Thursday 29 October 2009

Chad confirms RHCP working on new material (Oct 2010 release date?)

ClashMusic has learnt from drummer Chad Smith that the Red Hot Chili Peppers are working on new material with a possible release date of October 2010.

Interviewed for the next issue of Clash Magazine, Smith shared details of their plans stating, "We’re gonna write for a while, it usually takes us a while" before speculating that the release date would be "Some time next year, maybe this time [next year]".

Asked if Flea's experience working with Thom Yorke might feed back into the Chili Peppers new material, Smith said that his colleague had given him a cd of electronic beats to inspire him but that, at the moment, there wasn't an explicit electronic direction although he did speculate, "You never know. We’ve got songs with piano on them right now, so who knows."


Courtesy of ClashMusic.com

Thursday 22 October 2009

Blackie (AK's Dad) Has Some News on RHCP...


















He says "Anthony came home soooo happy after rehearsals - great spirits. He's loving being back in the studio. (his mom says) Feel free to quote me"

AND

"currently ensconced at a secret studio somewhere in los angeles the best band in the world is at work whipping up a magical parade of music for us"

That must be about the Red Hots aswell?

Check out his myspace
HERE

'Calculus: The Musical!' puts math to Chili Peppers music

LANGLEY --- Though she stands in front of teenagers all day, math teacher Ginger Proctor says she's too shy to do any singing or dancing to make classes more interesting, but she's willing to find people who can.

Mrs. Proctor and other Midland Valley High School math teachers were intrigued when they heard of Calculus: The Musical! this past summer and decided to take a chance on the Cincinnati-based production.

"These students are in these classes (calculus and pre-calculus) because that's what they want to do, but they want a lot of examples," Mrs. Proctor said.

The songs -- set to such popular tunes as Madonna's Material Girl and the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Under the Bridge -- give her that opportunity to drill rules, but in an interesting way.

"I think the songs will be stuck in my head the rest of the year," said calculus student Zachary Tisdale, 17.


Read the full article
HERE

Indyweek.com says Anthony Kiedis should not go solo

ANTHONY KIEDIS:

He's perhaps the most surprising frontman not to try to make the jump, and thank the devil for that. While tracks like "Under the Bridge" certainly suggest he could make a Rob Thomas-like, big-ballad move, Kiedis seems dedicated to his mates, and rightly so. Flea and guitarist John Frusciante have continued to move the Red Hot Chili Peppers to new musical fields, and their interplay has served as a cozy bed for Kiedis' career. While Kiedis may be capable of solo glory, it's admirable he's saved his pepper for the band and spent his spare time acting and writing and, let's hope, improving his dance skills.

Courtesy of Indyweek.com

Are the Red Hot Chili Peppers guilty of a Greatest Hits mistake?

'Spinner' have created a list of the top 10 things that should never happen on a Greatest Hits album.

Are the Chili Peppers guilty of some?...I kinda think so :)

10. Omission of Key Songs - Not too guilty of, but where is Can't Stop?

9. Too Many Greatest Hits Albums - Not Guilty

8. The "Previously Unreleased" Single - Kinda Guilty

Quote from article:

"Bands want to make you think you're getting a bonus by adding a new song to a greatest-hits record. But acts always save the good stuff for the next studio album, so the "previously unreleased" songs are usually terrible. The Red Hot Chili Peppers had the sense to put 'Save the Population' at the end of their 2003 best-of compilation. Sugar Ray weren't as considerate: In their case, new songs were probably needed to fill the album, leading us to ..."

7. You're Not Worthy! (Not enough hits) - Not Guilty, loads of hits

6. Inclusion of Cover Songs - Guilty, BUT a brilliant cover

5. B Sides and Rarities - Guilty? I think? Was Soul To Squeeze a B-Side?

4. Lack of Chronology - Guilty

3. The Late-Era Song - N/A

2. The Same Song Twice - Not Guilty

1. The Live Version - Not Guilty

Anyway you can read the full article
HERE

Monday 19 October 2009

Lupe Fiasco's Favorite Rapper is a Chili Pepper

Jay-Z was an early champion. Kanye featured his him on 'Touch the Sky.' So, who is Chicago rapper Lupe Fiasco's favorite rapper?The spicy answer might surprise you.

