“I feel like such an idiot”: Flea regrets his bass-smashing antics in Red Hot Chili Peppers’ earlier years

Flea says he regrets destroying so many bass guitars in the ‘90s and ‘00s while playing with Red Hot Chili Peppers.

The funk rock giants have always propelled their shows with energy and intensity, and – back in the day– that often came with the odd trashed stage. It’s a habit that led to the death of many of Flea's instruments, including ones that played a fairly large part in the band’s history. 

Posting on X, Flea wrote: “[I] feel like such an idiot for smashing my bass to pieces on stage back in the day, pathetic.” Sean Lennon, son of John, appears to resonate with the sentiment, having replied with: “You’re in good company though.” 

It’s a sentiment that The Who’s Pete Townshend might not totally agree with, though – he often had to glue the guitars he smashed back together, just so he could play and smash them all over again.  

While rock ’n’ roll may forever associated with breaking musical instruments, it does come with its consequences, as shown in the clip below. 

One’s loss, however, is another’s gain. As found on Reddit, Flea’s exploits back in ‘99 meant a fan could take home a piece of rock ’n’ roll history home with them after a concert in, of all places, California.

“I have Flea’s main Modulus bass from 97-99 (smashed),” their post claims. “It was his main bass he used from 97-99. It died at the 1999 KROQ weenie roast [California festival] following a stage trashing after the encore. 

“[It was] one of two Modulus basses to die that night, the first was tossed into the crowd and later recovered. It was also used during the Californication recording sessions as well, this one is significant in the RHCP history.

“He killed probably 5-10 of these in this era,” the post continues. “Never a planned part of the show though. I HATE that he did this to these but if he didn’t this bass would be in a museum somewhere and not on my wall.”