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Josh Klinghoffer has undergone a musical rebirth since he was replaced by the returning John Frusciante in the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2019. He started his own solo project under the moniker Pluralone, became one of super-producer Andrew Watt’s go-to guitarists and picked up stints with Jane’s Addiction and Pearl Jam.
With time to reflect on his dismissal from the Chili Peppers, Klinghoffer has offered his thoughts on his long tenure with the band in a new interview with Guitar World – which also means giving his take on the band’s (spoken or unspoken) decision to bury the music from his era and omit it entirely from their setlists.
“All of that makes sense to me… but I guess it’s a little strange for people that connected to some of the other stuff. It’s almost like it disappears and doesn’t have a chance to live,” he says.
“I guess it’s particular to the way John views the band when he’s not in it, and it makes sense to me. They have enough music that they don’t need to look to some of the other records.
“But for anyone who connected with those albums, like One Hot Minute [with Dave Navarro], or the two [I’m With You and The Getaway] that I made with them, yeah… I can only imagine that it’s a little weird for me to be completely banished from the catalog and the live performance.”
Klinghoffer links this decision to the band’s revolving door of guitarists, as well as Frusciante’s ubiquitous presence as the definitive Chili Peppers guitar player.
![Red Hot Chili Peppers - I'm With You Live [HD] - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/4Sv0fD-sMNU/maxresdefault.jpg)
“He’s kind of the preeminent guitar player, you know? He’s the one who made the work with them where they experienced their global game,” Klinghoffer adds.
“They have their thing and their formula. I guess it’s so much more definitive to the mass amount of Chili Pepper fans, you know, that’s just what the Chili Peppers are.”
He goes on to clarify that, despite all this, he genuinely likes the records he made during his tenure, but can’t help feeling that there’s “a slight disrespect to the records that aren’t the John records.”
“Once John’s back in the picture, it’s like the other records don’t exist,” he continues. “So, you know, that’s the only weird thing to me. Because those records were important at the time, you know? They were important enough to go and play them around the world for people.”
In 2023, Klinghoffer went as far as to comment that the music the band was creating before he was fired was “way cooler” than what was eventually released – 2022’s Unlimited Love and Return of the Dream Canteen.
![Red Hot Chili Peppers - Dark Necessities [Official Music Video] - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Q0oIoR9mLwc/maxresdefault.jpg)
“I would love for it to have been finished,” he told 5 Notas of the unreleased music. “I never want to sound negative about anyone doing music, but I honestly feel like I was shocked when I heard their new record.”
Guitar World’s full interview with Josh Klinghoffer will be published in the coming weeks.
In 2024, Klinghoffer was involved in an vehicular accident that resulted in the death of 47-year-old pedestrian Israel Sanchez. Klinghoffer took a plea deal after being sued and charged with wrongful death and misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence.
