See more posts like this on Tumblr
#the gorburger show #gorburger #flea #michael balzary #red hot chili peppers #funny or dieMore you might like
Flea talks to Spin Magazine about the NEW Red Hot Chili Peppers Album! New article published today!
Flea on New Chili Peppers Album
On August 30, Los Angeles’ alt-funk rockers Red Hot Chili Peppers will end a five-year break and return with their 10th studio album, I’m With You. We caught up with bassist Flea to chat about the band’s hiatus, the departure (again!) of longtime guitarist John Frusciante, and how the quartet “found a new side of ourselves” in the process.
It’s been five years since the release of RHCP’s last album, Stadium Arcadium. Did you guys plan for it to be this long?
Yeah. It was planned. I initiated that. I just really needed to get away from [the band]. It had come to a point where it felt dysfunctional and not fun. Even though I felt that we made a good record, played good shows, and honored our position in the rock world, I wanted to get away to give the band a chance to survive. Having time off was really good. I went to school and studied music for a year at USC [University of Southern California], which unlocked a bunch of doors for me in terms of my relationship to music. My time away from the band has really made me appreciate it and also realize how much I love [singer] Anthony [Kiedis]. The dude’s my brother. I realized how much it meant to me to continue playing with him and Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Then guitarist John Frusciante left… for the second time. Why?
It’s not any one thing. He just didn’t want to do [RHCP] anymore. He really wanted to do what he wants to do on his own, without having to deal with the band dynamic, our band dynamic. I’m grateful for the time John was in the band. It was an amazing time. It was a bonding, creative experience and I’m grateful for it.
Is the new album finished?
Yeah, we’re done. It’s been such a big process getting it done and I’m very happy with the body of work. It’s a real dynamic and new thing. We’ve found a new side of ourselves.
How so?
Well, first off, the major difference is that John is no longer in the band and Josh Klinghoffer is now the guitar player. While it’s nice that Josh was already a part of our family, having made records and joined us on our last tour, he’s a very different musician than John. Because of that, the feeling of the music is a lot different. John is a brilliant virtuoso guitar player, who could do whatever he wants on the guitar. It’s unbelievable and I’m so fucking grateful for his contributions to the band. But Josh is a subtler textural player who also plays and writes on a lot of different instruments. He’s not like this Guitar Hero type.
And that’s a total shift from the band’s previous songwriting style…
Right. Before, we wrote by jamming together and Anthony would add his parts afterwards. Now it’s a much different approach. It took some time, for me particularly being so used to the way that John wrote, to understand the way Josh would interact with what I played. It was like, ‘Wait, I thought you were going to come up with that perfect part that interlocks with what I’m doing and boom, it’s going to be done.’ With Josh, it creeps up on you. He sings beautiful background vocals on this record, too.
How did your time studying music change your relationship to the band?
It made for a big difference in me as a writer. I studied chord theory and started playing the piano. So I wrote a lot for the record on piano. Before I wrote for the band mostly on the bass. On the piano I’m writing chord, rhythm, bass, and melody, so it’s a much different input from me. A lot of these songs were translated to a rock band. So we’re starting with a song written on a different instrument, then translating it right away. It’s a huge difference in the creative process and the end product. It has the violent rocking sound and it’s real funky. There are some beautiful, deep songs that can connect to people’s hearts. Anthony is singing about some big issues for human beings.
Like what?
About life and death and betrayal and his relationship to the world. It’s much more poignant than our other records. Life and death is a major theme. [The album] has a deep heart. Everyone in the band has grown and continued to reinvent themselves and become a better musician, and collectively we did. We were forced to.
Did anything happen to push you guys in this direction?
Yeah. The first day that we ever played together with Josh after taking two years off, we found out that a very close friend of all of ours had died. We started jamming and came up with a song that’s on the record, called “Brendan’s Death Song,” about our friend [L.A. punk icon] Brendan Mullen. We improvised and it happened. It was a poignant moment for us. It was an emotional thing.
And that set the tone for the album?
