I think we were too freaked out to consider the end. We did all we could to kind of carry on, but it was a bit forced and tortured, really. F:
During the whole time that John wasn't in the band, I was in contact with him and we were always friends. I was always aware of what he was going through with everything, and I was really worried about John. I was worried John was going to die.
MusicMania: From what?
F: From doing drugs. But John did what John needed to do, to live John's life, and right now John is the most focused, inspiring person that I know.
MusicMania: So
the band helped John out with rehab and stood by him--
AK: Yeah, definitely.
Chad Smith:
We are more concerned about him than being in a band. [After John left we were] all kind of doing other things just to keep busy, but Chili Peppers is really the main thing that we really cherish, and to a lot of us, it's the most important thing. To do it again with John, it's really like a rebirth. It was so inspiring for us to play with him again and still is. Once we started playing again it was like, "Ahh, this is great. We're smiling and having a great time, and that's the way it's always been."
AK:
He went from being such a wild card, such a kind of unpredictable, potentially volatile, mysterious, "oh God what's going to happen" character to being really probably the most disciplined in consistence, musically inspired pillar of this band right now. In any moment of doubt or concern we kind of focus on John, because he's so into this and nothing else, because he is giving all of his energy to this and it's contagious that way.
John and I had our pow-wow get together before we played, and we sat down and for a minute I thought we were gonna have to go through the resentment and trash and the pain and all that stuff that
happened, but we kind of looked at each other and we both just understood that it's all done and there's no reason to discuss it because it's over with and we still love each other. So when we got to the
garage and John plugged in and Flea plugged in and Chad sat down, it wasn't just like old times. It was better new times.
MusicMania: It must have seemed like a long shot, getting John back in the
band. I mean, when did this seem like it could be done?
F:
Well, we got to the point with Dave Navarro where it just wasn't working, and we all knew that. Just chemistry and personality things weren't working out, and we definitely did not fire him, and he definitely did not quit. It was one of those things where we kinda threw our hands up in the air.
I remember speaking to Anthony, saying, "What do you think if maybe I should talk to John about joining back with the band?" And he's like, "Well I don't know, that's kind of heavy. I don't
know if we should do that." And I said, "I'll go feel him out." And I went and asked John, and he was happy and all excited to do it.
JF:
It also comes back to the reasons why a person should be in a band. Our friendship started to be in a really good place. Me and Flea had always been friends, but all of a sudden it seemed like we were all on the same page. All of a sudden it seemed like we were doing the same thing inside ourselves.
And Anthony as well. All of a sudden this guy, who I had not had friendship with a long, long time, all of a sudden he was now a new friend in my life and had done a few things to make me know that he
loved me and had very much cared about me. I had been struck very much by his charm and what a great person he had become, so these things are good reasons to spend every day with people and make music with
them. That's how it sounded when Flea asked me to be in the band. It just seemed like the perfect thing to do.
MusicMania: So did the material on this record flow out pretty naturally?
AK:
It did. It did. It was falling like apples from the sky.
F:
Rick [Rubin] is a great producer for us, and he understands the magic within our band is the interplay we have between each other and letting those feelings flow within the moment.
