Since leaving The Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2019 when John Frusciante returned to the fold, Josh Klinghoffer has stayed busy with his solo music as Pluralone and touring gigs with Jane’s Addiction and Pearl Jam.

His departure wasn’t easy for him to stomach – at the time he told the band, “I wish I could have done something with you guys, musically or creatively, that would have made this an absolute impossibility.”

Reflecting on the Chili Peppers’ tendency to bury the music from his era, Klinghoffer tells Guitar World: “All of that makes sense to me, but I guess it’s strange for people that connected to some of that stuff. It’s almost like it disappears; it doesn’t have a chance to live.”

Klinghoffer’s upcoming Pluralone offering, A Drop in the Ocean, has a far better chance of life. “I don’t know how many people I reach with this music,” he says, “but the fact that I’ve made enough connections, and a few people like it – I couldn’t be more grateful.”

In 2022, Klinghoffer told Guitar World that his time with the Peppers had been “enormously stifling creatively.” He’s not in that space anymore: “I’m always writing. I have like a year's worth of ideas that I could be developing.

“But it takes quite a while to have a cohesive and finished song with lyrics. The lyrics are the real work; I could come up with compositions all day long. They just appear every time I pick up a guitar.”

Now, he’s over the Chilis trauma, and the devastation of a 2024 motor accident in which a pedestrian was killed, and he's enthusiastic about what’s to come. “I’m just so grateful that I have the opportunity to make records and put them out.”

Did the 2024 traumatic accident factor into your recent creativity?

I guess everything’s always affecting everything. But I started recording a lot of this stuff in 2022, though I finished off some lyrics recently. It was shelved while I was touring with Pearl Jam; 2025 was when I finally had a chance to finish. So I’d say none of the recent traumas have affected or influenced the writing too much.

Did the accident push you to pick things back up and wash some of the negativity away?

Mostly the reason for not being able to work and finish was the touring and being busy. I’m always sort of dealing with a lot, so there was nothing too new, or more, on my plate.

How has working with Pearl Jam impacted your approach to guitar?

I’ve always cited Stone Gossard as the reason I picked up guitar in the first place. Being able to have a front row seat to his playing has been amazing. Not that I’ve styled myself after his playing, but when I was starting, some of the songs of his I learned in standard tunings, then I figured out that they were in different tunings. So I’ve messed around with his tunings a bit.

How about Mike McCready?

I’m on the same side of the stage as Mike. I think of him as one of the best, most fluid soloists in the world. I just love watching him rip into something. I’m surrounded by great guitar playing. Eddie Vedder has an amazing right hand. Being around those guys is inspirational and influential.

How does your rig change between Pearl Jam and your own music?

It’s changed a lot. On the most recent Pearl Jam tour there was a movement to reduce stage volume a bit, and since I’m in the back on a riser, I was just using a Fender Tone Master Plus. And there’s an array of guitars, but what I have at home is completely different.

I’m not the lead guitarist anymore, so I don’t have to bring my best, you know? I still bring great guitars, but my Strat and my Chili Peppers guitars are the ones that I leave at home.

Has moving away from your usual lead guitar position changed your perspective?

It’s like night and day when you go from being the only guitar player to being one of four, and trying to fit in. It could just be atmospheric, but when there’s so much already, you’re really trying to work as a team.

There’s so much sound going on, so it’s a great chance to exercise restraint, and really listen and fit in. In the Chili Peppers you were free to move and any sound you made was part of a whole thing. So it’s a cool shift.

Did you write the songs for A Drop in the Ocean on guitar?

It was primarily on guitar – and that was because I hadn’t done a collection of songs like that in a while, you know? I’d spent a lot of time writing on piano, programming drumbeats, and having an electric guitar along with that.

The album is primarily acoustic.

I really wanted to make an acoustic album. This one is more fingerpicked and acoustic-based. I don’t have a set way of doing something; whatever I happen to be playing at the time is where an idea can come from. But this album was definitely consciously acoustic-based.

Is there a particular acoustic you used most often?

A lot of it is my 1947 Martin that I bought in 2000. It was the first nice guitar I ever bought when I got some money from playing with The Bicycle Thief. We got a little cash in New York City, and I went straight to the guitar shop and bought this Martin.

I used that all over the album and a couple of other great acoustics, like a beautiful Epiphone Texan, which is a very Beatles-influenced purchase. And I have a beautiful Martin D-28, and an amazing Martin made from koa wood.

The effects seem to be minimal throughout, with a focus on clean, sparse electric tones.

Yeah – I tried to keep the effects to a minimum and go cleaner. I treated my electric guitar once or twice with a modular synthesizer, but most of the electric guitars are clean, with maybe a bit of reverb in the mix. I used my Fender Tweed Deluxe and my Vox AC30.

I also used an Epiphone Casino, and there’s a Strat used, but not exclusively. I think I also used a Jazzmaster. But there’s not a whole lot of electric guitar.

Actually, I have a pair of ‘60s Strats that have both been refinished that live in my studio. They’re both funny colors. One is Cimarron red; when I bought it, they were trying to say it’s an actual Fender refin, but I don’t know if that’s true. Fender rarely used that color; it’s almost like a deep plum color.

Then there’s a guitar I bought on the last Pearl Jam tour in Minneapolis. It’s a ’63 Strat that’s been really crudely refin’d. It was allegedly owned by Tommy Stinson from The Replacements – I thought that was cool, so I bought it.

A couple of years back you filled in for Dave Navarro with Jane’s Addiction. What was that like?

It was amazing! They’ve always been one of my favorite bands. I became good friends with Eric Avery over the last 15 years, and when he rejoined – which was big news to begin with – Dave was struggling with his health and was unable to do it.

So Eric was in and Dave wasn’t, and it was like, ‘What are they gonna do?’ I was touring with Pearl Jam, so Troy Van Leeuwen did a leg of a tour, and there were bits where I’d visit and sit in. I played with them a few times.

It was just amazing to be around that music. I thought they didn’t have it in them to sound as powerful, but it was a really special thing. There was a huge shift between Eric and Perry Farrel – they were really connecting. It was beautiful.

That surprised a lot of people.

I was blown away. And then when Troy was unavailable in 2023, I was. So without any tryouts I just stepped in, and it was great.

Were Dave’s parts tough to cop?

Basically, the entire time I’ve known how to play guitar, I’ve known those songs. But I had to work out some of the solos, like Three Days, to play them exactly the way they are on the records. Dave changed a little bit live sometimes, but he basically sticks to the beautiful, melodic thing he wrote.

So I tried to do that too. It wouldn’t feel right otherwise. It was a really special challenge to do that stuff. I feel like I got it most, or at least some, of the time. Every night was a fun experiment of recreating these beautiful recordings I grew up with.

Some Chili Peppers fans prefer the music you and Dave made with them to the albums they made with John – who you both replaced and were then replaced by. Does it bother you that those records are ignored by the band?

Not really. But I appreciate you saying that. It’s a funny thing. 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, or the two I made with them [I’m With You and The Getaway]… I imagine it’s a little weird for me to be banished from the catalog and the live performance.

Why do you think that’s the case?

I guess it’s just something unique to that band, you know? Having such a revolving door there, and such a strong presence in John. 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 fame.

Have you listened to the albums they’ve have made since John returned?

I listened to their new stuff one time when it first came out. I made some comments in South America that people didn’t like – but I don’t think I said anything shocking. I just said that I thought that what I was working on with them was cooler! But I don’t really keep up so much.

It seems like whenever the Chili Peppers explore new territory, they return to a specific type of sound with John.

Yeah – they have their thing, their formula. I guess it’s so much more definitive to the main amount of Chili Pepper fans; you know, that’s just what the Chili Peppers are. It’s probably a testament to them that they can step out of that and do a good record with Dave Navarro. I like that record too.

The records that we made together… The only thing I would say – and I don’t know if it’s spoken or unspoken – is that there’s a little bit of 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.

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.

Recently you’ve been working a lot with Andrew Watt within his stable of studio musicians, and ended up on a lot of records.

Andrew is younger than me, but he grew up liking a lot of the same bands as me, so we have a kinship. He’s a real fan of live recording; all the records I’ve made with him rely on being in close proximity, and that’s been great.

There’s been sessions with Andrew where I’ve been closer to Chad Smith than I was when I was in the Chili Peppers! It’s an amazing experience recording at Andrew’s studio – which, sadly, I don’t really get to do on my solo stuff.

How has working with Andrew impacted your growth?

It’s the best thing in the world to figure out your part and how to best accomplish it. And he works really fast, which I like, so it feels very vibrant and creative. He’s very open to input; it’s just a very healthy and creative environment. And it’s shocking how successful he’s been!

But his methods are the way it should be: just people playing music together, you know? In this day and age there’s been certain changes in the music business. But Andrew has been able to create a very vibrant and creative system, and it’s always fun.

What’s next?

I have another album I’m finishing now. Hopefully it’ll be out this year, but if not, it’ll be early next year. It’s another group of songs I’d worked on in 2022 and 2023, so it’s that era of songwriting, but this next group isn’t acoustic.

• A Drop in the Ocean is released on June 12.

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.

“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.

“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.

His upcoming album under the Pluralone moniker, A Drop in the Ocean, will be coming out on June 12 via Org Music.

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.

The late 80s saw a brief explosion of funk-rock. While the Red Hot Chili Peppers are clearly the Beatles of that period of funk-rock in hindsight, the funk-rock invasion saw them initially competing with the likes of Jane’s Addiction, Faith No More, Primus, Living Colour, and 24-7 Spyz.

From that fertile scene came guitarists who combined Hendrix’s chord-melody approach with P-Funk syncopation and Zeppelin-level riffage. RHCP founder Hillel Slovak created the template, but the seven guitarists who later enjoyed stints in the band all created their own delicate balance of funk grooves and rock aggression.

Here’s a rundown of all eight players, and the other places you might find them.

Hillel Slovak – (1982–1983, 1985–1988)

The Chili Peppers’ founding guitarist left an indelible mark on rock history despite recording only two full albums with the band.

Slovak co-wrote five songs on the band’s 1984 self-titled debut, but left before its recording to focus on his other band, What Is This?, who had signed to MCA Records. After an EP and an album, Slovak asked to return to RHCP, prompting vocalist Anthony Kiedis to tell Flea, “I'd give my firstborn son to get him back in the band.”

Slovak’s influence loomed the largest on a young John Frusciante. He was best known for playing a rosewood-board Strat into a cranked Marshall (a 100 watt Superbass), for a style that was equal parts Hendrix and funk, and for his signature use of fuzz and wah – all elements that Frusciante would make his own trademarks.

Frusciante didn’t even play funk before studying Slovak’s style.

“I learned everything I needed to know about how to sound good with Flea by studying Hillel's playing, and I just took it sideways from there,” he told Guitar Player in 1997.

Slovak’s tragic death by heroin overdose in 1988, aged just 26, cast a long shadow over the band’s history. Multiple RHCP songs have been written in his honor, and when the band were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2012, Slovak was included.

“He's a beautiful person that picked up a guitar in the 1970s and didn't make it out of the 1980s, and he is getting honored for his beauty,” Kiedis said at the time.

Jack Sherman – (1983–1985)

When Hillel Slovak ditched the Chilis in 1983, Jack Sherman filled the position. He would go on to feature on the band’s self-titled debut album.

Bassist Flea later wrote on social media that Sherman had “played the most wicked guitar part on our song Mommy Where’s Daddy, a thing that influenced the way I heard rhythm forever.”

Although he was fired before the recording of Freaky Styley (1985), seven of the songs he co-wrote still made the album.

Post-Chilis, Sherman recorded with Bob Dylan, Parliament/Funkadelic founder George Clinton, and ex-Undertones frontman Feargal Sharkey. He died of a heart attack in 2020, aged 64.

DeWayne “Blackbyrd” McKnight – (1988)

After Slovak’s death, the Chili Peppers needed an emergency replacement, a role that would be filled by Parliament/Funkadelic guitarist DeWayne “Blackbyrd” McKnight. It further solidified the band’s authentic funk credentials, with P-Funk leader George Clinton having produced Freaky Styley.

McKnight didn’t exactly slot into the band smoothly, however, and they fired him three dates into the next tour. The guitarist was reportedly so unhappy that he threatened to burn down Anthony Kiedis’ house.

McKnight later revealed to Guitar World that he had been asked to fill-in for Slovak multiple times before his death, but each time Slovak came back in time to do the show.

“You might even say that they had gotten me in there to coax Hillel back; at least that's how I saw it. But I don't know how it went, and I don't know what they felt because I never talked about that with them.”

Outside of RHCP and P-Funk, McKnight also has credits with jazz legends Herbie Hancock and Miles Davis, as well as with the fusion band, The Headhunters.

John Frusciante – (1988–1992, 1998–2009, 2019–present)

Despite Hillel Slovak’s immense influence on the band, John Frusciante is for most the defining RHCP guitarist. He has twice left the band, and each time his return has brought a huge boost to the band’s creative and commercial fortunes.

His 1998 reunion with the band produced the 15-million-selling Californication, while his 2022 comeback with the band, Unlimited Love, shot to #1 in the US and ten other countries, a feat that the band had not achieved since before his departure.