Lupe, who has spent the past year quietly working on material his forthcoming release 'Lasers,' took time to shout a little about one new song, 'Solar Midnite,' in a message posted yesterday on his Myspace page.

"'Solar Midnite' is my first commercial release that I actually produced as well as wrote," Lupe wrote about the track, which appears on the soundtrack to the 'Twilight' sequel, 'New Moon.' "The 'New Moon' team asked me if I could do a song specifically for the film."'Solar Midnite' is exclusive to the the iTunes version of the soundtrack, released on Friday (October 16).

Nonetheless, Lupe says he's still extremely excited about being a part of the highly anticipated film."They invited me to an early screening of the unfinished film, from which I pulled different elements that I thought would translate into a great song," he wrote. "I pulled in vocalist and bassist Graham Burris and acclaimed musician Matt Nelson to help fill out my vision musically and ... 'Solar Midnite' was born." Though not included on the physical soundtrack release -- an indie rock-heavy set featuring Death Cab For Cutie, Bon Iver, Sea Wolf and Radiohead singer Thom Yorke, among others -- 'Solar Midnite' will be heard in the highly anticipated film, which depicts a bizarre love triangle between characters Bella Swan, Edward Cullen and Jacob Black.

"The song basically deals with the chaotic love story that takes place between the characters," Lupe explained in his post.

As for the music, Lupe said that the song channels rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, "It's more on the rock side of my musical catalog and comes straight from my die-hard fanhood of Red Hot Chili Peppers and Anthony Kiedis, one of my favorite rappers."One has got to wonder what Jay and Kanye will think of that.

Courtesy of The Boom Box

Tinchy Stryder wants Flea

















Tinchy Stryder wants to work with Red Hot Chili Peppers star Flea.


The British rapper - who has previously collaborated with Sugababes singer Amelle Berrabah and hip-hop group N-Dubz - is a big fan of the bassist and would like to collaborate in the studio with him.


Tinchy - who despite being a hip-hop star once admitted to liking the Spice Girls - said: "Flea, the Red Hot Chili Peppers' bass player, is pretty cool, it would be cool to work with him. I'm also trying to introduce the word 'Flee' to everybody... it's for when something is so fly, it's flee. Basically, he stole my word for his name."


Flea isn't the only rock star Tinchy admires. He is also a fan of Blink 182 - especially their drummer Travis Barker.


The grime star says he was "blown away" by the group after watching a documentary about them on TV.


He said: "Travis plays with Blink 182. They're good! I watched some programme about the band and Travis' playing blew me away."

Thursday 15 October 2009

Brendan Mullen: Flea remembers the Masque punk rock club founder


Brendan Mullen had a lot of friends. I was one of them.

When the Red Hots started in 1983, Brendan was booking the Club Lingerie, and because he was booking it, it was an exciting place to play. One knew that he would be playing in the company of interesting, inventive musicians, the avant of independent music, youth culture or not. Brendan created a fertile, exciting, creative environment, the type of scene that inspired musicians to reach out, to try and find new sounds.

Anthony [Kiedis] and I walked in there one afternoon to see him, armed with a boombox and our first demo tape. We were trying to hustle our act, saying and doing what we thought we needed to do to try to get a gig.

Brendan was polite but could have cared less whether we were cool, or popular, or could sell tickets. He wanted to hear the music. We sat down and played it for him; he focused and listened, making occasional insightful comments about the music. We were so proud and excited when he liked it and booked us to open for Bad Brains.

It was a huge step for us to get that gig, but in a much more important way, I felt profoundly validated to be accepted and acknowledged by Brendan Mullen, who was a crucial part -- a hub -- of a scene that for me had mythological status.

When I first became conscious of the punk, innovative part of the youth rock scene in L.A., it was 1980. We were hovering on the far outskirts of it; about as close as we could get was to hang out in the Starwood parking lot and get in to see shows once in a while. The more I learned about the wellspring for the intense punk rock scene that I loved, the more enthralled I was by it.

