Flea picks out “the best bass player on the planet”
Flea is the not-so-secret ingredient at the heart of the success of Red Hot Chili Peppers. His funky bass lines drive their songs; without him on the four-string, their work would simply fall apart. Receiving praise from Flea is worth its weight in gold, and according to the Chili’s founding member, the moniker of “best bass player on the planet” belongs to another artist entirely.
Although Flea is renowned for being an iconic bassist, the decision to learn the instrument wasn’t his own choice, and he was somewhat pushed into it by the late Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Hillel Slovak. As Flea’s mother’s husband was the jazz musician Walter Urban Jr, that area of music was his background and where he envisioned his career to be.
The bassist’s jazz background is audible in his funky sound and played a crucial part in becoming one of his generation’s most talented players. His school friend, Hillel Slovak, encouraged Flea to pick up the instrument, which was his greatest decision.
At the time, Slovak had a band called Anthym, which needed a bassist. Flea was already musical, therefore, the guitarist believed he’d be able to learn the instrument with relative ease. Speaking to Rolling Stone immediately after being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012, Flea admitted: “I never would’ve played bass if not for Hillel. I was a jazz trumpet player, and he said, ‘Dude! You should learn how to play bass and be in my band.’ Two weeks later, we were on stage at the Troubadour.”
Flea is now a fatherly figure in the musical scene, and since 2016, he’s taken the prodigious Thundercat under his wing. They first performed together when the Kendrick Lamar collaborator made a guest appearance during a Chili’s show to perform ‘Go Robot’, and in 2022, he toured the world with the band as their support act.
During the concerts, they’d both be watching each other perform with great attention and trying to absorb the brilliance of their peer. Reflecting on the tour, Thundercat said during an interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music: “It was awesome. Oh man, let me tell you something. I kid you not, I keep saying this but seeing Flea come out on stage, and just whoop ass every night was like, ‘I have no excuses, I have none. Do better, way better’.”
Following the tour’s conclusion, Thundercat played a benefit show for Flea’s music school, the Silverlake Conservatory of Music. During the performance, Flea couldn’t help himself from sharing photos on social media, labelling Thundercat as “the best bassist on the planet” and a “dear friend”. He also said his “show moved my soul” and it was “unfunking real”.
Watch the footage below of Thundercat performing with the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
