WEBVTT - John Frusciante and Anthony Kiedis 0:00:15.436 --> 0:00:23.076 Pushkin. Hey y'all. Today we're continuing our run of episodes 0:00:23.156 --> 0:00:26.076 celebrating the release of the Red Hot Chili Pepper's new album, 0:00:26.316 --> 0:00:30.516 Unlimited Love, produced by Rick Rubin. We left off our 0:00:30.516 --> 0:00:33.156 episode last week with Anthony Keatis popping in to join 0:00:33.276 --> 0:00:37.316 Rick's conversation with guitarist John Frushonte. Today we have part 0:00:37.356 --> 0:00:41.116 two of that conversation between Rick, John and the band's 0:00:41.316 --> 0:00:44.276 iconic frontman. We'll hear Anthony talk about how some of 0:00:44.316 --> 0:00:46.676 the new song lyrics came together, the lengths he went 0:00:46.716 --> 0:00:48.716 to commute to the studio in Hawaii where he and 0:00:48.796 --> 0:00:52.236 Rick were recording vocals, and both Anthony and John give 0:00:52.276 --> 0:00:58.636 their accounts of John's third return to the band. This 0:00:58.836 --> 0:01:01.996 is broken record liner notes for the digital Age. I'm 0:01:02.076 --> 0:01:07.076 justin Richmond. Here's Rick Rubin, John Frushonte, and Anthony Keatis. 0:01:07.916 --> 0:01:11.516 How you feeling, Anthony, You're pretty good. God, It's very 0:01:11.596 --> 0:01:14.316 nice to see you. I wish this was in person 0:01:14.956 --> 0:01:17.356 because I've been looking forward to this moment for quite 0:01:17.356 --> 0:01:19.876 a while, but it's nice to see you on a 0:01:20.276 --> 0:01:25.716 big screen in front of me in your Shangrila. Anyways. Nice, 0:01:25.796 --> 0:01:28.476 you look very beautiful there in the in the environment, 0:01:28.556 --> 0:01:34.676 bringing back good memories of our last endeavor there. Yes, 0:01:34.836 --> 0:01:38.476 the memories are intense. Um, it's much less crowded here now. 0:01:39.116 --> 0:01:44.556 My fondest memories are from Kawaii. Yeah, it was incredible. 0:01:44.676 --> 0:01:48.036 That process was unlike anything I've ever been a part 0:01:48.076 --> 0:01:53.876 of and necessary. I would have never been able to 0:01:53.916 --> 0:01:59.076 get that quantity of work finished in any other environment. 0:02:00.396 --> 0:02:04.236 We've had a good run of interesting places, like I 0:02:04.316 --> 0:02:10.196 remember us doing vocals at Chateau Marmont for an album, 0:02:10.276 --> 0:02:15.316 and that was an interesting, you know, unusual circumstance, getting 0:02:15.316 --> 0:02:17.276 to go there every day and hang out and record. 0:02:18.116 --> 0:02:20.916 We've had some good ones over the years. Yeah, the 0:02:21.436 --> 0:02:25.116 Laurel Canyon House, the Chateau. John also had a room 0:02:25.116 --> 0:02:31.716 at the chateau during the writing of Californication, and John 0:02:31.796 --> 0:02:34.316 and I got a ton of good songwriting done in 0:02:34.396 --> 0:02:38.996 his room at the chateau. But Kauai was you know. 0:02:39.316 --> 0:02:43.396 I showed up with this forty some odd tracks of 0:02:43.476 --> 0:02:46.236 music that I had to write for and figure out 0:02:46.276 --> 0:02:49.876 melody for and arrangements, and the idea of waking up 0:02:49.916 --> 0:02:53.636 every day and just taking hours to write and think 0:02:53.676 --> 0:02:57.956 about lyrics and ride my bike and let melodies come 0:02:57.996 --> 0:03:00.756 to me and then show up at your humble little 0:03:00.796 --> 0:03:04.316 abode with not a lot of pressure, and like, you know, 0:03:04.396 --> 0:03:07.596 this pandemic could last for another week, or it could 0:03:07.756 --> 0:03:10.756 last for ten years. We don't know. But until we're 0:03:10.796 --> 0:03:13.116 done with this record, we'll just keep showing up to work. 0:03:13.156 --> 0:03:17.916 And that ambiance was magical. It was great, and it 0:03:18.276 --> 0:03:20.276 was I feel like we it was probably three or 0:03:20.316 --> 0:03:24.676 four months easy of just focusing on writing and singing 0:03:24.796 --> 0:03:30.276 