song, a funk song anymore. Everything works together, intertwined. If there are some changes, they are in other matters. I wanted the sound, atmosphere, rhythm of the song to change. So that there were surprises and you wouldn’t now what was coming next.
How do you feel with the fact that the recording was moved to a place you all know perfectly well, Rick Rubin’s mansion?
– This place looks totally different now, has a different vibe. To my surprise, it hardly reminds me of the old times. I expected, when I’d come back, I would have felt something like BloodSugar 2006. But it wasn’t like that. The atmosphere was warm and comfortable.
Did you stay over at the house?
– No, I live close, just 2 minutes up the street. Only it’s very quiet in my house. And in the BloodSugar mansion there’s constantly the sound of traffic on Laurel Canyon. I have no idea how I could sleep there back then! I once tried and at 7 a.m. the noise woke me up. I couldn’t stand it. Flea stayed there for some time. He lived there during the week and went back home [to Malibu] at weekends. As for me, I did work there until late sometimes, till 5 o’clock in the morning. And it was fun for me. Overall, I spent more time there when it comes to recording, than I had during the BloodSugar time. I didn’t do much then — basic parts, some solos and that was it. This time I was really involved in the process. There are many layers of guitars, a lot of electronic elements, there are faster and slower parts, guitar played backwards… And lots of additional vocals. I spent many hours, working late with my producers. I made them dinner, spoiled them with best French wines… We had damn good time. It was even more fun than during BloodSugar recording.
You said you were going home late sometimes. Do you still haven’t got a driving licence?
– No, I don’t.
So how do you move around the city?
– I take the bus. [the artist says it very seriously and looks at me to see if I believed him.] No, that’s not true… [laughs] I don’t have a licence, but I have a car and a man who drives me where I need to be. He takes care of other things, too — shopping and all that stuff… I’m very busy; during the recording I was working 12-14 hours a day. Now I’m mixing, recording some small stuff, shooting a video clip, having interviews… It’s hard to lead a normal life with all this things to do. So I ask my driver for help. I can’t wait when I will have some more time to myself.
From what you say it looks like you have a lot to say when it comes to production. Doesn’t it bother Flea anymore?
– We handled it. During the recording of By The Way I knew exactly what I wanted to achieve, and had a great connection with Rick. Until that moment nobody from the band had ever taken any interest in the process of mixing. When I got involved in it, suddenly Flea became very interested in it as well. I felt like, if I hadn’t done anything, he wouldn’t have been into mixing… I didn’t want to take over the control, though. The man who thinks about the general vision, who makes important decisions considering our sound, is Rick. I took care of some small stuff, overdubs and harmonies. I was involved in the mixing, cause I knew where to put all those things. Frankly, I was nervous how it would turn out this time. Flea demanded that he approve all the mixes, and that he could have his suggestions taken into consideration… But all went really smooth. I still do the things I did on By The Way, which is taking care of my parts, harmonies, guitars, and Rick watches over the whole thing. Flea, Anthony and Chad get the CD with everything mixed and they can contribute their ideas.
Do they have a lot of these ideas?
– No. And they don’t apply to any major issues… It seemed to me that since they take part in this, too, we will argue all the time. I know from my experience that when there is too much democracy in a band, when a bunch of people try/tries to decide about the same things, it doesn’t lead to anything and it results in a series of compromises… But there was no arguments. Our work method is perfect – Rick decides about the general idea, I decide about my parts. If Flea records some brass instruments, then he takes care of them. The rest of the guys just supervise all of it. This is important, because sometimes Rick and me get so lost in details that we miss something which Flea or Anthony catches… They believe very much in the idea of democracy and equality, something I don’t share but I appreciate how great it is. Being in this band means for me a constant lesson of making democratic decisions. It’s against my nature – if I had my own band, I would tell others what to do. In the end, the music wouldn’t be as open, I think. The fact that in this band we are equal, makes my style, my emotions go to extreme heights. I don’t think I could reach them alone.
