NEW John Frusciante track and pictures on his Myspace page

John Frusciante has added a new song and some new pictures to his myspace page. The Empyrean is sounding gooooood.

Here's his myspace: http://www.myspace.com/johnfrusciantemusic

Anthony Kiedis talks about HBO series "Scar Tissue"

Anthony Kiedis has shed some more light on Scar Tissue, the upcoming HBO series about his life. Speaking to EW.com, Kiedis says, "I've already shed my tears and yelled. The painful part is behind me. Now, it is fun. It is a project I get to do with my father later in his life -- when he is ready to reflect."

He also adds that the show will feature, quote, "naked women and profanity." Finally, Kiedis promises, "It will have one of the best soundtracks on TV."As reported last week, the HBO series will focus not on Kiedis' life with THE RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, but on his youth -- specifically, the move from Michigan to Hollywood with his drug-dealer dad.

The singer's 2004 autobiography was also called ScarTissue, but the HBO series will not be based directly on the book.

Courtesy of 93 X Rocks

Red Hot Chili Peppers's Charity Work

RHCP is made up of Anthony Kiedis, John Frusciante, Flea and Chad Smith.

Since 2000, RHCP have donated 1/4 of their touring profits to charity.

The band supports the Unite The United Foundation, which encourages fans, artists and industry leaders to work towards a positive change in our national community.

RHCP has taken part various times in musician Neil and Pegi Young’s annual Bridge School Benefit Concert to benefit children with severe physical disabilities and complex communication needs through advanced augmentative and alternative communication systems and assistive technology.

The band donated their “Stadium Arcadium Box” with signature to the 19th Annual Rock N Roll Charity Auction in 2007 to support Chicago’s homeless and underprivileged children.

Courtesy of Look To The Stars

Chili Peppers are Kanye West's favourite band

US rapper Kanye West has revealed that the Red Hot Chili Peppers are his favourite group.

West said he was attracted to the American rock band because of their strong melodies."I think of melodies, I think of really strong melodies and stuff,” he said in an interview with the BBC.“You know, [Red Hot Chili Peppers'] Anthony Kiedis wasn't the best singer in the world, but that's my favourite group."

Courtesy of GigWise

Chili Peppers to play Vegas Rocks festival

Wales Online is reporting that Dave Peters - front man from 80's Second British Invasion band The Alarm, who not only sounded a lot like U2, but sported Bonoian mullets too - is putting together a massive outdoor charity festival a la Live Aid called Vegas Rocks.

Despite having a pretty lame name, the early line up has promise: Guns N Roses, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Stone Temple Pilots, Motorhead, The Damned and, of course, The Alarm.

Courtesy of Vegas Tripping

John Frusciante new album 'Empyrean' front cover artwork

This is the cover artwork for John Frusciante's new album 'Empyrean' which is due out in January.

More news on the album as soon as it breaks.

John Frusciante's Empyrean tracklisting and his new blog

John Frusciante has started his own blog which he will update regularly with info on his new album, and anything else he wishes to share.

The tracklisting for The Empyrean is:

1.Before The Beginning
2.Song To The Siren
3.Unreachable
4.God
5.Dark/Light
6.Heaven
7.Enough Of Me
8.Central
9.One More Of Me
10.After The Ending

Click HERE to go to John's new blog.

Scar Tissue (book) set for TV adaptation

Red Hot Chili Peppers frontman Anthony Kiedis' 2004 autobiography, 'Scar Tissue', is set to be adapted for a new TV show on US network HBO.

The show, produced by Marc Abrams and Michael Benson, will be an offbeat comedy, reports the Guardian. It will focus on the singer's early life in Los Angeles, where he lived with his father, a drug dealer to musicians in the area, as well as the LA rock scene.

Red Hot Chili Peppers are currently on hiatus, with the group previously stating they would take a break from band commitments for at least a year from May 2008.

Courtesy of NME

Mental Health website to publish interview with John

Yes, you've read this well. Hillingdon Mind, an online help/self-help group from UK, that a concern about the lives of mentally or emotionally distressed people in the community; will publish a lengthy interview with John on their website in the following weeks.
As said on their website:

Chris Phillips - Housing Support Worker here at Hillingdon Mind has an exclusive interview with John Frusciante, the guitarist from the "Red Hot Chili Peppers.

So, as they say themselves, keep on checking their respected website for an interview. According to unofficial sources who spoke to mr. Phillips, the interview with John is based on a long phone conversation and some of subjects are The Empyrean and monk life.

