Early history (1983–84)
The Red Hot Chili Peppers were formed by singer Anthony Kiedis, guitarist Hillel Slovak, bassist Flea and drummer Jack Irons while they attended Fairfax High School in Los Angeles.[1] Originally under the moniker of Tony Flow & the Miraculously Majestic Masters of Mayhem, their first performance was at the Rhythm Lounge to a crowd of approximately 30 people, opening for Gary and Neighbor's Voices.[2] They "wrote" for the occasion, which involved the band improvising music while Kiedis rapped a poem he had written called "Out in L.A.".[3] Since Slovak and Irons were already committed to another group, What Is This?, it was intended to be a one–time performance. However, the performance was so lively that the band was asked to return the following week.[2] Due to this unexpected success, the band changed its name to The Red Hot Chili Peppers, playing several more shows at various LA clubs and musical venues. Six songs from these initial shows were on the band's first demo tape.[4]
Several months after their first performance, the band announced that they were the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and were noticed by EMI and signed with the record label in early 1984. Two weeks earlier, What Is This? had also obtained a record deal but with MCA. Slovak and Irons still considered the Red Hot Chili Peppers as only a side project and so they quit to focus on What Is This? Instead of dissolving the band, Kiedis and Flea recruited new members.[5] Cliff Martinez, a friend of Flea's and from the punk band, The Weirdos, joined shortly thereafter. The band held auditions for a new guitarist which included Weirdos guitarist, Dix Denney but it was decided that Jack Sherman was the best fit.[6]
Gang of Four guitarist Andy Gill produced the first album. Gill, who "didn't embrace [the band's] musical aesthetic or ideology," argued constantly with the band over the record's sound.[7] Kiedis recalled that "Andy's thing was having a hit at all costs, but it was such a mistake to have an agenda."[8] Despite the misgivings of Kiedis and Flea, Gill pushed the band to play with a cleaner, crisper, more radio-friendly sound.[9] Their eponymous debut album, The Red Hot Chili Peppers was released on August 10, 1984. Though the album did not set sales records, airplay on college radio and MTV helped to build a fan base,[10] and the album ultimately sold 300,000 copies. However, the band was disappointed in the record's overall sound, feeling it was overly polished and as if it had "gone through a sterilizing Goody Two-shoes machine".[11] During the ensuing tour, continuing musical and lifestyle tension between Kiedis and Sherman complicated the transition between concert and daily band life.[12] Sherman was fired soon after, with Slovak returning to the Chili Peppers after growing tired of What is This?.[13]
Freaky Styley (1985–86)
George Clinton produced the next album, Freaky Styley. Clinton combined various elements of punk and funk into the band's repertoire,[14] allowing their music to incorporate a variety of distinct styles. The band often indulged in heavy heroin use while recording the album, which influenced the lyrics and musical direction of the album.[15] The band had a much better relationship with Clinton than with Gill,[16] but Freaky Styley, released on August 16, 1985, also achieved little success, failing to make an impression on any chart. The subsequent tour was also considered unproductive by the band.[17] Despite the lack of success, the band was satisfied with Freaky Styley; Kiedis reflected that "it so surpassed anything we thought we could have done that we were thinking we were on the road to enormity."[18] The band appeared in the 1986 movie Thrashin' (directed by David Winters and starring Josh Brolin) playing the song "Blackeyed Blonde" from Freaky Styley. During this time the band also appeared in the movie Tough Guys starring Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas performing the song "Set It Straight" at a Los Angeles nightclub.[19]
In the spring of 1986, the band decided to begin work on their upcoming album. EMI gave the band a budget of $5,000 to record a demo tape, and the band chose to work with producer Keith Levene, because he shared the band's interest in drugs.[20] Levene and Slovak decided to put aside $2,000 of the budget to spend on heroin and cocaine, which created tension between the band members. Martinez' "heart was no longer in the band", but he did not quit, so Kiedis and Flea fired him.[21] After the firing of Martinez, original drummer Jack Irons rejoined the band to Kiedis, Flea, and Slovak's great surprise, which marked the first time all four founding members were together since 1983. During the recording and subsequent tour of Freaky Styley, Kiedis and Slovak were dealing with debilitating heroin addictions. Due to his addiction, Kiedis "didn't have the same drive or desire to come up with ideas or lyrics" and appeared at rehearsal "literally asleep".[22] He was briefly kicked out of the band after the tour, and given a month to rehabilitate.
[edit] The Uplift Mofo Party Plan and Slovak's death (1986–88)
The band won the LA Weekly "Band of the Year Award" which prompted Kiedis to get clean in order to continue making music. He called his mother in Michigan for guidance, who sent him to drug rehabilitation.[23] After Kiedis completed his stint in rehab, he felt a "whole new wave of enthusiasm" due to his sobriety and wrote the lyrics to "Fight Like a Brave" on the plane ride home.[24] He rejoined the Red Hot Chili Peppers in Los Angeles to record the group's next album, The Uplift Mofo Party Plan.[25] The Chili Peppers attempted to hire Rick Rubin to produce their third album, but he declined. The band eventually hired Michael Beinhorn, the band's last choice.[26] Kiedis sat down with producer Michael Beinhorn to discuss the recording of the album; Kiedis planned to record the album in ten days and write the songs during the recording sessions.[27] Songs began to form quickly, and the album took shape, blending the same funk feel and rhythms as Freaky Styley, with a harder, more immediate approach to punk rock.
