When John Frusciante left the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2009, he was burnt out. As a way of coping with all of the pressure he was dealing with at the time, he turned to the mystical realm.
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Frusciante and the rest of the Red Hot Chili Peppers took part in a lengthy interview with Classic Rock as the guitarist opened up about his second departure from the band in 2009.
“I became quite off balance mentally those last couple of years we toured,” he said. The Chili Peppers had an exhaustive tour in support of their 2006 album Stadium Arcadium that led to Frusciante feeling burnt out.
“As the tour went on,” he says, “I got deep into the occult, which became a way of escaping the mindset of tour life. The occult tends to magnify whatever you are, and I was an imbalanced mess.”
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Frusciante’s departure didn’t catch the rest of the band by surprise. “John was very absolute about not wanting to do this anymore,” frontman Anthony Kiedis said.
“So when he told Flea and I, there wasn't even that moment where we were, like, ‘Come on, we can work it out.’ We were, like, ‘We understand, it's obvious it's not where you want to be.’ I would say relief was probably the most descriptive word for everybody, including John.”
The Red Hot Chili Peppers are gearing up to release their 12th studio record Unlimited Love on April 1. The album is their first since 2016 and their first with Frusciante since 2006. If it’s up to the band, fans won’t need to wait nearly as long for more new music after they release Unlimited Love.
“We're gonna put out music by the handful," Kiedis told NME during a February interview. "Literally. Don't be surprised if another wheelbarrow of songs comes your way in the near future. We have a lot of s*** to turn people onto."
Frusciante estimated the group recorded “almost 50 pieces of music” during their sessions with acclaimed producer Rick Rubin. "We definitely have enough material that we love," he said. As for what it’ll sound like? Frusciante said the follow up "has a relaxed energy that's distinct from the intensity of the record that we've made here."
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