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John's love of playing guitar couldn't be suppressed indefinitely - largely because, he knew, that's where his real talent lied.
"As a painter I couldn't find my...I couldn't do the kind of paintings that I really wanted to do," he begins. "I wasn't technically capable of it. But I knew that I could do it on guitar because I have the minde to think of the guitar technically. I was reading Leonardo Da Vinci's Notebooks, and his advice to painters - about being able to represent nature with perfection. I took his advice and applied it to myself as a musician, starting from point A, as if I was a new guitarist. I quickly realised I had the mind of a great guitarist technically, but when I started writing Californication, I still had to practice all the time."
Really ?
"Yes, By the time I went into the studio, I was barely good enough to make the record. It took a maximum amount of effort. But for that reason, it's my favourite playing I've ever done. When I was making Blood Sugar, I took my technique for granted - and starting again, it was only then that I realised I had so much. So this last time, I felt like I could be exactly the kind of guitarist I wanted to be, without having to balance out Eddie Van Halen and the 80s, which is what I was doing before."
Half a decade after walking out on them, John was back in the Chili Peppers for the making of Californication. Things has never really clicked for the band with interim-guitarist Dave Navarro. Dave had been a reactive guitar player, prefering to put parts to music already created, whereas John prefers to jam - just like the other three members of the band.
"In the band we work very democratically," explains Frusciante. "No one person is ever responsible for the direction. We also write as a band. You come up with a five second riff at home, bring it to the ban, and we all create and make a song together. Then whatever happens, happens. The energy that's in the air when the four of us are playing together is so thick. But the music is just there, we gradually shape it. Writing a song can be a long process - a Chili Peppers song might take six months in between by the time we get the idea and the song being finished. Also in the Chili Peppers, I like to play games - games of balancing things out. Like, if Chad's playing a certain drum beat with one feel, I creat a different type of rhythm not implied in his rhythm - to aadd depth. We're always doing that to each other. I'm constantly trying to change what the other peopla are playing by what I do."
Frusciante's energy and constant hammering at the boundaries of guitar playing led TG to ask him to be our first guest editor, and this month's magazine is full of tabs and techniques that helped John define his inimitable style.
His enthusuasm and excitement at being back in the Chilis is obvious, and genuinely affecting.
"It's so good to be in a band with people who love you. I really recommend it highly. To have somebody like Anthony to always be like... on my side and always getting off on my playing - it makes me feel so good.
"Sometimes, he'll come to me with a melody that doesn't really have a home - it's kind of like a frame of a house - and we'll build that together. Just the idea that: if I sing two notes in A then the same A again its not the same as the first one. I'm constantly trying to find ways to make people sound deeper."