Sort of. We’re the type of band that has ideas about what we want to do and what we’re reaching for, but it’s really about what happens when we get together in the room. It’s about what will organically grow from who we are at the time.
I hear the album is also inspired by African music.
Definitely. We’ve always all loved African music. Throughout our career we’ve played some African bits, but we never really captured it right. Josh and I tripped around Ethiopia with a group called Africa Express, which Damon Albarn [Blur, Gorillaz] organized. We saw music every night and jammed with musicians. Ethiopia is such a great country, beautiful place. So there are a couple African parts on the new songs. One is called “Take Me Home,” which has a real African feeling, and there’s another called “Ethiopia.” I’m really grateful to Damon for bringing me along. It really widened my scope of humanity.
I think that picture of Ethiopia is different from how a lot of people imagine it…
All I knew about Ethiopia was from a few records that I like, as well as what I read about the famine. But you get there and it’s another world. It’s filled with art and music and poetry and intellectuals and writers — all kinds of people. I went to this town called Harar and there is a Mosque and a Christian church right next to each other, and everyone gets along. They’re devout about their faith, but they’re really tolerant. I was walking down the street with this Ethiopian dude, and he’s like, ‘Oh fuck, dude, I gotta take a shit,’ so he just walked up to a random door in this neighborhood, and the residents were like, ‘Come right in and use my bathroom.’ They don’t do that shit in L.A., man. ‘Excuse me, Arnold Schwarzenegger, can I take a shit at your house?’
Speaking of weird shit, you recently ran a marathon. That sounds painful.
[Laughs] I did that to raise money for my non-profit music school, the Silverlake Conservatory of Music. It costs a bunch of money to run, so I’m always trying to raise dough. And I read this book called Born to Run and it got me excited about running, and I had never been a runner before. I trained up and ran the marathon — and it was awesome. The training was fun and running the marathon was a fucking cathartic, beautiful experience. It was tough, but I like tough! I mean, I’m kind of a pussy as a guy, I’ve never been in a fight or anything, so not tough like that. But I like pushing my body. I pushed it too hard a couple times and injured myself. But after running for a while things really start to open up in your body. I felt like I’d tapped into parts of my body that I hadn’t before. I let things in the universe flow through me that opened me up in a really cool way. It was pouring rain during the whole race — it was freezing. But it was a blast. If I weren’t gearing up for the tour right now, I’d be training for another one.
Do you listen to music while you’re training?
Never. I don’t like it. It’s like my senses are so overwhelmed already, so full. The sound of my heartbeat, my footsteps, running up in this canyon here in Malibu, the birds, the animals, the sights, it’s so much already. It’s a beautiful thing.
Share on Twitter | Share on Facebook
http://stadium-arcadium.com/23-06-2011/flea-spin-interview-red-hot-chili-peppers-new-album-im-with-you/red-hot-chili-peppers-news/article7133
Flea plays Bach’s Prelude on Piano! AUDIO (Jan 15th 2011)
A TASTE OF WHAT’S TO COME ON THE NEW RHCP ALBUM!
Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Funkmeister Flea demonstrates his ability on the piano, playing Bach’s Prelude during a radio interview with All Things Considered’s host Guy Raz on January 15th 2011. Flea’s newly acquired piano skills means there will be a number of piano driven melodies on the new RHCP Album!
The new Red Hot Chili Peppers Album is due out in “The last week of August” according to Chad Smith in his most recent video interview with RockItOutBlog on April 22nd 2011. Watch the interview here: http://rhcp.me/august
What Anthony Kiedis, Chad Smith and Flea himself had to say about the Piano element on the new Red Hot Chili Peppers album…
“Flea’s musical studies, which included him learning the piano, have helped fill the void left by Frusciante, arming the Peppers with a whole new dynamic.”
Anthony Kiedis http://rhcp.me/ak29
“Flea’s gone back to learning music theory and playing at USC’s school of music. As a result there will be a number of Flea’s piano driven melodies on the new Album.”
