Some say that the depths of hell and the streets of L.A. are one and the same. One thing we can all agree on: the
Red Hot Chili Peppers have been to both and back. The band's history plays like a miniseries just begging to be televised: deaths, near-deaths, various addictions, broken bones,
ever-changing guitar players, motorcycle crashes. Pick any bandmember, and chances are he's the stuff rumors are made of.
Sounds like we might all be able to get past that... for now, at least.
Following the Chili Peppers' divorce from its last guitarist, Dave Navarro, the band has reunited with John Frusciante, the axe-wielder from the band's multi-platinum heydays of
"Mothers Milk" and "Blood Sugar Sex Magik."
Cleaned up and startlingly pre-Raphaelite-looking, Frusciante's mere presence has giddied and funked up the band in a way
that's making everyone sit up and care about them all over again. Not to mention that the band's latest LP, "Californication,"
finds the guys sounding fresh and invigorated. It could be their best work since (surprise) "Blood Sugar Sex Magik." (Here come the new Peppers, same as the old Peppers?)
MusicMania Team
recently sat down with the band to discuss the new album. Between slap-fights and impromptu wrestling matches, the guys got serious about the politics and emotions behind Frusciante's departure (and return), addictions and rehabilitations, the thrill of hitting the road, and that Navarro guy.
Get ready for some serious Californicatin.
