Paul McCartney joins Andrew Watt and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith to perform Beatles and Neil Young classics at tiny show By Janelle Borg published 22 August 24 The Beatles legend also revealed that he has written an as-yet-unreleased song with Watt
“His bass playing is so lyrical – he'd play a counter melody as opposed to just rhythm”: Flea names his pick for “the greatest rock bass player” of all time By Phil Weller published 13 August 24 The Red Hot Chili Peppers member has singled out a player for his ability to subvert what is expected of a traditional bassist
“I told the guys, ‘Aah, it's just another bassline – I don't really like it.’ But they said, ‘No, no, it's really good – we gotta do it!’” Flea wanted to ditch Give It Away before his Red Hot Chili Peppers bandmates stepped in By Nick Wells published 9 August 24 Rick Rubin persuaded Flea to tone down his original bassline on the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ 1991 hit single
“I called John immediately and said, ‘Dude, you have to join us for a song. I’m not going to let you not play with us’”: Dave Navarro on how he and John Frusciante finally played together for the first time after decades of friendship By Matt Owen published 23 July 24 The former Red Hot Chili Peppers and current Jane’s Addiction guitarist has long had a close relationship with Frusciante, but they didn’t play together until 2020
Ex-Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer sued for wrongful death By Janelle Borg published 11 July 24 Klinghoffer allegedly ran over and killed 47-year-old pedestrian Israel Sanchez while in a black SUV
“I feel like such an idiot”: Flea regrets his bass-smashing antics in Red Hot Chili Peppers’ earlier years By Phil Weller published 15 April 24 The energetic bassist took to social media to voice his regret of destroying his instruments in the ‘90s and ‘00s
“John Lydon once made a stab at poaching Flea for Public Image. At which point Flea keeled over and passed out”: Anthony Kiedis takes a nostalgic look back at Flea’s finest hour from Blood Sugar Sex Magik By Joel McIver published 31 March 24 Flea’s reputation as a killer bass player almost saw him lured away from the Red Hot Chili Peppers
“The White Album was the first thing that I connected with as a kid”: Flea picks his top 5 ‘desert island’ discs By Nick Wells published 17 February 24 The Red Hot Chili Pepper was also asked to name his dream supergroup. Safe to say he picked himself on bass
"My apologies to you, our guitarist broke a finger": Red Hot Chili Peppers forced to cancel KROQ show following John Frusciante finger injury By Phil Weller published 12 December 23 Vocalist Anthony Kiedis has now revealed the reason for the cancelation, with Frusciante sidelined for six weeks
“We pulled a few guitars out – I loved the ’61 Strat immediately. John said, ‘I want you to take that guitar with you – it’s yours”: John Frusciante gave away a prized vintage Fender Stratocaster to a fan who became one of his favorite modern guitarists By Michael Astley-Brown published 3 November 23 This 1961 Olympic White Strat has the rare honor of being played by both Frusciante and Josh Klinghoffer during the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Stadium Arcadium tour – but Frusciante eventually handed it over to a fan who would go on to become one of his favorite contemporary guitar players
Red Hot Chili Peppers survived 5 guitarist swaps, and each one shook up their sound. Here’s how the band’s guitar style evolved with each personnel shift – and what you can learn from them, too By Jamie Hunt published 22 September 23 From Hillel Slovak to the second coming of John Frusciante, we trace the RHCP funk-rock sound through five guitarists
“Rocco Prestia could have held that 16th-note pattern in his sleep – it’s airtight” Halestorm bassist Josh Smith picks his top 5 bass albums By Nick Wells published 31 August 23 From Tower Of Power to The Beatles, Josh Smith reveals the influences that helped shape his heavy-riffing bass style with Halestorm
Flea names his least favorite Red Hot Chili Peppers album – and says he wants to re-record it By Matt Parker published 30 June 23 The RHCP bass icon revealed he has tried to convince the band to take another crack at it, but “can never talk anyone into it”
John Frusciante’s guitar teacher once told him he wasn’t a good guitarist – so he learned to play like Steve Vai: “No-one was going to say that to me again” By Michael Astley-Brown published 26 June 23 The Red Hot Chili Peppers guitar hero recalls being criticized because he couldn’t play the blues scale fast enough: “It was about the worst feeling I could imagine”
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!”
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..."
