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Red Hot Chili Peppers

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Red Hot Chili Peppers are a Grammy Award-winning, California-based, four-piece rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983.

Red Hot Chili Peppers
File:Stadium Promo.jpg
Left to right: Michael Balzary (Flea), Anthony Kiedis, John Frusciante, Chad Smith
Background information
OriginLos Angeles, California
Years active1983–present
MembersAnthony Kiedis
John Frusciante
Flea
Chad Smith
Past membersJack Sherman
Cliff Martinez
D. H. Peligro
Hillel Slovak Deceased
Jack Irons
Arik Marshall
Jesse Tobias
Dave Navarro
Websiteredhotchilipeppers.com

Their first three albums, while full of energy and dynamism, sold well below 2 million copies, collectively. Before a fourth album could take minute form, then-guitarist Hillel Slovak died after overdosing on lethal quantities of the narcotic drug heroin. John Frusciante, a young but vastly endowed guitarist, joined the band in the latter parts of the same year, putting his talents to triumphant use in the semi chart-influential,1989, Mother's Milk.The band began to garner modest recognition from impenitent critics, at best, to their straightforward and seemingly blunt approach to music. It was not until Blood Sugar Sex Magik when the world finally experienced its first blatant taste of the Red Hots. Frusciante, who had propelled the band into a pioneering new luminosity, however, was not as ecstatic as fellow band-mates Anthony Kiedis, Flea, and Chad Smith, consequently leaving midway through their intercontinental world-tour. Following John's departure, the lingering Chili Peppers employed former Jane's Addiction guitarist, Dave Navarro. His style, while inventive, was not catering to the quintessential Chili Peppers familiarity, thus radically changing their next album, One Hot Minute. Navarro would be, therefore, let go one year later.

Frusciante, who was emerging from an unfathomable and vicious drug addiction, would return to the band; renewed and restored to his former glory, the four-some congregated to create the 1999 awe-inspiring Californication. Three years later, in July of 2002, their far subtler and audacious eighth album, By the Way, was released; showing an inexplicably fresh side of the Peppers, and their musically enduring elasticity. It made principal use of Frusciante's ever-changing music techniques. Succeeded by, four years afterward, a traditional 2-disc, 28 track album entitled Stadium Arcadium.

Even though they have experienced numerous line-up changes and personal problems, the band has harmoniously fused various elements of alternative rock, punk, funk, heavy metal, rap, pop and psychedelic rock.

In all they have sold approximately 60 million albums to date.

They also hold the records for most #1 modern rock hits with 10, and most weeks spent atop that chart, with 76.

Band history

1980s: EMI Records

File:RHCP1986.jpg
A promotional flyer from 1986.

Red Hot Chili Peppers (originally Tony Flow and the Miraculously Majestic Masters of Mayhem) were formed after what was supposed to be a one-time performance in 1983 by Fairfax High School alumni Michael "Flea" Balzary (bass), Anthony Kiedis (vocals), Jack Irons (guitar) and Hillel Slovak (drums). Later in that same year, after becoming a popular draw in the Los Angeles rock scene, they secured a record deal with EMI.

Irons and Slovak viewed the band as a side project, and left the Chili Peppers shortly before their self-titled debut to focus on their original band, What Is This?. Red Hot Chili Peppers, the band's 1984 debut album, was recorded with replacement members Jack Sherman on guitar and Cliff Martinez on drums. Produced by Gang of Four's Andy Gill, the album did not achieve commercial success. The ensuing tour did not fare much better, with internal fighting between Sherman and the rest of the band, resulting in him leaving, and Hillel Slovak returning.

Parliament-Funkadelic's George Clinton was hired to produce their second album, 1985's Freaky Styley. Martinéz was fired from the band soon after the release of the album, allowing the return of original drummer Jack Irons in early 1986. During this time, drug problems started to become prevelant with the band, at one point Anthony Kiedis left the band due to his heroin addiction, only to rejoin after getting clean. Hillel was also using heroin but managed to keep himself together and stay in the band.