five wow, five months, yeah, close to fifty songs. It's 0:03:30.276 --> 0:03:32.356 a lot of work, it is, and it was so 0:03:32.476 --> 0:03:34.476 nice to roll up and see you every day and 0:03:34.876 --> 0:03:38.716 get some of your your calm and your take. And 0:03:39.076 --> 0:03:42.116 it's nice not to be distracted. You know, in La 0:03:42.196 --> 0:03:46.836 we have lives and kids and people and traffic and 0:03:48.156 --> 0:03:52.676 a whole different feeling in the air. These days we 0:03:52.716 --> 0:03:54.796 did have. I remember we had a few windows where 0:03:54.836 --> 0:03:57.116 you had to take a boat to get to the 0:03:57.156 --> 0:04:01.876 house because the road washed out or bridge closed. Remember that, 0:04:01.956 --> 0:04:04.636 I do. So that was that was once in a 0:04:04.676 --> 0:04:08.996 few days. It was it was at least a month. 0:04:09.636 --> 0:04:12.956 And wow, you were super helpful and you're like, no, 0:04:13.036 --> 0:04:15.556 we're going to figure this out. You know, we have 0:04:15.636 --> 0:04:18.716 friends that live on the river and you can, you know, 0:04:19.156 --> 0:04:22.356 use their boat ramp and YadA YadA. And so I 0:04:22.436 --> 0:04:26.316 was showing up at an off time because the locals 0:04:26.316 --> 0:04:28.756 had set up a ferry service to cross the river 0:04:29.356 --> 0:04:31.996 and then these ATVs that would go up the muddy 0:04:31.996 --> 0:04:35.156 mountain to a road that would access your house. And 0:04:35.916 --> 0:04:38.836 I was showing up after the ferry had closed, but 0:04:38.876 --> 0:04:44.276 there were still these food barges with farmers. So in 0:04:44.316 --> 0:04:47.636 the beginning, I would just jump on a boat full 0:04:47.676 --> 0:04:52.196 of terror route and literally hundred year old sort of 0:04:52.436 --> 0:04:56.396 you know, ancient Hawaiian farmers and that barely spoke English 0:04:56.396 --> 0:04:58.996 because they were of you know, mixed ethnicity and had 0:04:59.036 --> 0:05:02.916 come over from Asia a long time ago. And and 0:05:02.956 --> 0:05:05.116 I loved it. I was like, this is really putting 0:05:05.156 --> 0:05:07.316 me in the right frame of mind to go to work. 0:05:07.436 --> 0:05:11.476 But then we we pivoted and we got a local 0:05:11.596 --> 0:05:14.876 surfer to just meet me at the mouth of the 0:05:14.956 --> 0:05:19.036 river and take me sort of along the coast. And 0:05:19.076 --> 0:05:21.476 then I had to hike up a hill next to 0:05:21.676 --> 0:05:25.756 a giant old hotel which was being refurbished, and that 0:05:25.876 --> 0:05:29.436 was psychedelic and jungle like, and I had to walk 0:05:29.476 --> 0:05:31.276 through a little mini river on my own and I 0:05:31.276 --> 0:05:34.556 had a backpack full of lyrics, and you know, running 0:05:34.596 --> 0:05:37.996 into all kinds of you know, people in bikinis, people 0:05:37.996 --> 0:05:42.276 that are you know, chopping down trees and forest and 0:05:42.516 --> 0:05:44.476 so it was kind of epic way to get to work. 0:05:45.636 --> 0:05:49.036 Do you remember if any if any of the either 0:05:49.156 --> 0:05:51.476 things that you saw on the boat or on the 0:05:51.516 --> 0:05:54.396 trip or on the hike worked their way into lyrics 0:05:54.396 --> 0:05:58.756 at all. So not exactly on the boat ride or 0:05:58.876 --> 0:06:02.116 that particular walk, but I would, prior to coming to 0:06:02.156 --> 0:06:04.756 your house every morning, I would ride my bicycle from 0:06:04.796 --> 0:06:07.356 my house to the end of the road, which was 0:06:07.396 --> 0:06:11.836 also through rivers and past beautiful trees and mountains. And 0:06:12.476 --> 0:06:14.476 in the song She's a Lover, which used to be 0:06:14.516 --> 0:06:18.716 called zapp, I had that song going through my head feverishly. 