NME Interview with RHCP

 

“Flea had put the idea [of rejoining] in my head,” he continues, “and I was sitting there with the guitar thinking that I hadn’t written any rock music in so long. Could I still do that?”

There is a new interview in NME with the Red Hot Chili Peppers Chili Peppers on the release of their new single, Black Summer, and the forthcoming album, Unlimited Love. It’s really in-depth and features insightful comments from members of the band. There are also numerous new photos. Enjoy!

You can read the full article HERE 

You can see scans of the magazine that’s referred to in the new interview in our scan collection: NME August 1998

Spanish Edition of Red Hot Chili Peppers by Gaar

I’ve just uploaded a load of photos of the Spanish edition of Red Hot Chili Peppers by Gillian G. Gaar and updated the band bibliography to include more details of this book.

Gaar: Red Hot Chili Peppers

Many thanks to Cesar for spending so much time helping out with this! 

RHCP Cairo Documentary

Update on the Cairo/ Pyramids Concert/ Documentary. URGENT ACTION NEEDED! Please help try to get a change of decision! (Details below).

Sadly, this has now been pulled by RHCP’s management and currently will NOT be released due to the change in band members.

So many of us would love to have that documentary and we’ve been looking forward to its release. We saw the live footage of the concert at the time and it was amazing. And there’s the interviews, etc. which we haven’t seen. I know people were looking forward to it even more given the cancellation of the upcoming US shows (and expected cancellation of the others) and there was a lot of excitement about the news it was coming yesterday (this is why the post about it was removed).

If you would like to see this, please could you message ASAP Flea and Chad on their social media accounts and especially RHCP’s management- there is a chance we could get this decision reversed today if enough people say they would like it:

https://www.instagram.com/qprimemgmt/

 

Josh Klinghoffer interviewed for American Songwriter

You recently released your debut LP, To Be One With You. Do you feel different in any respect now that the solo record is out?

That’s hard to answer accurately because of what happened three weeks after its release. It didn’t really feel different at all and probably would have just been this little record that was out there. The few people who knew to look would find it, and that’d be about it. I was about to get back to the writing, then recording the Red Hot Chili Peppers album, when there was a bit of a personnel change [Klinghoffer was replaced by former RHCP guitarist, John Frusciante]. It’s the most amazing stroke of luck that I just happened to have an album out. I keep thinking about what it would’ve been like to start recording one in the wake of leaving the band. It

There’s another interview with Josh Klinghoffer. RHCP are inevitably mentioned, although more in passing, and nothing really different to Josh’s comments in previous interviews. You can read the interview HERE

‘RHCP’ Live 2020: Beverly Hills Memorial Performance

Note: This was a total surprise yesterday and I posted as things came in. Doing a ‘proper’ format post now with updated information, but please refer to original post for video links as there’s no point adding them twice.

 

Date: Saturday 8th February, 2020

Location: Private residence; Green Acres Estate, Beverly Hills, California.

Reason: This was a memorial concert to Andrew Buckley who died suddenly at the beginning of January. His father, Ron Buckley, was honoured at the Silverlake Conservatory of Music Benefit in November last year.

Notes:

The first live performance featuring the return of John Frusciante following Josh Klinghoffer’s enforced exit.

Chad Smith did not play with the band with drums being played by Jane’s Addiction drummer, Stephen Perkins, instead.

Thelonius Monster and others played the event. Jane’s Addiction also played and Frusciante joined them on stage for a few seconds.

Since Jane’s Addiction were there, ex-RHCP guitarist, Dave Navarro, was obviously present and he was photographed with members of RHCP.

Set List:

Give It Away by RHCP

I Wanna Be Your Dog cover (original by Iggy Pop and The Scrooges)

Not Great Men cover (original by the Gang of Four).

 

Thanks to Jason and Sister Witch for information and everyone else who sent me links.

 

RHCP (sort of) Live with John Frusciante

The Red Hot Chili Peppers with their old/new line up with John Frusciante on guitar, but minus Chad Smith on drums, have taken part in a celebration of the life of Andrew Burkle.

The Band Death of a Klinghoffer… Josh Interview in Rolling Stone

 

 

 

“My nature is to get up and go, but there’s a weight that’s keeping me here because it’s the last time it’ll be just the four of us and I just want to sit here for a minute.”

 

Former RHCP guitarist, Josh Klinghoffer, was interviewed a couple of days ago and the interview was posted online on the Rolling Stone website earlier today (US time/yesterday here).

The interview covers the day Josh was kicked out of the Red Hot Chili Peppers in detail. Heartbreaking quotes reveal the stunned shock of what unfurled, without warning, that day, and how Josh himself felt. The article also covers how other members of the band reacted. As suspected, Josh was fired on the plotting and instigation of Flea who had been meeting John and jamming with him in secret for months before. Chad is described as being very upset at the meeting that took place at Flea’s house. (Josh received a text from Chad before he’d even made it home after the meeting). Anthony is described as being subdued and looking upset.

It was less than an hour after it happened and at the time I thought, “Wow, that is crazy.” Flea put it up there; it was very clearly his composition. I was totally surprised. “

Josh was given no time to process the bombshell decision, or notify his family and friends, as the announcement that he’d “parted ways” with the band was posted online just an hour after he was told. He was not forewarned. Josh attributes the wording of the announcement to Flea [it was originally posted on RHCP’s Instagram account, but then Flea posted it on his social media accounts and for a while he was the only band member doing so]. Josh goes on to liken the actual design (white lettering on a black background), to a funeral announcement.

