Red Hot Chili Peppers
The nucleus of the band has always been vocalist Anthony Kiedis and bassist Michael "Flea" Balzary (born in Australia), who met at Fairfax High School in the late '70s. Flea performed with several L.A. bands, including the vulgar punk outfit Fear, before forming the Chili Peppers with Kiedis in 1983. Along with guitarist Hillel Slovak (born in Israel) and drummer Jack Irons, originally of the band What Is This, the Chili Peppers gigged around the Los Angeles area looking to make it big. Kiedis and Slovak became addicted to heroin, and Slovak quit the band in 1984, replaced by local guitarist Jack Sherman. The Peppers landed a record contract with EMI and released their self-titled debut album late that year to little public attention. Slovak returned to the band in 1985 for their follow-up effort, the more funk-oriented Freaky Styley, produced by George Clinton. This album did not sell well, though the group began to get an underground reputation for the intensity of their performances and their wild stage antics, which included getting naked or nearly so with strategically placed socks covering their nether regions. Several times the band was arrested after exposing themselves off-stage and otherwise sexually harassing female fans. The more aggressive 1987 album The Uplift Mofo Party and the 1988 EP Abbey Road did not expand their following significantly, and Slovak left the band in early 1988 due to his ongoing drug problems; he died of a heroin overdose in June of that year. After Slovak's death, the band tried to regroup. A long-time friend of Slovak, Irons quit the band to grieve (later returning to music as the drummer for Pearl Jam). After a long search for a new drummer, Irons was replaced with Chad Smith, while Slovak was replaced with 18-year-old guitarist John Frusciante, who was a huge fan of the band and knew all the chords and lyrics to every Peppers song. With the lineup temporarily stable, the band recorded their 1989 breakthrough Mother's Milk, which went gold on the strength of their Stevie Wonder cover “Higher Ground” and Slovak-inspired “Knock Me Down” and signaled the band's emergence into the mainstream. After leaving EMI for Warner Bros., the band recorded their 1991follow-up, Blood Sugar Sex Magik, with famed producer Rick Rubin. The record went on to sell over two million copies, riding on the success of the radio and MTV hits "Breaking the Girl," "Under the Bridge," and "Give It Away." The Chili Peppers became a household name, and appeared on the 1992 Lollapalooza tour, cementing their status as one of the most popular bands of the early '90s.
Red hot chili peppers sites
Official Red Hot Chili Peppers Site
