Red Hot Chili Peppers FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the World's Best-Selling Alternative Band

by Dan Bogosian

Overview

From their humble beginnings as friends in high school, to playing strip clubs in nothing but well-placed socks, through a struggle to find the right guitarist, to the present day, Red Hot Chili Peppers FAQ chronicles the adventures of the best-selling alternative rock band of all time.

No other book goes through each era of the band's history. Unlike other band biographies, Red Hot Chili Peppers FAQ digs into the trivia that hardcore fans obsess over: every recorded (and unreleased) song and their origins, the story behind each band member's every tattoo, and every piece of gear each band member past and present has ever used.

Ever wonder why current drummer Chad Smith switched drum companies? Or how Flea and Dave Navarro ended up recording with Alanis Morissette on "You Oughta Know"? Just when did Anthony Kiedis meet current guitarist Josh Klinghoffer for the first time? When did Kiedis first try harder drugs? How did Cher end up as a babysitter for young Kiedis? When did Buckethead try out for the band? Who currently owns the mansion where they recorded Blood Sugar Sex Magik? All the answers lay in the pages of Red Hot Chili Peppers FAQ.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781617137228
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	05/15/2020
Series:	FAQ
Pages:	386
Sales rank:	1,028,740
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Dan Bogosian is a freelance writer and musician in Hartford, Connecticut, with bylines in GQ, Pitchfork, and Consequence of Sound. He plays bass in his band, the Odds, and is a multi-instrumentalist in the band Fightsong. His hobbies include music, boxing, writing, and riding his bike around town.

Table of Contents

Foreword: Ziplining and the Broken MP3s Zachary Gelfand ix

Acknowledgments xi

Introduction: Me and My (Teenage) Friends xiii

Part 1 The Culture and What Has Come to Define the Red Hot Chili Peppers

1 Getting into Music: Their Teenage Exploration 3

2 What Is This?: The Chili Peppers' Original Band 7

3 Bad Blood: Rivalries from the 1980s 11

4 Inked: The Band's Tattoos and Their Meanings 15

5 Death, Drugs, Rock 'n' Roll: Overdoses, Deaths, and Near Misses from Alternative Rock's Biggest Drug Survivors 19

6 Hollywood: Examining the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Acting Careers 25

7 Reinventing the 1990s: Why the Red Hot Chili Peppers Outlasted the Grunge Boom 31

8 Too Much, Too Loud: The Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Loudness Wars, and What You May Not Have Heard 35

9 Around the World: What the Band's Touring Is Like 41

10 Greatest Hits and Misses: An Examination of Their Unreleased Recordings 49

11 Funky Crime: The Band's Run-ins with the Law 57

12 Breaking the Girl: Anthony Kiedis's Relationships with His Dad, His Son, Women, and His Hypersexuality 61

Part 2 The Musicians and What Makes the Band Special

13 Sticking to the Six Strings: The Complete History of the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Guitarists and Drummers 69

14 Rocking in the Flea World: The Evolution of Flea's Sound 77

15 You Oughta Know: The Complete History of Flea's Session Work 85

16 Schooled: What Makes Flea a Great Musician 93

17 Drive On: Cliff Martinez's Film Sound Tracks 99

18 Iron Man: Jack Irons's Skills and Setup 103

19 My Lovely Man: Hillel Slovak's Guitar Playing 109

20 Strip My Mind: John Frusciante's Guitar Skills 113

21 Going Solo: A Look at John Frusciante's Work outside the Chili Peppers 121

22 Nothing's Shocking: Dave Navarro's Guitar Style 133

23 The Rhythm Method: Chad Smith's Drumming 141

24 The New Slim: Josh Klinghoffer on Guitar 149

25 His Other Past: Josh Klinghoffer's Music outside the Red Hot Chili Peppers 155

Part 3 The Band and Its Own Story

26 Out in LA: Anthony Kiedis's Early Years 163

27 I'm a Little Pea: Flea's Childhood 167

28 Green Heaven: Hillel Slovak's Youth 169

29 Deep Kick: The Group's Teen Years 171

30 Tony Flow: The Band's Formal Beginning 175

31 Courting The Red Hot Chili Peppers: How They Signed to a Major Label 179

32 It Starts: The Making of the Band's Self-Titled Record 183

33 Sherminated: Hillel Slovak Rejoins the Band 187

34 Freaky Styley: Making an Album with George Clinton 191

35 Another Change: Jack Irons Comes Back 195

36 The Uplift Mofo Party Plan: The Original Lineup Makes an Album 199

37 Good Times, Boys: The Short High and a European Tour 205

38 A Los Angeles Tragedy: Hillel Slovak's Death 209

39 A Sea Change: The Peppers Undergo Their First Major Lineup Change 213

40 Detroit Rock City: Chad Smith's Pre-Peppers Life 217

41 I Once Knew John: John Frusciante's Early Life 221

42 Mother's Milk: The Classic Lineup Starts Off Strong 225

43 Blood Sugar Sex Magik: The Band Finds Their Chess Player 233

44 The Magik is Gone: Frusciante Leaves the Band 243

45 Jane's Unaddicted: Dave Navarro Joins the Band for One Hot Minute 247

46 Californication: The Classic Lineup Has a Long Reunion 261

47 Almost a Breakup: By The Way and Its Tour 273

48 The Greatest Hits Sessions: The Tour Pauses for New Music 285

49 The Double Album: Stadium Arcadium and Its Creation 291

50 On the Road Again: The Endless Stadium Arcadium Tour 305

51 Taking a Break: What the Band's Hiatus Changed 307

52 I'm With You: Josh Klinghoffer Joins the Band 311

53 Exit Music: Josh Klinghoffer's Early Life 323

54 The Getaway: The Band Comes Back with a New Producer 327

55 Where Do We Go from Here? Looking toward the Future 339

56 Red Hot Trivia Peppers: Ten Random Facts You Probably Didn't Know about the Band 341

Selected Bibliography 347

Index 355