Courtesy of Invisible Movement

Under The Bridge: Literal Video Version

A very funny literal interpetation of the Under The Bridge video.

Snippet of new John Frusciante interview

As we all know, Tanya Vece of The Horse Chronicles indie zine is a long-term fan of John, has previously interviewed him on a couple of occasions and regardless of the version of the zine, there's always a page reserved for a little John tribute.

So...she interviewed him again. And the whole interview will be available on 15th November. However, I asked nicely for a teaser and here it is - for the readers of Invisible Movement.

Tanya Vece: For years now I have been referring to you as my inspiration and genius. But everytime people who don't know you approach you they yell John Mother Fucking Frusciante! How do you feel about it?

John Frusciante: (laughs) Anthony started it. He said it at a concert once and it stuck. Even the wheat grass guy at Whole Foods said "shot ready for John Mother Fucking Frusciante". It's funny.

Courtesy if Invisible Movement

Happy Halloween from If You Have To Ask

Anthony Kiedis speaks to Barack Obama voters

In the mad scramble of these final days of the presidential race, there's been no shortage of celebrity endorsements and appearances on the campaign trail. The University of Nevada at Las Vegas is no exception.

In an attempt to lure as many young voters to the polls as possible, each party has been doing its best to bring out the biggest names with the greatest star power. The Obama campaign brought out the arguably biggest celebrity yet Monday – Anthony Kiedis.

Kiedis, who is best known for being the lead singer of the legendary rock band the Red Hot Chili Peppers, decided to take a more active roll in this year's election. He described his reasons for getting involved in the Obama campaign when he sat down for an interview with the Rebel Yell.

Kiedis doesn't like to call what he is doing getting involved in politics.

"I take in an interest in the world, my country, people, but I don't know if I'd call it politics," Kiedis said. "That word has a [negative] connotation because I'm not a politician but I'm a person that likes to participate in life in this country."

According to Kiedis, the country is at a crossroads in this year's presidential election. In his eyes, the country has been falling apart over the past eight years under President Bush. "When things are ok, when the status quo is working, people don't care that much, but now it's getting pretty bad, and so people are realizing that this is a moment when they have to get up… and go out and participate in one way or the other."

"Everyone can relate to the economy, [a] large portion of the country can relate to things like the environment or healthcare and I think everybody has an opinion on war," Kiedis said. "What's been shown to America over the last eight years is that some of the ideas that the Republicans have implemented are old and don't work for the world anymore or for our country anymore and really they've served a small percentage of people."

Kiedis made his stance on the war and those who benefit from it very clear.

"The war was a disaster," he said. "No good came out of that. In the middle of the last century there was a reason to go to war. This time around the war was a really bad idea and I think the only people that benefited from anyway were Halliburton and people that made money from it, but that's not an excuse to have a war. Killing American kids so Halliburton can make money is not a righteous reason to go to war."

"From the standpoint of a father, I don't believe that war is the solution to our problems anymore, I think that there are dozens of other solutions to our problems, and war isn't a good [solution], it just doesn't work. There's a lot of negative fallout, and I don't want my son growing up thinking that that's the solution to a problem."

Read the rest of the this article at politico.com

Warner Bros to release 50 year anniversary set featuring Chili Peppers

The 50th anniversary of the founding of Warner Bros. Records will be capped with the December 9th release of Revolutions In Sound, a 240-page hard cover book accompanied by a USB flash drive containing 320 recordings reflecting the company's stature one of the most consistently successful labels in history and home to some of the most influential and innovative artists in contemporary music.

With exclusive interviews, never-before-seen photographs and insider accounts of how the hits were born, Revolutions in Sound celebrates the first fifty years of a company where music and legends are made. It's the "ultimate" box set, highlighted by the book authored by music historian and educator Warren Zanes. The accompanying USB memory key, shaped like the WB logo, is loaded with iconic music that is the equivalent of a 20 CD set. The collection reflects the diversity of the music released by Warner Bros., Reprise, Sire and affiliated labels from 1958 to the present day. The tracks follow the evolution of Warner Bros. Records, from fledgling record label, started by a movie mogul in the middle of the last century to its status today as one of the preeminent music content companies in the world.

Ranging from Jimi Hendrix to My Chemical Romance, the Grateful Dead to Madonna, Fleetwood Mac to Frank Sinatra, Tab Hunter to the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the who's who of the label's roster reflects an unequalled cross section of cultural history and some of today's most important artists. Other notable artists associated with the company's rise and continuing industry leadership are Green Day, Van Halen, Michael Bublé, Regina Spektor, The White Stripes, Cher, Curtis Mayfield, Ramones, REM, Faith Hill, Alanis Morrisette, Randy Newman, Funkadelic, Seal, Big & Rich, Alanis Morrisette, Linkin Park, Josh Groban, Paul Simon, Eric Clapton and hundreds of others, many of whom have come to be known as household names over the course of fifty years and whom have continued Warner Bros. success as the industry's No. 1 label in the U.S. for two of the last three years.

