Babies on Fire Red Hot Chili Peppers

Rip It Up, Issue 149, 1 December 1989, Page 8

Babies on Fire Red Hot Chili Peppers

“lguesstheimages we portray in our videos may be too left-field for commercial America. For‘Catholic Schoolgirls’ we had 14 year-old girlsintoilet stalls with men dressed as nuns.” The sceneis the Marquis Hotel, NYC, hostto that annual ballyhooed gabfest the New Music Seminar. Red Hot Chili Peppers Anthony and Flea are cracking up the audience at an otherwise pedestrian discussion of Artists OnVideo.” The Peppers subtly putdown a fellow panellist, the aptly-named Dizzy Dean of Britny Fox, a real Spinal Tap like who ends every banal comment with “it's rock n' roll, y'’know.” Then they bring the house down with a spontaneous rap of their new song ‘Punk Rock Ditty’ -- “Put us onMTV/Allwe really need/ : Begging on our knees/ Please, please, please!”

These guys are, in fact, far too proud fo beg for anything, but their years of persistent and uncompromising endeavour seem aboutto pay off. EvenMTVand - commercial radio will have to weaken as Los Angeles’ prime punk-funksters kick inthe door. An hour ofter their Seminar antics, Anthony and Flea sip popiin their record label’s office and reflect on life, love, their new album Mother’s Milkand the inspirational power of porn queen Traci Lords and basketball superstar Magic Johnson. The creative core of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the duo make quite the striking couple. Anthany’s long black

hair cascades over a handsome face framed with red glasses, while bassist Flea sports shirt, corkscrew blondelocks and a physique that's testimony to his love of physical exercise.

The Peppers' reputation as wild and crazy guys survives the interview intact, but at the same time they also emerge as thoughtful and compassionate dudes. If we must have rock n’ roll heroes, far better they than Axl Rose or Bon Jovi. Butt Shakers Asthey've never bumped butts with high-rotation MTV or the Billboard Top 40, a brief history

lesson s called for. . Anthony, Flea and earlier Pepper shakers grew out of the early ‘Bos hardcore scene in LA, Flea having done time in the legendary Fear alongside fellow actor Lee Ving. The Red Hot Chili Peppers spiced their punk with funk, rap and hard-rock flavours, and their own off-beat, compelling sound got them signed to EMlin 1985. ; : Fouralbums since then have yielded such underground faves as True Men Don't Kill Coyotes’ and Fight Like A Brave’, and won them the respect of funkmeister George Clinton who produced albums | Freaky Styley and Some Of My Best Jokes Are Friends. Amanic performing style climaxing with infamous naked -- but for their socks (no, notontheirfeet) -- encores won them dedicated fans around the world (“Atleasttwo in each city,” says Anthony), but their push for the big league almost ended a year ago. Life in the fastlane derailed lead guitaristand founding member Hillel Slovak, who died of a drug overdose aged 25. The resilient Peppers have bounced back by producing their best work yet on Mother’s Milk, fittingly dedicated to Slovak. “I'mfeeling really optimistic about it," Anthony declares, “butthen | always have been optimistic.” “There's no middle ground with me,” Flea chimesin. “I'm eitherina total phobia thinking ‘We're going nowhere, this is the same old shit we played five years ago’, or else | think thisis the most genius conception man has ever heard.

“Butone thing | think about the new record is that, especially with our drummer Chad, is thatit's taken us into a new ballpark of hardness. | just think more kids will want to bang their head, y'know. With Mother’s Milk, we consciously tried fo refain all the things we've worked for over the years -- fo build up a sound which has influenced a lot of young new bands and that we pioneered. We wanted

