The first time music “mesmerised” Anthony Kiedis
For most of us, pinpointing exactly when the love of music took hold of our souls is a difficult task. It can sometimes be attributed to a vague memory of loving a particular band or enjoying an earworm more than the rest of the fuzz that permeated the radio. However, for musicians, these moments can often be singular strikes in time, clanging chimes of the second they became infatuated with music. For Red Hot Chili Peppers singer Anthony Kiedis, it wasn’t a particular band or song but a monster that instigated his love of sonic artistry.
During a recent conversation with bandmate Flea, Kiedis opened up about the moment music grabbed him and never left. The chat came as part of his This Little Light podcast, during which the bassist asks his friends about their connections and appreciation for music, while Kiedis admitted to not having any “traditional education” in music, something Flea is delivering to the members of his Silverlake Conservatory of Music with his series of podcasts, Kiedis has always been deeply entrenched in the ability of sound to transform the hearts and minds of those who hear it.
Having known each other for over four decades, Flea and Kiedis needn’t tackle an interview to find out about the intricacies of one another’s lives. However, as Flea introduces his Red Hot Chili Peppers “brother,” he notes that he learned a little bit more about his friend during this conversation than the “ten million” interviews they have conducted side by side.
One such new piece of information was discussing the first time music truly took hold of the young Anthony Kiedis. Asked about his “very first time of being fascinated by music,” Kiedis notes: “Music for me, at the very beginning, was about hearing stories and moods and emotions. It was probably — I can’t remember the first rock band where i got moved by music — Neil Young, early. That was my first 45.”
While the songwriter may have been the first moment on record that a young Kiedis held close to his chest, another, more monstrous, sonic thing imprinted on his impressionable mind. “Hearing Frankenstein on the radio, like an AM radio that was next to my bed, and it probably was my alarm to wake me up to go to school, really shook me. I was mesmerised.”
Perhaps as an indicator of his career as the frontman fo the band, Kiedis paid little attention to the mechanics of the music but the emotion it provoked. “I never listened to the instruments individually and thought ‘Oh, I have to know how to do that!’ I just liked the feeling. I just like the transportation to a different place in my mind.”
This happenstance would evoke feelings in Kiedis that he would continue chasing for the rest of his life: “Just non-stop from there. Every time I heard music, it stopped me in my tracks.”
Listen to the full podcast below as Anthony Kiedis discusses the moment music first grabbed a hold of him with his bandmate Flea.