Courtesy of Invisible Movement

RHCP in this weeks Kerrang! Magazine

The British magazine Kerrang! are looking at the new release of 'Me and My Friends' in this weeks issue.

Click here for more info.

More Me & My Friends info

Chad Smith has been drummer for the Red Hot Chilli Peppers for 20 years, replacing original sticksman Jack Irons. In the forward to a new book about the band by photographer Tony Woolliscroft he discusses how the two became part of the Chilli Peppers family. This article also includes previously unseen pictures of the band on the road.

TONY AND I JOINED THE PEPPERS AT ABOUT THE SAME TIME...
On my first tour of Europe in the cold ass winter of 1990, we headed off to England. I was so excited to be in a country that spawned so many of my musical idols: Sabbath, Zeppelin, The Who, Deep Purple, Queen, etc. This is the music I grew up on and I couldn’t believe I was over here in their backyards. Needless to say I was a little green and, being the ‘new guy’, I was on my own a lot. I remember meeting Tony, this big cuddly bear, and he came up to me at his first photo shoot with us for Kerrang, I think, and asked me where the “loo” was and I couldn’t understand a word he said, except for maybe that one. And I didn’t know anybody named Lou. Mind you I hadn’t been in England too long and his accent, being a northern one, was as thick as a brick. “Funniest guy yet,” I thought. Anyway, from that day forward, he has shot us on every one of our tours all over the world. Every one. All of them... Jesus, stay home once in a while!
Most photographers are only allowed to shoot the first three songs of a show. We love Tony and his work so much that he is the only guy we give complete access to for an entire show. That’s how much we trust him.

But you’ll be able to see that trust going through the book. His images make you feel like you’re there. Like any true artist, and much like our band, he keeps searching and trying to learn more about his craft. He has grown with us.

I think you will see that growth here as well. He has captured the essence of our band on film.

Chad Smith
Tony has been closer to the band than any other photographer. He’s braved a typhoon with them in Japan, captured Anthony Kiedes walking off the edge of a sky-scraper hotel roof in Venezuela, witnessed John Frusciante’s remarkable private comeback show in Washington and had drumsticks affectionately thrown at him by Chad during a live performance for taking pictures of Flea’s naked girlfriend. He’s had the fortune of enjoying Anthony singing ‘Venice Queen’ for him in the Chateau Marmont and the misfortune of almost wrecking a gig by accidentally knocking John’s backline equipment (speakers and amps on a trolley) across the stage as the band were playing.

The book in Tony’s own words:
I’m sitting in the back room of my home and every inch of the floor is covered with Red Hot Chili Peppers pictures. I’m going slightly insane looking at them all. It’s then I realise just how many pictures I have actually taken of the band over the years and all the places I’ve seen them. What I’ve tried to do in this book is share some very memorable times I’ve had photographing them. I called it ‘Me and My Friends’ simply because it was one of my favourite songs by the band. I do class them as friends, and I don’t think I would have been allowed as near to them if they didn’t class me as one. They are very private people. Photographically, I got as close to them as you could.

I first heard the band in one of my best friend’s flat in Bradford. His name was Rob Heaton and he was the drummer in New Model Army, who happened to be on the same UK label as the Peppers, EMI. Rob had got hold of the new Peppers cd ‘Uplift Mofo Party Plan’. I was taken aback at how good it was and how different it sounded to what I was listening to at that time. I wanted to see this band. Rob’s wife, Robin, was from Orange County, California, the band’s home state.

She raved about them, saying how good they were live. The first RHCP hooks had landed in my skin. I missed them on the ‘Uplift’ tour, something I still regret to this day. So when Mother’s Milk came out I made damn sure I saw them.

With the book, I’ve tried to give you an insight into my little world shooting the Peppers through the years. I could easily have filled it 20 times over just with pictures of Anthony, Flea, Chad and John. But that’s not the whole story and that’s what makes their story so special, so, you will find pictures of Dave Navarro and Arik Marshall as they are part of my story with the band.
Hopefully you will see through the pages in this book how my photography grew with the band. I learnt a lot shooting these guys. From the very small venues to the massive stadiums they ended up in, I’ve met some amazing people along the way, but best of all I got to work with the best band on the planet, bar none.

