Anthony Kiedis on the best and worst moments of the Red Hot Chili Peppers
Few bands have had a history of ebbs and flows as dramatic as the Red Hot Chili Peppers. For every million-selling album or gigantic stadium-worthy triumph, there have been descents into drug addiction and even deaths of band members. Every change in personnel and style shift has been consequential, and Anthony Kiedis has been there to see it all.
Originally forming the Chili Peppers with childhood friend Michael ‘Flea’ Balzary, Kiedis only had a brief moment of not being in the band. While recording 1987’s The Uplift Mofo Party Plan, Kiedis was kicked out of the band due to his drug addiction. After recovering, Kiedis rejoined the band and has continued to be with them ever since, even as his sobriety continued to come and go.
Drugs were a frequent presence in the world of the Chili Peppers, with Kiedis and guitarist Hillel Slovak both acquiring heroin addictions. When asked by Q Magazine in 2003 to name the lowest point in the band’s career, Kiedis opted for when Slovak died of an overdose in 1988.
“There were a few, but the worst was the death of Hillel (the first Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Hillel Slovak died of a heroin overdose on June 25, 1988),” Kiedis noted. “There’s nothing worse than losing your closest friend when you’re in your 20s. Hillel was one of the most loving and talented people on earth. The good thing is that I spent 11 fantastic years with him.”
The death of Slovak was a devastating blow to Kiedis, and it would eventually inspire him to get sober for the first time. Slovak’s death actually turned out to be beneficial to the Chili Peppers’ commercial prospects. His replacement, teenage guitarist John Frusciante, joined the band for 1989’s Mother’s Milk and would appear on the band’s most successful albums. Kiedis mentioned that Frusciante’s first return to the band in 1997 was his own personal highlight from the band’s long and varied career.
“Well, it’s like putting your three beautiful kids on their knees and telling them which one you love the most,” Kiedis said about picking his favourite moment. “I think you could say that was the day John Frusciante returned to the band. It was the summer of 1997 and we hadn’t spoken in five years. We just took and forgave each other. It was an unforgettable bright moment.”
Check out live footage from the Red Hot Chili Peppers performing in 1985 down below.