The album was recorded in the basement of the Capitol Records Building.[28] The recording process for the album was difficult; Kiedis would frequently disappear to seek drugs.[29] After fifty days of sobriety, Kiedis decided to take drugs again to celebrate his new music. His drug use "made a mess of the early recording process", but the band still had an enjoyable time recording the album.[28] The band was musically inspired by the return of their original drummer Jack Irons, who added "such an important and different element to our chemistry."[30] Slovak helped Kiedis record his vocals on the album. In between takes, Slovak would run around the studio out of excitement and say "This is the most beautiful thing we've ever done."[31]
On September 29, 1987, The Uplift Mofo Party Plan was released, becoming their first album to appear on any chart. Although it peaked at only No.148 on the Billboard 200,[32] this was a significant success compared to the first two. During this period, however, Kiedis and Slovak had both developed serious drug addictions,[33] often abandoning the band, each other, and their significant others for days on end. Slovak's addiction led to his death on June 25, 1988, not long after the conclusion of the Uplift tour.[34] Kiedis fled the city and did not attend Slovak's funeral, considering the situation to be surreal and dreamlike.[35] After returning to L.A. following his departure after Slovak's death, Kiedis along with Flea, Irons and manager Lindy Goetz had a meeting to figure out what to do next. Irons decided he had to leave the group, saying that he did not want to be part of a group where his friends were dying. Irons, who would battle through years of depression, went on to become a member of Seattle grunge band Pearl Jam many years later.[36] With Slovak dead, Irons quitting, Kiedis and Flea debated whether they should continue making music, but ultimately decided to move ahead, hoping to continue what Slovak "helped build".[37]
Mother's Milk (1988–1990)
After losing two of the original band members Flea and Kiedis started looking for musicians to fill those spots. In September 1988 they chose DeWayne "Blackbyrd" McKnight, former member of Parliament-Funkadelic, to replace Slovak on guitar; D. H. Peligro of the punk rock outfit Dead Kennedys replaced Irons. The lineup ended up recording one song together, "Blues For Meister", a song sung by Flea and only played three shows before McKnight was fired. McKnight was unhappy about being fired and threatened to burn Kieidis' house down.[38] Shortly after McKnight's firing, Kiedis and Flea found a replacement in teenage guitarist John Frusciante who joined the band for his first show in October 1988. Frusciante was originally directed to audition for the band, Thelonious Monster. An avid Red Hot Chili Peppers fan, Frusciante was, according to Flea, "a really talented and knowledgeable musician. He [Frusciante] knows all the **** I don't know. I basically know nothing about music theory and he's studied it to death, inside and out. He's a very disciplined musician—all he cares about are his guitar and his cigarettes."[39]
Flea and Kiedis had jammed with Frusciante twice before hiring McKnight. Frusciante joined Kiedis, Flea and Peligro and the new lineup started writing music for the next album and went on a short tour although shortly into the tour, Kiedis and Flea felt the need to fire Peligro due to his own various drug problems. Much like McKnight, Peligro didn't take the news well and years later Kiedis said firing Peligro was one of the toughest things he ever had to do. The Chili Peppers were again without a drummer and were forced to hold open auditions in November 1988. The last to audition, Chad Smith, was a six-foot three-inch tall drummer who, according to Flea, "lit a fire under our asses". Smith was a hard-hitting musician the Chili Peppers believed they would create a strong relationship with. Kiedis later said the audition with Smith "left the band in a state of frenzied laughter that we couldn't shake out of for a half an hour". Smith was so much different from the other three. Kiedis, Flea and Frusciante were heavily influenced by the punk rock where Smith's taste in heavy metal music and biker appearance went against their punk rock views. Kiedis informed Smith he would be hired on one condition. As an initiation to the band, Smith had to cut his long heavy metal looking haircut. Smith refused though Kiedis wasn't about to argue with the much larger Smith.[40] Smith was hired in November 1988, performed a few shows in December of that year and three months later was in the studio working on the band's next album.
