blog

A thank you...

Posted on April 16, 2013 by Josh

After blackening a q-tip with the desert sand from last night, I used my ears to help Andrew mix the final song for the extra songs from the 'I'm With You' sessions.  I'd like to apologize for getting a bit behind schedule with these releases.  After my foot injury, it was hard to get off my arse during our breaks from tour.  I apologize.  I'd like to take a moment and publicly thank Andrew Scheps for all of his wonderful work on these songs.  It's been a wonderful experience that I'm very grateful for.  Thank you to Andrew…and everyone who worked on 'I'm With You.'

As there is one more show in the 'I'm With You' tour, I'd also like to thank everyone, everywhere who came to see us play.  It's an honour for me. 

J…

Oh, and thank you Debbie for all the tea and treats!

Fonda

Posted on April 09, 2013 by Josh

Hi…

Look for some friends and I in the DJ booth tonight at the Fonda.

J...

Don't Dream, It's Over...

Posted on February 09, 2013 by Josh

This is a small note to thank everyone who shared an evening with us in New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa.

We all had an mesmerizing time and will never forget all the incredible faces we saw over the past month.  People in the front row at festivals, Kangaroos, people in the street, Lions, Elephants and Impala running in the bush, other musicians backstage, friends, family...Die Antwoord!  The only thing that helps remind that there is good things happening out there…smiles.  I've said it before, but thank you for them.

Lots of love and gratitude…

J...

Is it weird that I've listened to 'Eternal Flame' by the Bangels 7 times this morning?

8...

9...

We're gonna do it...kinda.

Posted on November 02, 2012 by Josh

I tried.  I practised, I got up there...my brian froze.  

What a great song.  

J...

One step at a time...

Posted on September 30, 2012 by Josh

Hello all…

It's been quite a while since I popped in, said hello.  I miss you.  I guess that's a silly thing to say, because after all…I'm sitting by myself, typing.  I'll tell you what I really miss…STANDING UP ON STAGE!  People of the wonderful town of San Antonio, I tried my best, but tonight, more than ever, I really missed standing up.  I couldn't get out of my head.  I felt like I had a 5000lbs. anvil strapped to my leg.  It was weighing me down.  I miss running up to my bandmates…going crazy!  Physically feeling one with my body.  Being free up there.  I want to thank you all for being so supportive of me and my foolish breaking of my poor little foot.  The support and warm wishes I've received have been truly touching.  Thank you.  As I said onstage the night I broke my foot, anger doesn't get ya very far.  I really can't wait to have both legs working. 

Talk to you soon…

J...

Bern Baby Bern...

Posted on July 03, 2012 by Josh

Bern.  What a beautiful city. 

I want to thank all of you in attendance tonight for sticking with me.  Some of you may've noticed me making funny faces and not moving as much onstage as I usually do (at the beginning of the show).  Well, tonight, I played my first show with in-ear monitors.  I've been a bit of a stubborn brat about making the switch out of fear that they would make me feel isolated from all of the wonderful people in the room, whether they be 2 feet or 200 feet from me.  Well, I did it.  I still find it a bit weird, but the best thing is...I heard my bandmates better and clearer.  I was told that I sounded a lot clearer.  I love everyone out on tour with us.  What an amazing group of people they are!!!!!!!

And so, again, slight apologies for making weird faces at the little speakers in my ears.  Things are good.

Bren.  D'you know who's from Bern?

J...

Werchter...

Posted on July 02, 2012 by Josh

Werchter!!!  That was fun!  Am I starting a bit of a habit?  Nightly musical posts?  It's a little difficult to wind down sometimes after doing what we had the good fortune of doing in Werchter tonight.  I'm in Brussels, which I believe this band, The Names, were from.  Enjoy...

Lots of love...

J...

Paris, je t'aime...

Posted on July 01, 2012 by Josh

Just wanted to say goodnight to all the people who filled the Stade de France tonight.  It was an honour and humbling privilege to share the evening with you.  All my love. 

Sometimes I listen to a particular song over and over before bed.  Sometimes it's this one…

J...

Spancill Hill...

Posted on June 25, 2012 by Josh

J...

Knebworth, innit!