to keep the energy and the rhythm but, through more mature songwriting, to expand itinto a bigger vehicle.” ; : Anthony interjects: “Whereas before we used o drive around the worldin one giant garbage truck, nowwe have afleet of ninety.” Knock Me Down Unlike most established bands, the Red Hot Chili Peppers display no signof simplifying or narrowing down their sound. From a funny rap abouta basketball star (‘Magic Johnson’) to the fiery hard rock of ‘Fire’ to a soulful cover of Stevie Wonder’s ‘Higher Ground'to a poignant homage to Hillel on ‘Knock Me Down’ -that's more lyrical and musical ground covered in four songs than most bands coverin their entire career. “Ourmusicis about honesty,” Anthony explains. “We've never attempted to conform to any sound otherthan what we naturally feel inside. We don't set out to constructa song that'd be accepted by radio or MTV or pop-lovers of the world. This record is busy; itis not like the simplicity of Wild Thing. That's not necessarily a great thing; just that we have so much we wantto say that we seemto want to say it all in every song we play, musically speaking.” After a false startwith Parliament / Funkadelic guitarist Blackbird McKnight (“You have to be married tothis band emotionally, and it just didn't click”), the Peppers picked up an 18 year-old fan, John Frusciante, as Hillel's replacement. “For us, itwas a complete injection ofyoung, fresh, funky blood. We'd been his favourite band since he was 11, soitwas kind of a dream come truefor him,” Anthony recalls. “It was aterriblewayinwhichhehada chance to join, butit's also beautiful that he did. A matter of crystal - destiny,” he declares, lapsing into Californiaspeak. “These guys [John and Chad] are great -- right on the cutting edge of being the hardest rockin’, funkin’ guys the world has to

offer. We got ‘em, and it'stime o sail on. 5 Karma? “You can'tignore karma. It's notlike a magicshow, but obviously you give out a certain energy. Ifitis putto good use, good things will come your way. lfyou're negative, you're likely to stepina 50-foot deep mud puddle.” ; Extra Sensitive : Bothin performance and on record, the Red Hot Chili Peppers can be the craziest and lewdest gang of groove-mongers around, but there is a real serious, sensitive side to themtoo. ‘'Knock Me Down’, for example, is a naked emotional plea to a departed friend -- “Too late to tell you how I feel, Iwant you back but!gotreal”-- thatalso offers cautionary counselfo others facing a similar fate: “/fyou see me getting high, knock me down, I'm not bigger than life.” Far better a responsible, moving song like this than a banal “don’tdo drugs” TV spot. “Responsibility comes from being true to yourself,” says Anthony. “We don'tsitaround and conceive . ltis a natural by-product of a style of existence; a conscientious, compassionate feeling for life usually contains it without attempting to do 50. Sono Nancy Reagan anti-drug commercials? “I'd do a commercial stating her .... stinks,” Anthony retorts. “Not everybody has been destroyed by drugs. There have been both great and fragic experiences asadirect result of taking drugs. It's different for everybody. To each, his reach. Asa songwriter, you write about different topics that are part of your life. After you've covered the zany aspect of your personality, you start to look to the more sensitive aspects and you write about those feelings. I'm not expecting the audience will pick up every single, intricate detail of our songs. There are layers of musical and lyrical information that have to be looked into a little more deeply to

discoverthe meanings and emotions. | don'teven think we know all of them.” : Anthony admits to being the Peppers' lyricist, “but Flea influences me by sharing views and ideologies. Inturn, | have the basic funk just oozing out of my body, and it can’t help but grease off on Flea when he comesup with a bass line. All very naturall” Sock N’Roll - The publicity generated by their “zany side” and the infamous socks-on-cocks encores has now become tiresome. “The biggest misconception about usis that we're some kind of novelty sock band,” sighs Fleq, “but | think we've played some of the most innovative music of the 80s over the pastfew years, and I'dlike to be recognised for that.”

“Whichisn'tto say that we regret that,” says Anthony. “Itis a great feeling. We do it just to have fun, to feel good, naked and free of clothes andsocial bindings. Itis not about shocking people, it's aboutfeeling great.” ; Tofeelsimilarly inspired inthe studio, Anthony testifies to the value of posters of former teen porn star Traci Lords. He also lewdly claims that communion between a female body, minature microphones and a guitar neck results in certain unearthly sounds on Mother’s Milk, butthe explicit details are strictly Penthouse material.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers also draw inspiration from LA peers like Fishbone, Thelonious Monster, X and Firehose, and their camaraderie is a refreshing change from the catty competitiveness of most rockers. “It's

