The Darkness’ Justin Hawkins says Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante is “overrated”
The Darkness singer Justin Hawkins has criticised Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante, labelling him an “overrated player” with a “child-like” style.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Justin Hawkins Rides Again, the rock vocalist declared: “My issue with Red Hot Chili Peppers is that I get nothing from John Frusciante’s guitar playing. I feel like if we can call Mark Knopfler an underrated player, I would describe John Frusciante as an overrated player. In fact, I have done that more than once.”
He continued: “It’s always like, ‘You’re jealous because he sold more records than you have.’ And it’s like, well, Mark Knopfler has sold a lot more, more, more records than me, and I’m not jealous of him. I love his guitar playing. So that argument doesn’t really hold any water.”
Hawkins later added: “Somebody said to me it’s deliberately minimalist. Maybe it’s like that thing where you become a super-accomplished painter and start doing some naive child-like daubings, and that’s your phase. I think that might have been one of the things he was exploring, but it doesn’t stop it from being shit.”
Frusciante returned to Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2019, replacing Josh Klinghoffer. Last year, they released two albums, Unlimited Love and Return of the Dream Canteen. Former guitarist Klinghoffer recently criticised the band’s output since Frusciante’s comeback, saying: “It’s tough [listening to their new music], only because I honestly think we were doing cooler music… I never want to sound negative about anyone doing music — but I was shocked when I heard their new record”.
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