You said you admired the dark side of Anthony’s lyrics. In which songs from Stadium Arcadium would you say it’s visible?
– When I say dark, I mean the romantic side. I like when the melodies he sings move me in a sad way. Like in Hard To Concentrate, Slow Cheetah or Hey. Anthony is really good in capturing sadness. Me, on the other hand, I like listening to this kind of music.
Maybe you’ll explain what the title of the record means?
– There isn’t much to explain. It’s a word play from the lyrics. When I came across it, I knew it was special. When it came to choose a title we didn’t think about it at all, just – yeah, of course, it makes sense. We usually had a lot of propositions, we would came up with one after another and discuss it for weeks. Now everyone in the band – plus, the management and all – agreed. A great title. When you feel that something is OK, you don’t even wonder what it means. We’re sick of plain phrases, all meaning one thing. I think that words are limiting the thinking process. The more stuff which isn’t in the dictionary we make up, the clearer our minds will be.
Dani California is supposedly a part of the trilogy, the third song after Californication and By The Way. Did you plan this all along, or was it just the way it turned out to be?
– You know, George Clinton and Frank Zappa used a term conceptual continuity. A certain phrase they used in a song could come up again 5 or 10 years later. In fact, it was often the other way around – it seemed like something from 1969 was in reference to some part from 1979. When you are creating a record, you can play with time like that. Like with my manipulations with the guitars, using electronic…
Tell the truth: when you came back in 1999, did you think that you would stay together as a band that long? The longest you’ve ever been in your career?
– At that time, I just felt very happy to be able to do what I was doing. What I experienced when I wasn’t in the band taught me to appreciate every chance for a new life. Before I stopped taking drugs I’d thought I had only a few months left. I felt there was no place for me, that I had nothing to do here. I tried to begin a new life, give up drugs, just to see what another year would look like. And 12 month later I was recording Californication… You know, I didn’t expect that there would be any future. I just took everything exactly as I got it. And I got everything I could dream of – an opportunity to play guitar, create and record music. All of this came true and there was no point in looking ahead.
I assume now it’s different? I have to say, there’s an incredible difference, compared to 2002. You look much better now, speak very focused… You’re a totally different guy.
– I think the biggest change comes from the fact that I started missing the lifestyle that wouldn’t be so demanding. I would really like to go in a nice quiet place, somewhere by the ocean, where I could meditate 10 hours a day, focus on self-growth. That’s my dream right now: a life without bigger emotions, peaceful and quiet. Just like in 1997 it was playing music again… I’m aware of the fact that it won’t come to life in the nearest future. So right now I’m just enjoying what I do. I’m as grateful for the opportunity to play with these guys as I was when I came back. But if you’re asking and I have to look ahead, I do see myself in this peaceful surrounding.
Choosing material for Stadium Arcadium broke your hearts, as you said. Don’t you worry that you might regret throwing out some songs? Do you regret any song from the past?
– Yeah, there were plenty. Especially from By The Way era. I think that a lot of better songs ended up on B-sides than on the album. But these are the lessons you take from life. It seems to me that it’s a good thing, to be developing in public. To make mistakes in front of everyone. It’s better to know that you didn’t achieve your best on the album that sold millions of copies than to dislike what you did on a tape you and a few of your friends know. Because when you record something at home, you’re not so demanding of yourself. When you humiliate yourself in front of milions of people, you will really feel it. You’ll truly want to change. Your biggest concern will be to make a record that would represent you at your best. I think it’s healthy. As long as you learn from your mistakes. Because some people want to cover their shortcomings. They want people to see them as perfect… Every time I am aware of my mistake, I see it as something positive, as a lesson.
I’ll ask then, as my last question, about the lesson you learned from the case of Soul to Squeeze. I’ve never found an explanation why one of the most beautiful RHCP songs wasn’t included on BloodSugarSexMagik.
