Total Guitar, April 2004
April 2004, Total Guitar magazine, UK
thanks to Nella for typing it out
click the thumbnail to see the scans
He underplays. He’s in love with the unusual. He fights against the rest of the Chili Peppers when they want him to play a solo. With the release of his new solo album, welcome to the world of John Frusciante, the world’s most unlikely guitar-hero.
John Frusciante – the resurrected guitarist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and creator of a handful of esoteric solo albums – might best be categorised as a minimalist player, an anti-guitar figure eschewing lengthy solos, the application of finger vibrato, and the use of a tremolo bar, even though his main instrument is a 1962 Fender Strat. His new solo album, Shadows Collide With People, is self-produced and features John playing guitar, keyboards, bass, percussion and singing – a veritable one-man band.
On a picture perfect California afternoon, John talks about his unique approach to playing and writing. Having endured seven kinds of physical and mental hell with past addictions and depression, the Peppers player is as content and subdued as a baby with a bottle. So we get John Frusciante to make sense of John Frusciante…
What’s the appeal of recording solo albums separate from the Red Hot Chili Peppers?
“I don’t write lyrics in the Chilis and essentially I’m a songwriter. What I do in the band has more to do with putting pieces together, I might write a whole song, but it’s still just a guitar part. I consider myself a songwriter, I’ve been writing lyrics since I was 11 years old, and I’ve been getting better and better.”
Describe the writing process for a song like the album’s opener, Carvel.
“First off, we made a demo recording of the song – something we did for most of the tunes on the album – and did most of the experimenting there. I put together the demo for Carvel pretty much by myself. Although Josh [Klinghoffer, longtime musical associate] overdubbed the drums, I recorded the guitar, played a synth bass, and I also took my Mellotron sounds, which I had samples of on an Emulator, and tried to use tones I don’t normally use. I wanted to have a different sound for every section. Then Josh and I always make up our [vocal] harmonies once something is in demo form. And that’s probably the final stage.
With the Chilis it’s different. When it comes to my stuff, I usually go with the first take. Actually, the first time the band decides to make a solo section in a song I’m really against it. But I go through phases ‘cos when I’m on tour I want all the solos to be longer, I’ll go up there and solo for 10 minutes.”
Can you describe your approach to rhythm playing, the way you strum?
“My style only comes from playing for years. I mean, I can recognise the playing styles of most of my favorite guitarists. There’s something that makes no two people’s muscles, skin and electricity the same. You can hear someone like Jeff Beck plaing just one note and you know immediately it’s him.
“As I’ve grown as a musician, I’ve become more comfortable with my own sound. I think a lot of guitar players cover their sound up, while I’ve grown more accustomed to the idea of having my sound in a kind of naked state.”
Physically, how do you approach the rhythmic aspect of your style? Is it a forceful strumming, is it reckless?
“I definitely do both. I play as hard as I can a lot of the time. But in the last few years, I’ve grown more interested in techniques that can be performed with gentle playing, certain harmonics and things that only come from playing gently. This means when you do play hard, it really means something.”
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