Anthony Kiedis and Josh Klinghoffer interview in the August 2011 issue of Dutch Magazine, OOR. Many thanks to Mitchel122 for the transcript.
Anthony & Josh in OOR Magazine.
Kiedis: It was written in Northern Holywood. Overthere we have our very own practise room called The Alley – which is literally an alley – and it’s a bit of 70’s departed greatness. Very funky. We go there to write music, because we can’t think of any other place where we could do that. We’ve been there for almost a year, writing music every day, monday till friday, with no pauses, to translate all of our ideas, verses, choruses, bridges and outros to songs. Everything was written on a whiteboard. When we all thought we had a good arsenal of songs we went to Big Sur, which was completely new to our band. It was awesome. Flea knows the local community very well and Al Jardine of Beach Boys fame has a beautiful estate with a recording studio. We all rented a house overthere for a few weeks and rolled through pre-production that way.
That was also the moment when Rick Rubin walked in. He went through the songs andadjusted and changed them with his trained ear and patience and intelligence. Sometimes we got mad, sometimes we were like: “wow, this song is so much better now!” Once we got back in Hollywood we had to find a place to record, and eventually we ended up at the studio where we always come, at Sunset Boulevard. It’s called East West now, but it has had many names: Ocean Way, Cello and at the time Sinatra was there it was called Western. It has a big central room where amplifiers and drums sound amazing when placed close together.
What is the single The Adventures Of Raindance Magie about?
Kiedis: Can you talk about the history of Magie, Josh?
Klinghoffer: The history… On a morning, a beautiful morning, Flea decided that the best thing to do that morning, and every morning after that, was to come up with a classic bassline. With his cup of morning coffee within reach he was just sitting there with his guitar and he undoubtetly came up with something that would become a classic, and that was the first of a whole series that would follow. After just a few seconds Flea came up with it we jammed to the bassline for about one hour. The next day we jammed for another hour and then it started to become what it is today. And one Maggie dropped by and she put everything on paper.
Kiedis: I think it’s a fun thing that Flea was really sitting down to write his classic basslines – and we indeed consider them as the best he’s ever written – and that he used to call his wife first. “Baby, baby, could you please listen to this bassline for me? Is it a classic? Is this something The Clash would have come up with?” And she would say: Sorry, this is no classic, no… And Flea would be like: Okay then… Eventually Flea took them to the band either way and we would give two thumbs up. But I just like the fact that Flea can be that busy and productive.
Klinghoffer: Can you imagine how much he must have thrown away?
Kiedis: I don’t think so. I think he’s all taken them to rehearsal.
Josh, how intimidating was it to join the band?
Klinghoffer: Why would it be intimidating?
Well, it’s one of the biggest bands on the planet
Klinghoffer: Yeah, well, making music in one room with these boys isn’t really intimidating, even though I’d never done it with them this way before. I also already know what it is like to play in stadiums and on festivals with them. I’ve been through a lot with them. So I wouldn’t say intimidating. Exciting and curiosity about what is going to happen with the band next are words that jump to my mind faster.
Anthony, can you explain what Josh brings to the band?
Kiedis: Josh is very good at what he does. He knows what he is doing, just like us. And if you put those two things together in one room you know it is going to end up all right. We’re on the same frequency we never worried for one moment, it indeed is a feeling of excitement: wow, let’s put our hands together and see what we can make of this.
You’ve had a lot of change in personnel since the early days of your band. But still you look very good, to be honest.
Kiedis: Word. Thanks, thank you so much. We’re constantly evolving. That’s one of the things that keeps us up and running. The band remains interesting for us because we change. And if we don’t change, then change will find us. That’s a blessing, even if it concerns things you didn’t mean to say or do. From every change we evolved and returned stronger, it always led to something new and something better. We grew up a little, then we turned the wrong way, we learned from that, grew up a little further and then turned the wrong way again. As a musician I sometimes feel like a work in progress. But also as a friend, as a person. I’m not finished yet. I want to be a better musician, friend and person so badly, it’s an enormous drive to continue. And not only for me, but also for people having to deal with my crazy ass.
How crazy are you these days?
Kiedis: Depends on who you ask. Some people say the nicest things about my personal development. Others don’t. And are like: wow!
Maybe because they are not as developed as you are?
Kiedis: Let’s keep it on that, haha! Regarding the band: Josh joined the band in the last phase of the last period (this is not some wacky translation, I don’t know what he meant with this in Dutch either). We still play music because we love to, and because we want to do so as a group of friends. That’s why it started. We don’t exist because one day we were done with our music education and we had to do something with our talents; we were born with an extreme love for each other. We needed each other in order to exist in the first few years, we were poor, hungry and unconfident emotionally. We were homeless kids. The friendship and the bond that arose from those needs and that love for music and life in particular still exists. Fortunately we have found a friend again that wants to go on that adventure with us. This is what we love, this is what Flea and I want to do above all other things. Sure, we could participate in tons of other projects that will become very succesful, but that will never have as much meaning to us as what we’re doing now. The spirit of this band was awakened in 1983 and still watches over us now.
Do you miss things from the time that you weren’t that succesful yet?
Kiedis: If we would have been writing worse music along the way I would’ve missed these days, but because we can still write good music I’m eternally greatful. I often wonder why people can make amazing stuff in their twenties or thirties, but when they have past the 40-mark the things they make are ‘all right’. As if they were once looking for something and when they had eventually found it, the light would swith off.