But it was 1991's Blood Sugar Sex Magik, the band’s commercial breakthrough, that really secured Frusciante’s place in the guitar pantheon. Frusciante may have been following Slovak’s blueprint, but he made it convincingly his own.

On Under the Bridge, Frusciante appropriated Hendrix’s combined rhythm-and-lead style more convincingly than anyone since Jimi himself, while thumpers like Give It Away and Suck My Kiss had punk levels of aggression without the need for heavily distorted tones. While many bands in the funk-rock explosion sacrificed the funk element to sound heavier, Frusciante didn’t compromise on either.

The success was too much for Frusciante, who became a recluse and developed a heroin addiction. He managed a pair of twisted and experimental solo albums before reuniting with the band to power them to even greater success. He also found time for a side project, Ataxia, with Fugazi bassist Joe Lally and future RHCP guitarist Josh Klinghoffer.

The 2000s were a prolific decade for Frusciante, who released eight solo albums and juggled multiple side projects, as well as releasing By the Way (2002) and Stadium Arcadium (2006) with the Chili Peppers.

Frusciante left the band in 2009 and spent a decade making mainly electronic music, before giving the fans what they wanted in 2019. Whether he will ever leave again remains to be seen, but at this point anyone else who plays with the Red Hot Chili Peppers is just filling in for John Frusciante.

Reflecting on re-joining the band a second time in a 2022 interview with Guitar World, Frusciante said, “There’s an appreciation of the chemistry that I can’t say I really had towards the end of being in the band last time – an appreciation of what we’re capable of. When you get so used to something, you sometimes tend to take things for granted.

“I’d had lots of time making music where I do whatever I want. And that was great. And I continue to do that. But it seemed like a really good step for me as a human being to try to play in a band again. Most of all, I just have a lot of fun playing with those guys.”

Arik Marshall – (1992–1993)

When Frusciante quit abruptly in the middle of the Blood Sugar Sex Magik tour, the band needed a safe pair of hands. Arik Marshall provided those hands, having previously recorded with Tone Loc, Sting, and Etta James.

The band later praised him for learning the set quickly and never letting them down on stage. When it came time to write a follow-up album, however, Marshall quickly got the boot. The band felt he was not the right writer for the job.

Fortunately, Marshall’s stint with the band coincided with their golden-era guest appearance on The Simpsons in the episode Krusty Gets Cancelled, guaranteeing him cool points forever.

Marshall later played with Macy Gray, appearing with her on Saturday Night Live and in the Toby Maguire Spider-Man (2002). Since then he’s been largely quiet, although he was the guitarist in a wedding scene in The Hangover.

Jesse Tobias – (1993)

Anthony Kiedis felt Jesse Tobias was the guitarist to help the band follow up Blood Sugar Sex Magik, and he was hired in 1993 to help write the next album. Unfortunately, the chemistry with the rhythm section just wasn’t there, and Tobias was dumped months later.

It all ended well, though: Tobias joined Alanis Morisette’s band for the Jagged Little Pill tour, and on that jaunt met his wife, Angie Hart, who was singing in support band Frente. The band they formed together, Splendid, which made a cameo appearance on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In 2004, Tobias joined Morrissey’s band, where he is still a member.

Dave Navarro – (1993–1998)

After the arduous audition process for Frusciante’s replacement was over, Dave Navarro finally made himself available in 1993. The band have claimed that Jesse Tobias would have been fired anyway, but Navarro’s interest certainly sealed his fate. The former Jane’s Addiction guitarist made the next Chili Peppers lineup into something of a funk-rock supergroup. The resulting album: 1995's One Hot Minute.

At the time, One Hot Minute was considered a disappointing follow-up to Blood Sugar Sex Magik, but the album certainly has its fans. It went double platinum in the US and sold a million copies in Europe, which is hardly shabby. Pea has become an enduring live favorite, and single Aeroplane was added back to the band’s live set in 2016 because it was one of the favorites of Frusciante's second successor, Josh Klinghoffer.

Outside of the Chilis and Jane’s Addiction, Navarro has had an impressive session career, often getting the call when pop stars want a dose of rock: Alanis Morisette’s You Oughta Know, Christina Aguilera’s Fighter, and live versions of Janet Jackson’s Black Cat have all benefitted from Navarro’s weighty soloing.

In 2001, he released his solo album, Trust No One, and in 2020, along with Jane’s Addiction bassist Chris Chaney and Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, Navarro began the side project NHC (Navarro Hawkins Chaney).

Josh Klinghoffer – (2007, 2009–2019)

Pre-Chilis, Josh Klinghoffer had carved out a career playing with bands like The Bicycle Thief and Golden Shoulders, as well as being a session musician for Gnarls Barkley.

When Frusciante again stepped down in 2009, Klinghoffer – with his experience in the Frusciante side project Ataxia – was a natural choice. At the time Frusciante commented in an interview with Alternative Nation, “In many respects he's the person who is closest to me, and with whom I can speak honestly about everything. His opinion is very important to me and I value it a lot.”

On the Stadium Arcadium tour, Klinghoffer had played additional guitar and keyboards for the final legs. He offered the band a smooth transition.

In Klinghoffer's decade with the band, they released a pair of albums: I’m With You (2011) and The Getaway (2016). While neither of these reached the commercial or creative heights of the band’s work with Frusciante, they were generally well-received.

Klinghoffer struggled to avoid playing too much like Frusciante, while the band were wary of moving too far from their core sound. That tension arguably kept the band’s creativity on a leash.

Klinghoffer said as much in a 2022 interview with Guitar World, saying his decade with the band was “enormously stifling creatively.”

“They’re an established band with an established sound, and I learned over time how little deviating from that was possible,” he explained.

“When I first joined, I wouldn’t use certain chords when I was writing if they sounded like something John would play. Or if it sounded like a choice they would have made on their last album, I purposely went the other way.”

“As much as I thought they were up for experimentation,” he continued, “they generally stayed in their own lane.”

Post-Chili Peppers, Klinghoffer has released three albums under his pseudonym Pluralone. Since 2021, he has been an additional touring musician for Pearl Jam.

He filled in for Dave Navarro on Jane’s Addiction’s 2023 tour as Navarro struggled with Long Covid. Klinghoffer has also recorded with Iggy Pop and Morrissey, although the latter recordings have not been released. Along with RHCP drummer Chad Smith, Klinghoffer played on Who Believes in Angels? (2025), a joint album by Elton John and Brandi Carlisle.

Former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer will avoid jail time over the fatal car accident that claimed the life of a pedestrian last year.

Klinghoffer was facing vehicular manslaughter charges after allegedly running over and killing 47-year-old Israel Sanchez at a crosswalk in Alhambra, California. The victim's daughter, Ashley Sanchez, originally filed a lawsuit for wrongful death in July 2024 following the incident on March 18. The case was later escalated to a charge of vehicular manslaughter.

Rolling Stone reports the guitarist appeared in an Alhambra court on May 28. He pleaded no contest to misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence, and was sentenced to one year of informal probation and 60 days of community labor.

Klinghoffer, who replaced John Frusciante in RHCP between 2009 and 2015, was alleged to have been driving a Black 2022 GMC Yukon down Meridian Avenue near West Main Street in Alhambra. The plaintiffs allege Klinghoffer was using his phone when he took a sudden left turn, causing him to hit the 47-year-old in the back.

The Sanchez family also claimed he had been driving without license plates and “made no braking or slowing motion until after he fatally struck.”

Sanchez was rushed to Huntington Hospital where he was pronounced dead shortly after. Blunt force trauma was revealed as his cause of death.

Los Angeles County Judge Rosa Fregoso ruled that Klinghoffer must also attend a driver safety class and pay a restitution – the figure of which will be determined at a later date.

After Klinghoffer entered his plea, a prosecutor warned him that any similar incident in the future could see him facing more serious charges. “If you continue to drive while distracted, and as a result of your driving someone is killed, you can be charged with murder,” said the prosecutor.

Ashley, Israel Sanchez’s daughter, is said to have broken down crying when delivering a victim impact statement, saying, “My father was an extraordinary grandfather to my [children]. His absence has left an irreversible void in our lives.”

She called her Israel “the heart of our family,” and said Klinghoffer’s actions had caused her “deep and lasting trauma,” adding that her father’s death was an “avoidable loss.”

A hearing for the civil case is slated for July 1.

The guitarist did not comment on the charges when they came to light. He was on tour with Pearl Jam at the time after he joined as a touring musician in 2021. He had been on release on his own recognizance.

Former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer is set to be arraigned today, September 26, in a California courthouse for an accident that resulted in the death of a pedestrian on the afternoon of March 18.

Klinghoffer is expected to be charged with a misdemeanor of vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence. He will enter his plea at 8:30 a.m. PT at the Alhambra courthouse.

According to court records and evidence, the guitarist was driving a Black 2022 GMC Yukon down Meridian Avenue near West Main Street in Alhambra, when he made a left turn, allegedly while using his phone, and hit 47-year-old pedestrian Israel Sanchez at a crosswalk. Sanchez was struck in the back and was pronounced dead shortly after at Huntington Hospital.

Klinghoffer was sued by Sanchez's daughter, Ashley Sanchez, in a lawsuit accusing him of allegedly driving while using his phone, which led to him being unaware of his surroundings and failing to brake in time before the fatal collision.

Andrew Brettler, the guitarist's attorney, told TMZ that “it was a tragic accident.” “After Josh struck this pedestrian in the intersection, he immediately pulled over, stopped the car, called 911, and waited until police and the ambulance arrived. Obviously, he's cooperating with the police throughout the traffic investigation. This was purely a tragic accident.”

In further comments to KTLA 5 News, Brettler said, “It's clear from the evidence that Mr. Klinghoffer was not on the phone at the time of the accident.”

The Sanchez family lawyer, Nick Rowley, disputed Brettler's claims, asserting that there is video evidence of Klinghoffer driving while on his phone at the time he allegedly hit and killed Sanchez.

Rowley stated, “Israel Sanchez was on his way to the grocery store to make soup for his family and never came home. He did everything right, looking for oncoming traffic and abiding by pedestrian signage, but tragically Mr. Klinghoffer, in a rush and on his phone, hit him fatally from behind with a large SUV.”

The guitarist, who has also performed with Pearl Jam and Jane's Addiction, has been on release on his own recognizance.

Former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer has been sued for wrongful death and negligence after allegedly running over and killing a pedestrian who was walking in a crosswalk in Alhambra, California. Ashley Sanchez, the daughter of 47-year-old victim Israel Sanchez, filed the lawsuit on Wednesday.

According to the lawsuit, the incident happened in the afternoon of March 18. The plaintiffs allege Klinghoffer was driving a black SUV with no license plates and made a left turn, striking Sanchez. 

A video presented by the plaintiffs shows a black car hitting a man during a turn and then pulling over. A still from the footage seems to show the driver holding an object, allegedly a cellphone, above the steering wheel. 

Furthermore, the video depicts a 40-foot-wide grassy median dividing the road in question, which the plantiffs argue should have given Klinghoffer enough time to spot any pedestrians in the crosswalk. The plaintiff party obtained the video footage from a neighbor's Ring camera. The lawsuit further states that no arrests have been made.

In a news release, Ashley Sanchez spoke of Israel Sanchez and how the incident impacted her family: “My dad was known for being a great chef, the most talented of his family, the greatest grandpa always full of love and joy. His smile was so infectious. His life was taken by a careless act of a person who didn’t bother to look where he was driving.”

Klinghoffer's attorney, Andrew Brettler, told TMZ: “It was a tragic accident. After Josh struck this pedestrian in the intersection, he immediately pulled over, stopped the car, called 911 and waited until police and the ambulance arrived. Obviously, he’s cooperating with the police throughout the traffic investigation. This was purely a tragic accident.”

The plaintiff's attorney, Nick Rowley, contested Brettler's use of the term “tragic accident”, stating: “Mr. Klinghoffer should be arrested and prosecuted for homicide. We have a video of him on his cell phone at the time he hit and killed Israel Sanchez, a loving father, in a crosswalk.

“Israel Sanchez was on his way to the grocery store to make soup for his family and never came home. He did everything right, looking for oncoming traffic and abiding by pedestrian signage, but tragically Mr. Klinghoffer, in a rush and on his phone, hit him fatally from behind with a large SUV. 

“The loss and grief that the Sanchez family now faces is immense. We will not stop until there is accountability and justice for Mr. Sanchez and his family.”

Alhambra Police spokesperson Sergeant Brian Chung hasn't responded to press queries, stating that the case remains active and no further comments can be provided at this time.

Klinghoffer himself hasn't commented on the lawsuit. He is currently on tour with Pearl Jam, after joining the band as a touring musician in 2021, and has previously performed with Eddie Vedder and Jane's Addiction. The guitarist was previously dismissed from the Chili Peppers in 2019, after former guitarist John Frusciante re-joined the band. 

