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Red Hot Chili Peppers: Milder with age?
(CNN) -- The California band that first gained recognition for playing supercharged live shows clad only in strategically placed tube socks is coming up on the 20th anniversary of its debut release. The Red Hot Chili Peppers dropped their self-titled debut in 1984 and have had plenty of tragedy and turbulence since. Founding members Anthony Kiedis (vocals) and Michael Balzary (bass) -- better known as Flea -- have weathered the death in 1988 of founding guitarist Hillel Slovak and the heroin abuse of both Slovak's successor, John Frusciante, and Kiedis. A string of guitarists have come and gone, with Frusciante back in the fold after a 1992 departure. Drummer Chad Smith rounds out the band's current lineup. The Chili Peppers have been touring the world for the last year, showcasing songs from their latest album "By The Way." TMR sat down with bassist Flea to reflect on the maturing of one of America's great rock acts. TMR: Chemistry's really the secret isn't it? Because you and Anthony Kiedis go back to when you were 14 or 15? FLEA: We met when we were 15 in high school. TMR: You must almost know what the other is thinking. FLEA: Yeah, and that can be good and bad [laughs]. You know, my relationship with Anthony Kiedis has been very close for 25 years now. And we've always had a very deeply loving and antagonistic relationship as well. You know it's sort of like the thing -- I'm sure there's things that frustrate each one of us about the other one -- but without those things we couldn't make the band be what it is. Because we each fill a place that the other one couldn't fill. Because we're complete -- we're kinda polar opposites as people. TMR: And did having John Frusciante rejoin the band re-energize you? FLEA: There was a major re-energization -- however you say that [laughs]. No, we definitely were rejuvenated. You know, John fills another space. And you talk about Anthony and I filling a space -- John fills an equally important space that we needed and that we didn't have when he was gone. It's -- we need John. You know this band, the chemistry of us being the band that we are -- the band that touches people, the band that makes statements that people really care about -- John Frusciante is essential. TMR: One word that comes up more than ever in the reviews of this album is maturity. Is that good news or bad news? FLEA: Um, good. What's the point of living if you don't grow? I mean if you're gonna live this stagnant life and stay the same and stick your head in the sand and keep wanting to tread water in a sea of retarded sexuality ... that's a quote from "Spinal Tap" [laughs]. Yeah, no, I don't know, whatever you want. To me it doesn't have anything to do with my level of fun or my level of enjoyment or being excited about music or being excited about anything that I'm excited about in my life. So it doesn't scare me. I'm not worried about getting old. I mean, I'm 40 years old. I'm cool with it, you know? I look forward to getting old. I look forward to dying. You know, I'm not scared of any of that. I just want to do it with dignity. TMR: Has touring become more fun for you as it goes or does it become a bit of a grind as it progresses?
FLEA: It's, you know, it gets to be a grind. Touring, it's very hard work. It's not so much -- the playing part is freeing and liberating and awesome, and every night I love it. I love the playing. But, you know, I mean it's hard no matter what. We play and play and we get back at night and there I am in a hotel room and looking at the wall. But luckily I can practice my trumpet and read books and listen to Dizzy Gillespie. But, you know, it's work -- we work. It's not -- for us to maintain the level of performance that we wanna maintain ... we have to really take care of ourselves. So, you know, we try and get plenty of rest and eat right, sleep right, do the right thing so we don't ever let people down. Every night when we step on the stage we wanna be in the ultimate possible condition that we can be in. And when we're on tour it's really a single-minded, almost monk-like focus on what we're doing. TMR: You've had quite a change of lifestyle, haven't you? Because you've taken up Yoga. Do you still do Yoga? FLEA: Yeah, I do yoga. I mean, in terms of not doing drugs, is that what you're getting to? TMR: How has that affected your music? FLEA: I mean ... it's easy to say, "Well, I quit doing drugs and my music changed." You know, everything is always changed. I don't think that my music's changed. The music that I composed, the music that we've composed together, has changed just as much during a time when we were high out of our minds ... as it has changed during a time when we haven't been doing any drugs. It's just been a constantly evolving, changing thing. So I can't really just pin it to that, even though, obviously that's a big change, you know? When you're high on something all the time, it's a lot different than when you're dealing with the pain that you're carrying around. I mean every human being has a giant, empty hole of pain and grief that they carry around with them. And everyone tries to fill it with something. So when you're dealing with it without being high and you're confronting that part of yourself, it's a lot different.
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