Hope you enjoy the ride...

To view exclusive pictures from the book log onto: http://www.reshotchilipeppers-book.com/

Or visit the facebook or myspace pages

Hotel Sax Offers Celebrity Rider Inspired Rooms

Who hasn't wanted to hang out with a rock band to see what they eat and what they do when they're not on stage?

Well unless you're extremely well-connected, you're not likely to snag some one-on-one time with Coldplay anytime soon, but you can live like a rock star right in Chicago.

Hotel Sax Chicago is offering a Celebrity Rider Package -- two nights in a one-bedroom suite specially themed in a way that only your favorite entertainer would appreciate.

There's four unique packages covering a wide range of entertainers and eras.

The "Rock Like the Red Hot Chili Peppers" suite package includes items like the group's signature tube socks Heineken, a juice bar with a smoothie-tender and an acoustic guitar. They'll also throw in VIP access to the Foundation Room at the neighboring House of Blues concert venue.

The "Glam Nights Like Jennifer Lopez" package offers a peaceful oasis including white lilies, apple pie, chocolate chip cookies, in-room spa services and bath turndown service of your choice.
The Rat Pack-inspired package includes a suite with a bar cart featuring Jack Daniels and Beefeaters, plus, a personal bartender. You also get a private steak dinner at Harry Caray’s restaurant for up to nine friends, 24-hour on call transportation, personal butler service, personal stylist service and a boat for the guest and friends to cruise the Chicago river.

The "Play like Ari Gold" package is inspired by Jeremy Piven's character on Entourage. The high rollers who book this package are treated to a helicopter ride, sports car service, in-room sushi, dinner at Smith & Wollensky, in-room spa services and their very own "Lloyd" personal assistant.

Packages range from $2,500 to $10,000 and are subject to availability.
Call (877) 569-3742 for reservations at least 14 days in advance.

Courtesy of NBC Chicago

Chad talks to MusicRadar

As drummer for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Chad Smith is in one of the biggest bands in the world that practically everybody has heard. But as drummer for the new 'supergroup' Chickenfoot, he's in one of the most talked-about bands in recent memory that practically no one has heard.

"It's so crazy," Smith marvels during a pre-interview chat. "I've never been in a situation where there was so much interest before a single note of music made it to the public. I would say it feels like pressure, but we're doing this for ourselves as much as anybody else, so we're hell-bent on keeping it fun."

The 'we' Smith speaks of, the group that goes by the code name Chickenfoot, consists of himself, singer-guitarist Sammy Hagar, guitarist Joe Satriani and bassist Michael Anthony. Already they've made waves earlier this year when Hagar, in a tequila-induced state of euphoria, said the band could "rival Led Zeppelin"- a boast he mostly denies, although he admits to saying something to that effect.

Smith, for his part, chuckles at Hagar's enthusiasm, but in his view, "Led Zeppelin is the last band we're trying to sound like. Influenced by? Who isn't? But we're doing our own thing, and it's coming out great. I can't wait for the world to hear this powerful stuff we're doing."
This from a hard-hitting drummer who, since he joined the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 1988, has burned a hole through the musical community with seismic rock-funk performances on half a dozen Peppers albums and almost a hundred guest spots on records by artists ranging from The Dixie Chicks to John Fogerty.

A self-described 'entertainer,' he's not above performing at times nearly nude, and other times with distinctive headgear like giant light bulbs and flame flowers. Antics aside, Smith remains an obsessed, dedicated musician who relishes conducting clinics around the world, especially since these events afford him the occasional opportunity to jam with heroes such as Ian Paice from Deep Purple.

During a break from Chickenfoot sessions, Smith sat down and talked with MusicRadar. The expansive drummer held forth on a wide-range of topics and was delighted to answer questions from MusicRadar readers. More significantly, he addressed the topic on everyone's mind: Does he think he looks like actor Will Ferrell?

LINKS TO FULL ARTICLE AND AUDIO CLIPS HERE

NEW John Frusciante album NEWS. The Empyrean

The correct spelling for the new album’s name is The Empyrean rather than The Imperium. Many thanks to “Lil Z” for confirming this here and possibly on a third-party online forum as well. I have chosen to believe them and I hope all of you will choose to believe them, too.

Now what? Why believe it? Does this make any sense? To the person writing this, it does! It makes much more sense. It makes perfect sense for anyone who’s read Dante Alighieri’s work and to people who are familiar with religious philosophies all over the world’s major religions.

