An Update: Josh Klinghoffer Leaving RHCP and John Frusciante Returning

Adding this an announcement for anyone who doesn’t know the latest band news, and also to summarise the events now we’ve had time to process shock announcement.

Last weekend, a post appeared on the official band Instagram thanking Josh for his contribution over the last 10 years and saying he was no longer the guitarist of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. It also stated that John Frusciante was returning to the band.

Initially, people thought the account had been hacked and that this announcement was a hoax as it was so sudden and unexpected. To add to the confusion, it didn’t appear on the band’s other social media accounts at the same time, including the official website (it was posted there the following day- UK time at least).

Flea posted the same announcement on his personal Instagram and Twitter accounts shortly afterwards, but many people still weren’t sure it was genuine until James Slovak* publicly confirmed it was. Chad posted the same announcement a few hours later. (* Hillel’s brother. James, I believe, works for QPrime, RHCP’s management team, and that’s the most likely reason he knew the post was genuine).

No details are given on the announcement and it merely states the band is “parting ways” with Josh. No mention is even given of Josh leaving to pursue his solo career which would have been the logical explanation given the recent release of his Pluralone CD.

As for details, the same account is circulating from numerous sources and that is John requested to rejoin the band and since that was agreed, there was no longer a position for Josh. If true, whether Josh left of his own accord, or was asked to leave, isn’t known. The only definite is that John was photographed with Flea in the summer (July) so they have been back in contact recently.

How long John has actually been back in the band again isn’t known. It might be starting with the announcement, or they might have been together for a while, or he might have been working with just one band member initially and it led from there.

As for the forthcoming expected RHCP album, Flea recently stated during one of his promotional interviews for his memoir, ‘Acid For The Children,’ that an album will be released next year in 2020. There have been various mentions that the band are working on an album. The most recent comment about the actual process was, ironically now, from Josh at the Ohana Festival a couple of months ago (29th September), stating work was slow due to family commitments of the other band members. It certainly sounded like he was part of the process then and people at that point assumed he was as there was no reason to think otherwise. Some fans are now speculating that work has already begun with John, but there is currently no actual evidence for this.

An interview with Josh is due to be aired on 5th January so maybe more details about his departure will be made public then. No member of the band has commented publicly at the time of writing this. Flea has tweeted a few things about loving Josh and about his solo work, but nothing about the reasons for his departure.

As for Josh, for those of you concerned about him, I’ve had word back saying he is fine and I know a couple of other fan pages have had the same message too.

The Announcement:

The Red Hot Chili Peppers announce that we are parting ways with our guitarist of the past ten years, Josh Klinghoffer. Josh is a beautiful musician who we respect and love. We are deeply grateful for our time with him, and the countless gifts he shared with us.

We also announce, with great excitement and full hearts, that John Frusciante is rejoining our group.

Thank you.

5 thoughts on “An Update: Josh Klinghoffer Leaving RHCP and John Frusciante Returning

  1. A few random thoughts: I’m With You is my favorite RHCP album, with The Getaway ranking #3 or #4. Josh deserves a lot of credit for both. Some people say Josh isn’t the guitar virtuoso that John is, but I’ve played guitar a long time now, and I think Josh is terrific. Even if you give the edge to John, Josh brought a versatility and perspective that the band sorely needed: SA was what you get when a bald tire spins in mud for too long. I don’t think the band fully accepted Josh, The Kid: notice how he’s always on the margins in their group photos and videos. In particular, I think he got on AK’s nerves, not that it’s hard to do. And I’m positive that many fans never accepted Josh as a REAL Chili Pepper: he’s always been just a placeholder, a guest host, keeping the chair warm until the return of the only guitarist the die-hards will ever acknowledge, John Frusciante. Kind of reminds me of how too many Daily Show fans feel about Trevor Noah. Noah is crushing it, but if Jon Stewart ever wanted to come back, the fans – and Comedy Central – would heave Noah over the transom in a microsecond. I just hope that the band was fair to Josh, and that he lands on his feet.

  2. For a so-called man to weasel his way back into a band and get Josh Klinghoffer fired for absolutely no reason makes me want to honestly vomit. I wish he could have just saved his money like a normal human being and stayed in hiding like the snake he is. The ultimate flake of indifference who wastes people’s time, uses them, and manipulates his former band members to his own selfish advantage.

    • You clearly have heard the same details as I have, and if they are true (I’m not saying I doubt my sources, but I need to have a verified account that I can go public with before I can say these details are true), it’s beyond shocking on every level. I guess we have a waiting game to see what/if anything is said that verifies this. There are clues e.g. the announcement could easily have said Josh had chosen to leave because of the release of his Pluralone stuff and that wasn’t mentioned although it would have been an obvious reason. One going and one coming back in the same announcement strongly suggests there’s a connection and not, one person left and then they asked JF to come back to fill the gap. Also the way it was announced was unprofessional – everyone thought it was a hoax- and to use Insta when there’s an official website was bizarre and made it seem all rushed and a personal choice rather than a band/management one. But maybe I’m reading too much into this.

      I’m beyond stunned. No warning. Josh is amazing. I can’t even begin to process the fact I won’t see him play with RHCP again. Although maybe I won’t see RHCP play again. I personally think the band have signed their death warrant. If things can be pulled together enough for them to play their booked concerts, I’m sure they only have a couple of years before the cracks begin again. Coming back because of a genuine desire to play with the band again is the right reason. Anything else is the wrong reason. And if it is purely for money, that certainly isn’t the right reason to rejoin, especially for someone who has had problems with being in the band and touring before, and whose most recent interview comments say he hates audiences, playing live, etc.

      • I can’t agree more. I am really, really sorry for JK leaving, whatever his reason is, and I hope it was his decision to leave, and not the rest of the band ditching him because of JF. Also don’t get it why is JF coming back to the band when he moved along years ago, making some music totally different from chili’s music, hating performances and audience ?
        Also agree and think that this is the beginning of the end of the rhcp. But
        we’ll wait and see, eventually it will be revealed,everything I am wondering about.

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