The Red Hot Chili Peppers take change in stride, always bonded by the passion for the music, writes Pavan Shamdasani<\/p>\n
Anthony Kiedis steps out of a taxi at the Four Seasons Hong Kong Hotel \u2013 and nothing happens. No paparazzi harassing his wife and kid for a sneaky shot, no boob-tube fan armed with a magic marker, no college-kid musician flogging his home-recorded EP. I\u2019m sitting in the hotel\u2019s lobby, watching and waiting. Waiting to be shepherded upstairs to interview the Red Hot Chili Peppers on the night before their Hong Kong show, and watching for something to happen. But nothing does.<\/p>\n
For a band that has been selling out international shows for over a quarter of a century, you\u2019d expect some recognition for its lead singer. But unlike say, Kylie Minogue or Bob Dylan, Kiedis and his cohorts don\u2019t scream superstar personalities. He\u2019s wearing his trademark shorts, boots and t-shirt \u2013 and while tomorrow night he\u2019ll play in front of thousands at the AsiaWorld Arena, right now he could be just another hip tourist.<\/p>\n
The truth is \u2013 and fellow fans will agree \u2013 the Red Hot Chili Peppers aren\u2019t a group of personalities. They\u2019re not ego-filled celebrities with solo careers who come together for their own benefit. They\u2019re a band in the very definition of the word: \u201ca group of musicians organised for ensemble playing\u201d (Merriam-Webster). And it\u2019s the band collectively that sells out shows.<\/p>\n
Thirty minutes later and I\u2019m sitting opposite Kiedis and his fellow Peppers to talk about their new album, I\u2019m with You. It\u2019s their first release in over five years, which initially sent rumour mills swirling as to a break-up. After all, here\u2019s a band who have survived for almost three decades \u2013 how many times can they fall apart and rise again?<\/p>\n
But of course, rumours are almost always just that. \u201cWe\u2019d been working hard for almost 27 years, and in that time, we\u2019d only taken one six-month break,\u201d says bassist Flea. \u201cThings had gotten a little dysfunctional and we really needed to step away for a while, so we took two years off. It was a wise choice, and after it was up, we went back to work. There\u2019s an impression in the public that we took more time off than we did, but we always spend about one year writing and one year recording.\u201d<\/p>\n
Near the end of those two years, another thing happened that had critics circling vulture-like: fan-favourite guitarist John Frusciante left for the second time to focus on his solo career. It again sent the last-leg rumours flying, mostly because Frusciante\u2019s contributions to the band were immense: a virtuoso musician and songwriter, he defined the Peppers\u2019 sound, slowly shifting it from its early funk-rap roots to the more mature, Beatles-like melodies on Californication and By the Way.<\/p>\n
\u201cLike so many times when something appears to be the end, it\u2019s just the beginning of something new,\u201d says Kiedis. \u201cIt was apparent that John [Frusciante] wanted to do something else. You have four creative individuals working together for years on end, there\u2019s bound to be some dysfunction \u2013 but without which, we might not have had the creative productivity we did. It\u2019s just the nature of the beast.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s when we had a long think amongst ourselves. As a band we like moving forward and trying something new, and that\u2019s when Josh came in.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJosh\u201d is Josh Klinghoffer, the hotshot guitarist who played second fiddle to Frusciante on the band\u2019s last tour. At the ripe old age of 31, Klinghoffer\u2019s racked up a considerable experience as a session musician, recording and touring with such diverse names as Beck, PJ Harvey, Gnarls Barkley and Perry Farrell.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe thought \u2018where do we go? Who do we get?\u2019\u201d says Kiedis. \u201cThere may have been a few other people, but none of them made sense. When we sat with ourselves, it was just obvious. There wasn\u2019t an audition \u2013 we just took the time to understand how to work together and we all got along with Josh. That\u2019s a big part of the experience \u2013 being in a band is very insular and a lot is spent under duress, so it\u2019s nice to be with somebody you can coexist with and even eat some dim sum with.\u201d<\/p>\n
Flea adds: \u201cAnd someone who can give their heart to the music fearlessly. And not think about whether they fit in, outside of sticking together to make the art that we make. That\u2019s something that a million incredible musicians can\u2019t understand. Josh immediately understands that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Their excitement and praise for Klinghoffer is such that the collection of ideas and concepts he brought to their first jam session was immediately embraced. Some evolved into songs on the new album, though they won\u2019t say which. Could it be that Klinghoffer will reinvigorate the Peppers the way Frusciante did?<\/p>\n
\u201cWe certainly weren\u2019t going to compare ourselves to anything that happened before,\u201d says Kiedis. \u201cBecause we had such a huge change with a new member, we were more than ever thinking about being in present and trying to reinvent ourselves without focusing on the outside world. We just wanted to create something that we all believed in as a band, and it was a very productive time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Indeed, around 70 songs came out of the 10-month-long I\u2019m with You sessions, pared down to the 14 choice cuts that appear on the final album. That\u2019s partially due to the abovementioned reinvention \u2013 Flea spent his years off studying music theory at the University of Southern California, which allowed greater experimentation within the band.<\/p>\n
But mostly \u2013 and the Peppers happily admit this \u2013 the selection came down to the editing abilities of long-time Peppers producer Rick Rubin. \u201cOur opinion is really emotional and subjective; every little piece of music we write is like a child for us,\u201d says Flea. \u201cRick comes with a more objective viewpoint \u2013 he\u2019s very good at taking the essence of things and putting it into a shorter amount of space.\u201d<\/p>\n
Klinghoffer has been noticeably silent throughout the interview, with both Flea and Kiedis talking about the band like he\u2019s not even there. Granted, with nearly three decades under their belt, they\u2019re used to being in the musical limelight. The young guitarist has been thrown in the deep-end here, especially given the names he has to live up to.<\/p>\n
When prodded, Klinghoffer offers: \u201cIt\u2019s always been my dream to play music and write songs with people that have as much of a thirst as these guys do. I\u2019ve sworn not to read anything, and I have a hard time thinking that there\u2019ll be any grievances.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still, it still begs the question: can a multi-platinum, award-winning band really have a second life, let alone a third, fourth or fifth? Klinghoffer and the new album makes it yet another go for the Peppers, and compared to the adoring acclaim their last three releases received, initial reviews of I\u2019m with You have been mixed.<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s too early to tell whether the change-up will breathe more life into the slowly ageing band (Kiedis and Flea will turn 50 next year). And really, it doesn\u2019t matter \u2013 the Red Hot Chili Peppers are music lifers. Some things might have changed over the past 27 years, but one thing hasn\u2019t: the pure rock\u2019n\u2019roll fun of it all.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt used to be that a band would get into a room, and it was about the interaction, about the vibe,\u201d says Flea. \u201cBut it\u2019s becoming a lost art with technology. We\u2019re like a family; we kick it in a room and we all just play together. We\u2019re a simple rock band.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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