Red Hot Chili Peppers

The Band: Anthony Kiedis (Vocals: 1983-Present) Flea (Bass Guitar: 1983-Present) Jack Sherman (Guitar: 1984-1985) Hillel Slovak (Guitar: 1983, 1985-1988) Duane McKnight (Guitar: 1988) John Frusciante (Guitar: 1989-1992, 1998-Present) Zander Schloss (Guitar: 1992) Arik Marshall (Guitar: 1992) Jesse Tobias (Guitar: 1993) Dave Navarro (Guitar: 1993-1998) Jack Irons (Drums: 1983, 1986-1988) Cliff Martinez (Drums:1984-1986) DH Peligro (Drums: 1988) Chad Smith (Drums: 1989-Present) “If anyone decides to make a Red Hot Chili Peppers biopic, the most apt title has already been taken by M Night Shyamalan: Unbreakable. The tagline they could filch from Nietzsche: what doesn’t kill them makes them stronger”. So wrote Q magazine in 2002 just before the release of the critically acclaimed By The Way album. This album marked a turning point in the history of this band, as it was the moment when they finally turned their back on the bass-oriented music of their past, and moved forward in a way that seemed impossible to those who had been long-time fans of the band. This was not only due to the fact that it was musically so different to the blistering, George Clinton led, and in some cases produced, funk rock of their early albums, but also because it seemed for a long time that the Red Hot Chili Peppers simply could not possibly exist over 20 years after their formation. After all, any band that had been through 8 guitarists, 4 drummers, and more drug problems than any group could reasonably expect to survive, surely couldn’t be at the peak of its popularity after over 20 years of existence, could it? The answer, as demonstrated by the band’s massive series of concerts over this summer, is a resounding yes.