What is the cause for this?
Kiedis: I don’t know yet. I also don’t know what the answer is in relation to us, except that, again, a hard situation was turned into a victory. A person leaves and another person replaces him, and because of this we essentially start from scratch. What also helps is that everything we do is a group effort, instead of an individual action of a phenomenal solo artist. I’m not calling any names, because then people may think I’m attacking someone, but if everyone in a group contributes to the process it gives it a lot more depth.
What makes Los Angeles such a powerful place musically?
Kiedis: Certainly not the music education that’s on high schools nowadays, unfortunately. However, when we formed our band Flea just came from a school with such a music program and he did learn to play the trumpet there. And that was the place where he realised that making music was a lifestyle, a way to make friends and a way to create a life for yourself. LA is a weird but simultaneously a beautiful place that I perceive as a heaven on earth, a place where things are made. All kinds of weird, colourful gasses come together to make artistic entities and music is one of them. It’s a massive collection of natural energy, we have oceans and mountains and deserts and dreams. People from all over the world bring their dreams overhere, they throw them in this one big lake and definately something beautiful happens.
What was the Golden Age of LA music according to you?
Kiedis: The Golden Age… don’t we live in the Golden Age now?
People say we don’t
Kiedis: Really?! I think this is a Golden Age. There’s gold in these hills! It will always be here, people will always do wonderful musical discoveries here. The world of music is looking different now, you have to find other ways to get in contact with it, but still there podia with a lot of bands that just love to create sound, or to destroy it, and according to me that will always stay.
What is the best venue that you can play in LA?
Kiedis: If you like the classics then your place is the Hollywood Bowl. If you’re in a band called the Crazy Band, then you should be in The Wondermat.
Do you still visit the Rainbow?
Kiedis: Haha! As a child I’ve met Keith Moon in the Rainbow and I remember just how kind that man was to me. For him I was just this kid in an adult environmet that he had to keep an eye on. It was quite a rock moment, I still recall those giant pizzas that were served at 2 in the morning. Also I remember how I was going wild to Clapton’s I Shot The Sheriff. I really was a little boy, but I was standing there in a suit with a 22 year old hore from Memphis. I danced my ass off! Kitty The Hooker from Memphis. Of course she just came from Nashville but…
And you were dancing with her?
Kiedis: Yes
Of course you wrote a fabulous book about those things called Scar Tissue. Why do you think so many creative people turn to the selfdestructive path with alchohol and drugs eventually?
Kiedis: Creation and destruction go hand in hand (where have I read this? I can’t find it anywhere). So, despite how bad it seems to be, destruction inspires creation. We saw John’s departure as something that could harm our band, but it turned out to be the inducement for a new growth. So I think that people use their feelings of pain and loss and personal damage to make art – it’s just a huge inspiration. It’s not the only way to creativity, but it’s the one with the best results. So people will always continue with destroying themselves.
So things like too much in too little time, fame, money and everything related to that don’t play a role?
Kiedis: Sure they do. But not for me for example. All those things came too me years after we had founded the band. But from the beginning I’ve been busy destroying myself. I didn’t see it that way myself, but for an outsider it must’ve looked like I wanted to kill myself. I barely made money and it took years before I got famous.
What is the biggest band or artist that LA has ever produced?
Kiedis: I don’t know how you could speak of the biggest or the best, but it would be Ornette Coleman for me. Who could possibly beat Ornette Coleman? Canned Heat was great as well. [sining] Going up the country cause I’ve got to get away, yeah I’m going to the country cause I’ve got to get away…
A few years ago you became a dad. What was the biggest surprise being a father brought to you?
Kiedis: I always had kind of a poo-phobia. Keep away from diapers, I told myself.
Klinghoffer: Don’t touch me with your poohands!
Kiedis: But when my son was born I couldn’t wait to get my hands dirty. I still can’t. I can wipe with so much love and dedication, I take a wet towel and make sure he’s as clean as possible. I turned into an I-don’t-care person from someone with poo-phobia.
And except for the poo-stuff, how did being a father change you in a creative way?
Kiedis: Well, the poo-stuff is one big source of inspiration. But seriously: It is hard to show how I changed exactly. My son is the most important element of my life now, I think of him with everything I do. He grew the size of my heart 4 times as big. I just feel so much love in me.
Do you still have as much passion for music as you had when you started with the band?
Kiedis: Maybe even a little more, yeah, maybe a little more.
How come?
Kiedis: from day one I gave myself completely. I still know I went to cemetary every day to practise for twenty minutes. Today I still feel the same passion as strong as I did these days. And I still go outside to practise, only now i do that for forty minutes.
You practised at the cemetary?
Kiedis: Yes I did.
At night?
Kiedis: No, in the afternoon or something. Just some singing practice, dance moves and what not
What do you do next to music? Do you have weird hobbies or collections, important talents nobody knows about?
Kiedis: I just recently discovered surfing. Last year the ocean reached my Top 5 of favorite things. I’m a bit late concerning surfing, but man, I’m glad I discovered it.
Is it hard to learn at a higher age?
Kiedis: You would think that, eh? But: No.
Many thanks to Mitchel122 for the transcript.
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