Chad Smith http://rhcp.me/cs7
“For this record for the first time, almost all of my writing contributions come from the piano, which is a new thing for me, new feeling and sound for the band.”
Flea http://rhcp.me/bach
RETWEET!
http://twitter.com/RHCPFansite/status/71392401784184832
Please reblog this post if you liked it! I’ll pray for you to have a prosperous life, full of love and money if you do.
The Wisdom of Flea Michael Balzary
The Wisdom of Flea Michael Balzary
The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Crazy, Funky Bassist.
“Any instrument is just a vehicle to express who you are and your relationship to the world. no matter what level you’re doing it on, playing music is an opportunity to give something to the world” - Flea
“People often ask me… "How do you guys do it? Where do you get the energy? Why is it that you are still a relevant band when so many others have come and gone during your career?”. The answer to that question consists of two parts. Firstly, we are nothing but insignificant specks of shit, pawns in a cosmic spiritual realm where our universe is nothing but a dot of crusty smegma. Secondly, we work. - Flea
“We are nothing but a maggot on the dingleberry of another maggot on a dingleberry of the asshole of god." - Flea
"The majority of young men I know are led around by their penises. I was.” - Flea
“Sometimes you can just have a head like a stale marshmallow that somebody left out, that never made it to a stick to be roasted in a barbecue.” - Flea
“What’s the difference between me and that guy with the grey suit on down there? NOTHING! What’s a difference between a mouse and Jupiter? …NOTHING!!!” - Flea
“I smell like vitamin C, rose-oil and old smelly socks.” -Flea
“I’d like to say that personally I am probably the most intelligent, most handsome, beautiful person to ever grace this planet.” - Flea
“If you’ve got a gun, throw it out. Don’t need that shit.” - Flea
Interviewer: Flea, talk me through your health routine.
Flea: Well, I get up in the morning…. I smoke crack. Then after that, I have a steak… Then, I… I pummel myself about the head with a cactus. Then I get in the bathtub with a bowling ball, 3 sticks of dynamite, and about 3 lbs. of cream cheese. And uh, I really can’t… don’t feel comfortable talking about what happens in the bathtub at that time… But that’s my every morning routine.
“All the magical thingS that need to coAlesce to form the whole of this new rhcp record have nearly completed their dance. Keeping focus here.” - Flea, April 28th 2011.
“For humanity to have hope for a better future, we have to face the atrocities it has committed, not sugarcoat them to make money.” – Flea
And remember kids…
READ MORE FLEA AND RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS QUOTES
RHCP have started recording the music video for their new single!
The Red Hot Chili Peppers started recording the music video for their first single, ‘The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie’ from new album, 'I’m With You’ which will be released on August 30th 2011! The video is being directed by up-and-coming ‘Gucci Gucci’ rapper Kreayshawn.
Flea tweeted about working with Kreayshawn on the new video earlier today…
“so fun making our video with my homey @Kreayshawn yesterday! outstanding young lady w/a unique perspective on the world my kind of person!”
Michelle Priddy, a dancer in the music video for The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie also tweeted a picture of the guys rockin’ out during the video shoot yesterday!
The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie is set to make its international radio debut on July 18th! The new Red Hot Chili Peppers album, 'I’m With You’ will be released worldwide on August 30th 2011!
Pre-order your copy of the New Red Hot Chili Peppers Album on Amazon!
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT THE NEW RHCP SINGLE…
Flea on The Ronnie Wood Radio Show! New Interview aired April 21st!
Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Bassist Flea talks about some of his favourite artisits and jams with The Rolling Stones’ Ronnie Wood on The Ronnie Wood Radio Show on Absolute Classic Rock Radio in a new interview aired on April 21st 2011.
Flea Ronnie Wood Radio Show - PART I
Flea Ronnie Wood Radio Show - PART II
Please Retweet!
http://twitter.com/RHCPFansite/status/62489456799789056
Discuss this on Stadium-Arcadium.com
http://stadium-arcadium.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=35294