Rockstars are larger-than-life characters who possess musical abilities that we mere mortals could only dream of – but the thing is, they all had to start somewhere. When you are at the very beginning of your guitar journey, it can be easy to forget that our guitar heroes weren’t born with the ability to rip a face-melting solo, each and every one of them started in the very same place as you. It’s humbling to think that at one point in time, the guitar god you idolize didn't even know how to hold the instrument that they have now become synonymous with. 

Over the years, we’ve had the privilege of sitting down with many of our heroes, delving into their musical beginnings and the paths they took to become the stars they are today. 

So, with that in mind, we’ve dug through old interviews, from Slash to Stone Gossard, Jimmy Page, Josh Klinghoffer and many more, to bring you the inspiring stories of their early guitar memories in the hope that it motivates you to realize your own dream and become the guitarist you've always wanted to be.  

Slash

Speaking to our sister publication, Metal Hammer, back in 2010, the Guns N’ Roses axe man revealed exactly what made him pick up the guitar in the first place – and it’s a tale as old as time. An abandoned beat-up guitar paired with adolescent rebellion and just the right amount of musical inspiration was enough to pique a young Saul Hudson’s curiosity in the instrument and the living legend that is Slash was born. 

“I was 15, I picked up the guitar in 1980. I picked up the guitar after I met [Guns N’Roses drummer] Steven Adler, who had an electric guitar at his grandparents’ house where he lived. When they left for work in the morning, we would ditch school and go and bang on his guitar through an amp and crank up Kiss Alive II.

“A guitar teacher played me a solo from Cream’s Disraeli Gears album, and I thought, ‘That’s what I want to do!’

“[My first guitar was] a beat-up flamenco-style acoustic that my grandmother had in her fuckin’ closet: she gave it to me.”

So if you have a dusty old beginner electric guitar sitting in the back of a closet, maybe you should dust it off and give it a go. You never know, you may discover your hidden talent and go on to write one of the most recognizable guitar intros of all time. 

Stone Gossard

The Pearl Jam guitarist and grunge icon sat down with Total Guitar in 2012 to discuss the beginning of his guitar career, his love of all things punk, and how that shaped his early interest in the guitar. 

“I think my first guitar was a white Les Paul knock-off. I had a guitar teacher named Kevin Callahan who I took lessons from – and he had a guitar and said I could buy it from him. At that time, particularly in Seattle, the big thrill and what excited me about music and playing was the fact I was hearing from my friends who were really into the Seattle underground scene and punk that you didn’t have to learn how to play. Just plug in and start a band: it’s awesome. And that sounded exciting.

“The idea that starting guitar lessons was going to be 25 years of hard labor and eventually you’d be able to play a quiet concert hall and people would clap: that was daunting. I wanted to be in bands and I wanted to play something like Ace Of Spades or something like The Stooges. Or even just some bad version of Iron Maiden – something that was heavy and made me lose my mind. That was the goal at that point.”

Gossard proves that to become a guitar player – and a successful one at that – you don’t need to bury your head in books, learning advanced theory, modes, or the circle of fifths. With the right attitude, determination, and a passion for music, you can become a well-rounded musician who inspires millions. 

Jimmy Page

To many, Jimmy Page is the quintessential guitar hero and has inspired countless players to pick up the instrument. JImmy’s love of the guitar goes all the way back to the late ‘50s and was kick-started by a rather unusual-looking Grazioso electric guitar – although as he tells Guitarist in 2014, he would quickly progress to the coveted Fender Stratocaster. 

“That’s the first electric guitar I got. The one before it, a Hofner, my dad bought, but… maybe he was psychic, and he knew what was coming. Because there’s a whole procession of guitars that come into my life over the next few years. 

“I’m either 14 or 15, it’s 1958, or probably 1959, and that’s the first one, the Grazioso. It looked and felt like an electric guitar, even though it wasn’t a Fender. In fact, it had a tremolo arm on it, and I’ve got recordings of me playing on this thing, but you’d think this arm would break, actually. I heard somebody, a sort-of record collector, he told me, ‘You’ve got to hear this Carl Perkins stuff’ – and it’s terrific guitar playing, he’s a real stylist.” 

Reminiscing about pining over a Fender, Jimmy told Guitarist, “Oh, this is a result of seeing and drooling over Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps, by the time they’re doing Hot Rod Gang [1958 movie] and they’ve got all those Fenders. It was oh… my… god. I’ve seen Bruce Welch talk about when he saw the Fender with Buddy Holly on The Chirping Crickets album, and he describes it exactly the same way as I felt, too, which is: that thing looks like it’s from outer space! What is it?! So, you find out, and then you see them, and they’ve been sprayed in almost hot-rod colors, and they’re all matching. It just looked so damn sexy! The Fenders were sexy to begin with, just beautiful, sculptural designs. 

“I did get a Strat along the way. But guitars in those days, they weren’t all user-friendly, you know? Just because it was a Strat, didn’t mean to say it was like a Strat we know now. Then it goes from that to one of those orange Chet Atkins Gretsches, and then pretty much from there through to the Les Paul Custom."

When we think of Jimmy Page, it’s hard not to imagine him on the world’s biggest stages with a dangerously low-slung Les Paul around his neck, but of course, he had to start at the beginning just like us. By all accounts, his beloved Grazioso wasn’t a particularly great instrument, but that didn’t matter. The young Page just wanted to make music, and he was going to do it regardless of the guitar he had. 

Nowadays, beginner guitars are of a much higher quality and standard. Even at the lowest end of the price range, guitars are playable, stylish, and sound great. So you have no excuses, really! 

Albert Lee

Now, you may think that if you don’t have a beginner acoustic guitar to hand, you’ll never be able to learn. Well, normally, that would be true, but that certainly didn’t stop Albert Lee. The English guitar virtuoso revealed to Total Guitar in 2016 that for the initial months of his guitar tuition, he didn’t even own his own six-string. 

“I played guitar for 18 months without actually owning one. The first guitar that my folks bought for me was a very cheap Spanish guitar, which they paid about £3.10 for, but they soon realized I was getting on quite well teaching myself to play.

“So, at Christmas in 1958, they bought me a secondhand Höfner President, and that was a revelation. Here was a guitar that had a reasonable action and that was easy to play. Up until then, guitars were really cheap things that you managed to pick up, but this was really good.” 

Again, this just shows the dedication of guitar players. We are a resourceful bunch, and when we put our minds to something, we tend to do it – even if we don’t have the essential tools, like a guitar, to hand. 

Josh Klinghoffer

As a former member of Red Hot Chili Peppers and a touring member of Pearl Jam and Jane’s Addiction, Josh Klinghoffer has amassed an impressive collection of vintage Strats. However, speaking to Total Guitar, the guitarist revealed he still had a fondness for his first guitar – even if he didn’t treat it particularly well. 

“The first guitar I owned really was a 1980s Fender Strat, that had Fender’s weird eighties-ness on it: like its version of a Floyd Rose. I got it out of [LA-based classified ads mag] The Recycler in the mid 1990s. 

“I got into a big fight with my mother and my grandmother about dropping out of school at 15 and they enraged me so much – think my grandmother got really worked up – I threw the guitar and broke it. Instantly I knew that was a bad move. 

“The first time I got a little bit of money after playing with the Chili Peppers, I found the guitar in my parents’ garage, and I brought it into my trusty guitar repairman, and he fixed it. It was as good as new. And now, it hangs in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame!”

So, look after your first guitars, kids. You never know; one day, it might be hanging in a museum, and you’ll need to explain how it got the embarrassing scars.

Alvin Lee

Sometimes all it takes to become a blues rock icon is a little spite. Ten Years After guitarist and singer Alvin Lee told Total Guitar that in an effort to prove his parents and guitar teacher wrong, he practiced for hours on end. 

“My first guitar was a sunburst Broadway Plectrum guitar with no pickup. I learned rhythm for about a year – I used to play Django-style rhythm stuff. Then, at the age of 12, I bought a Guyatone solidbody with ‘crystal’ pickups. That was the first one I actually bought because the Broadway was my dad’s – he played a bit.

“When I first met my guitar teacher, Norman Barnacle, he and my folks worked out a schedule for lessons, and I asked, ‘How long will it take before I can play as good as you?’ They all laughed, and something inside me said, ‘Right, I’ll show ’em.’ That’s the first thing I remember, and maybe it helped to motivate me, because I practiced three or four hours a day.”

Beginner acoustic recommendations

So there you have it, that’s the story of how a few of the biggest names in guitar got their start. Now, if you fancy following in their footsteps, we’ve listed a couple of our favorite beginner guitars below that we think will give you the best possible start to your musical journey. You never know, your name may appear in an article like this in the near future. 

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Former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer has been sharing his opinion on the band’s recent recordings with John Frusciante, stating that he thinks that the group was making “cooler music” when he was in the lineup. 

“I had to listen to the new albums. I couldn’t let myself [not],” admits Klinghoffer, in a new interview with Brazilian podcast 5 Notas. “I was hearing little things about them. I don’t think I finished the second one. [2022’s Return Of The Dream Canteen]. I was trying to cram it in once before leaving on a plane, and I got as far as maybe the ninth song. I don’t think I listened to the rest.”

In addition, Klinghoffer discussed working with the group on new music prior to his 2019 departure when he was asked how he felt hearing the material RHCP released last year.

“It’s tough,” says Klinghoffer [around 33.12], in slight hesitation. “Because I honestly think we were doing cooler music. I would love for it to have been finished... I never want to sound negative about anyone doing music, but I honestly feel like I was shocked when I heard their new record.”

The comments are tempered elsewhere in the interview by Klinghoffer’s acknowledgement that he still loves and admires Frusciante – he also recalls fond times working with the RHCP man on solo material and in his and Flea’s Joy Division tribute band.

Later, Klinghoffer is asked about the prospects of working with Frusciante again, but seems (understandably) unsure about rekindling their relationship.

“I wouldn’t say there’s no chance,” offers Klinghoffer. “Even if we don’t talk much in the process, I feel like it would be fun to play some of those songs again or play them live.

“We don’t talk much these days but I've always maintained that I still have an enormous love for him, you know? He's one of my favorite musicians, one of my favorite writers, um, so you know, like… I’m not against the idea.”

Klinghoffer has previously described his time with RHCP as “enormously stifling creatively” and he has not been idle since leaving RHCP, having spent time touring with fellow rock veterans Pearl Jam and, more recently, Jane’s Addiction.

However, despite his heavyweight rock resumé, Klinghoffer told Guitar World last year, “I’ve never lost this sense that I’m a beginner.”

Jane’s Addiction have announced they’ve recruited former Red Hot Chili Peppers electric guitar player Josh Klinghoffer for a string of upcoming live dates.

Klinghoffer, who played with Jane’s Addiction for some shows back in 2022, will once again return to the band’s lineup in place of Dave Navarro, who continues to recover from a particularly strong case of long Covid.

In a statement posted to social media, the band confirmed Klinghoffer’s temporary appointment, and ended speculation over Navarro’s future role in Jane’s Addiction by affirming he will return only when he’s “healthy and ready."

“We'd like to address the questions surrounding Dave and the upcoming Jane's shows,” the band wrote. “As a band we are in a great place, writing new music, and the bond is tighter than ever. We all hope Dave can be out playing with us; when he feels healthy and ready.

“For the near future, our brother Josh Klinghoffer will jump in for the upcoming shows on the West Coast, South America and some additional international shows to be announced soon.

“We want to thank you for being there with us over these thirty some odd odd years. You know, we're going to keep throwing down for you.”

Klinghoffer is the second guitarist to fill in for Navarro in recent months, after Queens of the Stone Age axeman Troy Van Leeuwen took up the role for the band's North American tour last fall.

Last November, Klinghoffer added to his impressive resume of live and session credits by joining Jane's for a handful of live dates – including a cameo at the group’s show at Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena.

Navarro continues to be absent from Jane’s Addiction activities after he announced back in May 2022 that he has been battling a case of long Covid – a condition that sees viral and other symptoms remain after the illness itself has gone.

The Jane’s Addiction guitarist has been battling the condition since December 2021, and told fans early last year that “nobody knows how long” it will be before he is fit to play and tour again.

As such, Klinghoffer will see action across plenty of dates in March, with Jane’s Addiction set to perform on eight nights across the duration of the month.

The short stint is set to commence on March 5 at the Mechanics Bank Theater in Bakersfield, California, and will conclude at Lollapalooza Brazil in São Paulo. Head over to Jane’s Addiction’s website for a full list of dates.

It's Klinghoffer's latest high-profile fill-in role with a legendary '90s alt-rock band, after the guitarist was recruited to the ranks of Pearl Jam as a touring guitarist in 2021.

Iggy Pop performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live earlier this week (January 9) and brought along some big names to back him, including Andrew Watt, Josh Klinghoffer (on an Electrical Guitar Company model, by the looks of things), Duff McKagan and Chad Smith.

Kimmel introduced the group, with some irony, as Iggy Pop and The Losers – the name being a nod to the rock icons new album, Every Loser. 

Pop, in characteristic form, channels an energy that few 75-year-olds can rival, leaping about in a leather waistcoat and taking swipes at Smith’s drum set. 

