Flea names the one bassline that he would “go back and fix” from the Red Hot Chili Pepper's 1995 album, One Hot Minute By Scott Malandrone published 31 May 23 Flea on the making of One Hot Minute: “I thought it sounded like another stupid white boy trying to be funky!”
Does John Frusciante have a signature Fender Stratocaster in the works? Here’s the truth By Michael Astley-Brown published 23 May 23 After sightings of a replica ’62 Strat prototype and some special deliveries from Fender, the Red Hot Chili Peppers rumor mill has gone into overdrive – we got the real story from Frusciante’s guitar tech
Justin Hawkins explains why he thinks John Frusciante is overrated By Matt Owen published 22 May 23 In his podcast, The Darkness guitarist discussed why he gets “nothing from John Frusciante’s guitar playing” – and why he thinks no good rock 'n' roll has ever been played on a PRS
Mike Watt: “I think for every 7-string bass they should make a 1- string!” By Karl Coryat published 16 May 23 The patriarch of punk unravels his punk rock roots and the making of his 1995 solo album Ball-Hog or Tugboat?
Josh Klinghoffer thinks Red Hot Chili Peppers were making “cooler music” with him: “I was shocked when I heard their new record” By Matt Parker published 6 April 23 The guitarist says he doesn’t want to badmouth his former band, but the experience of hearing their latest recordings with John Frusciante was “tough”
Watch the trailer for Flea’s new podcast series By Nick Wells published 5 April 23 First guests on the show will include Rick Rubin, Patti Smith and Thundercat
Watch Vulpeck's Joe Dart break down Flea and Victor Wooten's slap bass technique By Nick Wells published 30 March 23 How Will Smith brought back, er, slap: "The two main slap basslines of our generation were Will Smith samples..."
John Frusciante gets struck with cramp, forcing him to stretch his fretting fingers in the middle of a blistering live solo By Matt Owen published 20 March 23 The 53-year-old succumbed to cramp despite having one of the most intense warm-up routines around, which includes plenty of finger strengthening and a Sous Vide cooking machine
John Frusciante says this YouTuber’s mindblowing theory on the secret to his Scar Tissue sound is... dead on By Matt Parker published 10 March 23 The Red Hot Chili Peppers man says Paul Davids’ idea about his Scar Tissue tuning is absolutely right – he just didn’t know he’d done it
Why Flea’s bass track had to be fixed in the mix on Alanis Morissette's hit record By Nick Wells published 2 March 23 Mix Engineer Chris Fogel: “Flea was way out of time on You Oughta Know”
Watch a 17-year-old John Frusciante shred like a hair-metal guitar hero in newly unearthed footage By Michael Astley-Brown published 10 February 23 One year before he joined the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Frusciante could be found tearing up the fretboard of a Kramer-inspired SuperStrat with two-hand tapping, blinding legato and Floyd Rose whammy bar squeals
John Frusciante says he views bass as the lead instrument in Red Hot Chili Peppers: “I see each song as being like a bass solo where I'm there to support it” By Matt Parker published 6 February 23 Frusciante and the band have been discussing their connection in a rare full-band interview on 60 Minutes
Jane’s Addiction tap Josh Klinghoffer to fill in for Dave Navarro on upcoming live shows By Matt Owen published 30 January 23 The former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist will join the fold for a handful of shows this March as Navarro continues to recover from long Covid
We finally have a good look at John Frusciante’s gigantic new Red Hot Chili Peppers pedalboard By Michael Astley-Brown published 23 January 23 A newly posted photo gives us a closer look at the guitar hero’s all-encompassing pedal picks and choice settings
The best guitar albums of 2022 By Jonathan Horsley published 21 December 22 As voted by you, these are the records that blew minds and inspired guitarists the world over
From cosmic collaborations to blistering, chug-powered breakdowns: here are this week's essential guitar tracks By Matt Owen, Michael Astley-Brown, Jackson Maxwell, Sam Roche published 1 December 22 Kick off December with a bang with invigorating new songs from Metallica, Donovan & David Gilmour, Band-Maid, Leap, Jack Gardiner, Bury Tomorrow, Subsonic Eye, Miniature Tigers, and more
Rhythm and lead guitar lessons you can learn from John Frusciante By Martin Cooper published 16 November 22 The Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist borrows from the best and puts them through his unique filter. Here we take a look at his Hendrix-esque rhythm and fuzzed-out Strat soloing approach
John Frusciante nearly abandoned his Eddie Van Halen-inspired guitar solo: “Doing that solo was a mind f**k” By Matt Owen published 15 November 22 Frusciante’s EVH-esque effort on Eddie was the last solo he recorded for Red Hot Chili Peppers' mammoth studio session, and the guitarist admitted he came close to cutting it altogether
Josh Klinghoffer: “I’ve never lost this sense that I’m a beginner, and I think that gives me a more primal approach to the guitar” By Joe Bosso published 2 November 22 Josh Klinghoffer was a Red Hot Chili Pepper – and now he records with Eddie Vedder and performs with Pearl Jam. What is it about him that all these (hugely successful) acts want?
Watch Red Hot Chili Peppers cover Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit with John Frusciante on lead vocals By Michael Astley-Brown last updated 1 November 22 The funk-rockers tackled the grunge classic during a recent show at Flea’s Silverlake Conservatory of Music