a definite circle of friends. We all hang outand feel proudto - perpetrate aninevitable sense of patriotismin our music. LAis where we live, and our music is basically about our lives. | think we're all part of adying breed -- people playing an honest, heartfelt uncompromising music thatis getting respect around the world.” -- Anthony. : : Or, asinthe words of ‘Good Time Boys', “We're modern day braves with one strong hold/ Through the world of song our boldness is exposed.”. ' The group's comparitive longevity surprises Flea and Anthony. “When we started this band, it was strictly as alark,” Flea confesses. “Then, suddenly, it's ‘let's make a record, tour, get a manager and a lawyer, get paid money.’ | never used to think ofthe future, but | do a little more

now thatl'm a father. It's amazing it has gone on so long and -- barring some drasticincident -- it looks like it it willgoonalotlonger.” “I had a beautiful vision last night,” Anthony adds. “l was at the Mets game with afriend and we were

talking about the Grateful Dead at the Giants stadium. | don't even know their music, but they fact that they’ve amassed an audience that has loved themfor 25 yearsis beautiful. It d be nice for the Red Hot Chili Peppers to bearoundin 25 years.” Classic To hearthese irreverant funkateers praise the Dead's survival is surprising, butthey also reveal their love of classic rock by their choice of “covers; Dylan's ‘Subterranean Homesick Blues’ and, on Mother’s Milk, Hendrix's ‘Fire’ and Wonder's ‘Higher Ground'. “We love all kinds of music,” says Anthony. “Those - covers are a way of paying respect to musicians that have been real meaningful to our lives and music. | just met Stevie Wonder over the phone, as | want him to be in our video. He was one of the coolest-sounding guys I've ever talked to -- his voice was like a well-intentioned siren. If Stevie likes oursong, I'll probably shoot an eight-foot shot of ejaculatory semen.” : : But omit the Who from the Peppers hall of fame. “They're pathetic,” Flea sneers. “They stopped rockin’, then said, 'Hey, we could get back together, play the old songs and make a shitload of money.' And, asa bass-player, here's a personal ‘Fuck you'to John Entwistle. He's a e close-minded, ignorant old fart for calling rap ‘the voice of youth that can'tsing’.” : Anthony pounces on the fopic of rap like a shark smelling blood: - “Rapisthe punk rock of the 80s. It is the burgeoning existence of music right now, the reality of the masses, notthe false, preconceived notions ofthe upper middle-class. Itis the futhle . : The big time may beckon, butthe

Peppers aren’tabout o stifle their - social conscience and egalitarianism, as Anthony explains: “Whenever | get served a bagel andloxin a restaurant, | think, ‘what a bummerto be waiting tables, but | don'tfeel better than that waiter -- just luckier. No matter how famous | become, I'll know I'm no betterthan the bum down there on 42nd Street eating lunch out of the garbage. He and | are on the same level. And Donald Trump, he's no more important than the guy he walks past whois lying in the gutter licking milk offthe floor.”« Andlike all good Californian rock stars, the Red Hot Chili Peppers are deeply concerned about the state of the environment. “Ithink the planetisin real sad shape,” claims Flea. “It's fucked, we're doomed, and people don't care. We do benefits for the Sea Shepherds [a direct-action environmental activist group]. If wild horses are going o the glue factory in Montana, they'll cut down fences andfree them.” Maybe itis similarly attributable to their Californian base, or Flea’s early. childhood in Australia, butthe Peppers are real sports nuts. Hence the hilarious ode to Magic Johnson, “Penetrating the line like a bullet train comes the Magic blood a telepathic brain.”. - “He'salegitimate hero of the band,” says Anthony. “He represents the most beautiful, positive-willed figure in sports to us. We're musically influenced by his basketball playing, his smile and his lustfor life!” The idea of punk-funkers as jocks may seem bizarre, but o Flea, “funk - and sports infersectin so many ways. A perfect day for me is to play music and basketball on the same day. They're my two favourite things to do.” “The Red Hot Chili Peppers are full of unexpected avenues meeting,” Anthony concludes. "Wearea myriad of intersections you'd never expect.” ~ Long may they sink their jump shots.

KERRY DOOLE