Their next album became their first enter the Billboard Top 200, 1987's The Uplift Mofo Party Plan, was produced by Michael Beinhorn. This would be the only album to feature the four original members.

During the supporting tour, drug problems came to public light when Slovak relapsed; resulting in erratic behavior and botched performances. Shortly after the band returned from some performances in Europe on June 27, 1988, Slovak was found dead of a heroin overdose. Jack Irons left the band because of Slovak's death, going on to drum with Pearl Jam and Eleven.

The band temporarily employed Dead Kennedys drummer D.H. Peligro and former P-Funk guitarist DeWayne “Blackbyrd” McKnight, before replacing them with Chad Smith and John Frusciante to record their next album. Mother's Milk was released in August 1989, and gave the band their first top modern rock hits with their tribute ballad to Slovak, "Knock Me Down" [1], and their cover of Stevie Wonder's "Higher Ground". The album reached #52 on the album charts, the best chart position the band had attained thus far.

1990s: Warner Brothers Records

File:RedHotChiliPeppersBloodSugarSexMagik.jpg
1991's Blood Sugar Sex Magik

In 1990, the group switched labels to Warner Brothers Records. Rick Rubin was hired to produce their fifth album Blood Sugar Sex Magik, which would go on to sell seven million copies in the United States alone. The album contained the singles "Give it Away" which won a Grammy award in 1992 for "Best Hard Rock Performance With Vocal", "Breaking the Girl", "Suck My Kiss", and "Under the Bridge", a poignant and popular ballad that caused the band to narrowly escape the mainstream .[2]

Blood Sugar Sex Magik was listed at number 310 on the Rolling Stone magazine list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and in 1992 it climbed all the way to # 3 on the U.S. album charts almost a year after its release.

Success and drug addiction were taking their toll on Frusciante, who abruptly quit the band during the BSSM tour in May of 1992.[3] After the band headlined Lollapalooza festival in 1992 with replacement guitarist Arik Marshall, and briefly with Jesse Tobias of the California based band Mother Tongue in 1993, former Jane's Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro was brought in as a permanent member.

Dave Navarro first appeared with the band at Woodstock 1994, and a year later appeared on the album One Hot Minute. The album featured the familiar blend of funk, metal, and jazz, but this time showed increased hard rock and psychedelic influences. Although critically dismissed compared to their previous work, mostly due to the lack of Frusciante's more familiar style, the album was a commercial success, selling five million copies internationally and reaching double-platinum status in the USA. It remained on the chart for 55 weeks thereafter.

At the time of the albums recording, Kiedis had gone back to using heroin, causing much tension between the band. Dave Navarro would quit the band in 1998, due to his own personal drug problems. Before getting a new guitarist, Flea stated that he wanted to record a solo album, leaving the band's future in question.

In 1998, John Frusciante and Anthony Kiedis made amends after both completing drug rehab. The band reformed with their Blood Sugar Sex Magik line-up to release 1999's, Californication. Unexpectedly, it became a massive success, outselling Blood Sugar Sex Magik and introducing them to a new generation of fans. It is the band's best selling album to date with 15 millions units sold.

 
Californication, June 1999

The album peaked at #3 in USA and produced three more modern rock hits: the Grammy-winning "Scar Tissue", "Otherside" and "Californication". It also made it onto the modern rock charts with "Around the World", "Road Trippin'" (UK single), and "Parallel Universe", which broke the Top 40 modern rock charts despite not being released as a single. Compared to their previous albums, Californication contains few rap-driven songs. The band went on a tour which lasted nearly two years and featured some of their largest shows, including a Moscow performance in front of 200,000 people and a performance at the controversial Woodstock 1999 festival. At Woodstock 99, the Red Hot Chili Peppers performed Fire by Jimi Hendrix as a tribute to the late rocker who performed at the original Woodstock. In 2001, they released their first concert DVD, Off The Map which was directed by longtime friend, Dick Rude, who also directed the music videos for "Catholic School Girls Rule" and "Universally Speaking".

