Crossbeat interview
October 2004, Crossbeat (Japan)
thanks to Noriko Otsubo, for the translation
click the thumbnail for scans
Oh! Anthony came onstage wearing pure-white suit! Maybe there were also a lot of people in the audience who felt that Anthony's wardrobe was representing rising spirit of the Chili Peppers. Chili Peppers' appearance warmed up festive mood, and their play made Yokohama's scorching summer even more heat up. The biggest show Chili Peppers have ever had in Japan, not only reflected current their strong power which didn't wilt under the big arena, but also illustrated the potential for Chili Peppers' growth. Like "Live in Hyde Park", they played a new song "Leverage of Space" and a new cover song "Brandy". From beginning to end, we had been overwhelmed by phenomenal performance of them. Moreover, we saw Anthony played the drum during the jams by Flea and John, and Flea played solo with trumpet at encore. In Japan, we have never seen those scenes before. Although Chili Peppers made their first appearance in a year and a half, four persons were twoor three times more powerful than we had expected.
Additionally, how active John Frusciante was! As well as playing the guitar with beautiful emotion, he improved his vocalization and refined his sensibility of a member to Chili Peppers' sound. Furthermore, he often gave brilliant smiles to audiences and moved freely the stage. He enjoyed many activities on the stage. And since the beginning of this year, he also has kept on pursuing solo stuff with surprisingly fast-pace. He has already released three albums "Shadows Collide with People", "The Will to Death", and "Automatic Writing" which is released under the name of the band "Ataxia". And he is going to release four another albums. All those are proof of his current energies. What does John Frusciante see about now? I tried to ask about it.
Including "Shadows Collide with People" - which was released in the spring -, you are going to release seven albums in this year. When did you plan to release a large number of songs at a dash?
Well…having finished the tour of Chili Peppers, November, last year, I brought a mountain of songs to completion. I wrote many songs on RHCP tour during one and a half years. So I wanted to record them as much as possible. Just I had six months off and it was time for nothing to do. I thought "OK, I will record those songs as much as possible, during these six months." During the period, of course I also enjoyed myself listening to music without working. In addition to that, I continued to record an album a month... and when I had finished recording all songs, I decided to release them as quickly as I recorded them, that is to say, I will release an album a month.
Do you feel like sharing your music with people when you have just finished writing songs, instead of taking a lot of time to work over after writing?
I think music ought to be listened to by people when music has recorded. I feel the certain energy of music is going to disappear with time. My music comes to me not only to enjoy myself but also to enjoy other people. For that reason, I feel my behavior would be egoistic if I had recordings for only me. Though I record music for me, I also would like my fans to enjoy them, so that I release albums.
Currently, do you feel that your act of doing music is a one of acts of spiting something from inside of yourself?
Um...I really love music. I have been loving music since I was a kid. I play music because I love music. I am able to agree with your opinion. Maybe something from inside of myself is unleashed by playing music. But I don't play music for spitting. There are other ways to let out pent-up steam...(laugh)…for instance, you make love to someone, or you roar at someone... there are some ways. But for me, music is that brings something marvelous to other people. When you roar at someone, you may feel good. But, at the same time, you make someone feels bad. Playing music, player feels good. Listening to music, listener feels good. I play music because music is beautiful. I don't play music to let out pent-up steam. Even if someone wants to let out pent-up steam, it is better for him or her to stand on stage, to play something, to run, and to roar in front of 5 audiences. Contrary to such thing, it needs tireless efforts to make good music. I have been continuing efforts because I really love music, and music is purely beautiful. I don't think any reason other than it.