Universal punk

Then it was not the scene it would become -- macho and violent, with rules about haircuts and uniforms -- it was a freethinking, vibrant, artistic scene of groundbreaking bands like the Germs, the Weirdos, the Screamers, all groups who sounded completely different from each other but were united by their willingness to be their own freaky selves, embrace an intense new rhythm and raise a robust middle finger to the face of the rock music corporate structure and all of its musical lackeys.

Nursing the scene

When Brendan started the Masque, it was a pure act, creating a place for people he liked (the aforementioned bands and many others) to do their thing, have fun and get wild, no salesmen allowed.

It became a nucleus for a thrilling new music environment that gave birth to the Southern California punk rock music scene, which later gave birth to some of the most important rock music to ever come out of California: X, Black Flag, Los Lobos and then later, the Minutemen, Jane's Addiction and the (humbly I say) Red Hots. He also played drums for Hal Negro and the Satin Tones.

It was an exciting cross-cultural punk scene that embraced all races, genders, sexual orientations and any manner of deviant. It was beautiful. Just no phonies. Brendan Mullen was key in all of this. Brendan was also a part of and present for the first hip-hop scene that made its way to Hollywood, working on shows with Ice-T, Afrika Bambaataa and the Arabian Prince.
A broad palate

Brendan never deserted the L.A. music scene through its ups and downs; he always looked to what new exciting thing he could find, and in more recent years supported the music as a writer.

We always had great talks about music, of which he had a deep passion and an encyclopedic knowledge. He loved music from the Contortions to Return to Forever to John Coltrane -- he signed off on all his recent e-mails to me "A Love Supreme" -- and everything in between and beyond.

We would talk at length about any kind of music and all the fun stories and folklore that surrounded it, and reminisce about the L.A. music scene. He always had ideas, hopes and curiosities about more new and creative things to happen in the future.

One of us

Over the last year the Red Hot Chili Peppers had been working closely with Brendan on a book about our band, and we all spent many hours with him talking about our history, discussing the direction of the book, etc. Throughout all of it, we were grateful to work with someone who cared for and knew as much about music and its culture as he did.

But more than that, we were lucky to work with a friend, part of our family, one of us.

Whenever I came home to L.A. and saw him, I knew that I belonged to something, that I was in a place that was my home.

Brendan was an intellectual, a musician, a writer, a partyer and a regular dude. And I speak for all of us when I say to Brendan . . . a love supreme! Brendan has broken through to the other side!

R.I.P., Brendan Mullen.

Tuesday 13 October 2009

Chickenfoot Prepare Limited Edition Release of Debut Album

















Sammy Hagar's newest project, Chickenfoot (with guitarist Joe Satriani, Red Hot Chili Peppers' drummer Chad Smith, and Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony) will release a deluxe limited edition of their self-titled debut.

The band's original release has already been certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America with over 500,000 in album shipments.

"This band is so intense and so loud," Hagar, who grew up in Fontana, said in a telephone interview over the summer.

The new disc will include the bonus track "Bitten by the Wolf," and a DVD of an hour's worth of behind the scenes footage of the band, music videos, interviews and concert footage from their European and U.S. tours.

Hagar said performing every night on tour was a little bit different.
"Every night we were just experimenting between songs," he said.

It will be available exclusively through Best Buy starting on Nov. 1.

The limited edition album will feature a reverse design from that which was featured on their self-titled debut. The original black album artwork was printed with heat sensitive ink and the new design will feature a white background printed with fluorescent ink.

"We're still creating as we go," Hagar said.
Courtesy of PE.com

Monday 12 October 2009

Red Hots back rehearsing/jamming/recording today?

Apparently the Chili Peppers are due to get together today (Monday the 12th of October) and start working towards new material.

Fingers crossed it won't take too long.

I'll keep everyone posted with the latest news.

"Red Hot Chili Peppers" Halftime Show at the Maryland vs Cal football game


Cal Bears Band performs the "Red Hot Chili Peppers" Halftime Show at the Maryland vs Cal football game on September 5, 2009.