Courtesy of Invisible-Movement

More Kerrang Scans...

Here's a few more little scans for your enjoyment :

NASA album released 17/02/2009

Finally! N.A.S.A. debut album will be released on 17th February 2009, via Anti- and this was announced today on Billboard. The title of this compilation, featuring musicians known for genre-surfing and, of course, from North America and South America will be The Spirit of Apollo.

As it was revealed long ago, John is on the fifth song, Way Down, together with RZA and Barbie Hatch.

Courtesy of invisible-movement

Chad Smith Q & A

Chad is doing a Q & A session for Music Radar. Submit your questions here and the best will be asked in the interview.

Me & My Friends Photo-Book website

well I'm back from a week's holiday with some more news, and some more magazine scans coming over the next few days.

I've stumbled across a website for the new RHCP photo-book. It contains previews of some of the pictures and you also get a discount if you pre-order the book from the site :)

Heres the link http://www.redhotchilipeppers-book.com/index.php

Old Red Hot Chili Peppers Kerrang Scans. Part 2

These are a collection of scans from the british music magazine Kerrang. They are from the Hyde Park era. Click each image to enlarge.

Red Hot Chili Peppers donate items to charity auction

The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nickelback and the Offspring are among the artists and celebrities that have donated items to an eBay charity auction being sponsored by the Make A Noise Foundation. Proceeds from the auction will go to offset the medical costs of 39-year-old Lit drummer Allen Shellenberger, who was recently diagnosed with a grade four malignant brain tumor. The Chili Peppers are offering a signed copy of their 2006 album, Stadium Arcadium, while the Offspring is putting autographed drum heads on the block. Also up for auction are a signed guitar from Staind, a painting by actor Pierce Brosnan, a dinner with the members of Lit, a guitar lesson with Steve Vai, an amp signed by members of No Doubt, plus items from Nickelback, Donna Summer, Tim McGraw, Keith Urban and others.

The auction began on Monday (September 29th) with more information available at MySpace.com/litlounge.

Proceeds will also go to the Maxine Dunitz Neurosugical Institute at Cedar-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, where the drummer is being treated.

Shellenberger's cancer is the same kind recently diagnosed in Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy.

Lit guitarist Jeremy Popoff said in a statement, "Allen's young and healthy and if anyone has a chance to beat this, it's him. As sad and scared as we all are, we're standing by him and staying positive. We're going to fight this together."

Courtesy of KBS Radio

Old Red Hot Chili Peppers Kerrang Scans. part 1

These are a collection of scans from the british music magazine Kerrang. They are from the Hyde Park era. Click each image to enlarge. More coming tomorrow.

More scans will be added tomorrow morning including pictures from Hyde Park, and reviews for Scar Tissue and the Greatest Hits DVD.

New John Frusciante Solo Album, The Imperium, released 20/01/2009

John Frusciante is set to release his ninth solo studio album on the 20th of January 2009. The album is titled 'The Imperium' and features Josh Klinghoffer and Flea on drums and bass respectively.

Rock Band release full RHCP album today

The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ fifth studio album Blood Sugar Sex Magik will be hitting the PlayStation Store and Xbox Live Marketplace tomorrow, giving Rock Band — and Rock Band 2 owners another album to add to their collection.

Cost is $19.99 (1600 Microsoft Points) for the full LP or $1.99 (160 Microsoft Points) for each individual track.

Courtesy of GameFocus

Flea in new Patti Smith Documentary released in December

Patti Smith: Dream of Life



Twelve years in the life of punk poet Patti Smith, as documented by Steven Sebring. 109 minutes. At the Royal.

Patti Smith: Dream of Life, fashion photographer Steven Sebring's impressionistic study of the most influential of punk poets, disarms and charms with its honesty.


Smith, a leading figure in New York's punk/new wave scene of the 1970s, cops no attitude and espouses no causes beyond peace and love.


At the height of her fame in 1979, Smith dropped out for 16 years to raise a family in Detroit.
When she returned in 1995 with a new album and tour, following the death of her guitarist husband, Fred "Sonic" Smith, it was as if she'd never left.


Her fame remained undimmed. It was at this point that her friend Sebring began filming her, collecting the hundreds of hours of mostly black-and-white film and video that have been distilled into 109 minutes of surreal wonder to make Dream of Life.


Smith is completely guileless before the camera. She strums her antique guitar with pal Sam Shepard, the playwright and actor, who gently scolds her for not practising.