Posted on June 24, 2012 by Josh

It is so great to be back across the ocean.  Last night's show at Knebworth was a truly magical experience!  I want to thank every last one of you for making it so special.  I must say, the feeling I get waking up in this country is unlike anything I can describe.  I've always loved it over here and I am so grateful for the opportunity play blast music into the English air!  Looking forward to doing it tonight...and every other night me and my friends get to blast music into any air!!!!!  Thank you!

Here are some songs I've been listening to this morning as my sleep schedule is a bit off...

It Suits Me Well - Sandy Denny
Roy Harper - When And Old Cricketer Leaves The Crease
Late November - Sandy Denny
Free Will And Testament - Robert Wyatt
This Is Where I Belong - The Kinks
English Rose - The Jam
The Dark-Eyed Sailor - Steeleye Span

Also, this song just kills me...so sweet.  Thank you England for all of these songs...

Lots of love...

J...

Here we come Ireland...

Here we come Europe!!!

Did YOU let ME know!!!!

Posted on March 13, 2012 by Josh

Hello there!  Good morning!  Right now it's 8.56a in LA and the morning couldn't be more perfect.  There is a particular kind of morning I prefer...and this is it.  After having a bit of time on my hands, yesterday saw the return of a very special thing to my life.  Today shall see it as well.  Making music with your friends is an unbelievable thing.  A feeling you can't find anywhere else...for me. 

After having such a joyous day, as I lay my head down to sleep, I had a gander at a video for the song "Did I Let You Know" done by some wonderful people in Brazil.  I just wanted to say that the smiles on all of those beautiful faces and the love that is very clear throughout that video made me a very, very happy camper.  Someone should send that video to the tourist board as an advert for the incredible capacity for love and happiness the people of Brazil have.  I just wanted to thank everyone who took part in that for making such a special song for me even more special.  The smiles I see in that video are priceless tokens of affection.  Wow, look what you making me sound like!!!

I'll have to get Mauro to translate it for me, but this I do know...obrigado!  OBRIGADO!!!!!!!!!

J...

negative and positive ions

Posted on January 02, 2012 by Flea

Hello men and women and boys and girls and all manner of animal and fish.

    We are having this break right now and it is really good for us, Ahhhhhhhhhhh....reeeeeeelaaxxxxx.  We just toured for about 5 months, and a little battery recharging is in order.  Befre the tour started we spent a solid year, working in a new Josh Klinghoffer, writing, recording,  doing press, all non stop, it is great to stop for a minute. Being in the ocean is the greatest thing, the waves flowing in and out , up and down, getting in touch with the world breathing like that fills me with the power. I love to sweat blood and truth at every show, or not play at all, as anyone has seen us knows (i hope), and having this down time, man, i am getting raring to go for when we start the u.s. legs of this tour in a couple of weeks.

    We are gonna be home in a couple of days and I am excited about that. I am thinking about my studio, all the instruments in it, the recording equipment, and it seems ike paradise to me. I just wanna play and write, absorb my days completely into music. Actually, I have had a hard time letting go and just being on vacation, I have such a burning desire to get in that studio, but some surfing is straightening me out, forcing me to calm down. As Marisa Pouw used to say to me in a matronly voice, "settle down little fighter".

    For all the people who follow me on twitter, I'm sorry about all the basketball tweets I just cant help it, basketball is very emotional for me, Just like music. Maybe I should just start a basketball blog and keep it separate from everything else. 

Happy New Year...

Posted on January 01, 2012 by Josh

I would just like to wish everyone the happiest of New Years.

Thank you ALL for everything.

J...

Io sono quel che sono

Posted on December 11, 2011 by Josh

So I tried singing one of my favourite songs last night in Torino.  It's a song by an amazing Italian singer called Mina.  The song is called Io sono quel che sono.  I'm trying, for the first time to "embed media."  It probably won't work because it's me doing it, but I think everybody should hear this incredible song.  My version last night went a bit funny.  My voice got a little tense toward the end.  Baby steps...

I love Italy.

J...

Hall of Faaaaaammmme

Posted on December 07, 2011 by Flea

     We are getting inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.I am not usually one to get to excited about awards or accolades, but about this one I am very excited indeed. 

    Our band is really riding a high right now. We are out on the road, playing some of best shows we have ever done. We are establishing a new language with Josh and there is a feeling of hope and potential in what we are doing that is really inspiring to us. Each time we step out on the stage it feels so creative and vibrant, we are really having a blast playing the shows and it fills my days with meaning. I feel an infinite energy from what we are doing and looking forward to taking this togetherness we are forging out on tour, and getting in the studio and making new music. Feels like we are growing like a new born baby, and that is best feeling that I can have ever have in our band.

