Total Guitar, April 2004
CHORD PLAY (boxout; interview scan page03)
John’s Favorite Progressions
On Shadows Collide..., The Slaughter is an interesting track.
“When I wrote that tune I wanted to use particular chords. It goes A, A A#dim7 B C#m Cdim7 E F#m6 C#m B Amaj7 Am6/F# before resolving to E. But the biggest change is when it goes from Am6 to Amaj7. I’m always looking for interesting chord changes, and progressing from Am6 to Amaj7 doesn’t happen in many songs. When you can take odd chords and make them sound right, it’s a real achievement. That’s what I’m always looking for.
For inspiration, usually I’ll hear somebody use a chord, like Paul McCartney or John Lennon, and figure out a way to use it myself. But sometimes it just comes from practising and learning things like Charles Mingus songs – this track probably came from some jazz thing I was working on. I’m always fascinated by how people use chords in different ways and Charles Mingus was definitely one of the main people I was studying at the time.”
Learn to play
RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS - PARALLEL UNIVERSE
John Frusciante and Flea do a fine impersonation of an analogue synth on this raw track from the Chili Peppers’ comeback album.
When guitarist John Frusciante left the Red Hot Chili Peppers back in 1992 under a cloud of heroin addiction, many predicted the demise of the band. However, the guys soldiered on with former Jane’s Addiction guitarist David Navarro, although the somewhat lacklustre album this line-up released in 1995, One Hot Minute, seemed to confirm everyone’s worst fears.
Then when Navarro left in early 1998, again everyone thought the Chilis would finish, but instead they confounded critics and invited a detoxed Frusciante to rejoin the band. With classic rock producer Rick Rubin at the controls, the resultant album, Californication was their strongest and best-selling to date.
All of the songs for the record arose from jamming in bassist Flea’s garage studio, and consequently they have a live, organic, raw feel. Parallel Universe is a case in point; only one guitar plays throughout most of the song, and although it continues under the outro solo, it’s barely audible.
The song is one of the best examples of Frusciante’s electronic influences, particularly Kraftwerk, Depeche Mode and pioneering electronic producer, Giorgio Moroder. Frusciante’s constant 16th-note playing not only provides the implied harmony with Flea’s driving bassline, it also emulates the sound of arpeggiators on old analogue synths. It’s certainly reminiscent of the driving synth layers on Donna Summers’ I Feel Love, co-written with Moroder.
Although none of the playing in Parallel Universe is that difficult, keeping up a constant 16th-note rhythm while maintaining an even tone requires picking stamina. Your hands will tire quickly at this tempo, which gradually increases from around 124 to 133 bpm by the end, so warm-up first!
FRUSCIANTE’S GEAR
John’s main guitar is a 1965 Fender Stratocaster, which he usually plugs into Marshall heads and cabs, although the bright, bass-light sound of the clean guitar suggests that he may have used his Fender Showman amp, using the singlecoil neck pickup with plenty of compression. When it comes to distortion, John favours the Boss DS-1 and DS-2 pedals, either of which he would have used for the chorus and solos, while the slow heavy phaser in the solo came from his MXR Phase 90.