0:06:18.996 --> 0:06:24.676 The melody, the music, and that bike ride completely inspired 0:06:24.716 --> 0:06:26.916 the entire lyric the flowers pink on the tree but 0:06:26.956 --> 0:06:28.476 if you pick it to see will she be wild 0:06:28.476 --> 0:06:31.156 and free? Because I used to drive past the tree 0:06:31.196 --> 0:06:33.876 every day that was covered in pink flowers, and it 0:06:33.956 --> 0:06:36.996 seemed like a metaphor for a relationship. It's like you 0:06:37.076 --> 0:06:40.356 admire this thing as it is, but once you try 0:06:40.356 --> 0:06:42.916 to dominate it or pick it or make it, you know, 0:06:42.996 --> 0:06:46.516 adhere to your agenda? Will it still be wild and free? 0:06:46.956 --> 0:06:50.516 Probably not. Let's listen. Let's listen to unlimited Love you 0:06:50.636 --> 0:06:52.916 up for that? Yeah? Play? What is it? What is 0:06:52.916 --> 0:06:56.276 it now called? That particular song is called She's a Lover? 0:06:57.276 --> 0:07:10.556 She's a lover? Can we hear she's a lover? I 0:07:10.676 --> 0:07:13.876 will think on a chreamer if you pick it to 0:07:14.116 --> 0:07:21.436 see with the wild and free? You say you wanna piece? 0:07:21.716 --> 0:07:29.036 Is it for selor polies out after easy bullies outside 0:07:29.156 --> 0:07:33.036 the world? Within you been to the world, your team, 0:07:33.236 --> 0:07:36.996 to the breathe, the hume through the sun, to wonder 0:07:37.236 --> 0:07:40.836 what you want to do today? I'm your favorite kid. 0:07:40.916 --> 0:07:44.836 Let's be dedicated to the ones with She's so full 0:07:44.916 --> 0:08:03.116 of learning. She love she love, she love, she love 0:08:04.636 --> 0:08:11.316 love love. Man where coming? Okay? I will be a 0:08:11.516 --> 0:08:20.956 tory bet you needing me them when squeezing the mosquee 0:08:21.316 --> 0:08:34.996 day and when I'm falling asleep, Please get me something 0:08:35.116 --> 0:08:41.436 to keep me warm and kind of long time to 0:08:41.476 --> 0:08:45.236 do without your trust to know what out your form? 0:08:45.516 --> 0:08:50.356 Now is my batter? Less time before? Please look? Can 0:08:50.356 --> 0:08:53.396 I have a teas? I just want to live your 0:08:53.436 --> 0:08:56.556 feace any of the day, and I would say your 0:08:56.636 --> 0:09:08.236 Atlantismanta lover, she love, She's a lover, she love, She's 0:09:08.396 --> 0:09:11.636 lover on the men in love again, Rive, Amen, in 0:09:11.756 --> 0:09:16.956 love again, she loves Limon in love again, Love again, 0:09:18.116 --> 0:09:26.916 love Man, Where man, I will be at all, believe 0:09:26.996 --> 0:10:00.316 your knee, and where come and sweet and most fee 0:10:02.156 --> 0:10:42.276 I will be a me. I will, I will. That 0:10:42.516 --> 0:10:47.596 was great, so much fun to listen to. That guitar 0:10:47.676 --> 0:10:51.916 solo really put an unstoppable smile on my face. There's 0:10:51.956 --> 0:10:57.636 a tiny story worth mentioning about that song, which is 0:10:57.676 --> 0:11:00.916 when we were recording the vocal in Kauai, you were 0:11:00.996 --> 0:11:04.516 looking at the lyric sheet and much to my surprise, 0:11:04.756 --> 0:11:10.276 you you isolated the lyric unlimited Love, which really hadn't 0:11:11.076 --> 0:11:14.396 jumped off the paget at me, I was too involved 0:11:14.436 --> 0:11:17.276 in too many pages. You're like, that's a really good title, 0:11:17.396 --> 0:11:19.996 Unlimited Love. I was like, oh you think so, And 0:11:20.036 --> 0:11:22.476 you're like, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's a really good title. 