The Watt from Pedro show, 25th January 2009
Mike Watt: That’s a good thing.
John Frusciante: Yeah, I think uh, some people are in sort of a state of confusion where your motivated by, sort of….and to some degree, you know, I can’t say that, like…I’ve gotten sucked into it too where you’re kind of…you lose a little of your focus on what you’re hearing on your inside and you’re, you’re concerned about what these people think or what those people think, and you’re uh… I feel like that’s the enemy there, you know, you really gotta listen to what’s….I feel like music comes through inner channels inside yourself. Just like I was saying when I was a kid I would just hear it in my head. It wasn’t like I was trying to think of a song. And that’s how song writing is, it’s..you just have to listen to what’s going on in your head. You don’t try to write a song. I think that’s why a lot the time people who write really good pop songs, a lot of the time the good song is the only good song on the whole album, because, they’re not really listening they’re just trying to achieve something. And I think it’s fine if that’s the goal, if that’s what you’re trying to do, but…I’ve always tried hard to listen to what’s inside me and to follow my ever-changing interests that are on the inside and, and uh, and to conform to some degree to the situation. Like, being in a band, like I was in, was really about like, OK, how can I bend this, or twist this, or push this in this direction or that?’ But it’s still ascribing to the previous energy of, you know, what the Red Hot Chili Peppers is, and then seeing in which directions can we move this and bend it and stuff, and that’s all…that’s another way of listening to what’s on the inside of you to conform it to a specific musical situation but, um, my favourite thing is just to really listen to what’s inside myself without any consideration of who’s gonna hear it or where it’s going or what place it has in the world or whether people would think it’s good or not, like, more and more I just don’t think that that stuff matters, you know. My favourite times in my life have been where I’ve just been making music for no other reason than just to do it, and, and uh, I think it’s important to always stay in touch with that part of yourself, even if you are in a band with people and, and some of the people are, you know, wanting to, uh, have their mind on other things other than just making the music to make sure that you at least for yourself stay connected to the musical source by, by uh, by having a good amount of activity that you’re doing that’s 100% just because you like doing it. You know?
Mike Watt: Yeah. Wise words. Thank you, John. Let’s play some tunes.
Mike Watt: Watt From Pedro Show. Uh, we heard Marlene Dietrich with “Lil Marlene†and then we hear, uh, “Enough Of Me†from John Frusciante’s solo record The Empyrean, along with Josh. And I thank you both for comin’ down to Pedro..
John Frusciante: Yeah, thanks for having us.
Brother Matt: Yeah, great having you here.
Mike Watt:…thanks for gracing us with the wise words and the righteous jams and your spirits.
Brother Matt: Definitely.
Mike Watt: That’s the January 25, 2009 edition of Watt From Pedro Show. Brother Matt thank you very much for aiding and abetting. And buddy, keep your powder dry.
Brother Matt: Yeah.