Every Loser’s producer Andrew Watt also came along for the ride, playing Boss CE-1-laced guitar on Kimmel, and – contrary to punk tradition – unleashing a particularly fiery solo at the track’s conclusion.

Watt, of course, has prior form in rehabilitating hell-raisers, having worked repeatedly with Ozzy Osbourne – most recently on the metal icon’s 2022 record, Patient Number 9. 

Indeed, Watt‘s work with Osbourne seems to have established a formula – get an icon, stick them in a room with a bunch of other established names and see what happens – that the producer has reapplied with Pop on Every Loser.

“I’m the guy with no shirt who rocks; Andrew and Gold Tooth get that,” Pop previously said, in a statement about the album. “We made a record together the old-fashioned way… The players are guys I’ve known since they were kids and the music will beat the shit out of you.”

Returning the favor, Watt stated: “Iggy Pop is a fucking icon. A true original. The guy invented the stage dive... I still can’t believe he let me make a record with him. I am honored. It doesn’t get cooler. This album was created to be played as loud as your stereo will go… turn it up and hold on.”

Every Loser is out now. Iggy Pop will be heading out on US and European Tour dates from March. Head to Iggy Pop’s site for tickets and information.

Last week, Iggy Pop explained why he prefers his albums to sound “rough”, stating, “I like Link Wray a lot better than Yngwie Malmsteen, put it that way.”

In the history of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, the terms “funky Flea bass” and “guitar pick” have rarely been used in the same sentence. In fact, put a bass in Flea’s hands, and more likely than not, he’ll whip out some trademark slapped octaves or a funky fingerstyle groove. His slap-heavy style first got him noticed when the Chili Peppers lit up the L.A. music scene in the 80s, and it’s a technique that has set him apart ever since.

“Flea was my first influence on the instrument,” says Vulfpeck’s Joe Dart. "His commitment to playing every note as if it were his last, to truly dedicating his whole body and soul to the groove, and to holding it down in what is essentially a three-piece band – he inspired me as a kid and still does today.”

Flea toned things down for 1991’s Blood Sugar Sex Magik, which included the landmark bassline on Give It Away. Of all his skills, however, it’s his mastery of the pick that has escaped the most attention. "I always want to play melodically, but basslines take on a different type of melody with a pick," he says. "I'm more likely to strum chords or play with double stops when I play with a pick."

In this demo video, which showcases Flea’s own brand of bass guitar, Flea substitutes his usual Dunlop Tortex .60mm for a quarter.

Having immersed himself in a Joy Division cover band following the Chili Pepper’s 1999 album Californication, as well as studio sessions with the likes of Alanis Morissette and Tricky, Flea continued to push his bass playing boundaries. 

“Me and John Frusciante and Josh Klinghoffer had a Joy Division cover band for a while, so I was really trying to learn how to play with a pick," he told Joel McIver in his interview for BP.

"I love the way Peter Hook plays. It was such a melodic, hypnotic way of playing bass. Jah Wobble too - all that Public Image stuff, from the Metal Box period, really blew me away. Me and John always used to play Poptones from that record. I got really into that post-punk sound out of England. I love that music.”

Flea first sat in with Janes Addiction during a 1997 reunion tour, after original bassist Eric Avery opted out of performing. 

“I had to really get my pick chops together with Janes Addiction because those songs call for it,” he says. "Eventually I tried one with the Chili Peppers on Parallel Universe, and when John brought in By The Way it made sense to try a more melodic pick approach.” 

Red Hot Chili Peppers will continue their world tour in 2023. Visit the band’s website for a for a full list of dates. Parallel Universe appears on Californication.  

Jane’s Addiction’s upcoming 2023 material could feature guitar contributions from Queens of the Stone Age’s Troy Van Leeuwen, former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer and Bauhaus’s Daniel Ash, frontman Perry Farrell has revealed.

The trio of guitarists each filled in at various points on the band’s recent Spirits on Fire tour for Dave Navarro, who has been battling a case of long Covid since last December.

“I don’t know who will end up recording the guitar tracks [for the new material], but I’d love to see Dave, Troy, Josh and Daniel contribute – all the guys on the tour that really stuck it out,” Farrell says in a new interview with Alternative Press.

The band reportedly have three songs in the works at the time of writing, and are keeping an open invitation to Van Leeuwen, Klinghoffer and Ash to make contributions when it comes to recording the material. And Van Leeuwen, at least, appears keen to participate when the time comes.

“There’s a connection there, and it’s a no-brainer,” he tells AP. I’d like to see what they do with Dave, but if they have a plan, I’m going to show up when I can to be a part of it.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Farrell explains that the band are in a good mental space following the Spirits on Fire tour, which wrapped up at LA’s Hollywood Bowl on November 19, and explained how the trek has lit the flame of wanting to write new music.

“It was a shared sense of [camaraderie], which translated into us really feeling like a band again,” says bassist Eric Avery, who officially rejoined the band in August after 12 years out of the role.

“This time out, there was a real connection between the people onstage that I haven’t felt since 1986. We were all pulling in the same direction, and it was surprising in many ways. I think it’s really important for us to write new material.”

“I had one of the best tours of my life,” Farrell adds. “I just love at the end of the show seeing how many happy people there were. We got to them, and that’s the best feeling in the world,” Farrell says.

But while the tour was a resounding success, as Farrell explains, the band were selective about who they called up to fill Navarro’s position.

“At first, there was a lot of weight on my shoulders. This was our return tour right after Covid, and we didn’t have Dave," frontman Perry Farrell admits. "Jane’s is a unique band, and you can’t just grab any guitar player and they’ll pick it up. That’s Dave Navarro we’re talking about – those are big shoes to fill.”

There's currently no date set for new Jane's Addiction music, but with such an all-star lineup, it looks likely to be one of the guitar highlights of 2023.

Jane’s Addiction’s Spirits On Fire tour hit Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena on Saturday (November 12) and Josh Klinghoffer dropped in to treat fans to a three-song guest spot with the group. 

Klinghoffer joined Perry Farrell and co “fresh from Los Angeles” for a run that included Ocean Size, Three Days and, later in the set, Mountain Song. Naturally, fan footage soon followed and you can watch Klinghoffer’s first performance with the group – on Ocean Size, from 1988’s Nothing Shocking – below.

Klinghoffer appears to have been playing with the band since mid-October, first guesting during Three Days at the group’s Boston show on October 16, and gradually adding to his repertoire in the dates since.

It’s not as if the band is calling out for heavyweight guitar talent, either. Troy Van Leeuwen is currently touring with Jane’s Addiction, filling in for the still absent Dave Navarro, who continues to struggle with long Covid. 

Meanwhile, fans may have been forgiven for considering Josh Klinghoffer hard done by, following his friend John Frusciante’s return to the Red Hot Chili Peppers. 

However, it seems the guitarist has skipped from one dream jam to another ever since. There was that all-star jam with Farrell, Eddie Vedder, Chad Smith, Andrew Watt, Robert Trujillo, Charlie Puth et al from 2021, then he backed Eddie Vedder’s solo work and now he’s kept busy as Pearl Jam’s touring guitarist. It’s hard to think of another player with such an unrivalled resume of ’90s rock icons…

In December 2019, Josh Klinghoffer’s world was upended when he was given the stunning and abrupt news that, after 10 years of membership in the Red Hot Chili Peppers, his services were no longer required and that the band’s longtime guitarist, John Frusciante, was rejoining. He didn’t see it coming, and for a period he felt numb, but given time and space he’s been able to process his dismissal and put things in perspective. 

“Obviously, it’s sad when something is taken from you,” Klinghoffer says. “I did a perfect 10 years with them, but for as much as I love those guys and loved playing with them, it was also enormously stifling creatively. They’re an established band with an established sound, and I learned over time how little deviating from that was possible.”

Asked to elaborate, he says, “When I first joined, I wouldn’t use certain chords when I was writing if they sounded like something John would play. Or if it sounded like a choice they would have made on their last album, I purposely went the other way.” 

He reveals that his efforts in trying to push the band toward new areas of expression proved frustrating at times, saying, “I thought I was doing a good job of writing music with them, but it wound up not kind of becoming part of my story, or if it is part of my story with them, it’s a small part. As much as I thought they were up for experimentation, they generally stayed in their own lane.”

Klinghoffer is quick to deem his tenure with the Chili Peppers “a blessing and a beautiful experience,” but he’s now able to view his departure from the band “the best thing that could have happened to me. I’m free to explore other musical avenues and perhaps find my own sound more than I was able to with them.”

It didn’t take him long to land on his feet. Shortly after he was cut from the Chili Peppers, he was asked to join Pearl Jam as a multi-purpose touring member, an association that soon led to him writing and recording with Eddie Vedder for the singer’s latest solo album, Earthling. 

Interestingly enough, that project – and a short tour coinciding with the record’s release – also included Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith. “It was great to play with Chad again right away,” Klinghoffer says. “It felt so comfortable and familiar.” 

Since 2019, Klinghoffer has released solo albums under the pseudonym Pluralone. First there was To Be One with You, and a year later came I Don’t Feel Well. His latest album under the Pluralone moniker, This Is the Show, is a dreamy, largely synth-driven set produced by the guitarist’s onetime Dot Hacker bandmate Clint Walsh. 

“I was always planning to do my own music even when I was in the Chili Peppers,” Klinghoffer says. “There probably wouldn’t have been so many albums in such a short period of time because I would have had to work around their schedule. Now it’s going to be much easier.”

Most guitarists dream of getting in one big band. You were a Chili Pepper, and now you play with Pearl Jam. What is it about you that all these bands want?

“[Laughs] That’s a good question! I think it’s a combination of a lot of things. Some of it’s pure luck and timing, but I also think it might have something to do with my thirst for musical knowledge. I love other people’s music, but I don’t try to emulate anybody’s playing. I’ve never lost this sense that I’m a beginner, and I think that gives me a more primal approach to the guitar, and perhaps that makes my playing sound individualistic.

“Also, I never really lost the fan side of me. Whether it’s the Chili Peppers or Pearl Jam, I come at them with the same adoration of any fan who was affected deeply by their music, but I’m also somebody who is now in this position of playing alongside them. I try to be loving and supportive. I think that’s part of what carries me through.”

How did the invitation to play with Pearl Jam come about?

“Originally, it was like, ‘Come join us for this next tour,’ because at the time the record they were about to release [2020’s Gigaton] had a lot of backing vocals and other sounds – keyboards, extra guitars and all these miscellaneous things. 

“They were batting around the idea of having somebody else with them, but they didn’t want to turn it into this huge band. But when I suddenly became available, they thought, ‘Oh, this is perfect. We like him, and he can play anything we need.’ I mean, obviously, no one’s going to be in Pearl Jam except those five guys. They’ve had Boom Gaspar playing keyboards as a touring member for a while. But it’s great. I’m honored to say that these guys are my friends.”

You hooked up with the Chili Peppers and Pearl Jam when they already had deep catalogs. In each case, did you have to learn 100 songs in a week?

“I was already in the Chili Peppers’ orbit before joining them. I was good friends with John, and I toured with the band in 2007 as a second guitar player. I generally knew what they did and didn’t play, so I knew what to work on. Some songs from Stadium Arcadium I wasn’t familiar with on the guitar, but I knew Blood Sugar backward and forward. In the case of Pearl Jam, I know their catalog from record one to five like the back of my hand. Albums from 2000 onward, I don’t know as well.” 

You were the sole guitarist in the Chili Peppers. With Pearl Jam, however, you’re one of three, sometimes four, guitarists. What kind of adjustment was that?

“It’s certainly nice to not have to solo and to have this kind of musical bed beneath you. When I play guitar with Pearl Jam, it’s very background and supportive. They’ve got their bases pretty much covered. If they need a background vocal or a little guitar or keyboard part, I can focus on that. 

“It’s a different thing entirely, but I enjoyed doing both. Soloing with the Chili Peppers, even though I didn’t grow up soloing and I didn’t so much care about it, it was always fun. It was always a new experience every time.”

You’ve put out three Pluralone albums in as many years, and you co-wrote tunes with Eddie for Earthling. Writing doesn’t seem to be a problem for you.

“No, not so much. The thing that’s laborious for me is lyrics, but the more I do it, the easier it gets. Actually, the hard part for me is coming up with what to write about. There’s so much going on in the world, and there’s tons going on in one’s inner world, and there’s also been so much that has been said before. 

“Trying to come up with a unique way of saying generally the same thing, and doing it in a way that fits rhythmically with the chords you’ve written, that’s the real work for me.”

You got to play a lot of rocking guitar on Earthling.

“Absolutely. It was great to play a lot of guitar on the record. I love my playing on Brother the Cloud, which they released as a single. But Andrew Watt does a lot of guitar, too. A lot of the guitar on the record is him.”

On the other hand, there’s not a lot of guitar on This Is the Show. It’s more of a textural element.

“The record was born out of 2020 Covid times, trying to do an album remotely with my old band Dot Hacker. I’d write a song and send it to Clint Walsh, and he would communicate with the rhythm section. But it was hard to get four people to agree, and the Dot Hacker thing kind of fell apart. There were things that Clint and I really enjoyed working together on, so we just decided, ‘Hey, why don’t we just make this?’

