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Anthony Kiedis (Red Hot Chili Peppers) birthday - TIMH

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November 1, 2015 at 6:40pm
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Anthony Kiedis was born today in 1962 in Grand Rapids, You Know Where. His parents divorced when he was very young  and Kiedis spent his early years with his mother. His father was a part-time actor and full-time drug dealer who moved from Grand Rapids to Hollywood. Kiedis spent summers with his father and his fascination with California and drugs is rooted in their relationship. Kiedis moved to Hollywood to live with his father full-time in 1974. With this move Kiedis’ fate was sealed and he would be set upon a course that would see him reach the pinnacle of stardom as well as the depths of a drug induced Hades.

Papa Kiedis provided his son with early acting opportunities and Kiedis would land a role as Sylvester Stallone’s son in the movie “F.I.S.T.” (He later played a surfer in the Patrcik Swayze magnum opus "Point Break"). Papa Kiedis also provided his son with drugs and the two would often smoke weed and use cocaine together. Kiedis’ early success in school and acting gave no inclination of the horrors of addiction he would soon face.

He was an excellent student at Fairfax High School and would make a lifelong friend while at the school. This friend, Michael Balzary, was a trumpet player and jazz music fan. Anthony and Mike were inseparable and enjoyed the same things – causing trouble, getting high, and jumping off buildings into swimming pools. They stopped the pool jumping when Kiedis missed the pool, but not the concrete, and broke his back.

Mike, also known at the time as Mike B the Flea, was friends with another musician, Hillel Slovak. Mike switched to bass from trumpet after taking a few lessons from Slovak and soon joined Slovak’s band called Anthym. Kiedis had enrolled at UCLA but soon dropped out due to his struggles with heroin and cocaine. Soon Kiedis, Flea, Slovak and former Anthym drummer Jack Irons were collaborating as Tony Flow and the Miraculously Majestic Masters of Mayhem.

TFMMMM really only had one song, which had Kiedis rapping over music, but were invited to open for another band. This brief performance lit a fire under them and cosmic forces were set into motion. They changed their name to Red Hot Chili Peppers, got down to work and soon had ten songs at their disposal. They landed a gig at a strip club and performed in the nude with only a sock covering their clam hammers. The band started gaining a bit of a following and recorded a demo which got them signed to the EMI label.

RHCP released their debut album, “The Red Hot Chili Peppers”, in 1984. The album was not a hit but immediately made an impression. George Clinton produced the follow up album, “Freaky Styley”, in 1985. “Freaky Styley” sold 75,000 copies and is an underrated chunk of funk-punk rock and roll.

While RHCP was building a loyal following with their live performances and working on their third album, “The Uplift Mofo Party Plan”, Kiedis’ heroin use became unmanageable. The band asked Kiedis to enter rehab and tensions within the band became strained. Shortly thereafter, RHCP was named the L.A. Weekly Band of the Year and Kiedis decided to quit using drugs and return to Grand Rapids to enter treatment. He completed treatment, marking the first time since Kiedis was eleven years old that he was 100% drug free.

Kiedis and the band resumed work on “The Uplift Mofo Party Plan” but Kiedis was struggling with sobriety. He resumed using and the album was released in 1987. While on tour in support of the album Slovak died of a heroin overdose in 1988. Irons soon quit but Kiedis and Flea decided to continue.

This dark time for the band soon brightened with the hiring of John Frusciante on guitar and Chad Smith on drums. Smith was the perfect complement to Flea and an already good rhythm section suddenly became one of the best in the business. Frusciante was a virtuoso guitarist and brought a structure to the music that was lacking. The result was the band’s first hit album, “Mother’s Milk”, in 1989.

RHCP was as clean as they’d ever been but they were riding high. They grabbed a new producer, Rick Rubin, and holed up in Harry Houdini’s old mansion to record their next album, “Blood Sugar Sex Magik”. The album was a runaway smash in 1991, reaching #3 on the chart and going platinum. The album spawned four hit singles, one of which, “Give It Away”, took home a Grammy while another, “Under the Bridge”, was the band’s highest charting single at #2.

Unfortunately, this success almost immediately fractured the band. Frusciante abruptly quit and a revolving door at guitar ensued. Eventually the band hired former Jane’s Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro to fill the void.  During the recording of their next album Kiedis had some dental work done and was prescribed some pills. The pills led back to the old ways and five years of sobriety was soon destroyed. “One Hot Minute” was finally released in 1995 and is generally regarded as a disappointing follow up to BSSM, though it would eventually go platinum (and I think it’s a good record, so there’s that, too).

 RHCP was a mess at this point, not only due to Kiedis’ addictions but Navarro’s as well. Navarro was eventually fired in 1998 and the band reached out to old friend Frusciante. This truly was a case of out of the frying pan and into the fire as Frusciante was virtually on death’s door due to his own crippling addiction. The overtures by the band did lead Frusciante into rehab and he emerged as RHCP’s new guitarist. Kiedis would again decide to get clean and a newly revitalized RHCP was ready to resume being one of the biggest bands in the world.

“Californication” was released in 1999 and reestablished the band as a major force in rock music. “Californication” reached #3 on the chart while the following album, “By the Way”, hit #2 on the chart in 2002. The album after that, “Stadium Arcadium”, went to #1 in 2006. “Stadium Arcadium” would also win five Grammys. Kiedis was finally managing to stay sober and reaping the rewards.

Kiedis and RHCP were inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012. They performed the Super Bowl halftime show in 2014 and are rumored to have an album coming out in 2016. They have sold over 80 million albums and have been touring since the early 1980s. That Kiedis has survived long enough to become this respected is simply amazing.

“Good Time Boys” off “Mother’s Milk” 1989:

“Breaking the Girl” off “Blood Sugar Sex Magik” 1992:

“Shallow Be Thy Game” off “One Hot Minute” 1995:

 

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