2000-present

 
By the Way, July 2002

The band returned to the studio in early 2001 and released By the Way over a year later, on July 9, 2002. The album, at the time, was their most noteworthy chart debut (with over 700,000 copies sold in first week), emerging at #2 and producing hit singles such as: "By the Way", "The Zephyr Song" , "Can't Stop", "Dosed", and "Universally Speaking" which was only released in Europe as a single and video. It is the most subdued and submissive album they have ever generated, focusing primarily on melodic ballads as opposed to their classic style of rap-driven funk.

The Chili Peppers recorded two new songs, "Fortune Faded" and "Save the Population", for their Greatest Hits album released later that year. To the surprise of many fans, only two songs from By the Way were included in the compilation, Universally Speaking and By the Way. Much criticism was drawn from the absence of Can't Stop, which is considered one of the band's most popular songs. Band member Flea reportedly said that a lot of tension was going on between him and John during the recording process. So much so, that, following their "By the Way" tour, he was planning on leaving the band. The events that took place during that legendary, 3 and a half year tour, however, forced him to change his mind.

In 2004, the group released their first ever full-length live album, Live in Hyde Park; recorded during their 2004 performances in Hyde Park, London, due to immensely high attendance rate. In the three evenings they performed, the accumulated an estimated 17 million dollars, making it the highest grossing concert at a single venue in history[1]. Two new songs were featured on the Album: "Rolling Sly Stone" and "Leverage of Space".

 
Stadium Arcadium, May 2006

In 2006, they completed their ninth studio album, Stadium Arcadium. Although 38 songs were created with the intention to be released as 3 mini-albums spaced six months apart [4]it was released in May 2006 as a 28-track double album. It was their first album to debut at #1 on the US charts, where it stayed for two weeks, and debuted at number one in the UK Albums Chart and 25 other countries as well[citation needed]. In the album's first week, it sold 442,000 units in the United States alone, and over 1,000,000 worldwide, setting a personal record for one week sales. The record's first single "Dani California," was the band's fastest-selling single, topping the Modern Rock chart in the US, peaking at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100, and reaching #2 in the UK[2].In addition to "Dani California", "Tell Me Baby" reached Billboard's hot modern rock tracks in early July.[3] The songs Storm in a Teacup, Snow ((Hey Oh)), Tell Me Baby, Stadium Arcadium, If and Especially in Michigan have been featured on ABC commercials for the 2006 X-Games. In 2007, they will tour the United States with Gnarls Barkley from mid January to March.

In 2009, The Red Hot Chili Peppers will be eligible to enter the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. [4]

Music style

Flea's bass style is an amalgamation of funk and blues, borrowing from artists such as Bootsy Collins of Parliament-Funkadelic and John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin. The groove-heavy, low-tuned melodies, composed through either normal finger style or slapping, have contributed to the Red Hot Chili Peppers' signature style. While Flea's slap bass style was prominent in earlier albums, later albums (post "Blood Sugar Sex Magik") have more melodic basslines.

The guitar styles of the guitarists that have recorded albums with the group share common traits, featuring a sharp, distorted sound with strong range. Replacement players appear to have tried to stay as close as possible to original guitarist Hillel Slovak's style with its heavy blues and funk elements. However, Dave Navarro focused on a style rooted in heavy metal, progressive, and psychedelic rock. Current guitarist John Frusciante brought a more melodic, textured, and deep sound.

Kiedis provides a range of vocal styles for RHCP songs, with his style of rapping and spoken verse (the latter being the primary characteristic of his vocals up to Blood Sugar Sex Magik) complemented with more traditional vocals have helped the band maintain a relatively consistent style.