“As for guitars, I think we were both in the kind of headspace of wanting to make an album that was more about songs. We didn’t consciously set out not to use the guitar, but it just kind of took shape that way. But having said all that, I feel as if the next album I do will be a return to guitar, because it’s been a while now.”

When you tour with Pearl Jam this year, will you be playing any new guitars?

“I found a really nice Custom Shop Tele that I used on the Earthling tour. It’s a beautiful, very faded Olympic White Custom Shop Tele, and I’m going to put a B- and G-bender in it. That’ll come out with me. And the other day I got a beautiful 1928 koa Martin. I’m a big fan of those little Martins, and I’ve never owned a koa wood acoustic, so that was enough for me to want to get it.”

• Earthling is out now via Republic.

Back in 2019, electric guitar player Josh Klinghoffer was bumped out of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, with whom he had been playing for over a decade, in favor of John Frusciante, the six-stringer who – during two previous tenures with the band – helped shape their best-selling albums and define their sound.

In a new interview with Guitar World, Klinghoffer candidly reflected on both the positive and negative aspects of his time with the stadium-conquering funk rockers.

“Obviously, it’s sad when something is taken from you,” Klinghoffer tells Guitar World. “I did a perfect 10 years with them, but for as much as I love those guys and loved playing with them, it was also enormously stifling creatively. They’re an established band with an established sound, and I learned over time how little deviating from that was possible." 

When asked to elaborate, Klinghoffer said, "When I first joined, I wouldn’t use certain chords when I was writing if they sounded like something John would play. Or if it sounded like a choice they would have made on their last album, I purposely went the other way.” 

Klinghoffer says that his efforts to push the band in new sonic directions were met with little enthusiasm. “I thought I was doing a good job of writing music with them, but it wound up not kind of becoming part of my story, or if it is part of my story with them, it’s a small part," he said. "As much as I thought they were up for experimentation, they generally stayed in their own lane.” 

Klinghoffer took care to describe his time with the Red Hot Chili Peppers as “a blessing and a beautiful experience,” but also said he now views his departure from the group as “the best thing that could have happened to me. 

"I’m free to explore other musical avenues and perhaps find my own sound more than I was able to with them,” he says. 

It's not the first time in recent months that Klinghoffer – who's toured with Pearl Jam (both as their opening act and as a live member of the band) and with Eddie Vedder's solo band, and released solo material under the Pluralone name, in the years since he parted ways with the Red Hot Chili Peppers – has expressed some degree of reservations about the music he wrote with the Chili Peppers.

“I’m incredibly conflicted about my output (2011's I'm With You and 2016's The Getaway) with that band because I feel like, in both circumstances, producers got in the way of us truly making great music or a great record,” Klinghoffer told VW Music's Andrew Daly in an interview in August. “I like almost all of the songs that we wrote together, but seldom did we capture them in the best way.”

In that interview, Klinghoffer went on to express particularly strong opinions about Rick Rubin's role in I'm With You.

“I will say that in the case of I’m With You, I feel Rick Rubin was way more a hindrance than a help,” Klinghoffer said of the Red Hot Chili Peppers' longtime producer. “He told me once, ‘I just want to help the songs be the best they can be.’ I should’ve said, ‘Well, then get your driver to come and get you.’”

To read our full interview with Klinghoffer, in which the guitar ace also discusses his musical relationship with Eddie Vedder, and his recent Pluralone offerings, pick up a copy of the new issue of Guitar World via Magazines Direct.

Since his departure from the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2019, electric guitar player Josh Klinghoffer has kept plenty busy, touring with Pearl Jam (both as their opening act and as a live member of the band) and with Eddie Vedder's solo band.

He's also released a few solo albums under the Pluralone name, the most recent being this year's This Is The Show. With all that going on, Klinghoffer recently sat down with VW Music for a chat about Pearl Jam, his solo work and his time with the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Interestingly, when asked to reflect on his two albums with the Chili Peppers – 2011's I'm With You and 2016's The Getaway – Klinghoffer seemed to strike a regretful tone.

“I’m incredibly conflicted about my output with that band because I feel like, in both circumstances, producers got in the way of us truly making great music or a great record,” Klinghoffer said. “I like almost all of the songs that we wrote together, but seldom did we capture them in the best way.”

I'm With You – just like the five Red Hot Chili Peppers albums before it – was produced by Rick Rubin, while The Getaway was helmed by Danger Mouse. Though he acknowledged that his opinion was perhaps "biased" and "warped," given the lack of time that's elapsed since he was replaced by returning guitarist John Frusciante, Klinghoffer expressed particularly strong opinions about Rubin's role in I’m With You.

“I will say that in the case of I’m With You, I feel Rick Rubin was way more a hindrance than a help,” Klinghoffer said. “He told me once, ‘I just want to help the songs be the best they can be.’ I should’ve said, ‘Well, then get your driver to come and get you.’”

Rubin is one of music's most legendary producers, and has worked with countless megastars from the worlds of rock, country and hip-hop. Klinghoffer, however, is not the only prominent guitarist who's gone on record about their issues with Rubin.

In a 2003 interview with Guitar World, AC/DC's late rhythm guitar dynamo, Malcolm Young, revealed that Rubin's methods didn't quite click with the Aussie hard-rockers. 

"When we worked with Rick [on the band's 1995 album, Ballbreaker] there was something not quite right there," he said. "He’s not a real rock and roller, that’s for sure. All he worried about was the snare drum. We would never go back to him. We thought he was a phony, to be honest!"

Others, however – including Metallica's James Hetfield – have praised Rubin in the pages of Guitar World. The Metallica frontman said in a 2008 GW interview that Rubin's work – along with that of engineer Greg Fidelman – on the band's Death Magnetic album brought his band's "sound to a new level."

Klinghoffer's feelings aside, Rubin did return to produce both of the Chili Peppers' 2022 albums with John Frusciante, Unlimited Love and Return of the Dream Canteen.

It’s been an eventful few weeks for Eddie Vedder, who recently wrapped up a US tour in support of his new solo album, Earthling. With the aid of his all-star house band – comprised of electric guitar players Andrew Watt and Josh Klinghoffer, Glen Hansard, bass guitar player Chris Chaney and drummer Chad Smith – Vedder has treated attendees to cuts from his new record, as well as a handful of show-stopping covers.

Not only has the Earthlings band covered the Beatles, Prince and Jimi Hendrix during their time on the road, they also recently teamed up with Duff McKagan for an energetic performance of The Pretenders’ Precious.

Now, the crew have continued their fine interpretive form, bringing out The Police drummer Stewart Copeland on stage for a cover of the band’s 1979 hit, Message in a Bottle.

Taking place at the YouTube Theater in Inglewood, California, on February 25, the cover commenced with Copeland picking up the sticks for a fill-loaded intro beat that preceded a particularly rusty opening exchange.

Vedder himself couldn’t help but laugh, though the band managed to pick up the slack and settled into a comfortable rhythm for the first chorus. 

Message In A Bottle was then followed by an Earthlings setlist stalwart, Neil Young’s Rockin’ In The Free World, which has served as the ensemble's closer on a number of occasions.

And, with the drum stool temporarily occupied by Copeland, the Earthlings' resident drummer – Red Hot Chili Peppers legend Chad Smith – once again took up position behind a Bigsby-equipped Gibson Les Paul Goldtop to keep himself busy with guitar duties.

It’s a position he’s become quite familiar with in recent times, after he spontaneously swapped instruments with bandmate Klinghoffer for an encore rendition of the same track last week – a rendition, may we add, that contained some spectacular onstage antics.

His guitar hero tricks went one step further this time out, though, as he made his way off the stage and into the pits with his six-string to get up-close-and-personal with some lucky front row spectators.

It capped off what had been a whirlwind evening for Vedder and the Earthlings. Earlier in the show, the group brought on Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers keyboardist Benmont Tench to perform a couple of Petty's biggest hits, including Room at the Top and The Waiting.

With the aid of Tench, the group also covered Marvin Gaye’s Baby Don’t You Do It and George Harrison’s Isn’t It a Pity.

Eddie Vedder’s Earthling tour wrapped up last night (February 27) at The Magnolia in El Cajon, CA.

Eddie Vedder recruited Guns N' Roses bassist Duff McKagan during his show at Benaroya Hall in Seattle, Washington on Monday (February 21) for a cover of Precious, from The Pretenders' 1979 self-titled debut album.

Joining Vedder's backing band, The Earthlings – which boasts an all-star lineup of Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, former Chilis guitarist Josh Klinghoffer, Jane's Addiction bassist Chris Chaney, The Frames guitarist Glen Hansard and Ozzy Osbourne producer Andrew Watt – McKagan handles the track's low-end armed with his signature Fender Precision bass guitar. Check out the performance below.

The Pearl Jam frontman is currently on tour in support of his latest solo studio album, Earthling. The trek kicked off at the Beacon Theatre in New York on February 3, and the last originally planned show at Benaroya Hall in Seattle took place last night (February 22).

Due to an outbreak of Covid in Vedder's touring party earlier this month, shows at San Diego's The Magnolia and Los Angeles' YouTube theatre on February 15 and 17 will now take place on February 27 and 25, respectively.

Alongside a host of tracks from Earthling – like The Haves and Long Way – and a selection of Pearl Jam cuts, Vedder's Earthlings Tour setlist has included covers of The Beatles' Here Comes the Sun, Prince's Purple Rain and Jimi Hendrix's All Along the Watchtower.

And during his show at Benaroya Hall last night, as Setlist.fm reports, Vedder reportedly paid tribute to Screaming Trees lead singer Mark Lanegan, who recently passed away at the age of 57.

Vedder released Earthling – his first non-movie soundtrack solo album – earlier this month. Alongside contributions from Ringo Starr, Elton John and Stevie Wonder, the LP also features guest vocals from his late father.

“I didn't really get to know my real father,” Vedder said in a January interview with Mojo (per Louder). “I met him maybe three or four times as a kid, but he was, you know, a friend of the family. It would have been nice to have been in a room with him at some point before he died when I was 13. It would have been nice to share that I knew that he was my pop, but it didn't happen.”

Vedder then revealed that around 10 years ago, a contact gave him some photos of his father and, later, a disc of vocal recordings made by him.

“I carried that disc around for two, three months in my suitcase, not ready to hear it,” he continued. “Finally, I got the guts, and after a couple bottles of wine played it one night in Argentina. And he was good. It was incredible – like he left a message for me.”

The recordings were subsequently reworked by Vedder and producer Andrew Watt for inclusion on Earthling.

Eddie Vedder has revealed that his new album Earthling, due February 11, will feature guest spots from Elton John, Ringo Starr and Stevie Wonder. 

The Pearl Jam frontman and songwriter revealed the eyebrow-raising guest list in a new interview with MOJO. Wonder reportedly features on the record's 11th track, Picture, while the specifics of Starr and John’s involvement remain under-wraps for the time being.

In addition, the songwriter revealed he and producer Andrew Watt have included a montage of Vedder’s late father’s vocals in the record.

“I didn’t really get to know my real father,” Vedder says (via Louder). “I met him maybe three or four times as a kid, but he was, you know, a friend of the family. It would have been nice to have been in a room with him at some point before he died when I was 13. It would have been nice to share that I knew that he was my pop, but it didn’t happen.”

The songwriter reveals that around 10 years ago a contact passed him some photos of his father and, later, a disc of vocal recordings made by him. 

“I carried that disc around for two, three months in my suitcase, not ready to hear it. Finally, I got the guts, and after a couple bottles of wine played it one night in Argentina. And he was good. It was incredible – like he left a message for me.”

The recordings have since been reworked by Vedder and Watt for inclusion on Earthling, alongside the big name guest talent. 

“I thought of the record like a setlist – by the end, that’s when you start bringing out special guests,” continues Vedder. “We had Stevie and Elton, Ringo was an incredible addition… and then my pop gets to be on a record with those guys, which is not too shabby.”

Those names come in addition to a previous guest spot by Benmont Tench of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers and the already formidable talent of Vedder’s touring band, The Earthlings, which features Andrew Watt, alongside Josh Klinghoffer, Chris Chaney and Chad Smith.

As of today, Vedder has also released a new cut from the album, Brother The Cloud, which follows previous singles The Long Way and The Haves. The song has something of early Pearl Jam DNA – with a funky soul-style breakdown – and details the loss of a close friend. You can check out the new song above, and see the full track list for Earthling below.

Eddie Vedder – Earthling:

1. Invincible
2. Long Way
3. Power of Right’
4. Brother The Cloud
5. Fallout Today
6. The Dark
7. The Haves
8. Good and Evil
9. Rose of Jericho
10. Try
11. Picture
12. Mrs. Mills
13. On My Way

Stream or purchase Brother The Cloud now. 

Since his parting of ways with the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2019, Josh Klinghoffer has kept plenty busy, joining Pearl Jam as a touring member while separately lending a hand to Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder onstage and in the studio. 

On his own, Klinghoffer's also issued two albums under the Pluralone name, 2019’s To Be One with You and 2020’s I Don’t Feel Well. Over the weekend, on New Year's Eve, Klinghoffer took to Pluralone's Instagram page to share an acoustic cover of Thank You For Being A Friend, the theme song for the television show The Golden Girls.

