A Physical Fraction

Guitarist John Frusciante has experienced both colossal highs and death-defying lows in both his musical career and personal life. Born in 1970 and raised in California, Frusciante dropped out of high school when guitar playing and rock music took hold of the up and coming musician/songwriter. Embracing both the unpredictable side of rock with inspirations such as Frank Zappa, Steve Vai, King Crimson, Funkadelic and punk bands such as the Germs and Black Flag, Frusciante created his own guitar style combining both technical skill with a knack for penning funky, unbelievable psychedelic riffs.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers became an automatic favourite when the young guitarist discovered them early in their career, and his dream to join the band came true in 1988, after striking up a friendship with the Chili Peppers' insane bassist Flea in the wake of founding guitarist Hillel Slovak's death from a notoriuos Heroin drug overdose at Johnny Depps club "The Viper Room". Interestingly, Frusciante had just been hired by another L.A. band, Thelonious Monster, prior to joining the Peppers.

Frusciante's first recording with the Peppers, 1989's Mother's Milk, helped break the popular college rock band through to the mainstream, resulting in their first gold record, with John's amazing guitar playing serving as a catalyst for many of the songs. The quartet released an even rawer record next, 1991's Blood Sugar Sex Magik, produced by one of my favourite Legendary Producers, Rick Rubin. The album catapulted the band into the rock stratosphere, as it became a multi-platinum hit and made the Peppers one of the premier bands of the 1990s. But all was not well in Pepperland. Frusciante found it increasingly difficult to handle his newly found fame, and retreated into a haze of hard drugs and unpredictable behavior. At the height of Blood Sugar's success, John abruptly left the band while on tour in Japan.

Besides releasing two obscure solo albums (1995's "Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-Shirt" and 1997's "Smile From the Streets You Hold"), little was heard from Frusciante since splitting from the Peppers in 1992. Then, a disturbing article about John appeared in the L.A. Weekly, which painted Frusciante as a heroin abuser with a death wish (the interviewer was also shocked at his ghastly appearance). Thankfully, from the advice of friends, Frusciante checked himself into a rehab center and got off drugs and stopped his path to a certain destruction (called death). Just a few months after getting his life back on track and facing the world again, he got back in contact with the rest of his ex-Pepper mates (he regularly smoked some of california's best green with Flea), who's then current guitarist, Dave Navarro, had just split from the band. After a loose jam session was deemed a success (as well as a psychological evaluation lol!), Frusciante was asked to rejoin the band. The newly kindled relationship was a rousing success, as the reunited Peppers issued the GREAT Californication in 1999 to rave reviews and big sales. Two years later, and drugs a thing of the past, Frusciante emerged a tough singer/songwriter by releasing a solo effort entitled To Record Only Water for Ten Days. Merely a creative outlet from his band's original material, Frusciante appeared motivated and relaxed as an individual and free from the deception of drugs that haunted him before.

Frusciante: I don't need to take drugs. I feel so much more high all the time right now because of the type of momentum that a person can get going when you really dedicate yourself to something that you really love. I don't even consider doing them, they're completely silly. Between my dedication to trying to constantly be a better musician and eating my health foods and doing yoga, I feel so much more high than I did for the last few years of doing drugs.

At this point I'm the happiest person in the world. These things do not fuck with me at all, and I'm so proud of that—you don't know how proud I am. It's such a beautiful thing to be able to face life, to face yourself, without hiding behind drugs; without having to have anger towards people who love you. There are people who are scared of losing stuff, but you don't lose anything for any other reason than if you just give up on yourself.

Frusciante began a series of collaborations with friend Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and his band The Mars Volta, by contributing vocals and electronic instrumentation to their album De-Loused in the Comatorium. He also contributed guitar solos on their 2005 album Frances the Mute. In 2006, he helped The Mars Volta complete their third album Amputechture by playing guitar on seven of its eight tracks. In return, Rodriguez-Lopez has played on several of Frusciante's solo albums, as well as made a guest appearance on Stadium Arcadium.