Band Name Facts:
* The band formed in the early 80's by Michael "Flea" Balzary, Hillel Slovak, and Jack Irons, under the name "Anthym".
* Flea quit Anthym and joined a band called "Fear". Hillel and Jack formed "What Is This?"
* The first time Anthony Kiedis sang with his three friends, the band's name was "Tony Flow and the Miraculously Majestic Masters of Mayhem".
* At one point, the four were "Chily Willy and the Red Hot Peppers".
* Flea, Hillel, Jack, and Anthony took to the name "The Red Hot Chili Peppers" in 1983.
There have been thirteen men who could, at one point in time, call themselves Chili Peppers, (fourteen, if you count John Frusciante's coming back from the dead):
* Anthony was a child actor. He made guest appearances on several different TV shows and has appeared in movies. He plays Sylvester Stallone's son in the movie F.I.S.T..
* The movie Tough Guys features the Red Hot Chili Peppers, (Flea, Anthony, Hillel, and Cliff).
* John was in an independent movie with Johnny Depp called "Stuff", which was shot in black and white. It was recorded in John's house.
* Anthony and Flea are HILARIOUS together in the movie The Chase!
* Anthony broke his back once from jumping off a roof into a swimming pool as a young adult. What Anthony said about it later: "I remember Flea coming up to me with his beautiful blue eyes saying 'I love you and please don't die!'. That was helpful..."
* Hillel Slovak overdosed on heroin and died June 27, 1988.
* In 1997, Anthony got in an accident while riding his Harley Davidson. A car hit him, because the elderly woman who was driving hadn't checked her mirrors. Anthony ended up with eleven bones broken in his wrist and spent five hours in surgery.
* The next month, the Chili Peppers were able to perform at Japan's Mount Fuji Festival after a long time off the road. Anthony had to sit on a stool during the concert though, because of his recent motorcycle accident. The show was cut short when a hurricane struck.
* In 1992, Anthony travelled to Borneo, Africa, with his friend Henky Penky. He ended up lost in the rainforest, hallucinating, covered in leeches and open sores, with simultaneous diarrhoea and vomiting attacks and dengue ("bonebreak" fever).
* During his time away from the band, John struggled with heroin addiction. By the mid-90's, it got so bad that he lost his teeth and nails, and was almost skeletal.
* John had money problems in 1997 when he accidentally gave his $2,000 Chili Peppers royalty check to a taxi driver.
* Chad broke his wrist in 1995 while playing baseball as a result of a wild pitch.
* In 1997, Anthony went to India, travelling by himself, northward bound. He was hanging between two railway carriages when his train derailed. He ended up with bruises.
* "Transcending" was written about River Phoenix.
* "Savior" was said to have been written about John. Somebody asked Anthony if it were about religion, and he said no. Then this interviewer asked if the song was about John, and he said yes. He never said it straight out and might have just wanted the media off his back.
* "Under the Bridge" was originally a poem. Rick Rubins, the band's producer at the time, found the poem among Anthony's song lyrics and asked him to sing it to the band. John and Flea created the music around it.
* Anthony - 5'10"
* Anthony - Swan
* Flea - um... that is his nickname
* John - Greenie
* Hillel - April 13, 1962
* Flea - October 16, 1962
* Chad - October 25, 1962
* Anthony - November 1, 1962
* Dave - June 7, 1967
* John - March 5, 1970
* Anthony - Grand Rapids, Michigan
* Flea - Sydney, Australia
* Hillel - Haifa, Israel
* John - New York City
* Chad - St. Paul, Minnesota
* Dave - Los Angeles, California
* Anthony - Hollywood Hills, (also has a home in New Zealand)
* Dave - West Hollywood
* Anthony's last name is Lithuanian.
* Flea is an incredibly talented trumpet player. He played with the L.A. junior philharmonic and was a teacher's pet.
* Flea, Hillel, Anthony, and Jack became friends at Fairfax High School in 1979.
* Specifically, Anthony and Flea met when Anthony found Flea holding a kid in a headlock. Anthony broke up the fight by threatening to hurt Flea, and the two became friends. The two met Hillel and Jack later.
* Anthony and Flea used to jump off roofs into swimming pools.
* Hillel and Jack's first band together was called "Chain Reaction".
* Hillel taught Flea how to play bass.
* Anthony, Flea, Hillel, and Jack started a gang called "Los Faces".