The cover was a tribute to Golden Girls star Betty White, who died on New Year's Eve, less than three weeks shy of her 100th birthday. 

Demonstrating both his vocal and fingerpicking chops, Klinghoffer gives the Andrew Gold-penned tune a homespun, heartfelt, and folky feel. You can check out the cover below.

“There has been a lot of loss lately, a lot of endings,” Klinghoffer wrote in the video's caption. “It’s happening all the time everywhere, but these past few weeks have seen the loss of a few important people in my life. I rarely feel like I have any wisdom to share, but the son of the creator of the show I have included the theme song to said this, and I think it’s just brilliant. He said (something like), ‘We are all experts at being exactly who we were the day before.’

"As it’s a beginning of sorts, tomorrow, perhaps try and do something differently," the guitarist continued. "Make that call. Start that book. Go and breathe outside. Put an end to that fight. Feel. Try and mend some of the broken things you see around you, inside and out. Live life knowing you don’t have forever as all lives tend toward ending.”

Klinghoffer is scheduled to hit the road with Eddie Vedder in February as part of an all-star band that includes Ozzy Osbourne producer Andrew Watt and The Frames' Glen Hansard on guitar, Jane's Addiction's Chris Chaney on bass guitar, and Klinghoffer's one-time Chili Peppers bandmate, Chad Smith, on drums.

The eight-date American run is in support of Vedder's forthcoming solo album, Earthling, which was produced by Watt. Featuring Klinghoffer, Smith and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers keyboardist Benmont Tench, among other big names, the album is set for a February 11 release via Seattle Surf/Republic Records.

Eddie Vedder has announced an eight-date US tour in February 2022 in support of his upcoming solo album, Earthling, and will be joined by a star-studded backing band.

Aptly named the Earthlings, Vedder's band for the trek includes Ozzy Osbourne producer Andrew Watt on guitar, The Frames' Glen Hansard on guitar and vocals, Jane's Addiction's Chris Chaney on bass guitar, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, and ex-RHCP guitarist Josh Klinghoffer, who will also handle backing vocal and keyboard duties.

This won't be the first time Klinghoffer has performed with Eddie Vedder, as earlier this year, after officially joining Pearl Jam as a touring musician, the guitarist joined the band for their set at the Sea.Hear.Now festival in New Jersey's Asbury Park on September 18.

Kicking off February 3 at the Beacon Theater in New York, the tour will make stops Newark, NJ, Chicago, IL, and Los Angeles, CA, before wrapping up with back-to-back shows on February 21 and 22 at the Benaroya Hall in Seattle, WA.

Eddie Vedder's new album Earthling arrives February 11 via Seattle Surf/Republic Records. While the Pearl Jam leader released his first album Into the Wild – a collection of songs for the Sean Penn movie of the same name – in 2007, Earthling is his second solo album not linked to a film soundtrack, after 2011's Ukulele Songs.

Two singles have been released from the record, a beautiful acoustic ballad titled The Haves, and the more upbeat Long Way, which features Josh Klinghoffer and Chad Smith, as well as The Heartbreakers' Benmont Tench on the Hammond organ.

There will be no general sale of tickets for the Earthlings Tour, and public tickets will only be available through Ticketmaster Verified Fan Registration, which is open now through December 5.

Additionally, a separate ticket presale is already underway for members of Ten Club, Pearl Jam's fan club.

Last month, Eddie Vedder released a new project on Amazon Audible, entitled I Am Mine, which reflects on his life and achievements with Pearl Jam.

The audiobook sees Vedder recount the tragic events of June 30, 2000, when a crowd surge during Pearl Jam's set at the Roskilde Festival resulted in the deaths of nine fans.

“There was at least one person in the band, I remember, that thought maybe we should never play again,” he reflects.

“We all had to process something that we all went through as individuals, but also with the help of each other. Although I kind of disappeared into Europe – [I] had my own way of getting through it, which was taking Spanish guitar lessons from people who didn't speak English.

“That was just a way to focus and be around people that I couldn’t understand for the most part. And that way I was able to be around people, but since I didn’t really know what they were saying, it felt very peaceful and calm.”

For those who thought we may see less of guitarist Josh Klinghoffer after his high-profile gig with the Red Hot Chili Peppers came to an end in 2019, you've been proven incorrect. 

Post-Peppers, the multi-instrumentalist has been hard at work – launching his own solo band, Pluralone, and issued a pair of albums (2019’s To Be One with You and 2020’s I Don’t Feel Well). Plus, he's been enlisted as a hired hand for live work for both Pearl Jam and Eddie Vedder’s own band, the Earthlings. 

Shortly after making his live debut with Pearl Jam and the Earthlings at the Ohana Festival and releasing two B-sides from Pluralone’s I Don’t Feel Well sessions (the tracks Across the Park and Sevens), Klinghoffer spoke to Guitar World.

What is your guitar setup with Pluralone?

“Honestly, Pluralone has only performed once live. So, I can give you the rundown of that rig. That was a particular, ‘thrown together at the last minute’ sort of setup for that one show. For any future shows, it’s ‘TBD’ – I haven’t really settled on a rig yet. But for the show at the Ohana Fest, I used… I think it’s a ’59 Gibson Barney Kessel that I just found a few months prior. 

“And this is typical for me – for my first-ever show, I played a bunch of guitars that I was fairly unfamiliar with. I played a Teisco Del Ray 12-string that I had just purchased three days before. It had belonged to Ry Cooder. Those are the two guitars I used at that performance.

“I think I used my early ‘60s Vox AC30. It’s a tan one. And effects, I threw a 'board together for that show specifically, and I regretted it the entire time – because I played around four in the afternoon, and the sun was beating down on me, and I couldn’t see any of the lights! I was a little frazzled because it was my first performance, and I was forgetting all the things you’d normally check. So, I would play a whole song thinking I was on clean, but really, my distortion was on. 

“And that distortion is one of my favorite pedals – an Ibanez [BS10] Bass Stack. And then the other thing I had up there but was putting a drum machine through it – but I use this on guitar all the time – was the Red Panda Particle.”

Which guitars did you use in the studio for Pluralone?

“I think because I spent so much time in the Chili Peppers, I was always attracted to the Strat. So, I usually approach everything thinking either, ‘Which Strat to use?’ or ‘Why would I not use a Strat?’ For Pluralone, I generally used a couple of different Strats on the last recordings. And I’ve recorded with a Jaguar and Jazzmaster. I tend to use a lot of Fenders in the studio. 

“Apart from on this last Pluralone album I used my Gibson Firebird VII a little bit – which I got right when I joined the Chili Peppers, thinking I would tour with it a lot because it’s a lot of fun to play. But it wound up being difficult to find a place to play in that band. I used it on the first tour, but never again. 

“I used a Fender Bass VI. The bass I used a lot on this album was my late friend’s Music Man StingRay fretless bass. He was my best friend growing up and he died when he was 19, so I used his bass on his birthday to record the song [The Report]. And I used an Ampeg AEB-1. And early ‘60s Jazz basses, too – I have one with flats and one with wounds.”

How would you compare your Pluralone setup to what you used with the Chili Peppers?

“It’s a little smaller. The Chili Peppers live rig is one thing, and then the studio rig would be another thing. The last album I did with the Chili Peppers, The Getaway, I’m ashamed to admit that my rig was nothing like what I intended it to be. I did that whole album with a Marshall practice amp! 

“But the two amps I had set up were a Marshall practice amp from the early ‘80s and a late ‘50s Fender Deluxe. I used the Marshall more. But I had a whole diametrically opposite plan for that record – I was going to do a lot of creative things with amps. I collected a bunch of amps during the first tour I’d done with them – it just goes to show you can’t make too many plans or try and control anything. So, I was going to put that into effect on my third album with them… which didn’t come to be. 

“But live, it’s just louder and more present. I used a 200-watt Marshall Major amp – because John Frusciante used those, and at first, I was thinking, ‘If he used it, there’s got to be something to that loud amp.’ But over time and just the trend of how comfortable people are playing changed over time. So, I never played as loud as I think the band had in the past. 

“The fact that I used that amp wound up being a problem. Probably because of all the headroom I had with that 200-watt amp and was always stacking different combinations of gain on top of each other. I should have used a smaller wattage amp. But the Marshall Major and the Fender Tone Master were my rig for the last tour. 

“For 80 percent I’d use Strats. I had one Gibson on the first tour – the Firebird. And then the second tour it was an SG, and after that I had one Les Paul. I always had a 12-string of some kind – a Fender or a Firebird – because we would play Breaking the Girl once in a while that I’d do on 12-string. But pretty much always Strats. Once in a while, I’d bring out a Jazzmaster for fun. You can do a thousand things with a Strat.”

Have you been in touch with the Chili Peppers since your departure?

“Yeah, I have – in different amounts with different guys. I hadn’t seen Anthony [Kiedis] until the other day – I ran into him at Chad Smith’s birthday. But we text. I play Fantasy Basketball with Flea – he and I are in contact often. And then I’ve had the good fortune of just continuing to work with Chad a lot in the last two years – doing some records, and recording a lot with Andrew Watt.”

How did you get involved with Pearl Jam?

“The Chili Peppers and Pearl Jam have a long, intertwined history. The Chili Peppers took Pearl Jam out on one of their first tours back in 1991. Jack Irons – the original drummer of the Chili Peppers – connected Eddie with Stone [Gossard] and Jeff [Ament] in Seattle. And then Jack Irons went on to become the drummer in Pearl Jam for a little bit. Basically, the Chili Peppers and Pearl Jam have just been close. 

“At some point, we connected. It was 2016 that I really saw them more – we did the same festival in New Orleans. We became a little closer over time – did some gigs with Mike McCready for various charities, and Eddie came down and played the benefit fundraiser for Flea’s music school in Silverlake. 

“When their new album was going to come out – right before the pandemic – they felt they needed a little bit of help. Predominantly with background vocals and a couple other things. So, they had offered me the position of opening their tour and they said, ‘Since you’re there, you can sing a couple of bits, play percussion. Anything that’s needed.’

“As it turns out, I’m playing guitar on a song or two. I have a minor but key role at certain points of the show. But it’s really just through long history and friendships that existed before I was even around. But lucky for me I was a huge fan of them when I was a kid and I’m quite familiar with their older music. So, it’s not like joining some band that is just ‘another band.’ 

“For me, the friend that I mentioned whose fretless bass I played, he only owned a fretless because he was a big fan of Jeff Ament, and I was like, ‘You should get a fretless!’ I have a great picture of Jeff playing that bass that I sent to my friend’s mom – which is a really nice, full-circle moment. 

“So, I wasn’t a stranger. It kind of made sense for me to join the Chili Peppers – when John decided not to do it at that period, I had been around for so long and friends toured with them, having me around wasn’t something that was an adjustment. Kind of the same with Pearl Jam. Not as much, maybe – because I didn’t know them as much, not living in Seattle. But having me around wouldn’t be that strange or different.”

How is it determined what you will be playing with Pearl Jam? As Eddie also plays a lot of guitar, there can potentially be four guitarists on stage.

“I don’t really play that much guitar. I play on four songs maybe at the most, and rarely will all four be in the same set. So, I’d say two or three a night. It has a lot to do with their latest album, Gigaton, was recorded over a long period of time and there were different sessions of overdubbing. So, there’s a lot of parts that might need a couple of extra hands.

“I’m never taking a guitar part that’s more essential than Stone or Mike. And Eddie plays guitar quite a bit in the band, but not as much on the newer stuff. He played a lot of guitar on the songs that he wrote, but he doesn’t play on those live. So, one of the ones I play on is a song where on the record there’s Eddie, Stone, and Mike playing. Eddie doesn’t want to play that song live, so I’m playing one of the little parts.”

Which songs do you play live with Pearl Jam?

“I play on Superblood Wolfmoon, Seven O’Clock – and that’s the one song where four of us are holding guitars at one point. But I honestly don’t think Eddie plays until the latter verse – right before the final chorus. So, when he starts playing, we almost crisscross. There might be one chorus where there’s four guitars at once. 

“But then the minute the last chorus is over and the outro begins, I hand my guitar to my tech. I could just hold it, but I feel like I want there to be one less guitar. So then I just sing from that point on. I might be forgetting one, but I know I do a little part in In My Tree.”

What's next on the cards for your solo material, and how long do you plan to tour with Pearl Jam?

“I have a slightly unrealistic/pompous bet with myself that I would be able to put out a record every year. So, I’m in year three of Pluralone’s existence, and I’m dangerously close to losing that bet and not having a record out this year. But the clock isn’t up yet. I’m trying to make as much music as possible under my own little solo moniker. And then whatever Pearl Jam has on the calendar. 

“For the foreseeable future I’ll be with them, since it’s still in support of the Gigaton album. I’m by no means a member of Pearl Jam, but I’m definitely committed to touring this next cycle. They’ve been so welcoming, and they’re totally conscious and supportive of my music and my solo work.