She shoots photos with an ancient Polaroid. She plays with her cats, and hangs with her children and elderly parents and has an amusing conversation with friend and fellow musician Flea, a member of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Smith expresses embarrassment about people who refer to her as a rock icon: "Whenever they say that, I always think of Mount Rushmore," she says, blushing. Yet a rock 'n' roll version of those mountains would have to include her.

Click HERE for the films IMDB page

Old Kerrang Scan, Chad Interview, very funny

Click image for a larger version.

Article by Tony Woolliscroft, click HERE for info on his Red Het Chili Peppers photobook released next month.

Flea: 2 year hiatus, solo record..."and I never saw the money or the pants again"

As fellow L.A. Times blog All Things Trojan reported last night, Michael Balzary -- better known as Flea 'round these parts -- is indeed a freshie at USC. I interviewed the bassist last week about Hullabaloo, the upcoming benefit concert for the Silverlake Conservatory of Music, which he founded with childhood friend Keith Barry in 2001, and we got a chance to gab about his classes, his upcoming solo work and whether or not things will be resuming with the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
--Margaret Wappler

So you're taking classes at USC. What brought that on?
I’m glad my music education has developed the way that it has, but it’s so much fun to learn this stuff because I never knew anything. I played trumpet in the school bands. I learned things I liked to play on my trumpet but I didn’t learn why this note goes with this note and why it produces that sound. Or how to create tension in the composition. The Chili Peppers did that in our song structures but all based on emotion and intuition as opposed to knowing the math and academics of it. Knowing the structure is really fun.

What classes are you taking?
I'm taking three: theory, composition and jazz trumpet.

What are you studying in jazz trumpet?
In jazz trumpet, I’m improvising over jazz changes and getting comfortable with that. I’m also studying with a classical guy named Boyd Hood who plays with the L.A. Phil. But the jazz teacher at USC is named John Thomas. Right now he's having me transcribe a trumpet solo from Lee Morgan off the track “Party Time” from the album “The Procrastinator.”

Do you ever get any students who say, "Why are you here? You don’t need this, you’ve been in a successful band.
"Well, not from people there, but people outside the school have looked at me like, what are you doing? Except for real musicians who understand. I think most people see it as being about commerce –- you only go to school to make money, and you already make money playing music so why would you go to school? It seems backwards but it makes perfect sense to me. My whole musical life has been an educational process and I’m just furthering my education and filling in the blanks. There’s stuff that I want to know that I don’t know.

So, are the Chili Peppers working on a new album?
No, we’re on a major hiatus. It's a two-year hiatus.

And that was very set? You said, 'Two years and then we’ll talk about starting again"?
Basically, yeah. We just needed two years. We had our noses to the grindstones so hard for so long. We needed to get away from it and get a fresh perspective on things.

At this point, do you guys have plans to get back together and record something else?
We’re just taking the two years off and seeing where we are at the end of that.

What about solo work for you?
I’ve been making a record at home and it’s nearly done. It’s mostly instrumental stuff but I have Patti Smith singing on it and the choir from the school but mostly it’s an instrumental record. I’m not sure how to describe it but a lot of people have described it as cinematic, like soundtrack music. It’s not really a commercial enterprise, it’s not going to be on rock radio or anything. The record is based on the character Helen Burns from "Jane Eyre." I love Charlotte Bronte and all of the Bronte sisters.

I've got to ask: Do you still have the stuffed animal pants?
Someone stole them. It’s so funny because for years I always lived in crappy little apartments but right when we got the money from signing with Warner Brothers I got to buy a house. I bought a nice house in Los Feliz that I was real excited about. I drove home and the first night at that house, someone broke into my car and stole my bass, my leather jacket and those stuffed animal pants out of my trunk. And I had lived in crappy neighborhoods for so long and never got robbed. As soon as I stepped up, someone took my stuff. I commissioned the girl who made them to make me another pair and I never saw the money or the pants again.

Photo of Flea holding a French horn -- he'd left his trumpet at home -- at the Silverlake Conservatory of Music. Credit: Annie Wells / Los Angeles Times.

Courtesy of LA Times

Rock Band 2 offers full RHCP album...

While there's been a lot of talk over the last few years about the inevitable death of the album format, the videogame industry doesn't appear to be listening. On Sept. 12, Metallica will release a gameplay version of their new record, Death Magnetic, through Guitar Hero, and two days later, Rock Band 2 debuts, and with it, the promise of 500 tracks by year's end. Stocking the digital bins, EW.com has learned exclusively, will be seminal full albums by Foo Fighters (The Colour and the Shape), Red Hot Chili Peppers (Blood Sugar Sex Magik), Jane's Addiction (Nothing's Shocking), Megadeth (Peace Sells... But Who's Buying) and Stevie Ray Vaughn (Texas Flood), along with a specially-compiled No Doubt Best Of collection. All are slated to roll out in the coming months, according to MTV Games.

