Deadsplinter Up! All Night: Red Hot

26/3/20 Loveshaq 34

The first time I heard about RHCP, a friend told me we were going to go watch a punk/funk band that played in only socks.  Of course my answer was “what the fuck are you talking about, why do I want to see a bunch of naked dudes swinging their cocks?”.  “No” he said, “the socks are on their cocks!”  It was a very Seussian conversation.  We didn’t have tickets for the outdoor venue they played but we watched from outside through a fence & it was a crazy show, at least what we could see.  I really got into their early music, the funky bass of Flea, Anthony’s deep vocals, and Hillel’s psychedelic guitar riffs touched my soul.  I wore out the first 2 cassettes until the Uplift Mofo Party Plan came out and then I wore that out until Mother’s Milk came out.  As much as I loved Hillel’s style, the addition of John Frusciante definitely gave the band another layer of sound and upped their songwriting.  The album also made me realize that they were huge Lakers fans like myself with the tribute song Magic Johnson (and Salute to Kareem on the remastered version).  This is still my favorite Chili Peppers album most of the time though the pure funk grooves of Funky Crime & the funky thrash of most of the other songs keep calling me back to the Uplift Mofo Party Plan.  I have to admit I have a love/hate relationship with Blood Sugar Sex Magik.  I was happy to hear them finally get air play on commercial radio but I had a bad feeling that the success of Under the Bridge was going to take the band in a direction I didn’t want.  My buddy got the cd the day before we went on a surf trip to French Polynesia and for some reason, that was the ONLY cd he brought.  We drove around looking for surf blasting that cd over and over.  The Tahitians we met had never heard of the Chili Peppers, they would only play Bob Marley and the Gypsy Kings for some odd reason but when they heard the album, we knew they wouldn’t let us bring it home.  I think we traded it for a bag of weed or just gave it to them.  When we got back we saw them in concert and this same friend dragged me to the front of the stage, on our way pushing thru the crowd we saw a huge opening so rushed in.  Little did we know that it cleared because a guy starting pissing on the crowd & we walked right into the spray!  The album brings back amazing memories of that trip and that friend that who ironically could surf the craziest big waves you could imagine but ended up drowning during a cliff dive he had done over and over.   Unfortunately, my instincts were correct and that album marked the end of my RHCP addiction. I liked a few songs on Red Hot Minute but Dave Navarro didn’t seem to fit.  I can’t even listen to Californication and stopped listening to their stuff after that. 

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34 Comments

    • I”m going to file my RHCP anecdote here:

      The only time I saw them was in Madrid. I think they were touring off Californication, which, whatever, there were very few American anchors for me while I was there and I wouldn’t have passed it up. They played “Higher Ground,” which I’ve always loved and that was fucking great, but the revelation was that the show was held in an arena that was usually a bull fighting arena — and Madrilenos busted out the reliable soccer chant, “Ole! Ole, ole ole…” to summon the encore and I was grinning like an idiot.

  11. Led Zeppelin – Hot Dog (Live, 1979):

    Lyrics:

    Well, I just got into town today
    To find my girl who’s gone away
    She took the Greyhound at the general store
    I searched myself I searched the town
    When I finally did sit down
    I find myself no wiser than before

    She said we couldn’t do no wrong
    No other love could be so strong
    She locked up my heart in her bottom drawer
    Now she took my heart she took my keys
    From in my old blue dungarees
    And I’ll never go to Texas anymore

    Now my baby’s gone I don’t know what to do
    She took my love and walked right out the door
    And if I ever find that girl I know one thing for sure
    I’m gonna give her something like she never had before

    I took her love at seventeen
    A little late these days it seems
    But they said heaven is well worth waiting for
    I took her word I took it all
    Beneath the sign that said “you-haul”
    She left angels hangin’ round for more

    Now my baby’s gone I don’t know what to do
    She took my love and walked right out the door
    And if I ever find that girl I know one thing for sure
    I’m gonna give her something like she never had before

    I thought I had it all sewn up
    Our love, a plot, a pick-up truck
    But folks said she was after something more
    I never did quite understand
    All that talk about rockin’ bands
    But they just rolled my doll right out the door
    Oh yeah, they just rolled my doll right out the door
    But they just rolled my doll right out the door

    —

    The ‘live’ last verse is different from the ‘studio’ last verse…

  12. Great story. Sad ending, but those sound like fun times. I never could get into the Chili Peppers. Just not my thing, but I appreciate them.

    Parliament – Red Hot Mama

    • Funny thing is George Clinton produced their second album, Freaky Styley & Clinton did vocals, Maceo Parker did sax & Fred Wesley did Trombone on a few songs. You can hear some of them on their cover of Hollywood (Africa)

  13. The first time I heard RHCP was the Mother’s Milk album. I’ve seen them once, when they were touring with the Foo Fighters at The Gorge in WA. I held out until Californication, I really can’t get into anything after that. This is the first song that comes to mind after Higher Ground when I think Peppers.

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