Johnny Marr explains what makes John Frusciante such an “expert” musician
Regardless of personal opinions of the sound of Red Hot Chili Peppers, there’s no doubt that the musicians in the band are experts in their field. Of course, much of this discussion surrounds the proficient slapping of Flea, but guitarist John Frusciante is also a titan. He might be famed for the clean twangs of his Stratocaster on the group’s hits, but this accounts for just a tiny portion of his artistic scope.
Scratching beneath the archetypal idea of the band, Frusciante’s breadth as a player and composer is evident. Whether it be the technical beauty of ‘Under the Bridge’, the psychedelic rock power of ‘Give it Away’ or even the overdriven crunch of ‘Fortune Faded’, there are many moments that step outside of the cartoonish funk rock they are often pigeonholed as. He has pulled from various genres in his time with the band and continued pushing himself into even more distinct ones outside their confines, including acid house and electronic, presenting an alternative character to the bow-wows of ‘By the Way’.
Frusciante’s masterwork is undoubtedly 2009’s The Empyrean. A highly stylised and authentic blend of post-rock, experimental and psychedelia, it unequivocally asserts his scope as a musician and guitarist. The personnel who played on the record also infer such a nature, with The Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr appearing on the songs ‘Enough of Me’ and ‘Central’.
Recording the songs over a day in Los Angeles at Frusciante’s house, the indie pioneer is in no doubt about his American counterpart’s brilliance as a songwriter and guitarist, dubbing him an “expert”. He made this known when appearing on the Broken Record Podcast in 2023.
When Frusciante’s almost AI-like knowledge of music was mentioned, Marr reflected on what makes his friend such an expert at tying together different musical realms and rendering them in his own image. He said: “I think you’re absolutely right about John and there are a few other people I know like that. I think people who are great, whoever they are — in my field, it’s musicians — they are experts, absolute experts.”
Marr then used an example of a 16-year-old Bob Marley in his first-ever recording session where he was being a nuisance about getting the precise character for the backing vocals. He might have been young, but he had studied his favourites intensely and knew what aspects of theirs he wanted to bring to his sound and augment it. The Mancunian then transposed this to the world of sport and business; the greats are the greats at what they do because it’s their passion. They leave no stone unturned. This is a point Rick Rubin has echoed when explaining Frusciante’s force.
Discussing how Frusciante’s expertise works, Marr added: “And then the second thing you’re talking about there, like with John [Frusciante], is — and other people like that, as a lot of musicians are — they take all of these different elements that only to them make sense, and then it comes out. But when you hear it, you go, ‘Oh, yeah, it sounds like them.’”
This blending of disparate areas is, of course, true for Marr, too. When he finally answered the question about influences after breaking out in the early 1980s, he named Nile Rodgers, Bert Jansch and James Williamson as influences. But as with Frusciante’s array of references, this was just the nib of the iceberg. John McGeoch, Rory Gallagher, and many others feed into Marr’s work. Crossing the genre divide has always made musicians stand out from the crowd and etch their names into folklore.
