John Frusciante - one of the most "under-rated" guitarists of our time

I lived in Dallas for a while and learned to love the city, but that's a whole different story. I don't really know why I started out with that, but anyway...When I was in Dallas, I met Robert Wilonsky, who at the time was the pop/entertainment editor for D Magazine and the Dallas Observer (music and film/ entertainment weekly newspaper.) We got to talking and I was picking his brain on recent interviews he'd conducted. I was completely intrigued especially when I found out he actually interviewed one of my favorite guitarist's, John Frusciante, during Frusciante's 5-year hiatus with the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Frusciante first joined the Chili Peppers to record Mother's Milk, in 1989, when he was only 18 years old. 2 years later, the Chili Peppers blew up with their world wide success of Blood Sugar Sex Magik. Frusciante had trouble dealing with the success and like a lot of stressed out people, turned to drugs. Unfortunately, Frusciante fell deeper and deeper into his heroin addiction and basically became a recluse, locking himself up in this Hollywood Hills home until it burned down (luckily he escaped with only minor injuries.)

Wilonsky caught up with Frusciante shortly after the house fire, when Frusciante was residing at the Chateau Marmont in Hollywood. I can picture exactly how Frusciante looked just by the way Wilonsky so vividly described him, without censoring the gory details. The Heroin had almost killed Frusciante a couple times at this point, he was skinnier than a skeleton with his dark eyes sunken into his head and the few teeth that remained in his mouth were brown and yellow and didn't look like they could chew anything.

During this time the Red Hot Chili Peppers replaced Frusciante with guitarist Dave Navarro from Jane's Addiction and released One Hot Minute in 1997. Things weren't going very well between long time friends Navarro and Flea and Kiedis and Navarro was soon after let go from the Chili Peppers. In 1997 after a month long stint in rehab (helping Frusciante cope with his cocaine addiction - he had quit heroin cold turkey a few months before) Flea asked Frusciante if he'd like to rejoin the Chili Peppers. John broke down and cried and stated "he'd love nothing more!" The Chili Peppers released Californication the following year and By the Way 2 years after that and things were again rolling for a man who could have easily been dead.

Right now the RHCP are not playing or touring together and will hopefully rekindle their magic soon again, but in the meantime, Frusciante is getting ready to release another solo studio album - Empyrean, on 1/20/09. During Frusciante's 5 year hiatus from the band he made numerous solo albums, mostly to support his drug habit. Once he rejoined the Chili Peppers he continued writing his own music and I feel some of his best stuff. Please take a moment to listen to the track I've included. Thanks for reading and again, let's all be thankful that Frusciante had the power and will to overcome an addiction that nearly ended his life and we can all continue to enjoy his talent.