Chilli Peppers Q and A

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Q&A Jeff Apter (with Joel McIver) Classic Rock magazine February 2005

What was your intention when writing Fornication?
My main intention was to get the band's history as straight as possible. What also drew me to the band and their story was the fact that they shouldn't have lasted five minutes: they started out as a joke.

Did you seek authorisation from the band?
Yes. The first thing I did was approach the band, but they passed, mainly because they have plans to put together their own history. The good thing about writing an unauthorised bio, I found, is that I had to look further afield than just the band themselves — that's how I ended up speaking with ex-members, partners, friends, record producers, engineers, etc, and most importantly, Lindy Goetz, their long-time manager. They all spoke far more openly that I imagine the band members would.

What are the band members like as people?
Flea, as he admits, is a "sensitive little fuck", prone to breakdowns and dedicated to keeping the band together. Kiedis is very much a Hollywood animal, who's now struggling to live down his rep as a rock stud. Chad Smith is a straight-shooter, a real red meat-eating, no bullshit, rock dude kind of guy. But John Frusciante is, I think, the most interesting character in the band, because of the psychological tug-of-war he went through after joining, when he realised the band had outgrown Hollywood's punk clubs. He shouldn't really be alive due to his hardcore addiction in the early-to-mid 1990s.

What fact that you unearthed about the Chilis surprised you the most?
I knew that they were wild Hollywood types early on, but their behaviour during the recording of the first album was still pretty shocking. I was also stunned to find out that when Hillel Slovak OD'd and died, Kiedis didn't even front at the funeral. He was in Mexico by the time they buried the poor guy. That was pretty shocking.

Do you like their new, mellow direction?
It's certainly been a good thing for their survival (and their bank balances). I don't think there's any way they could have endured 20 years playing the type of punk-funk that characterises their first three albums. I actually think that By The Way, while it's a long way from Uplift Mofo, is an incredibly eclectic and, in some ways, daring album. Part of that could simply be that John Frusciante has hold of the creative reins these days and he's quite the pop fan and sonic explorer.