The interview also contains a lot of detail about the friendship between John Frusciante and Josh and how if faded out when Klinghoffer joined RHCP. Josh explains that he tried to reach out to John in October last year, as he knew they would meet a weeks later at Flea’s wedding, but that attempt does not appear to have been successful.

Do you think they’ll just scrap whatever was written?
All of it.

How does that make you feel?
Sad.

 

Again, Josh confirms that a lot of material had been written for the new RHCP record and that he expects it to be effectively trashed now. He also talks about issues with working with Rick Rubin and how he would have liked his third album with the band to have sounded.

You can read the full, in-depth, interview on Rolling Stone.

 

Many thanks to Jenn 🙂 

Josh Klinghoffer: The Interview on Leaving the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Catch up

Josh was interviewed by Marc Maron a few days after the news broke that he was no longer in the Red Hot Chili Peppers. However, the interview was only aired last week. The interview is over an hour long and in-depth talking about the split in part, but mostly about Josh’s musical career before, during and after RHCP. For the most part, Josh sounds happy and upbeat (especially when he was talking about his experiences of playing throughout the years), although there are some emotional moments (and it was hard listening in a number of places).

 

Summary of RHCP relevant information:

Josh was fired from the band. [The sources were accurate].

There was no reason given e.g. musical differences. It was purely because John Frusciante requested to come back.

The actual firing was a bombshell to Josh, as well as fans, as he had no idea that members of the band were working with Frusciante in secret. Josh did know that Frusciante was around (he spoke to him briefly at Flea’s wedding in October and he knew that JF had met up with Anthony Kiedis), and that he had started playing the guitar again, so comments that he’s not surprised, but he was still shocked when he was fired. He talks about this wave of love for the band hitting him.

It was at the instigation of Flea initially.

RHCP together with Josh had recorded a lot of material; over a year’s worth. Josh expects this won’t be used.

John apparently was surprised that the band carried on without him after he left as he expected them to stop because he had.

Josh talks about the process of joining RHCP and the events leading up to it.

 

Quotes:

Note: I’ve tried to make these as accurate as possible; I’ve concentrated on the relevant parts only.

 

(From the opening section of the interview)

Marc Maron: Did you know it was happening?

Josh Klinghoffer: No, Not at all. Complete shock, but not a surprise I guess

 

(From the last 15 minutes of the interview; again relevant sections only)

Josh Klinghoffer: If this change, you know John coming back and you know me leaving, had happened five years ago, half my time in, it probably would have destroyed me because it would have confirmed all the things that my mind used to tell me. That I suck, that I’m worthless, you know all those things, but, now I’ve done two… We were over a year into writing another a third, another album, so I’ve done a lot of writing with them.

Marc Maron: So there’s work that’s done that hasn’t been recorded yet?

Josh Klinghoffer: Yes, that’s just going to go away, I guess…

Marc Maron: So they liked writing with you so obviously you guys were doing stuff.

Josh Klinghoffer: Yeah, yeah… It’s a funny thing. I think it was all positive. It comes down to the history. It’s a funny position to be in, to be the person that… It’s absolutely John’s place to be in that band. So that’s why I’m happy for him, I’m happy that he’s back with them…

Marc Maron: So you think the intent is to do a new record with John?

Josh Klinghoffer: Yeah, I think that’s the thing… John and Flea specifically had a musical language and connection that as made when John was 17, 18. Flea, I don’t even think he was 30 yet. Hillel had just died… I’ll never be able to contend with the history that he and John had.

[Talks about the B-side album, I’m Beside You, which was his idea. Says the band were open to him and trusting of his ideas]

 

Josh Klinghoffer: Like I said if this had happened five years ago… but double that time. Ten years, two tours, almost three albums of writing, I’m really proud of what I did with them and I feel like we did create something and we did… and I feel like I brought something to the whole [band and touring] and I’m really proud of that.

Marc Maron: Five years ago you would have fallen into yourself?

[Josh agrees. Josh talks about having lunch with Flea a couple of days later]

Josh Klinghoffer: They all sat down with me. It was really sweet. I rode my bike over coz Flea’s living really close to me at the moment. They just said, ‘We’ll get right to it. We’ve decided to ask John to come back to the band.’ And I just sat there quiet for a second and I said, ‘I’m not surprised.’ And the only thing I could think to say was, ‘I wish I could have done something with you guys, musically or creatively, that would have made this an absolute impossibility.’ … But that’s next to impossible.

[Josh said he knew John had reached out to Anthony recently and had started playing guitar again as he hasn’t for a long time. Mentions John was at Flea’s wedding in October.]

Marc Maron: I’m gad you’re OK with it.

Josh Klinghoffer: I’ll have little moments… [quotes John and says how great it is to make music with friends]. When I was 10 or 11 all I wanted to be in a band playing with friends and I still want to do that.

 

You can hear the full interview here: WTF Interview with Josh Klinghoffer by Marc Maron

 

Josh News Update:

It’s not relevant for me to post Josh news here unless connected with RHCP in someway (which this interview clearly is), but as I am commenting I’ll add this in case people don’t know. Josh is to support Pearl Jam on the US leg of their upcoming tour with his Pluralone project.