– We weren’t used to writing songs like that at the time – we saw ourselves as a funk band. When Anthony brought Under the Bridge he warned us that it wasn’t really our thing, just a little pop song… In the end we had a couple of similar compositions and we were afraid the whole CD will turn out too mellow. Under the Bridge, I Could Have Lied, Breaking the Girl… The fourth just seemed like too much. [laughs] Now it looks stupid, we just think if it’s a good number, doesn’t matter what style it represents. But we felt uncomfortable with it back then. As I recall it, I was the biggest opponent of Soul to Squeeze getting on the record. The rest of the band agreed with my thinking and the track fell out. Then it turned out that it was this kind of stuff that made us very successful. Under the Bridge turned out to be the greatest hit in the history of the band, and the fans loved it. We just didn’t feel it. We were almost ashamed of it. A weird story. [laughs]
interviewed by Bartek Koziczynski
Space odyssey
Jupiter
Dani California
Next part of the story about a girl whose name we found out in By The Way and who is mentioned in Californication, too. (the lyric: A teenage bride with a baby inside.) Musically speaking, Frusciante was inspired by Wu-Tang Clan. “This groove seemed to be a perfect background for the story”, Kiedis says. “I started writing about a girl that’s involved in some criminal actions, issues, who came from a specific environment, her parents were really different from each other… And after a while I thought – wait a minute, this is the girl from ‘By The Way’! And the pregnant teenager from ‘Californication’!”
Snow ((Hey Oh))
The title as a metaphor of chastity – a pure, white layer covering dirty ground… What the author means is that change is worthwhile, no matter how lost you may be.
Charlie
The lyrics have ambiguous associations – ‘charlie’ is a slang term for cocaine. Anthony admits the song can apply to this drug… However, he wasn’t inspired by it directly.
Stadium Arcadium
From a bunch of vague interpretations of the title, one is worth mentioning. It might relate to a quasi-religious relation between the band on stage and the audience. The singer remembers how he first felt it in 1980, on a Public Image Limited concert.
Hump De Bump
Frusciante states that it’s sort of a second part of American Ghost Dance (from the album Freaky Styley, 1985). It has an almost identical bass line and Flea can play the trumpet like in the old days…
She’s Only 18
A song which has a spirit of Funkadelic. It’s about a young girl who was born in the ’80s and doesn’t like the Rolling Stones, Kiedis explains. Then the story evolves kind of accidentally…
Slow Cheetah
A story of a difficult relationship with probably the biggest love of Anthony’s life, Yohanna Logan. According to Kiedis, the girl looks like a cheetah.
Especially In Michigan
A song about Anthony’s (and Chad’s) home state stands out thanks to a guest appearance from Omar Rodriguez from The Mars Volta. He begged us to let him play, Kiedis jokingly tells the story. At first we kept saying: ‘Stop it’. But then we began to admire his stubbornness. Endless begging for a chance to appear on the record finally paid off. In return, Frusciante is supposedly going to play rhythm guitar on the new Mars Volta album.
Warlocks
Frusciante hears Led Zeppelin and Rush influences here, but it’s rather an example of an oldschool funk. Which is more believable because of Billy Preston’s clavinet part. The legendary musician agreed to record his part after the tape with the track was sent to him, despite his illness… He got out of bed, played the part and got back to bed, says Flea.
C’mon Girl
Anthony makes a summary of his ‘wild days’ here. And estimates the cost.
Wet Sand
About an argument between a guy who believes in God and a girl who believes in evolution. Impossible to resolve.
Hey
A song which is unanimously mentioned as the most important by the musicians. Anthony says the lyrics concern abandoning something one is addicted to, something that is lethal… Make of it what you will.
Mars
Desecration Smile
Frusciante admits that in this number he became an incarnation of Brian Wilson from Beach Boys. This stunned the rest of the band.
Tell Me Baby
A song which is a typical example of how the band combines their previous styles. One of the first numbers introduced to the audience – was presented in August 2005 at the AmsterJam in New York City.
Hard To Concentrate
I’m not sure if Flea knows it, but I wrote this song as a celebration of his new life, says Kiedis. The bassist got married recently to a model Frankie Ryder, with whom he has a few months old daughter, Sunny Bebop.