Courtesy of EW.com

New Anthony Picture

Anthony and Everly on Malibu beach, September 21st 2008.

On This Day in RHCP History...

Blood Sugar Sex Magik is the fifth studio album by American alternative rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, released on September 24, 1991. Produced by Rick Rubin, it was the band's first record released on Warner Bros. Records. The musical styles of Blood Sugar Sex Magik differed notably from the techniques employed on the Chili Peppers' preceding album, Mother's Milk, and featured little use of heavy metal guitar riffs. The album's subject matter incorporated sexual innuendos and references to drugs and death as well as themes of lust and exuberance.

Peaking at number three on the Billboard 200, the album has sold over seven million copies in the United States alone and became the Red Hot Chili Peppers' introduction into popularity and critical acclaim. Blood Sugar Sex Magik produced several hits for the band, including "Give It Away", "Under the Bridge", "Suck My Kiss", and "Breaking the Girl". Guitarist John Frusciante quit the band mid-tour in 1992, until returning in 1998, due to his inability to cope with the album's popularity. Blood Sugar Sex Magik is recognized as an integral factor of the explosion of alternative rock in the 1990s and the record serves as the most critically praised album the band has recorded; Steve Huey of Allmusic noted that Blood Sugar Sex Magik is "...probably the best album the Chili Peppers will ever make."

Tracklisting

1. "The Power of Equality" – 4:03


2. "If You Have to Ask" – 3:37


3. "Breaking the Girl" – 4:55


4. "Funky Monks" – 5:23


5. "Suck My Kiss" – 3:37


6. "I Could Have Lied" – 4:04


7. "Mellowship Slinky in B Major" – 4:00


8. "The Righteous & the Wicked" – 4:08


9. "Give It Away" – 4:43


10. "Blood Sugar Sex Magik" – 4:31


11. "Under the Bridge" – 4:24


12. "Naked in the Rain" – 4:26


13. "Apache Rose Peacock" – 4:42


14. "The Greeting Song" – 3:14


15. "My Lovely Man" – 4:39


16. "Sir Psycho Sexy" – 8:17


17. "They're Red Hot" (Robert Johnson) – 1:11
    

Accolades

• Pause & Play - "The 90s Top 100 Essential Albums" - 1999 = no.11



• Rolling Stone - The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time - 2003 = no.310



• Spin - "Top 90 Albums of the 90s" - 1999 = no.58



• Q - "90 Albums of the 90s" - 1999 - no.58



• Guitarist Magazine - "101 Essential Guitar Albums" - 2000 - no.11



• Guitar World - "The 100 Greatest Guitar Albums of All Time" - 2006 - no.18



• My Favourite Album - "Australia's Favourite Albums of All Time" - 2006 - no.8



• Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - "The Definitive 200: Top 200 Albums of All-Time" - 2007 - no.88

Gangsters of Love

'George Clinton and His Gangsters of Love' is a cover album by funk music pioneer George Clinton. The album includes guest appearances from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sly Stone, El DeBarge, System Of A Down bassist Shavo Odadjian, Carlos Santana, RZA, and gospel singer Kim Burrell. The disc is set to be released on September 16, 2008.

Reports on the album's title have been inconsistent. Some suggest the title of the album may actually be Radio Friendly, and that "George Clinton and Some Gangsters of Love" may be credited as the artist for the album. The album has also been referred to as Any Percentage of You Is As Good as the Whole Pie, although that may refer to another P-Funk album to be released later.

Notice John Frusciante at the back on the right of the cover.

Tracklisting:

1. "Ain't That Peculiar (feat. Sly Stone & El Debarge)"
2. "Never Gonna Give You Up"
3. "Mathematics of Love (feat. Kim Burrell)"
4. "Let The Good Times Roll (feat. Red Hot Chili Peppers&Kim Manning)"
5. "Pledging My Love"
6. "Gypsy Woman (feat. Carlos Santana)"
7. "It's All In The Game"
8. "Heart Trouble"
9. "Our Day Will Come"
10. "Sway"
11. "A Thousand Miles Away"
12. "Heaven (feat. RZA)"
13. "As In"
14. "Stillness In Motion"
15. "Fever"

Here is a link to the song featuring the Chili's on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfkwJqykc04

Flea's Back To School

Believe it or not, there is a cool freshman at USC. His name is Michael Balzary.