0:11:23.636 --> 0:11:26.956 I was like, okay. I made a mental note, and 0:11:27.116 --> 0:11:31.396 then I was keeping a small list of possible album titles, 0:11:32.356 --> 0:11:35.356 of which that was my least favorite. Unlimited Love. It 0:11:35.516 --> 0:11:37.156 was for me, it was at the bottom of the list. 0:11:37.236 --> 0:11:42.876 I had these other more Chili pepper esque titles, and 0:11:43.356 --> 0:11:46.956 when the day came and we were mixing the music 0:11:47.236 --> 0:11:49.076 and I went to visit John and Flee at the 0:11:49.636 --> 0:11:52.516 mixed studio in Hollywood. I was like, guys, do you 0:11:52.556 --> 0:11:55.756 want to hear some possible album titles? And they were 0:11:55.796 --> 0:11:58.516 like yes, and I read them my favorites and I 0:11:58.636 --> 0:12:01.676 was like, there's also this title that Rick was kind 0:12:01.716 --> 0:12:06.116 of keen on, which was Unlimited Love. And both John 0:12:06.156 --> 0:12:08.076 and Flee were like, oh, well, that's that's the title 0:12:08.196 --> 0:12:10.556 right there. Like are you sure because these other ones 0:12:10.916 --> 0:12:14.676 they're very interesting. They're like Nope, nope, Unlimited Love. That's it. 0:12:15.916 --> 0:12:18.476 It's funny too, because I imagined it as the song title. 0:12:18.556 --> 0:12:20.996 That's that's what I was. I was that was the 0:12:21.076 --> 0:12:24.356 pitch was for the song title. Yeah, so then then 0:12:24.436 --> 0:12:26.436 the pitch became but we can't now, we can't call 0:12:26.516 --> 0:12:29.516 the song that because we don't want to draw all 0:12:29.596 --> 0:12:32.716 of the attention to that song, which is, you know, 0:12:32.836 --> 0:12:35.236 something we considered more of an album track than a 0:12:35.556 --> 0:12:38.556 Hey everybody, look at the song track. Although I must 0:12:38.556 --> 0:12:41.756 say it sounds good in headphones. So now I'm going 0:12:41.796 --> 0:12:45.076 to ask John tell me about the process of coming 0:12:45.116 --> 0:12:47.556 back to the band this time. What tell me about 0:12:48.316 --> 0:12:52.596 what was the first talk of it this time? Yeah? 0:12:52.956 --> 0:12:58.756 Oh wow, which time? Which time? For those people who 0:12:58.796 --> 0:13:02.116 don't know, John left the band, rejoined the band, left 0:13:02.156 --> 0:13:04.316 the band and has now rejoined the band. So this 0:13:04.476 --> 0:13:07.796 is the second time you've rejoined, Yeah, second time you've 0:13:07.796 --> 0:13:11.876 reached joined, second joint. Yeah, yes, yeah. It didn't really 0:13:11.956 --> 0:13:16.436 talk about it until Flee and I were standing in 0:13:16.956 --> 0:13:21.716 my kitchen and chat. Had said something to me when 0:13:21.756 --> 0:13:24.356 I saw him at Flee's wedding. It's like, he misses 0:13:24.436 --> 0:13:28.276 playing with me. Me and him and Flee should jam sometime. 0:13:28.836 --> 0:13:32.436 So I mentioned it to Flee and just because you know, 0:13:32.516 --> 0:13:35.356 practicing guitars something I'm I was always doing even though 0:13:35.356 --> 0:13:38.876 I'm making electronic music, it seemed like it would be 0:13:38.956 --> 0:13:42.916 a nice soul cleansing thing to do. And it was 0:13:43.196 --> 0:13:46.916 within seconds after I suggested that that Flee was like, 0:13:47.876 --> 0:13:49.236 do you ever think about being in the Red Hot 0:13:49.316 --> 0:13:54.676 Chili Peppers again? So we started hypothetically discussing the idea. 0:13:54.836 --> 0:13:58.076 But there were plenty of reservations and things like that, 0:13:58.276 --> 0:14:02.156 But but Yeah, started to open up the topic then, 0:14:02.916 --> 0:14:05.876 and then he talked. He said he'd talked to Anthony 0:14:05.956 --> 0:14:10.236 about it and then, and Anthony seemed to find the 0:14:10.316 --> 0:14:13.036 idea interesting. So then the three of us got together 0:14:13.156 --> 0:14:15.956 and talked about it. Then Flee and Chat and I 0:14:16.236 --> 0:14:19.836 got together and talked about it about a week or 0:14:19.876 --> 0:14:24.116 two weeks where it was just sort of a possible outcome, 0:14:24.436 --> 0:14:26.556 but we weren't. I wasn't sure if I was going 0:14:26.636 --> 0:14:29.436 to do it. They weren't sure if if they were 0:14:29.476 --> 0:14:31.396 going to do it. It was just we were just 0:14:31.476 --> 0:14:34.276 trying to talk about it from every angle. I wanted 0:14:34.276 --> 0:14:36.676 to be sure that we were communicating and seeing it 0:14:36.836 --> 0:14:39.156 from every angle, just to make