“But I’ve been doing a lot of recording with friends, and like I said, with Andrew and Chad. There’s pretty much something going on every day. I finally built a studio. For the first time in my life, I have the ability to record whenever I want.”

• Pluralone's latest album I Don't Feel Well is out now via ORG Music.

Eddie Vedder's Ohana Festival bore witness to the birth of a new supergroup this weekend when the Pearl Jam frontman stepped in to replace Kings of Leon at short notice on September 24.

The original Friday headliners were forced to cancel their set in order to allow brothers and bandmates Caleb, Nathan and Jared Followill to spend time with their mother, Betty Ann Murphy, who then sadly passed away on the morning of the show.

Vedder stepped up to fill the slot with a little help from his friends: recruiting jam buddies Chad Smith and Andrew Watt, newly announced Pearl Jam touring guitarist (and former RHCP member) Josh Klinghoffer, and respected session bassist Pino Palladino for a last-minute headline performance at the California festival.

Vedder performed a set that included a wide range of covers, among them R.E.M.’s Drive, Prince’s Purple Rain and The Pretenders’ Precious. Vedder’s daughter Olivia also made an appearance on My Father’s Daughter (which the duo recorded for the forthcoming Flag Day soundtrack), further enhancing the family atmosphere.

Perhaps most the most poignant choice though was a cover of King’s of Leon’s Molly’s Chambers, which was introduced in tribute to the Followills’ mother. 

“Love you Caleb, love you Nathan, love You Matthew, love you Jared. Love you Betty-Ann”, said Vedder, before telling the audience, “We’re kind of making it up here tonight. I need you!”

In addition, the singer played a (more rehearsed) solo show on Saturday (September 25) and closed the event with a Pearl Jam set last night (September 26), making the impromptu show one of three headline sets that Vedder performed across the festival.

All of the songwriter's band, with the exception of Palladino have also worked on Vedder’s forthcoming solo album, Earthling, his first for 10 years.

Former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer has joined Seattle rock giants Pearl Jam as a touring musician.

Klinghoffer – who was dismissed from the Chili Peppers back in 2019 to make way for the return of former guitarist John Frusciante – partnered with the Seattle icons last year for a quarantine performance of Dance of the Clairvoyants, however as a Pearl Jam representative confirms, his association with the band is now ongoing.

The guitarist joined Pearl Jam for their set at the Sea.Hear.Now festival in New Jersey's Asbury Park on Saturday (September 18), helping them sail through their 20-track set, which included classics like Alive and Even Flow, as well as the live debut of Quick Escape, Seven O'Clock, Superblood Wolfmoon and Take the Long Way, taken from 2020 album Gigaton.

Klinghoffer also contributes guitar and piano to Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder's latest solo single, Long Way, alongside Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith.

The former RHCP man opened up on his dismissal from the band in January 2020, saying: “It's absolutely John's place to be in that band.”

“That's why I'm happy for him, I'm happy that he's back with them,” the guitarist said during an appearance on WTF with Marc Maron.

“If John coming back had happened five years ago, it would have been hard for me, temporally, to weigh against what they had. Now, after 10 years, two tours, and almost three albums of writing, I'm really proud of what I did with them. I feel like we did create something.”

Legendary producer Rick Rubin recently spoke of how he cried watching the Chili Peppers first rehearsal with John Frusciante after he rejoined.

“Frusciante's back in the band and it's unbelievable,” Rubin told Chris Jericho on his Talk is Jericho podcast earlier this month.

“I [was invited to] the first rehearsal after John rejoined the band and it made me cry. It was so thrilling to see that group of people back together because they made such great music for so long together and it really hit me in an emotional way.”

Pearl Jam's friendship with fellow alt-rockers the Red Hot Chili Peppers isn't exactly a state secret. In 2018 for instance, the Chili Peppers' then-guitarist, Josh Klinghoffer, and their drummer, Chad Smith, joined Pearl Jam onstage for a spirited rendition of Neil Young's Rockin' in the Free World.

With that in mind, it may not be a huge surprise to see that Vedder, Smith and Klinghoffer were filmed on July 4 (at what appears to be a private party) tackling the same tune once again, but it's still pretty awesome.

What's more, the jam – phone-recorded clips of which you can check out above – also features cameos from Metallica's Robert Trujillo, Jane's Addiction's Perry Farrell, Charlie Puth, Charlotte Lawrence and Andrew Watt.  

Later on in the video, Farrell takes a turn at the mic to lead the ad-hoc, all-star group in a rendition of the Jane's Addiction classic, Jane Says.

Aside from his friendship with Pearl Jam, Smith also has some musical history with Watt, having previously teamed up with the Post Malone producer – plus Slash and Chris Chaney – for a killer cover of Black Sabbath's War Pigs during a New Year's Eve livestream.

Klinghoffer, meanwhile, has maintained a close relationship with Pearl Jam even after his 2019 departure from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, joining the band last May for a trippy quarantine performance of their song, Dance of the Clairvoyants.

Fender has released a behind-the-scenes look at how Master Builder Carlos Lopez designed and built the stunning Double Neck Marauder, which is part of the guitar brand’s 2021 Custom Shop Prestige collection.

The electric guitar itself was initially inspired by the possibility of combining two of Lopez’s favorite guitars – the Electric XII and the Marauder – to create a new model entirely, with Lopez revealing that “every time I build something, I have to be obsessed and passionate about doing it”.

Collaborating closely with Lopez during the design stage was legendary designer Paul Frank, who said, “I was open to try new things and not be afraid to push the limits. Nothing’s too crazy.”

“I have my way of how I start, and I had the two-dimensional representation of the skeleton of it, which I sent to Paul,” said Lopez on how they got the ball rolling on the project. “He then sent it back to me with different colors and ideas. He brought it more to life.”

While discussing specs, Lopez revealed that the pair had opposing ideas on which headstock design to use. In the end, the Master Builder opted for the big-peg design, saying, “What the Marauder is to me, is what that headstock is.”

In the pickup department, each set was designed and made by Curtis Novak upon Frank and Lopez’s request to have both a trio of split 12-string pickups, and a set of Jaguar-inspired single-coils without the pole pieces to fit with their aesthetic vision.

“What was fun about the 12-sting was that it had split pickups, and I thought, ‘No-one ever does a set of three,’” mused Frank. “I always felt on the 12-string there was a hole, there was a missing area, so let’s have three sets instead of two.”

As for the finish, Frank divulged that the appointment of a stunning Seafoam Green colorway stemmed from his personal love of Spinal Tap, with the color closely mirroring the Fender Bass VI wielded by Nigel Tufnel.

Speaking of the final product, Lopez said, “I guess my hope is that I want somebody to play it. I want somebody to create something with it. I hope somebody gets this and is inspired to create the next badass album, to create something that makes a mark.”

The Fender Double Neck Marauder seems well on track to achieve this goal, with former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer stating, “It absolutely inspires”, after spending seven minutes tearing it up on the guitar.

“The amount of ideas that these things [the Marauders] have brought to the world is immeasurable,” Klinghoffer continued.

For more information on the Double Neck Marauder, and to see the rest of the Prestige Collection, head over to the Fender Custom Shop.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Pearl Jam never made it out on the road in support of their recent album, Gigaton. 

But the band has finally played one of its songs live, as part of the All In WA: A Concert for COVID-19 Relief event, which also featured the likes of Dave Matthews and Brandi Carlile. 

The band contributed a trippy performance of Gigaton’s first single, Dance of the Clairvoyants, with lead guitarist Mike McCready donning some wild face paint, co-electric guitar player Stone Gossard moving over to bass and bassist Jeff Ament handling keyboards.

But those weren’t the only guitar player hijinks – the video also features a guest appearance from former Red Hot Chili Peppers six-stringer Josh Klinghoffer, who contributes backing vocals.

Klinghoffer had been set to join the Seattle icons on their US tour with new project Pluralone, following his departure from the Chilis after a 10-year tenure to make way for the return of former guitarist John Frusciante.

As he told Marc Maron’s WTF podcast in January, despite his disappointment, “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.”

The Chili Peppers and Frusciante are reportedly working on their first album together since 2006’s Stadium Arcadium.

As for Klinghoffer, we’ll keep an eye out for more Pearl Jam cameos in the future.

In the meantime, head to All In WA to support their COVID-19 relief efforts.

Over the weekend, John Frusciante played his first gig with the Red Hot Chili Peppers in over a decade, as part of a memorial for aspiring film producer Andrew Burkle, hosted by the Tony Hawk Foundation.

Frusciante, Anthony Kiedis, Flea and Jane’s Addiction drummer Stephen Perkins - who stepped in for an absent Chad Smith - played a three-song set, comprising Give It Away, I Wanna Be Your Dog (The Stooges) and Gang of Four’s Not Great Men, likely a tribute to the band’s guitarist Andy Gill, who passed away earlier this month.

The show also played host to another surprising reunion, as Frusciante joined forces with ex-RHCP electric guitar player Dave Navarro for Jane’s Addiction classic Mountain Song, during a four-song stint by the LA alt-rockers.

You can see a compilation of fan-shot footage above, which shows Frusciante in fine form, with his ’62 Strat-into-Marshall Silver Jubilee pairing positively shining.

Frusciante last performed with the Chili Peppers at the UK's Leeds Festival back in 2007, although he didn't officially leave the band until two years later.

RHCP announced the guitarist's Frusciante in December last year, which resulted in the ousting of Josh Klinghoffer, who later reflected, “It’s absolutely John’s place to be in that band.

“If John coming back had happened five years ago, it would have been hard for me, temporally, to weigh against what they had.

“Now, after 10 years, two tours, and almost three albums of writing, I'm really proud of what I did with them. I feel like we did create something.

“John and Flea have a musical language. I'll never be able to contend with the history him and John had.”

The band’s first full shows are slated for May, with a run of festival dates in the US stopping at Hangout Music Festival, Bottlerock and Boston Calling.

Back in December we reported that John Frusciante had rejoined the Red Hot Chili Peppers – for a second time – after being away from the band for 10 years. 

Now, the man who had been filling his slot for the past decade, Josh Klinghoffer, has broken his silence on his firing from the LA punk-funk outfit.

During an appearance on WTF with Marc Maron, the electric guitar player, who performed on 2011's I'm With You and 2016's The Getaway, recounted to host Maron how he was informed of the change in personnel.

"I rode my bike over [to bassist Flea's house]," he said. "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.'”

Despite his disappointment, Klinghoffer also asserted that there was no animosity between him and the rest of the Peppers – Flea, front man Anthony Keidis and drummer Chad Smith.

“It’s absolutely John’s place to be in that band,” Klinghoffer said. “So that’s why I’m happy for him, I’m happy that he’s back with them.”

He continued, "If John coming back had happened five years ago, it would have been hard for me, temporally, to weigh against what they had.

"Now, after 10 years, two tours, and almost three albums of writing, I'm really proud of what I did with them. I feel like we did create something."

Klinghoffer also acknowledged that "John and Flea have a musical language. I'll never be able to contend with the history him and John had."

The LA icons are currently in the midst of recording a new album with Frusciante, ahead of a number of summer festival dates.

This past Friday, March 15, Red Hot Chili Peppers livestreamed a full set from the Great Pyramids Of Giza in Egypt. You can check it out above.

“Before each new place my body tingled with excitement, a yearning for a new mystery to unfold, a fascination with a new culture, the possibility of new friends, tasting new food, smelling new tastes, absorbing new rhythms,” Flea said of the performance in a press statement. “Learning. Learning. Learning. It is happening again right now, my heart is abuzz with joy at the prospect of performing in Egypt. I’m so grateful and humbled for the impending experience.”

During the performance—which even won a Twitter endorsement from Egypt's Minister of Tourism, Rania Al-Mashat—the band covered the Stooges’ “I Wanna Be Your Dog,” Stevie Wonder's "Higher Ground" and, in a solo piano rendition courtesy of guitarist Josh Klinghoffer, Radiohead's "Pyramid Song."

Students and faculty at the Viewpoint School in Calabasas, California, received an impromptu concert from the Red Hot Chili Peppers during an assembly on Halloween morning. Drummer Chad Smith’s kids are students at Viewpoint, and so the band came out dressed in costume—including Anthony Kiedis dressed as a schoolboy and bassist Flea as a skeleton—to perform their 2002 hit “Can’t Stop,” with guitarist Josh Klinghoffer playing the song’s famous licks through a small Marshall combo amp.

You can check out the performance above.

During a show in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday night, Pearl Jam invited Chad Smith and Josh Klinghoffer—drummer and guitarist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers—to the stage for a spirited rendition of Neil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World."

The performance of the 1989 Young classic, which you can watch via some fan-filmed footage above, is an absolute stormer and features Eddie Vedder tossing a number of tambourines into the crowd and Klinghoffer trading some scintillating solos with Pearl Jam guitarists Stone Gossard and Mike McCready.

Just last week, Pearl Jam unveiled "Can't Deny Me," their first new song in five years. The song is from the band's as-yet-untitled upcoming album and was produced by the band with Brendan O'Brien.

You can download the track at pearljam.com.

As expected, several popular artists have been honoring the late Chris Cornell by performing his music.

