Spin magazine, August 2002
Onstage, the early Chili Peppers were a chaotic spazzfest-guitar noise, slapdash bass, nudity, carefully placed socks, and Kiedis' hilarious attempts at rap repartee. But Kiedis says the band's sound-which has spawned legions of imitators-was never premeditated. "Nothing's ever been conscious, especially not at that point, because we were pretty high most of the time. Even now, when we get together, there's never a discussion of what we're doing. We just close our eyes and start playing."
Unfortunatelt, almost twenty years later, the band's intuitive hybrid has borne some sour frui(t. "I don't think any of those conservative, ultra-aggro, rap-metal bands had the funk influence or punk-rock energy that we had," Kiedis says with uncharcteristic vehemence. "Even when I was 14, I didn't have such one-dimensional angst."
I love you !"
The teenage boy in the crowd makes a heart shape with his hands and points at Anthony Kiedis. THe boy has a blond crew cut and a girl close by, but he's totally crushed out on the Chili peppers' singer.
"Thank you," Kiedis says flatly-which means he really means it. "Those are beautiful words at a time like this. A man can get insecure under all these fluorescent lights."
This is some weird shows. To promote By the Way; the Chili Peppers ar doing one of those dodgy, unreality-TV "surprise" concerts for MTW, held in a skate park in Orange County. The modest crowd sings along with the 45-minutes set, but plenty of people stand blank-faced.
"Where are we, the City of Orange ?" Kiedis asks. The crowd almost cheers. "Where is that ? Is that near Fullerton ? I get behind the Orange Curtain, and it's all a blur." Vague crowd noise. (You know it's bad when the audience doen't even realize it's being insulted.) The band works through a set of hits sprinkled with new songs. Flea jumps around, wobbling his head, while Smith tosses his sticks, Tommy Lee-style; Kiedis paces fiercely, and Frusciante tries to find the magic friction, but the crowd is cold.
When Kiedis ducks offstage, Flea plucks out a bass line and Smith kicks in with a funky drumbeat. Flea and Frusciante walk toward each other, staring, as Frusciante plays little notes here ans there off Flea's snaky bass line. The audience warms up, cheering. After a second or two, a slightly ominous groove emerges for 30 seconds or so. Kiedis reenters, watching intently. This is how a lot of Chili Peppers songs are born. These guys are musical soulmates, and the chemistry between them is so strong, it's pretty much sexual.
When I interview Kiedis back at the Hotel Bel-Air, he's wearing a longsleeve, black CALIFORNIA T-Shirt. He's the most guarded of the Chili Peppers in interviews-cold without being ride. It's nothing personal; he just likes to be in control. And considering how ridiculously fit he is for 39, and that he's a self described type-A personality, he's probably harder on himself than on anybody else.