sure that none of 0:14:39.276 --> 0:14:42.356 us were going to wind up regretting it later. Do 0:14:42.436 --> 0:14:46.436 you remember the first time you guys jammed together again, 0:14:46.516 --> 0:14:49.636 you know, in this new incarnation. Yeah, by then I'm 0:14:49.636 --> 0:14:51.276 already in the band. That was the thing I was 0:14:51.356 --> 0:14:53.476 talking about, Well, let's play together and see if the 0:14:53.516 --> 0:14:55.596 old magic is still there or whatever, you know, But 0:14:55.756 --> 0:14:59.556 we went right past that. He was just like he 0:14:59.716 --> 0:15:01.756 wanted to concentrate on the topic of whether or not 0:15:01.836 --> 0:15:05.236 I was going to actually join. Wow. So yeah, we 0:15:05.316 --> 0:15:08.956 didn't play together until maybe a month later or something. 0:15:09.596 --> 0:15:12.836 At rehearsal. So it's so interesting for me to hear 0:15:12.916 --> 0:15:17.636 what John just said because I was not really privileged 0:15:17.756 --> 0:15:21.676 to those conversations. And I'm not exactly sure how it 0:15:21.796 --> 0:15:28.156 lines up, but I will say that John coming back 0:15:28.276 --> 0:15:33.556 to join and play music with the band was very 0:15:33.676 --> 0:15:37.436 much in the air, because Flee had not mentioned anything 0:15:37.476 --> 0:15:41.076 to me at all, not a peep, no, nary a 0:15:41.196 --> 0:15:44.916 mention of John f Chantey or that he was communicating 0:15:44.956 --> 0:15:48.436 with him or even thinking about that as a possibility. 0:15:48.996 --> 0:15:52.716 I knew that Flee was in a mood, in a 0:15:52.836 --> 0:16:00.676 disposition where he wasn't feeling his best self in the 0:16:00.796 --> 0:16:05.596 previous incarnation. For whatever reason. It just like he wasn't 0:16:06.436 --> 0:16:11.876 he wasn't on fire. And I started getting a sensation 0:16:12.836 --> 0:16:17.156 that I wonder how John is. I wonder if he 0:16:17.196 --> 0:16:22.396 would ever think of participating in any way in our music. Again, 0:16:23.076 --> 0:16:25.916 I haven't heard, I haven't spoken to him, haven't you know, 0:16:26.076 --> 0:16:28.916 really heard what he's up to. But I just got 0:16:28.956 --> 0:16:31.156 this sensation, like, God, it would be really nice if 0:16:31.236 --> 0:16:35.116 John would get involved. And I didn't think that he 0:16:35.356 --> 0:16:37.996 was interested in joining or playing guitar, but I was like, 0:16:38.596 --> 0:16:41.556 I wonder if he would like write a co write 0:16:41.596 --> 0:16:44.916 a song or produce a song or I just didn't know. 0:16:45.156 --> 0:16:46.716 I didn't know where to go with this feeling that 0:16:46.836 --> 0:16:50.756 I had, so I said to Flee, I was like, 0:16:50.916 --> 0:16:53.316 when we're when we're done doing what we're doing right now, 0:16:53.356 --> 0:16:55.916 I want to talk to you afterwards. Kind of important. 0:16:56.396 --> 0:16:58.476 And I was going to bring up this idea of 0:16:58.596 --> 0:17:02.356 John participating, and he said to me, He's like, no, no, no, 0:17:02.676 --> 0:17:05.356 I actually have something more important that I have to 0:17:05.436 --> 0:17:07.956 tell you. And I was like, no, no, no, let 0:17:07.996 --> 0:17:10.196 me since I brought it up, I'll just tell you 0:17:10.316 --> 0:17:12.476 what I was thinking. He's like, well, I think you're 0:17:12.516 --> 0:17:14.396 gonna want to hear what I have to say. I 0:17:14.516 --> 0:17:16.796 was like, okay, can it wait until after I tell 0:17:16.836 --> 0:17:19.956 you what I was going to say? And basically we 0:17:20.076 --> 0:17:22.556 were both saying the exact same thing at the exact 0:17:22.636 --> 0:17:24.916 same time, which was what do you think about John? 0:17:26.356 --> 0:17:29.676 And when I presented my thing, he's like, well, I 0:17:29.876 --> 0:17:32.996 was thinking of taking a little further and you know, 0:17:33.116 --> 0:17:35.956 maybe saying if he wanted to come back to the band. 0:17:35.996 --> 0:17:39.276 And I was like, what, I don't know? I mean, 0:17:39.916 --> 0:17:42.676 you know, yeah, have you spoken to him? Do you 0:17:42.716 --> 0:17:44.676 know where his head's at? Yeah? And He's like, yeah, 0:17:44.676 --> 0:17:47.716 I've actually jammed with him, and I was like, okay, okay, 0:17:47.716 --> 0:17:51.076 I'm a little a little behind here. And that opened 0:17:51.116 --> 0:17:56.636 the door to all of this. And I remember going 0:17:56.716 --> 0:17:59.996 to see John at his house where he lived, where 0:18:00.036 --> 0:18:02.196 he's lived for a long time, where he lived when 0:18:02.236 --> 0:18:04.796 he used to be in the band, and walking in 0:18:05.356 --> 0:18:07.476 and sitting on the couch with him and just trying 0:18:07.476 --> 0:18:10.836 to get a real sense of you know, is this 0:18:10.996 --> 0:18:14.276 coming from a place of love and and creation or 0:18:14.356 --> 0:18:17.196 does he still have a like any kind of bitterness 0:18:17.236 --> 0:18:20.756 towards me or us? And I did not feel any 0:18:20.796 --> 0:18:23.716 of that. I felt a great deal of resolution. I 0:18:23.716 --> 0:18:27.596 don't know if there's ever one hundred percent resolution because 0:18:27.916 --> 0:18:29.996 in a way, as people have too many folds in 0:18:30.036 --> 0:18:33.756 our brain to like tweak out on stuff. Speaking for myself, 0:18:34.436 --> 0:18:37.316 but I felt like whatever sort of animosity or resentment 0:18:37.676 --> 0:18:42.676 or all this stuff had had more or less been resolved. 0:18:43.996 --> 0:18:46.316 And it felt very nice sitting next to him on 0:18:46.356 --> 0:18:48.556 the couch. And then he said one thing to me 0:18:50.116 --> 0:18:53.596 which really made me feel like, this is a done deal. 0:18:53.676 --> 0:18:57.116 I have no choice. Come what may for better, for worse, 0:18:57.316 --> 0:19:01.116 for a disaster or wonder and He's I don't know 0:19:01.156 --> 0:19:02.876 if he looked at me or if I looked at him, 0:19:02.956 --> 0:19:05.356 or if it was just said, but he said I 0:19:05.556 --> 0:19:09.396 was born to be in this band, and I was 0:19:09.476 --> 0:19:13.276 just I was like, he is telling the truth, and 0:19:13.916 --> 0:19:16.196 there's no fucking way on earth that I'm going to 0:19:16.316 --> 0:19:20.636 stop that from happening or do anything other than get 0:19:20.636 --> 0:19:23.356 out of the way and just let it, let it flow. 0:19:24.196 --> 0:19:29.036 Because if someone feels like that, then that's supposed to be. 0:19:29.636 --> 0:19:31.076 And it was, you know, it was. Of course, it 0:19:31.196 --> 0:19:34.916 was terribly exciting a little bit. It's kind of a 0:19:35.036 --> 0:19:38.196 vulnerable feeling because, like John said, is the old magic 0:19:38.316 --> 0:19:41.236 still there or are we just going to be you know, 0:19:41.476 --> 0:19:43.396 some weird guys in a room trying to make it happen. 0:19:44.276 --> 0:19:46.756 But I guess, you know, I felt more confident that 0:19:46.836 --> 0:19:50.436 I did concerned. And then when we got back together, 0:19:50.516 --> 0:19:54.036 it was so raw and basic and starting from scratch 0:19:55.076 --> 0:19:57.876 that it just felt right. It felt like, oh, you know, 0:19:57.996 --> 0:19:59.516 we we have a lot of work to do to 0:19:59.636 --> 0:20:03.276 like figure this out, but what a nice place to be. 0:20:04.316 --> 0:20:09.716 And you know, John made some really wise suggest in 0:20:09.796 --> 0:20:12.236 the very beginning. He was like, you know, let's learn 0:20:12.316 --> 0:20:16.676 some old blue songs and let's learn some really old 0:20:16.796 --> 0:20:20.156 red hot chili pepper songs. So instead of like, you know, 0:20:20.596 --> 0:20:23.956 trying to get back into where we had left off 0:20:24.116 --> 0:20:26.156 or anything like that, it's like, let's go all the 0:20:26.236 --> 0:20:29.236 way back and just learn, you know, how to play 0:20:29.356 --> 0:20:35.596 some really