Cross - Red Hot Chili Peppers: the secret history

It has been tough to match the combination of punk, funk and the high-energy of The Red Hot Chili Peppers. Over two decades, theyve sold more than 30 million albums with a lasting influence that can be traced right down to today's crop of beat-heavy nu-metal bands. Their sound helped to define a specific direction in new rock from almost the moment they arrived in the early 80s.

Think about it: they were combining punk with funk and big phat beats before just about anyone else. Would there be all this nu-metal stuffKorn, Limp Bizkit, Papa Roach, Rage Against The Machineif it hadn't been for The Red Hot Chili Peppers? Maybe not.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers have managed to outlive virtually all their contemporaries while still remaining fresh and exciting. Plus, they were able to export a certain California vibe around the world, a feat that they can't even explain.

There have been many times when The Red Hot Chili Peppers have almost fallen into oblivion. But they're still here, and there are countless stories to tell. And believe me, some of them are pretty scary.

Every single one of those stories leads back to two guys, two life-long friends. And like everyone else in southern California, they're from someplace else: a Lithuanian child actor named Anthony Kiedis, and an Australian jazz fan named Michael Peter Balzary, or, as we know him, Flea.

Let's start with Anthony. When he was about 11, his mom shipped him from Michigan to L.A. to live with his father. Anthony's dad was a small-time actor who went by the name Blackie Dammett, (IMDB) and he was the kind of actor who managed to get just enough work to get by. He got TV gigs with shows like Starsky and Hutch and Night Court, as well as movie roles in films like Lethal Weapon with Mel Gibson. In case you're wondering, Blackie played Drug Dealer #3.

It was tough, but he provided for his kid. And he spent the rest of his time schmoozing and hanging out with the beautiful people. Sometimes he took Anthony along. That's how Anthony met Chastity Bono. They used to play together.

Then there's Flea. He was born in Australia on October 16, 1962. As a kid, his mom moved him and his sister Karen to L.A. Her first marriage broke up, and she then married a guy named Walter. Like her first husband, he was a crazy alcoholic. According to Flea, Walter headed up a violent household. He even had some shootouts with the police. Flea said that he spent a lot of nights sleeping in the backyard because he was too scared to go into the house. Either that, or he was out doing drugsat age 12.

The one really good thing Flea got from his stepfather was a love of jazz. Walter was a jazz bassist and there were always records in the house. Flea's big passion became the work of trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie. That led to Flea learning how to play his first instrument, the trumpet.

Flea and Anthony have known each other since they were 15. Soon, they started hanging around a club called The Starwood, a place in West Hollywood that attracted everyone from hippies to hardcore punks. They went to shows by The Germs, Black Flag and The Circle Jerks. At the same time, they discovered rap, thanks to Grandmaster Flash.

Rap was a huge revelation for the budding musicians. Said Anthony in an interview:

I subconsciously vowed that I would somehow create that type of energy to entertain others. I didn't have a clue how to write a song or sing, but I thought I could probably figure out how to tell a story in rhythm.

Their first band was called Anthym. Flea and Anthony formed the group with two other guys from Fairfax High School on Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. There was Flea on bass and Anthony on vocals, plus, two refugees from another band called Chain Reaction. These members were a kid named Hillel Slovak on guitar and a drummer called Jack Irons.

Anthym started as a joke, a cheesy Kiss tribute band, complete with all the makeup. But that got old real quick. Flea's punk and jazz tendencies started to meld with Anthony's love for funk and rap. You can see where this is going, but it wasn't there yet. Anthym didn't last long. Flea got an offer to join the semi-legendary LA punk band, Fear. Fear was famous for being actor John Belushi's favorite group. Meanwhile, Anthony went off to write poetry while Hillel and Jack stayed together.

Jack ended up in a band called What Is This with two other guys. And although he wasn't an official member, Hillel wrote a bunch of songs and played guitar on the group's self-titled, Todd Rundgren-produced 1985 album.

So what about The Red Hot Chili Peppers? We're still not there yet. Hillel and Jack were doing their thing. Flea was with Fear. And Anthony was going to rap shows.

But in the spring of 1983, Flea and Anthony decided to do a gig on their own as a favor for a friend at the Rhythm Lounge Club in Hollywood. Hillel and Jack were in, too. But if they were going to do this, they needed a name. Flea had just come up with a funky new bassline over which Anthony would rap some of his poetry. They even had a name for this new project.

After a couple of gigs, Flea and Anthony got tired of writing out Tony Flow And The Majestic Masters Of Mayhem on their posters all the time, so it was time for a name change. It was Anthony who came up with The Red Hot Chili Peppers. He said it had a spicy and psychedelic feel to it.

The public also liked their shtick, and the band quickly became a hit on the LA club circuit. Their punk-funk thing seemed really cool, and by the summer of 1983, The Red Hot Chili Peppers had a built a solid reputation. What had begun as a one-off joke had somehow become a viable prospect.

Then came a gig at The Kit Kat Club. This was a strip joint, and with all the nude women around, it wasn't hard for a band to be upstaged. The band asked themselves, How can we compete for attention with the audience when the competition is a bunch of naked women? Their answer? Socks.

This was Anthony's idea. There was this girl that kept showing up at his place. And to scare her off (or to impress her, we're not sure), Anthony answered the door one day wearing nothing but a big gym sock over his equipment. So when The Red Hot Chili Peppers needed a gimmick for their Kit Kat appearances, they went with the socks. Actually, the band didn't use the sock trick for every show, maybe 15 percent of the time, but when they did, it got everyone talking. This remains one of the most talked-about gimmicks in the history of rock and roll. So they kept at it, and ended up with a police record.

By this time, the Chili Peppers had attracted the attention of a few record labels. This was good because every band wants to make records, but it was also bad because Jack and Hillel already had a deal with What Is This.

So there was a split. Hillel and Jack stuck with What Is This, while Anthony and Flea pursued the Chili Peppers. But they were under a lot of pressure. A record deal was on the table, but it was only valid if they could pull something together within a couple of months. Somehow, they managed. They picked up a session guitarist named Jack Sherman and a drummer named Cliff Martinez. In August 1984, they issued an album called Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Their first record had been released, but Flea wasn't happy with it. Their album was produced by Andy Gill, the guitarist of a British post-punk band called Gang Of Four. The Peppers and Andy did not get along. There's a rumor that once recording was all over, Flea sent Andy a pizza box with a freshly-laid present inside. Yes, it's exactly what you're thinking.

After their first album came out, The Red Hot Chili Peppers knew the groove didn't feel right. Jack Sherman was a good guitar player, but something didn't mesh. So they secretly started talking to Hillel Slovak. And it turned out that he was the odd man out with What Is This. So Jack Sherman was bounced and Hillel was back in. How serendipitous.