FLEA'S BAGS

I'm not a big fan of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I don't hate 'em, they just went soft over the years. I think their second LP was the last one I bought. That said, they were a breath of fresh air when their first LP came out. With the exception of some of Black Randy and the Metro Squad's stuff, it was the first time that funk, or signs of funk, were in a band that sprang from L.A.'s post-punk circles. Fast forward a few years and you get "Under the Bridge". Oh well., one less band to keep up with.

A few weeks ago I was in a book store and happened to see a book by Flea, the Red Hot Chili Pepper's bassist. He's always been the one Chili Pepper that seemed the key to their funk and the least concerned with rock star posing and all of the other trappings. Alas, I couldn't rationalize shelling out thirty bucks for a book I was likely to read only once. Then, about a week ago I was in a small library and they actually had it on the shelf. So I checked it out, along with a book about Pussy Riot and a biography of John Steinbeck. As a certified tightwad, I estimate the money that the library saved me was about eighty bucks. Libraries rule.

Flea's book, Acid For the Children is a memoir. You'd expect a lot of Red Hot Chili Peppers stories. Not the case here. The Chili Peppers don't even have their first gig until the last ten pages or so. That's good, because Flea's escapades growing up, and the incidents that formed his values and world view, are the draw here. It is one of the few rock memoirs I've read that didn't seem like the author was trying to puff up his own legacy. This is definitely a book from someone who hopes to pass on what he's learned from mistakes in the past, a three point shot at leaving the world a better place.

Gathering stuff to post I came across a movie he was in when he was 21, called Suburbia (above, for your viewing pleasure) and also some Flea demos, enough for an ersatz album. But wait, that's not all. Because I haven't followed the Chili Peppers for years, I had no idea that Flea actually had a legit solo album, Helen Burns, that he did with the Chili Pepper's drum tech. It's good, nothing all that earth shattering but really interesting, particularly his trumpet playing (until I read his book I had no idea he was a jazz freak). At the time of release (2007) he said "It is not a Chili Pepper record. It does not have songs that are like the Chili Peppers at all. It is a mostly instrumental, weird and arty record, the music is mostly just me creating soundscapes that are very emotional for me, but certainly not for everyone! Just me tripping out at home." Tripping out is right. Listen to the first cut of Helen Burns, "333". It's an eight minute trip.

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Listen:
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Love Rollercoaster mp3 at Internet Archive Ohio Players cover
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Subterranean Homesick Blues mp3 at Internet Archive  Dylan cover
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Give It Away mp3 at Internet Archive
Flea - Helen Burns (official release) (streaming) at YouTube
Flea - Unofficial Solo Album (Full album) (streaming) at YouTube