beautiful, somewhat challenging but basic, you know, rock 0:20:35.676 --> 0:20:39.036 and roll kind of building blocks. And I thought that 0:20:39.196 --> 0:20:41.476 was so smart because I needed to do that. And 0:20:41.596 --> 0:20:43.676 then the rest, the rest of the writing and the 0:20:43.796 --> 0:20:47.396 playing together started to happen way more naturally. And I 0:20:47.516 --> 0:20:51.276 think because John hadn't written a lot of rock music 0:20:51.396 --> 0:20:54.956 songs for quite a while, he had in him a 0:20:55.156 --> 0:21:01.196 reservoir of ideas and chord progressions and arrangements and vocal 0:21:01.276 --> 0:21:03.356 melodies and all these things that he must have been 0:21:03.476 --> 0:21:07.156 kind of quietly keeping in his back pocket. That started 0:21:07.236 --> 0:21:11.556 to flow and and the process was on. It's like 0:21:12.596 --> 0:21:16.756 every time John would bring a gem into practice, you know, 0:21:16.916 --> 0:21:20.476 Flea would feel like, okay, I'll bring a gem, and 0:21:20.596 --> 0:21:22.676 then I would be like, oh, these guys are bringing gems. 0:21:22.716 --> 0:21:25.116 I better, you know, go for a very long drive 0:21:25.196 --> 0:21:28.156 and my Chevy and figure out, you know, something to 0:21:28.196 --> 0:21:31.556 add to the stew, which is, you know, part of 0:21:31.596 --> 0:21:36.436 our creative process, and it felt it felt really natural. 0:21:36.556 --> 0:21:42.676 It felt really natural and like no pretense or you know, expectation. 0:21:42.756 --> 0:21:44.916 It's just like, let's go all the way back to 0:21:45.036 --> 0:21:49.156 the beginning and just start from zero. That that's what 0:21:49.276 --> 0:21:51.156 it was like from my perspective, But I didn't know 0:21:51.196 --> 0:21:54.196 all these other things were going on. It's interesting. That's 0:21:54.276 --> 0:21:56.836 one of the things that I found fascinating about doing 0:21:56.916 --> 0:21:58.676 this podcast is that even when I talk to people 0:21:58.716 --> 0:22:01.156 who I know well, we know each other for thirty years. 0:22:01.196 --> 0:22:03.236 We made our first album together thirty years ago, and 0:22:03.356 --> 0:22:07.436 we even met before that, and in the process of 0:22:07.516 --> 0:22:12.116 talking about stuff, we learn things that we never knew 0:22:12.596 --> 0:22:14.436 about each other. Even though we sit in a room 0:22:14.516 --> 0:22:18.116 together every day, we never really interview each other. We 0:22:18.236 --> 0:22:20.596 never ask questions, we never go back. There's no reason 0:22:20.676 --> 0:22:25.196 to because we're always moving forward. But it's it's fascinating to, 0:22:26.276 --> 0:22:29.196 you know, hear the person who who you're in a 0:22:29.236 --> 0:22:32.876 band with have a different experience leading up to the 0:22:32.956 --> 0:22:35.676 experience of joining than yours, which makes sense because they 0:22:35.756 --> 0:22:38.196 had their own, but all you know is your perspective. 0:22:38.836 --> 0:22:42.436 It's fascinating to talk about these things. And for me, 0:22:42.756 --> 0:22:44.276 it's interesting when I get to talk to people that 0:22:44.316 --> 0:22:45.556 I don't know, but when I talk to people that 0:22:45.636 --> 0:22:49.836 I do know, I learned so much. It's amazing. It's amazing. Well, 0:22:49.916 --> 0:22:52.836 that's part of your gig these days. It's just it's 0:22:52.916 --> 0:22:56.276 crazy because unlimited love. I was there the day that 0:22:56.436 --> 0:22:59.636 you brought in the song, and I had no idea 0:22:59.716 --> 0:23:02.796 that you saw the pink flower from the tree. I 0:23:02.836 --> 0:23:04.796 had no idea that's where the words came from. I 0:23:04.836 --> 0:23:08.956 had no idea. Riding bikes with my son and he 0:23:09.236 --> 0:23:10.636 was probably trying to talk to me, and all I 0:23:10.796 --> 0:23:12.916 was doing was hearing this song play over and over 0:23:12.996 --> 0:23:16.036 again in my in