Music

"He's looking to be the alpha": Flea hints at conflicted relationship with Red Hot Chili Peppers' bandmate, Anthony Kiedis


Flea has opened up about this and his early childhood in a new memoir

Red Hot Chili Peppers‘ bassist Flea has hinted at a conflicted relationship with his fellow bandmate Anthony Kiedis.

In a new interview with The Guardian, Flea discussed his relationship with Kiedis in the context of his new memoir, Acid for the Children, which is released today (November 5).

In the memoir, Flea recalls how Kiedis was “the missing link I never considered” after meeting him, as well as being “unlike anyone” he had met. He went on: “Among my friends, I was the guy who was always trying to do something that would freak people out. Then I met Anthony and he matched me step for step. We got up to all kinds of crazy shit.”

Flea also describes Kiedis as “controlling” in the memoir. When asked about this particular comment in his Guardian interview, Flea hinted that there were more “issues” between the two but that he’s wasn’t willing to discuss them.

However, he did go on to hint at what they might be. “He doesn’t accept that I’m different and that things that excite me may not excite him,” Flea explained. “He’s looking to be the alpha.”

Flea also explained how Kiedis’ drug abuse affected him over the years. “It’s painful and scary and sad… because the rationale of someone who’s a drug addict is disingenuous and hollow and misguided.”

Red Hot Chili Peppers

Red Hot Chili Peppers

Elsewhere in the memoir, Flea recalls his difficult childhood and his own battles with drug addiction and his upset when one of the band’s early guitarists, Hillel Slovak, died aged 26 following a heroin overdose.

“I was so angry at him,” Flea said. “For a long time, I kicked myself that I didn’t know how to be there for him in a way that I could have been. It’s a hard thing.”

Earlier this year (January 8), Flea shared a touching tribute to Slovak, calling him his “beloved brother” after he visited Slovak’s grave at the Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery in Hollywood Hills.

“A painter, a musician, an intellectual, a hilarious and wild joker, and a lover of his friends,” Flea wrote about his late bandmate on Instagram. “He asked me to start playing the bass, changing my life forever, and that’s only one of many ways he influenced my growth. Happy to be sitting by his grave on this sweet and mellow rainy day,” he concluded.

Back in July 2017, the current members of the Chili Peppers reunited with their original drummer Jack Irons for a performance which they dedicated to Slovak’s memory.

The band and Irons performed a cover of Jimi Hendrix‘s classic song ‘Fire’ together in tribute to Slovak, with the occasion marking the 29th anniversary of his death.





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