* Anthony used to read his own poetry before Anthym took the stage, under the nickname "Swan". He was also their biggest fan.
* Hillel and Jack quit the Chili Peppers in 1984 to work with their band, "What Is This?" They returned in 1985 when their band did not work out. Hillel returned just before Freaky Styley, Jack just after.
* At one point in the 80's, Anthony was actually kicked out of the band for his drug habit.
* Flea married Loesha Zeivar in 1985. On September 16, 1988, they had a daughter, who they named Clara. Flea is now divorced, but he has a tattoo of his wife's name on his chest.
* Clara Balzary appears in the music video for "Aeroplane".
* Chad married Maria St John and they have daughter named Manon St. John Smith. She was born on March 3, 1997. Chad is also now divorced. He also has another daughter.
* Chad used to play basketball with Eddie Vedder, lead singer of Pearl Jam.
* John left home at age 16 and got his own apartment.
* John was a huge fan of RHCP as a teenager. He was especially in awe of Hillel Slovak.
* In 1993, Anthony and Flea went with John to audition for a band called the Thelonius Monster, coming along with him as moral support. But, when he left the audition, he was a Chili Pepper.
* John quit the band May 7, 1992. He quit just before a concert in Japan but performed that night after persuaded. He took off the next morning.
* John and Flea, (and perhaps more Chili Peppers), are friends with Johnny Depp and River Phoenix.
* Flea sings the song "Pea" on One Hot Minute.
* Flea was named Bassist of the Year by Bass Player magazine in 1996.
* John is a graduate of the Musicians Institute of Technology.
* Chad is in the Guinness book of the world records for playing the world's largest drum kit consisting of 308 pieces.
* Flea owns a Mercedes-Benz. It's painted in rainbow colours.
* Anthony likes surreal art, like Andy Warhol's.
* Flea's bass was especially made for him and is called the "Flea bass". It's made by Modulus guitars.
* Anthony dated Sporty Spice of the Spice Girls for a time.
* At one point, Flea was working on a solo album.
* Anthony is a vegetarian.
* Both John and Anthony practice yoga.
* John paints.
* Hillel used to paint. One of his works can be found in the Mother's Milk album booklet.
* Anthony and Flea sometimes refer to John as Hillel Slovak reincarnated.
HOW Many Chili Peppers?
name
instrument
albums
years with band
1
Michael "Flea" Balzary
bass
1 - 7
1983 - present
2
Hillel Slovak
guitar
2, 3
4 "Higher Ground", "Fire"
1983,4,5
3
Jack Irons
drums
3
1983,4,5
4
Anthony Kiedis
vocals
1 - 7
1983 - present
5
Jack Sherman
guitar
1
1984-5
6
Cliff Martinez
drums
1, 2
1984-5
7
Duane "Black Bird" McKnight
guitar
-
August 1988
8
John Frusciante
guitar
4, 5, 7
1988-93
1998 - present
9
T. D. Peligro
drums
-
1988
10
Chad Smith
drums
4 - 7
1988 - present
11
Arik Marshall
guitar
-
1993
12
Jesse Tobias
guitar
-
1993
13
Dave Navarro
guitar
6
1993 - 1998
14
John Frusciante
guitar
7
1998 - present
Albums:
The Abbey Road EP, 1988
Plasma Shaft, ?
What Hits?, 1992
Live, Rare, Remix Box, 1994
Out In LA, 1994
Under the Covers, 1998
Best of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, ?
Flammable, (RHCP tribute), 2001
John Frusciante's Albums:
Albums Featuring Chili Peppers:
Flea's Movie Appearances:
Anthony's Movie Appearances:
Acting Facts:
Dark Times for the Chili Peppers:
* Later that year, Chad fell off his motorbike on Dead Man's Curve on Sunset Boulevard. He dislocated his shoulder.
Song Facts:
* "My Lovely Man" and "Knock Me Down" were written for Hillel.
Chili Pepper Heights:
A Chili Pepper By Any Other Name...
Band Member Birthdays:
Where The Chili Peppers Are From:
Where The Chili Peppers Live Now:
Interesting Facts That Fit Nowheres Else:
© 2001 Random Yet Interesting RHCP Facts by Kellyanne Lynch, in association with DREAM with your eyes wide open and Den of the She-Wolv. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorised duplication is a violation of applicable law... yeah, and I just pulled this off the Yourself or Someone Like You CD. Made in the U.S.A., baby!