Themes

The Red Hot Chili Peppers have written several songs addressing varied political and social topics.

  • The song "Johnny Kick a Hole in the Sky" from Mother's Milk is about the plight and affliction of the Native Americans, and this particular song made the public see Kiedis as of native-american heritage[citation needed], "I was born in a land, I don't think you understand god damn what I am. I'm a native of this place, Please don't kick me in my face, My race has been disgraced."
  • The character Dani is mentioned in the songs Dani California and By the Way. Kiedis has explained that this character embodies all the women from his past relationships.[citation needed] Anthony also says that Dani is mentioned in Californication when he sings 'a teenage bride with a baby inside'.
  • The song "Emit Remmus" from Californication is the phrase "Summer Time," backwards. The song refers to Kiedis' former relationship with a woman in London. [citation needed]
  • The song "Snow ((Hey Oh))" from Stadium Arcadium, refers to the metaphor of covering one's tracks and starting fresh with a clean slate, which Kiedis states in the album commentary of the special eddition of Stadium Arcadium. It, therefore, does not refer to cocaine abuse.

Line-up

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Current members

Former members

Former touring backing musicians

  • Keith "Tree" Barry – saxophone (1987–90)
  • Rain Phoenix – backing vocals (1995–96)
  • Rob Rule – backing vocals, guitar (1995–96)
  • Acacia Ludwig – backing vocals (1995–96)
  • Rene Molina - Drums (1989-2006)
  • Chris Brennen - Backing bass (2003-2006)

Discography

Main article: Red Hot Chili Peppers discography

Music videos

Main article: Red Hot Chili Peppers Music Videos

Videography

TV, film and other media

  • Band members Flea and Anthony Kiedis have been featured individually and together in many movies and television shows.[5] [6]
  • They performed 'Black-Eyed Blonde' in the 80's skateboard film 'Thrashin.
  • The 1992 version of the band, with Arik Marshall standing in for Frusciante, appeared in an episode of The Simpsons titled "Krusty Gets Kancelled", in which Bart and Lisa helped Krusty save his career by showing a 'Krusty Komeback Special' featuring many celebrities [7]. They performed their song "Give it Away", although Krusty suggested that they change the song's lyric "What I got you gotta get it put it in you" to "What I'd like is I'd like to hug and kiss you", to which Flea and Marshall enthusiastically agree while Anthony Kiedis merely smiles at the suggestion. This can be perceived as a reference to the time when The Doors played on The Ed Sullivan Show. The band was told that, due to network censors, the lyric "Girl, we couldn't get much higher" from their song Light My Fire could not be sung on Television. The band was asked to change the line; the band agreed, but later sang the original lyric anyway.

Trivia

  • The band was ranked #30 on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock.
  • The band was referenced in the video game Tekken 4. In the Tekken force mini game, there are 5 ninjas that are harder to beat than the average ninja near the end of the game. They are named after the members (and former members) of the band; Anthony (Anthony Kiedis); Flea (Michael "Flea" Balzary); John (John Frusciante); Chad (Chad Smith) and Dave (Dave Navarro)
  • The song The Power of Equality was featured in the game Tony Hawk's Underground 2 (2004).

References

Notes

  1. ^ VH1 biography
  2. ^ Grammy website
  3. ^ VH1 biography
  4. ^ Catucci, Nick. "Red Hot Chili Peppers: Stadium Arcadium" (review). Blender magazine, June 2006 (Issue 48), p. 146
  5. ^ Flea on IMDB
  6. ^ Anthony Kiedis on IMDB
  7. ^ RHCP on The Simpsons

Books

  • Scar Tissue by Anthony Kiedis with Larry Sloman. ISBN 0-7515-3566-4

See also

  • Official Site
  • Official Band Myspace
  • Red Hot Chili Peppers lyrics
  • Anderman, Joan (October 1, 2006). "Red hot". The Boston Globe. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)


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