VOTE for the Chili Peppers

The end of the decade is just weeks away, and in celebration BT Vision is giving you the chance to win 50 of the best albums from the past ten years from the likes of Justin Timberlake, Amy Winehouse, Lady GaGa, Take That, The Killers and Coldplay, as selected by the Vision Music team. Plus, ten runners-up will receive a copy of Now 74, which is due for release on 23 November.

All you have to do is vote in our poll to select the best music video of the decade from the 50 listed here, and then complete your details.
The competition closes 31 October, so turn on and tune in to watch some of the most revered and visually stunning music videos of the past ten years in BT Vision’s Best Of The Decade special during November.


Click HERE to vote

Monday 5 October 2009

Did the Red Hot Chili Peppers sell out?


Among the many terms that should be considered cliché and overused, “selling out” is a phrase that is often abused by vindictive and selfish music fans. Bands are frequently labeled “sell-outs,” because their original fan base felt they became too famous. More often than not, this tends to be an inaccurate accusation. Not every famous band betrayed their fans and their principles for fortune and fame.

One could debate whether or not being famous is a good thing, but I don’t believe that every band that achieves mainstream success can be considered a sell-out. Nevertheless, no matter the band, the CD, the situation, someone will inevitably criticize them and apply the dreaded sell-out label, especially if he or she is a die-hard fan. This is something I cannot understand.
Bands that play together for an extended period of time slowly form their style and undergo an organic transformation, in many cases eventually sounding completely different than their initial music. The Red Hot Chili Peppers are considered a staple rock band in today’s music industry and have come a long way to be considered such. They gained a very loyal fan base in the late 80s for their rap lyrics and psychedelic funk sound, culminating in their breakthrough album Blood Sugar Sex Magik in 1991.


This album gave them some big hits, but the one everyone is most familiar with from this part of their career is “Under the Bridge.” The song was written as a personal poem about Anthony Kiedis’ drug use, and he didn’t intentionally write it for use as a song. Almost twenty years later, it is still considered one of their greatest songs. It also broke the mold for them. When they had their comeback in 1998, the softer side of the Chili Peppers allowed them greater mainstream success. You can bet the original fans gave them a hard time about it. However, so many other fans were able to appreciate their new music direction.

No one would ever make the mistake of calling a one-hit wonder a sellout. After all, a group defined by one big song and nothing more cannot be accused of changing its style to find success – success found them. How is this different from how other bands become famous? One day they get lucky and one of their songs becomes a hit, and that’s the start of the next phase in their career. The original fans may grow to dislike the very song everyone else likes, as they now have to share their secret discovery with everyone else. These fans get bitter, and as a result they start throwing that dreaded label around.

Courtesy of New University

Thom Yorke and Flea: Orpheum Theatre, Los Angeles












The news that Thom Yorke had come to Los Angeles and formed a temporary supergroup with Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers was surprise enough to most Radiohead fans. Most were intrigued, but for those concerned with rock credibility it was like hearing that the chaps from Peep Show were taking a break to write a show with Jim Davidson, or that Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall was collaborating with Bernard Matthews on a turkey burger.
Then, for those lucky enough to get hold of tickets for the suddenly announced shows (first a "rehearsal show" at the 600-capacity Echoplex nightclub, then two nights at the glorious 2,000-seater Orpheum Theatre) the even bigger surprise was in seeing what would happen when Yorke's solo album, The Eraser, was played in full by this new, nameless band, also featuring Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich on keyboards, Joey Waronker on drums and Mauro Refosco on Brazilian percussion.


Harrowdown Hill, a gut-wrenching work that queries whether the death of Ministry of Defence weapons expert Dr David Kelly was really suicide, has been described by Yorke as "the angriest song I have ever written". So who knew that what it really needed was a funky Chili Peppers bassline wriggling through it? Yet somehow Flea managed to take this most haunting and most English of songs and make it his own. The Clock turned into something between trip-hop and dubstep, thanks to the pounding tribal beat of Refosco's berimbau, an Afro-Brazilian instrument used to keep time in capoeira slave dances.