my head. That that thing that 0:23:16.116 --> 0:23:18.236 I said to Anthony about being born to be in 0:23:18.276 --> 0:23:20.756 the band, by the way, like that was something that 0:23:20.876 --> 0:23:24.676 I that I always felt It was said more as 0:23:24.756 --> 0:23:28.196 a statement of fact than any kind of attempt to 0:23:28.276 --> 0:23:31.596 sell myself or something, you know, like no, like yeah, 0:23:31.636 --> 0:23:33.996 it was. It was definitely like a feeling that I 0:23:34.116 --> 0:23:35.756 just had to live with, whether I was going to 0:23:36.276 --> 0:23:39.156 you know, rejoin or not. That was just a reality 0:23:39.236 --> 0:23:42.076 of my existence that it felt like that, that that 0:23:42.316 --> 0:23:45.516 was on a on a universal scale, that was that 0:23:45.716 --> 0:23:49.796 was the purpose to my life, you know, Yeah. Sometimes 0:23:49.916 --> 0:23:53.316 we don't know it until we're outside of it or 0:23:53.636 --> 0:23:56.036 looking back on it that we realized, Oh, yeah, the reason, 0:23:57.276 --> 0:23:59.396 the reason I've been doing this all this times, like 0:23:59.436 --> 0:24:02.116 this is my reason to be alive. This is the 0:24:02.196 --> 0:24:04.996 reason I'm here. I can do other things, yeah, but 0:24:05.196 --> 0:24:08.596 the but my purpose is to do this. And it's 0:24:08.596 --> 0:24:11.996 a great feeling to acknowledge that, you know, like to 0:24:12.116 --> 0:24:14.076 feel it and to know I'm doing it, like I 0:24:14.196 --> 0:24:16.316 get to do it. And on the days when it's 0:24:16.356 --> 0:24:20.076 hard to do, which it's hard sometimes it makes it 0:24:20.876 --> 0:24:25.316 not easier, but it helps the challenge of understanding, well, 0:24:25.396 --> 0:24:28.836 I'm doing my life's work. Even though I don't want 0:24:28.876 --> 0:24:31.596 to go to work today, I'm doing my life's work. 0:24:31.636 --> 0:24:34.316 I get to do this. This is my contribution. I'm 0:24:34.396 --> 0:24:36.276 showing up. I'm going to do the very best I 0:24:36.356 --> 0:24:39.756 possibly can because this is why I'm here. Yeah, And 0:24:40.076 --> 0:24:42.276 it's a great feeling to have. It's a great feeling 0:24:42.316 --> 0:24:46.036 to recognize it. And I think it's a very powerful 0:24:47.436 --> 0:24:51.036 frame when you recognize it, because you can't make it up. 0:24:51.076 --> 0:24:54.796 It's like you recognize you get to eventually recognize it. 0:24:54.916 --> 0:24:58.636 But once you recognize it, it is like a superpower. Yeah, 0:24:59.316 --> 0:25:02.956 because there's ways, you know, I love challenging myself in 0:25:03.036 --> 0:25:05.436 different ways in life, whether it's with a type of 0:25:05.476 --> 0:25:09.436 book that's difficult for me, or whether it's learning music 0:25:09.516 --> 0:25:14.316 that's beyond a little beyond my ability or whatever. But 0:25:14.796 --> 0:25:18.956 there's something about being in the band that it feels 0:25:18.956 --> 0:25:22.636 like I'm trying from a place that doesn't require that 0:25:22.916 --> 0:25:26.516 much effort. I can be exactly what I am and 0:25:26.836 --> 0:25:31.676 try specifically within that set of limitations and not try 0:25:31.756 --> 0:25:35.796 to push myself outside of them. But I can get it. 0:25:35.876 --> 0:25:37.516 I can be in touch with the part of myself 0:25:37.596 --> 0:25:39.996 that was there when I was five years old, six 0:25:40.116 --> 0:25:42.676 years old. That's the energy that can go into the band. 0:25:42.716 --> 0:25:45.916 I don't have to try to be something that's taken 0:25:45.956 --> 0:25:48.636 a lot of effort, like I have to just be 0:25:48.796 --> 0:25:51.036 in touch with it feels like with the essence of 0:25:51.116 --> 0:25:54.756 who I am. It's beautiful. Yeah, And it probably speaks 0:25:54.836 --> 0:25:57.316 to the longevity, like when you're not trying to be 0:25:57.476 --> 0:26:00.556 something that you're not, you can just do it for 0:26:00.676 --> 0:26:04.276