Juice magazine interview
Legend has it that Frusciante had checked himself into hospital "trying to get his mental health together", when he woke up in early 1997 to find Kiedis standing over him. The pair had barely spoken since their split, and for the year before he left the band they hadn't seen eye to eye. But Kiedis started visiting him regularly, along with Flea. It was some homecoming.
All members of the Chili Peppers had been through the wringer since Frusciante's departure, involving after a succession of cancelled tours, motor cycle mishaps for Kiedis and drummer Chad Smith, divorces for Flea and Smith, and a period of serious "writer's block" and soul searching. Flea has suggested that their vocalist's searching was done from the confines of detox.
Kiedis fell off the wagon in 1997, admitting on MTV "When I use drugs, my life sucks." His upbringing with his divorced father - a small time actor stage-named Blackie Dammett - matches that of a Hollywood star tearaway (virginity lost at 12, smoked first joint with Dad, mates with Sonny Bono etc). Having experimented with a range of drugs from age 15, his continuous problems with staying clean also fit the bill. He's since found cleanliness, true love and a re-fired musical career But there were many low ebbs.
And Frusciante had it worst of all, of course. The last live performance he offered was at the infamous Sunset Boulevard club, the Viper Room, with his part-time bandmates, Gibbey Hayes of the Butthole Surfers, Johnny Depp and Flea. That was Halloween morning 1993. The night coincided with River Phoenix, Frusciante's "closest friend, champion and protector" dying, gulping like a goldfish on the sidewalk. Frusciante would not play with the Chili Peppers again for almost four years.
-Simon Wooldridge