You probably know him as Flea, the bassist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The legendary group has sold over 50 million albums, won six Grammy Awards, and topped the Modern Rock charts a record eleven times.

The 45-year-old is listed as an "undergraduate visitor" in USC's Thornton School of Music. Balzary probably has a leg up on most of his classmates, considering he founded the Silverlake Conservatory of Music and, oh, yeah ... is a rock icon. While he's on campus several times per week, don't expect any dorm sightings -- Flea's a commuter student.

Besides collaborating with legendary artists like Jane's Addiction, Nirvana, and Alanis Morisette, Balzary has appeared in The Big Lebowski, My Own Private Idaho, and one of the Back to the Future movies. His latest "appearance" was at USC's football practice -- he stopped by after class because he heard a commotion. The Trojans were playing simulated crowd noise to mimic their upcoming road trip to Oregon State, and the practice field is adjacent to the music school.

You may know that Balzary is a huge sports fan and blogs about his beloved Lakers on NBA.com.
No word if the team will try a flea flicker this season in his honor.
Of course, Balzary isn't the only music celebrity starting his undergraduate studies at USC this year. Percy Miller, better known in his rap career as Romeo (a.k.a. Lil' Romeo), is on scholarship to play basketball for the Trojans.

Chili Peppers return to studio this month?

According to Smith, the group is to tentatively return to the studio for their next album in September 2008. Smith went on to say that "some of our best stuff is yet to come. For some reason we have a special thing, the four of us. We've changed the chemistry of the band a couple of times. When John [Frusciante] rejoined for the second time, we were like: 'This is a special chemistry we have.'"

Silverlake Hullabaloo 27th September 2008

Flea will be playing at the 4th Annual Silverlake
Hullabaloo on September 27th. Purchase tickets here http://www.ticketweb.com/t3/sale/SaleEventDetail?dispatch=loadSelectionData&eventId=300615

Me And My Friends - Photobook by Tony Woolliscroft. Due October

A bound collection of photographs is a curious thing. Great photos, like great paintings, were created to be viewed, and sandwiching visual treats between two covers seems like the ultimate irony.

You would have thought that with high production costs and the widespread availability of images online, the photo-book would have been rendered obsolete, but surprisingly the demand is still there.

Essentially, photo-books document a time and place in the past, and nostalgia is a guaranteed seller, particularly when the time and place in question is filled with the faces of our icons.
Red Hot Chili Peppers' drummer, Chad Smith, has modestly trumpeted the arrival next month of Me and My Friends -- Red Hot Chili Peppers (Trinity Mirror, €16.49, due October) by accomplished photographer Tony Woolliscroft, who has snapped everyone from Anthrax to Madonna in his illustrious career so far, but served as the official photographer for the Chilis from 1990 to 2005. (www.tonywoolliscroft.co.uk)

"Most photographers are only allowed to shoot the first three songs of a show," writes Smith, in the press release for the forthcoming book. "We love Tony and his work so much that he is the only guy we give complete access to for an entire show."

Courtesy of Herald.ie

Flea's House

SELLER: Michael Balzary (Flea)
LOCATION: Sycamore Meadows Drive, Malibu, CA
PRICE: $4,800,000
SIZE: 4,882 square feet, 4 bedrooms, 4.5 bathrooms
DESCRIPTION: A Malibu sanctuary, gated & nestled in the green belt at the end of Sycamore Meadows. Sweeping ocean views & commanding hillside scenery surround this majestic home. Set in a botanical paradise, this private 2.4 acre compound also features a newly refinished pool & spa, private alcoves & pathways thruout the grounds. The hm conveys a warm & solid feeling in its large living spaces, combining traditional & eclectic styles. Big bedrooms, high ceilings, large kitchen & rec studio.

Courtesy of The Real Estalker

Anthony's House

SELLER: Anthony Kiedis
LOCATION: Davis Drive, Beverly Hills, CA
PRICE: $6,997,000
SIZE: 4,294 square feet, 5 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms
DESCRIPTION: On one of the rare 3 acre knolls in BHPO, this tour de force celeb property is Tuscan in style, w/ panoramic vus from every vantage point yet accomplishing privacy. 5 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms, 6 fireplaces, roman pool and spar and spectacular indoor/outdoor flow, Bell tower, grand cordon bleu kitchen w/ sweeping views, large scale ceiling heights and one of the most romantic master suites in Southern Cal. A breathtaking opportunity to purchase this beautiful villa near the best of everything Beverly Hills has to offer.

Courtesy of the Real Estalker