Skip Divided saw Flea, a gifted trumpeter, parping into a melodica, and on some songs Godrich provided backing vocals. Yet the biggest surprise of all was seeing Flea and Yorke share the front of the stage to dance together – Yorke wiggling his hips while an electric shock appeared to run through his arms; Flea doing his unique loose-neck limbo, like a swan that has mistaken itself for a woodpecker.

"This music was all about making a dance record, in my head, so if you want to sit there like it's a cinema that's fine," announced Yorke, "but if you want to get up ..." And with that, an audience that included Hollywood actors Tobey Maguire, Anne Hathaway and Woody Harrelson leapt to their feet.

Later, Yorke was left alone to play three new songs at the piano: Lotus Flower, Open the Floodgates, and Super Collider, the latter involving piano chords that looped from major to minor with an unadulterated sweetness rarely associated with Radiohead. Then the band returned for an encore of Paperbag Writer (dedicated to Colin Greenwood, the only Radiohead member in the audience), Judge, Jury & Executioner, The Hollow Earth, and Feeling Pulled Apart By Horses.
Lily Allen, recently annoyed by Radiohead's support for guerrilla music industry schemes, may be even more annoyed now. Not only did this show require a marketing budget of zero but rehearsal time was only three weeks, according to Yorke, "so I'd like to thank these guys for working their tits off".


The biggest cheer of the night came during Atoms for Peace. "No more talk about the old days," he sang, "it's time for something great."

Courtesy of The Guardian

Radiohead's Thom Yorke debuts new band in LA featuring Flea

Radiohead's Thom Yorke debuted new material with an all-star backing band at an intimate venue in Los Angeles tonight (October 2).

The frontman rolled out several tunes with the new band, which featured Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea, REM collaborator Joey Waronker, Brazilian multi-instrumentalist Mauro Refosco, and producer Nigel Godrich. Tickets for the last-minute "secret" gig at the Echoplex were at a premium, selling out in a matter of minutes and reportedly being scalped online for as much as $3,000.

Yorke was in incredibly high spirits, dancing, smiling and even joking with the audience, which included Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon, actresses Rosanna Arquette and Ellen Page, famed producer Rick Rubin, and members of Neon Neon and Cold War Kids. "Welcome to the 'rehearsal,'" he said, miming quotes in the air with his hands.

He kicked things off with the title track from his 2006 solo album 'The Eraser' before seguing into 'Analyse' and running through the tracklist of his debut full-length. The band kept the pace, adding layers to the material and breathing new life into it.

Flea, who began the evening playing nonchalantly off to the side of the stage, gradually moved toward centre stage, sharing the spotlight with Yorke while jamming on his bass guitar. At one point in the evening, a member of the audience shouted, "Play some Skynyrd!" Yorke responded by flashing both middle fingers, saying, "You think I should be playing Stone Temple Pilots too?"

After a rousing 50-minute set, the band left the stage. Yorke returned for what began as a solo encore, performing the piano-based ballad 'Open The Floodgates' as well as 'Lotus Flower' all on his own. The din of the crowd could be heard above the quiet tunes, which prompted Yorke to say, "If you want to have a chat, go fuck off outside, all right?" The crowd cheered and then quieted down.

After struggling through the opening notes of a couple of tracks (the only evidence that this was, in fact, a rehearsal) Yorke invited the rest of the band back on stage to debut several new tunes that showcased almost tribal rhythms augmented by synthesizers and his distinctive falsetto.

"This one is brand, brand, brand, brand new," Yorke said of several of the tracks, which were received positively by the audience. The band ended the night with an explosive version of 'Feeling Pulled Apart By Horses'.

Thom Yorke played:

'The Eraser'
'Analyse'
'The Clock'
'Black Swan'
'Skip Divided'
'Atoms For Peace'
'And It Rained All Night'
'Harrowdown Hill'
'Cymbal Rush'
'Open The Floodgates'
'Lotus Flower'
'Skirting On The Surface'
'Judge, Jury, Executioner'
'Paperbag Writer'
'The Hollow Earth'
'Feeling Pulled Apart By Horses'

Yorke and his new band are set to perform two more shows in Los Angeles at the Orpheum Theatre on October 4 and 5.

Courtesy of NME