21st Century
A proof that Anthony Kiedis does not support the president of his country. He calls the reign of George W. Bush an empire of evil and hopes that the country will arise.
She Looks To Me
A story about another of Kiedis’ girlfriends, whom he was dating two years ago, before his autobiography Scar Tissue was completed. She was a drug addict, he wanted to get her out of it.
Readymade
The biggest smasher on the album is inspired by a hardrock group, Mountain, which was active during the late ’60s and early ’70s.
If
Another piece by Flea. The vocal harmonies are a tribute to Brandy – an R&B vocalist, who is a master of backing singing according to the band. Ewwww…
Make You Feel Better
A song about how a band can sometimes change lives of the fans. I don’t want to sound sloppily, but we do make people feel better, says Anthony.
Animal Bar
It must have had a working title Neu! on the board in their rehearsal room. Flea wanted to write something resembling this Krautrock band.
So Much I
Flea’s composition, but Frusciante hears an influence of Guy Picciotto’s (Fugazi) guitar style.
Storm In A Teacup
In this case the board was saying: Public Enemy. Frusciante says that this hip-hop group inspired also the song Get On Top from Californication. Well, well…
We Believe
A song containing a part sung by a group of children from the church community which John’s mom is an active member of. We know Mrs. Gail Frusciante from Under The Bridge backing vocals.
Turn It Again
Let’s have a look on working titles board: Talking Heads… It’s worth mentioning that Flea again used a trumpet in this number.
Death Of A Martian
A song about Flea’s dog which died. The pet was called Martian. Anthony understands the pain, because he also lost his dog recently (a rodesian ridgeback called Buster).
The mystery of Laurel Canyon
Laurel Canyon. A winding road, heading up the slope, a connection between West Hollywood and the San Fernando Valley… A very important place in rock history. Right next to the still open grocery shop lived Jim Morrison (he payed his tribute in the song Love Street). Above, under the number 2401, at the crossing with Lookout Drive, Frank Zappa had his place, along with countless guests and groupies. The wooden house was destroyed in the 80’s by the fire, but was recently rebuilt by a clever real estate agent and put up for sale. There is also another mansion on the Los Angeles real estate market, and it’s been there for years – the house across the street, number 2398, once the property of Harry Houdini, the magician. The original building burned down in the ’50s, it was only partly rebuilt by the present owner.
In addition, the present owner is not Rick Rubin. And in 1991 it was impossible to record anything in the ruined mansion… The house in which the Red Hot Chili Peppers worked on their album, was not the Houdini Mansion, although a lot of musicians who recorder over there later stated the opposite. Well then, where is the estate of the bearded producer? Let’s go back on the other side of the street, north to the Zappa’s place… There it is. The residence known from BloodSugarSexMagik is located under the number 2451. If the accounts are reliable, it once belonged to Errol Flynn, an actor; a comic W.C. Fields and a gangster Bugsy Siegel were among the lodgers of the house. In the 60’s Jimi Hendrix used to drop in. The Peppers state that these are not the only occupants of the mansion, though… You have to remember that the house was built in 1917, Anthony says. It was the property of the mafia, The Beatles took LSD there, Jimi Hendrix used to hang out… People were born and died over there, it’s full of history. It was obvious that there was some kind of a ghost world that we couldn’t get to. We accepted that fact. We weren’t intruders, we just came in to make music with the presence of the ghosts. It’s more their house than ours.
In the end Rick Rubin bought the estate. It goes like that – when Rick moved to L.A. from New York City, he lived in the valley of San Fernando, Chad Hanks from American Head Charge explains. Everyday on his way to Hollywood, he took Laurel Canyon. Everyday he saw that house and loved it. When he and the Chili Peppers were looking for a place to record Blood Sugar, he remembered this place. As it turned out, it was for rent. When they finished working, he loved it so much that he decided to buy it. He’s the owner of the house, although most of the time the place is empty. When someone is about to record in there, the furniture, the equipment and stuff is brought in.