Unlike the stop-start sessions for The Uplift Mofo Party Plan, where Kiedis would frequently disappear to seek drugs, pre-production for Mother's Milk went smoothly. The band recorded basic tracks during March and early April 1989 at Hully Gully studios in Silver Lake; songs like "Knock Me Down" were formed from jam sessions without any input from returning producer Michael Beinhorn.[41] Although there had been stress and conflict during the recording of other Chili Peppers albums, the Mother's Milk sessions were especially uncomfortable due to Beinhorn's incessant desire to create a hit. Frusciante and Kiedis were frustrated with the producer's attitude.[42] In April 1989, the Chili Peppers embarked on a short tour to break in the new lineup.[41]
Released on August 16, 1989, Mother's Milk peaked at number 52 on the U.S. Billboard 200.[32] The record failed to chart in the United Kingdom and Europe, but climbed to number 33 in Australia.[43] "Knock Me Down" reached number six on the U.S. Modern Rock Tracks whereas "Higher Ground" charted at number eleven;[44] the latter of the two ultimately proved to be more successful, however, by influencing foreign charts at number fifty-four in the UK and forty-five in Australia and France.[45][46] Mother's Milk was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America in late March 1990—it is now certified platinum—and was the first Chili Peppers album to ship in excess of 500,000 units.[47]
One Hot Minute (1993–97)
Navarro first appeared with the band at Woodstock '94. The band opened their set wearing enormous light bulb costumes attached precariously to chrome metallic suits, making it near-impossible for them to play their instruments. Navarro hated the idea but went with it. The performance saw the debut of new songs such as "Warped", "Aeroplane", and "Pea" although the songs were in the beginning stages and the lyrics were much different than the final versions. The band followed up their performance at Woodstock with a brief tour which included a performance as the opening act for The Rolling Stones. According to Kiedis, however, opening for the Stones was a horrible experience.[59] While externally, the band appeared to be settled, the relationship between the three established members and Navarro had begun to deteriorate.[60] His differing musical background made performing difficult as they began playing together,[61] and continued to be an issue over the next year. Navarro admitted he didn't care for funk music or jamming. Kiedis was also struggling with his heroin addiction; he had been through a dental procedure in which an addictive sedative, Valium, was used; this caused him to relapse, and he once again became dependent on drugs, although the band wouldn't find out this fact for a while.[62]
Navarro's joining and Kiedis's continued drug addiction had a profound effect on the band and the subsequent sound of their next album, One Hot Minute. With Frusciante no longer present for collaboration, songs were written at a far slower rate.[62] Working with Frusciante had been something Kiedis took for granted: "John had been a true anomaly when it came to song writing. He made it even easier than Hillel to create music, even though I'd known Hillel for years. I just figured that was how all guitar players were, that you showed them your lyrics and sang a little bit and the next thing you knew you had a song. That didn't happen right off the bat with Dave."[62] To compensate, Kiedis and bassist Flea took several vacations together, during which entire songs were conceived and with Kiedis often absent from recording due to his drug problems or struggling to come up with lyrics, Flea took a much bigger role in the writing process coming up ideas for many songs including full lyrics and even singing lead on his own song, "Pea".
Navarro's only album with the band was One Hot Minute, released on September 12, 1995 after many delays and setbacks. Navarro's guitar work had created a stylistic departure in the band's sound, which was now characterized by prominent use of heavy metal guitar riffs and hints of psychedelic rock.[63] The band described the album as a darker, sadder record compared to their previous material, which was not as universally well-received as Blood Sugar Sex Magik.[61] Many of the lyrics written by Kiedis were drug related including the lead single, "Warped" which left Kiedis stunned that nobody else in the band picked up on his lyrics and that he was using again. Broken relationships and deaths of friends and family also played a major role in the album's darker tone and lyrics. The ballad, "Tearjerker" was written about Kurt Cobain, while "Transcending", which was written by Flea, was about longtime friend, River Phoenix; and the single "Shallow Be Thy Game" took shots at religion. Despite mixed reviews, the album was a commercial success. Selling eight million copies worldwide,[64] it spawned the band's third No.1 single, the ballad "My Friends", and enjoyed chart success with the songs "Warped" and "Aeroplane". This iteration of the band appeared on several soundtracks. "I Found Out", a John Lennon cover, was featured on Working Class Hero: A Tribute to John Lennon. The Ohio Players cover, "Love Rollercoaster", was featured on the Beavis and Butthead Do America soundtrack, and was released as a single.
The band began its tour for One Hot Minute in Europe on September 27, 1995 and played 16 shows. A US tour was to follow but was postponed after Chad Smith broke his wrist. The band spent most of 1996 playing shows in the United States and Europe. By 1997, for the first time, the band cancelled many shows. Most of this was again due to problems within the band. Flea at that point was talking about quitting the band and Anthony had recently been involved in a motorcycle accident which left one arm in a sling and created yet another drug relapse. Even Navarro was back to using drugs. 1997 saw the band playing just one show. This was at the very first Fuji Rock Festival on July 26, 1997. A massive typhoon hit that day but the band played anyway. They played through 8 song set before having to cut the show short due to the storm. This would be the final show with Navarro and due to Flea's previous comments left many speculating if it was the end of the band.
After making attempts to carry on with Navarro and record a follow-up to One Hot Minute things were not working out and due to Navarro's drug problems and lack of effort in the studio the band felt it was time to part ways. In April 1998 it was announced that Navarro had left the band due to creative differences; Kiedis stated that the decision was "mutual".[65] Reports at the time, however, indicated Navarro's departure came after he attended a band practice under the influence of drugs, which at one point involved him falling backwards over his own amp.[64]
© 2011-2018. Главный редактор - Гулов А.П.