Late last week, we shared Megadeth's performance of Soundgarden's "Outshined." Today we bring you two tributes by members of Metallica and Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Last Thursday night, Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer performed "Seasons," a solo Cornell track from the film soundtracks of Singles and Man of Steel.

It wasn't the first time the Peppers gang performed a Cornell-penned tune; at a Red Hot Chili Peppers show in Vienna, Austria, in November 2016, Klinghoffer played a solo version of Temple of the Dog's "All Night Thing" as a tribute to that band's then-current reunion tour. You can watch both performances below.

This past Friday night, Metallica's Robert Trujillo performed a bit of Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun" during Metallica's show at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Earlier in the night, James Hetfield ended the band's performance of "The Unforgiven" with a solemn statement: "We forgive you, Chris."

"The Unforgiven," a power ballad from 1991, is a deeply personal song for Hetfield. You can watch both performances below.

@robtrujillo plays @soundgarden's Black Hole Sun in memory of Chris Cornell. #Metallica #WorldWired #MetInBoston

A post shared by Metallica (@metallica) on May 19, 2017 at 10:09pm PDT

Musicians have had all sorts of ways of dealing with audience members who pay more attention to their phones than to the stage performance. Disturbed’s Dave Draiman called out one texting fan, and Slipknot’s Corey Taylor slapped a smartphone right out of one attendee’s hands.

Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer came up with his own method. During the group’s recent show in Torino, Italy, Klinghoffer was so fed up with the audience’s use of cellphones that he decided to take a video of them with his phone rather than play his solo to the group’s hit “Californication.”

The moment comes about 3:30 into the video, below.

A Reddit user who saw the Chili Peppers in London recently said the crowd at that show was “horrific.”

“People literally filming every song, hardly anyone jumping or dancing out... And tbh, most of the people near me were actually there to see Babymetal by the looks of it.

“The biggest cheer RHCP got was went Anthony took his shirt off for fuck sake, and it’s such a shame because the band played so fucking well and pulled out exciting shit like ‘Higher Ground’ and ‘Right on Time.’ Keep in mind I couldn’t really see what was going on behind me, but it looked like there was more movement from the seated areas than the floor during ‘Give It Away’ as well.”

To commemorate their April 14 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Red Hot Chili Peppers will release a digital-only EP, We Salute You, May 1 via Warner Bros.

The EP features covers of six songs by previous Hall of Fame inductees, including The Ramones, Iggy & The Stooges, Neil Young, David Bowie, The Beach Boys and Dion and the Belmonts. The track listing is as follows:

• 01. A Teenager in Love (Dion and the Belmonts)
• 02. Havana Affair (Ramones)
• 03. Search & Destroy (Iggy and the Stooges)
• 04. Everybody Knows This is Nowhere (Neil Young)
• 05. I Get Around (The Beach Boys)
• 06. Suffragette City (David Bowie)

The material isn't exactly new. "A Teenager In Love" was previously released as a maxi-single; "Havana Affair" was available as a 7-inch single and was featured on We're A Happy Family: A Tribute To The Ramones; "Search & Destroy" appeared on a now-out-of-print maxi-CD; "I Get Around" was played during Brian Wilson's 2005 MusiCares induction speech; and "Suffragette City" can be found on the B-side to "Aeroplane."

"Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere" was recorded live during the band's current tour in support of 2011's I'm With You. The EP will be available at iTunes and through their website, redhotchilipeppers.com.

The 27th annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction ceremony will premiere on HBO in early May.

Who says you can't get anything good for free these days?

Red Hot Chili Peppers are giving away -- right now -- a five-song live EP as a free download on Redhotchillipeppers.com.

The songs were recorded during the band's 2011 European arena tour, and four of the five songs were recorded in the UK. The songs on the EP are "Give It Away," "If You Have To Ask," "Dani California," "Look Around" and "Monarchy Of Roses."

Red Hot Chili Peppers are kicking off their rescheduled US tour this week. It was pushed back after Anthony Kiedis underwent surgery to remove a crushed sesamoid bone and fix a detached flexor tendon in his foot.

Again, head here for your free EP.

Red Hot Chili Peppers have just debuted a new music video for "Look Around," a song off their 2011 album, I'm With You.

Check out the video below -- and also take a look at their updated tour schedule, which you can see below the video.

I'm With You landed at No. 13 on Guitar World's list of the 50 best albums of 2011.

P.S.: We're sorry about the commercial you have to watch before the video starts!

SEE RHCP LIVE ...

• 03/29 Tampa, FL Tampa Bay Times Forum
• 03/31 Orlando, FL Amway Arena*
• 04/02 Sunrise, FL Bank Atlantic Center*
• 04/04 Raleigh, NC RBC Center*
• 04/06 Charlotte, NC Time Warner Cable Arena
• 04/07 Columbia, SC Colonial Life Arena*
• 04/09 Greensboro, NC Greensboro Coliseum
• 04/10 Duluth, GA Gwinnett Center*
• 04/12 Memphis, TN FedEx Forum*
• 04/27 Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre (on sale 1/27)
• 04/30 Ottawa, ON Scotiabank Place (on sale 1/27)
• 05/02 Montreal, QC Bell Centre (on sale 1/28)
• 05/04 Newark, NJ Prudential Center (on sale 1/28)
• 05/07 Boston, MA TD Garden (on sale 1/27)
• 05/10 Washington, DC Verizon Center (on sale 1/27)
• 05/11 Philadelphia, PA Wells Fargo Center (on sale 1/27)
• 05/25 St. Louis, MO Scottrade Center (on sale 1/28)
• 05/26 Grand Rapids, MI Van Andel Arena (on sale 1/27)
• 05/28 Chicago, IL Allstate Arena (on sale 1/28)
• 05/30 Pittsburgh, PA Consol Energy Center (on sale 1/27)
• 06/01 Detroit, MI Joe Louis Arena (on sale 1/27)
• 06/02 Cleveland, OH Quicken Loans Arena (on sale 1/27)
• 06/04 Columbus, OH Schottenstein Center (on sale 1/27)
• 06/06 Cincinnati, OH U.S. Bank Arena (on sale 1/27)
• 06/07 Louisville, KY KFC Yum Center (on sale 1/28)
• 08/11 Los Angeles, CA Staples Center*
• 08/12 Los Angeles, CA Staples Center*
• 08/14 Oakland, CA Oakland Arena*
• 08/15 Oakland, CA Oakland Arena*
• 09/23 San Diego, CA Valley View Casino Center*
• 09/25 Phoenix, AZ Jobring Arena
• 09/27 Denver, CO Pepsi Center*
• 09/29 San Antonio, TX AT&T Center*
• 10/02 Dallas, TX American Airlines Arena*
• 10/04 New Orleans, LA New Orleans Arena*
• 10/20 Houston, TX Toyota Center*
• 10/22 Oklahoma City, OK Chesapeake Arena
• 10/24 Tulsa, OK BOK Arena
• 10/25 Little Rock, AR Verizon Arena

* denotes the show is sold-out

This is an exclusive interview with new Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer. For more Red Hot Chili Peppers -- including an interview with Flea, Anthony Kiedis and Klinghoffer -- check out the October issue of Guitar World magazine, which is available right here.

While guitarist Josh Klinghoffer just joined the Red Hot Chili Peppers late in 2009, he was already a member of the band’s extended family.

An LA native, he’s known all the Chili Peppers for years and is a particularly close friend of out outgoing RHCP guitarist John Frusciante, having contributed to numerous Frusciante solo and side projects. A seasoned studio rat and road dog at the relatively young age of 31, Klinghoffer’s distinctive guitar style imparts a dazzling palette of colors and moods to the Chili Pepper’s new album, I’m With You.

GUITAR WORLD: How did you first get into playing guitar?

I started playing drums when I was 9. Played them for a long time and just wanted to play guitar.

How old were you when you finally did start on guitar?

Fifteen. I didn’t start till later on. I dropped out of high school and started playing guitar.

Who really mattered to you when you started playing?

Naturally, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page kind of playing on the one hand. And then Johnny Marr, Robert Smith and people like that. John Frusicante is one of my favorites. I just figured out anything and everything I could. Punk, Sex Pistols, Germs. When I was younger, I went back to that stuff. I was always more of a chordal, textural kind of textury player.

How and when did you first meet John Frusciante?

I met him in January of '97. He and Flea were playing a gig with Thelonius Monster. And my best friend’s sister was dating Bob Forrest. So I went along to the show. That’s how I first met Flea and John. I think I offered my drumming to them. John and I didn’t become friends until a couple of years later. He had already rejoined the Red Hot Chili Peppers by then. I was making a record with the Bicycle Thief and John came and did a solo on the record. We started hanging out. I’d go over his house and listen to records. So we started becoming friends around 1999.

What’s the single most important thing you learned about any aspect of the guitar from John?

I consider him someone who plays from the deepest part of who he is as a human being and whatever he’s experiencing at that specific point in time, whether it’s playing a solo, a rhythm part, a sonic texture or playing any instrument. That’s something I’ve picked up from him, and I’ve been privileged to do with him. Just as a person and a friend, he’s been an incredible influence on me.

A lot of your work in the past has been avant garde, underground kind of stuff. What’s it like to step into a band like the Chili Peppers, which is much more in the mainstream?

I’ve spent the last decade touring with artists like Beck and PJ Harvey. So I’m no stranger to a bigger audience. The big change is having it be a band that I’m considered a member of. And yet it feels really natural. There was a period when I was touring with people and I kind of swore off that because I needed to focus on my own writing and my own band, which I hadn’t put together yet. But I finally did, right before playing with the Chili Peppers. Then the Chili Peppers asked me to go on tour with them, and I said, “God, you can’t say no to that.” And then it turned out I had an offer to be in the band.

Your own band is named Dot Hacker?

Yeah. A name no one likes. It’s our drummer’s grandmother’s name: Dorothy Hacker, or Dot Hacker.

It sounds like a computer thing ...

Totally, but not really. We just picked that and it stuck. There’s a couple of songs of ours online. A whole record will come out, hopefully, soon.

How did songwriting work for the new Chili Peppers album? Were there a lot of pre-formed ideas you all brought in? Or did it grow more out of jamming? What was the ratio of those two things?

There was a very even ratio of those two things — a lot of very collaborative work. “I have a part. Here’s the chorus, you do the verse.” A lot of equal jamming as well. I remember that the bridge for “Monarchy of Roses” just came out of Chad going nuts on the drums and us keeping up. Then Flea told me, “I think you should come up with an outro right now.” And the outro on you hear on the record is the first thing I came up with.

You’ve got a great chordal sensibility. It’s sort of jazzy. Is that a kind of music that you’re really into?

I love jazz. I’ve always been into chords, structuring chords. There’s nothing better than a simple chord progression that’s hard to do. I try to make it somewhat off the wall.

What was it like recording I’m With You at East West in Hollywood?

Great. It’s the old Ocean Way Studio where a lot of great records were made. But now it’s owned by East West, which is a sample library company. They have a functioning office. People were trying to conduct business while Flea and I were banging on the piano.

Was making the album your first encounter with [producer] Rick Rubin?

Yes — I mean professionally. I’d met him before. Something that was a little strange for me was obviously that all these guys had a long working relationship with him, whereas I hadn’t. But they couldn’t have been any more welcoming.

You’re quite a bit younger than the other guys in the band. How does the age difference play out?

It’s not something we think about, really. But yeah, I grew up and was shaped musically by listening to them and to the people they listened to and who inspired them to get started. And I still learn tons from them. I always get embarrassed. They’ll say, “You mean you never heard Defunkt?” And I have to say no — outside of reading about a band like that in magazine like we’re talking for now.

What kind of preparations are you making to tour with the Chili Peppers for this new album?

Really just playing guitar as much as possible. Learning their amazing and immense back catalog. I told myself for this whole year and a half that I’ve been in the band that I should learn a song a day. Because there’s so much. As we’re getting the live thing going, I have to cover a lot of John’s soloing. And he’s such a dexterous, amazing guitar player in that way. I know it will take me a minute to find the middle ground between doing what I’m comfortable doing and not feeling like there’s something missing that’s supposed to be there.

In the past, I’ve really concentrated on writing chord progressions songs and lyrics rather than my chops as a guitar player. I haven’t focused on that in a long time. But playing in this band has made me do it again. It’s been fun getting out the Zeppelin and Hendrix — stuff that’s a little more textrous. Soloing is not something that comes naturally to me. Never did. I’m very much more sound-oriented. Step on a pedal and get something cool.

I'm With You, the new album by Red Hot Chili Peppers, will be released Aug. 30 via Warner Bros. Be sure to check out the October issue of Guitar World magazine, featuring Anthony Kiedis and Josh Klinghoffer on the cover. It's available here.

In the following exclusive video interview, Red Hot Chili Peppers' Anthony Kiedis and Chad Smith explain how new guitarist Josh Klinghoffer came to replace long-time Chilis guitarist John Frusciante. Frusciante left the band in 2009 to pursue other musical projects.

I'm With You, which marks the band's first album with Klinghoffer, will be released on August 30.

You can listen to the first single from the album, "The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie," at this location.