The fact that it’s unused most of the year attracted David Blaine, an illusionist. In 2002 he wrote a book where he gave hidden tips how to get to a prize of 100,000 dollars. Two years later the puzzle was solved by a retired teacher. The treasure was hidden in Rubin’s property, without the owner’s knowledge. If you ever want to get there, I suggest you take the line 218, from the famous Cedars Sinai Medical Centre to Studio City (the stop is by the Houdini). There’s no place to park a car and no pavements to walk.
Red Hot Chili Peppers and the Polish incident
A courteous statement from Chad about our country is not something we shouldn’t be accustomed to. While promoting Californication in 1999, Anthony Kiedis asked where I was from and said: I’ve got a little bit of Polish blood in me. I have ancestors of different nationalities, but I know that someone on my father’s side was Polish. Three years later, during an interview with RMF FM [a popular Polish radio station], he gave a similar speech: In my family a lot of different, weird elements mixed up – Polish being one of them. However, if we become familiar with the genealogic accounts of Kiedis’s father, we won’t be so happy. There’s a lot of details, yet none of them confirm Anthony’s words. My grandfather (from whom Anthony got his name), Anton Kiedis, came to America from Lithuania, through Ellis Island, around 1910, Blackie Dammett told the members of the fanclub. In the end he settled in Michigan, where my father John, me and Anthony were born. Apart from Lithuanian roots, Anthony is part-French from my grandmother on my mother’s side; he has also Dutch, Irish, English and a little Spanish blood from my grandfather on my mother’s side (Vanderveen) and English, Irish, Scottish and some German blood from his mother (Nobel). Shortly after the Vanderveen family decided to track up their roots back to 1066, we found out that the members of this Dutch family travelled from New York upstate, where some of them (including our direct ancestors) married Indians from the Mohawk tribe. Description in Kiedis’s autobiography, Scar Tissue, is a little less detailed, yet still without any mentioning of Poland.
The gentlemen like to say nice things, but aren’t really serious – this was clear since their first encounter with the Polish media, represented by Tomasz Slon. In 1993, while he was in Los Angeles, he heard the following from the singer: You’re Polish? I’d like to finally go there. Then Anthony grabbed the phone, pretending to speak to the manager, and blurted out: Listen, we’ve got to go to Poland, then Petersburg, and then to Mongolia. Do it. When asked why he wanted to go specifically to Mongolia, he responded: I want to look for a wife there. Flea, too, was very relaxed that day: To everyone in Poland. To every boy, girl, homosexual, heterosexual, transsexual, transvestite, old man, old lady, cousin, uncle, dog, cat, mouse, rat, beetle, cockroach… I want to greet you from the Sunset Marquis Hotel in Hollywood, California. I do hope we are going to appear in Poland to play for you. I’d like to see the beauty of Poland in person.
Seriously, so why can’t they just get here? Back to Marek Gladysz’s interview for RMF: We’re doing our best, but it’s very difficult. When you’re on tour it’s hard to play everywhere. There’s no such structure..) Poland is out of the map of rock tours. We say: Are we going to play in Poland this time? Yeah, let’s do it… But then we look at the schedule, and Poland is not there. But we won’t give up and someday we will get to play there. Piotr Falkowski from Odyssey, a company which organises concerts, admits that the band tried to make it to our country: They applied a couple of times. Every time there was an offer from the band, we were obviously interested. But every time something stood in the way. Either the offer was too expensive for our budget, or the band got a better proposition, like some summer festival in UK… This year will probably be another one without the Peppers. If they were to come on the occasion of the next European tour, it would have been confirmed by now, Falkowski says. Now we have to wait for the next offer. We are very interested, on our side. We know that a lot of people awaits them, especially because they’ve never been here
Here’s something for those who see the offers on the internet auctions from various crafty fellows who try to sell gadgets, signed CDs and so on from alleged promotional visits in Poland: none of the band’s members was ever here – all interviews took place abroad.