     So hearing this news about the hall of fame now really seems like it has extra significance for me. To be recognized this way seems especially full and profound.  It makes me think about Hillel Slovak, without whom we would have never existed, and who created with us the foundation of our sound. He directly  influences everything we have ever done. What he did with us in our early years is the blueprint of what we are. This would have meant a lot to him, and I love him so much. And of course, the mighty Jack Irons, our other founding member, who fortunately, is here to enjoy this moment with us.

     It also makes me think of something I think of everyday anyways. Of John Frusciante, the virtuoso musician and songwriter who gave so much to our band. Without him, we would not be going to the hall of fame. He wrote countless great things with us, played an infinite amount of stunning things, and taught us how to be a great band. He helped lift us to a much higher level, he is the greatest. We connected deeply for many years, and he left our band with many gifts.

    I am truly grateful for this honor. To our fans, who have supported us for all these years, given us purpose, and wildly energized us night after night, thank you.

orange door yellow brown rug spiral staircase

Posted on December 06, 2011 by Flea

HI.

Sitting here in my hotel room in Munich. It is a really funny hotel room, weird orange, yellow and brown colors in the rug and walls. A spiral staircase that goes up to the bedroom. Kind of a funny surrealish spinal tap moment me sitting here listening to bad music coming out of the television, too lazy to get my boom box out of its case and put on something decent.  wait hold on, i gotta turn this garbage off its doing something bad to my soul.

aaaahhhh this silence is so much better.

So we were home for a week and then headed back to Europe for another couple of weeks before the christmas break. While we were home, the day before we left, we made a video for our song 'Look Around'. It was such a fun experience, truly liberating and wild feeling for me, I have high hopes for the thing, haven't seen the footage yet though.

    I am just in the final pages of the book 'Anna Karenina' by Leo Tolstoy, it has been a long read that was a little arduous at times, adjusting my brain to the long passages written about a time that is hard to wrap my head around. But, I never gave up! And the final few chapters are truly riveting, tragic and sad and beautiful. As Joe Strummer said, "It's a sad and beautiful world".  I'm not sure what I will read next, probably Jerry West's biography.'

  Speaking of books, I heard that there is a movie just made of 'Midnight's Children', the book by Salman Rushdie. That is very exciting to me, I love the writing of Salman Rushdie. Also, someone just gave me a copy of a movie made of the book 'The Master and Margarita' by the transcendantly good writer Mikail Bulgakov. Can't wait to se it!!!!!!! It is 11 hours long i think! 11 hours of greatness I am psyched! It could be a terribly made film and I will still love it, the book is that amazing. But, I hear it is a well made movie.

     God, I love sports. It seems for many people, sports and art are mutually exclusive things, which is hard for me to understand. I love seeing people reach for things, really yearn to take themselves to a higher level. It really seems the same to me, athletics, arts, academics.....I just dont really differentiate between the things, it all feels like human exression to me and totally the same.  But, my point is that I am a televised sports fanatic. It is the only thing I watch on t.v. Basketball season is about to start, and as many of you probanly know already, I am an over the top unabashed freaky Laker fan. With great anticipation I await to dig in to the sumtuous feast that is the NBA season. When it clicks, and a team really plays together, it is  a beautiful thing to behold.

   I've never been bored a moment in my life. I've been delirious, I've been miserable, but I have never been bored, there's just too much stuff going on. I've also been ecstatically happy! 

   The other night when we arrived in Berlin, I took a walk and stumbled upon the holocaust memorial there. Man it was a heavy experience. It is made of thousands of concrete slabs, I think it  is one for every Jew from Berline that was killed (not positive about that, it's what I was told). When you look at it from the street, it seems as though each concrete slab, which are rectangle or square shaped, are about 2 or 3 feet tall. But as you walk into it, the ground sinks down and you are surrounded by these monoliths that are like ten fet tall. Each one representing a tragic death. It really had a powerful effect on me. God bless those poor souls. Sending my love to them.  It was late at night and I walked into the depth of the thing and really got lost in it. It is hard to comprehend that kind of cruelty, genocide. Man. It unbelievable what human beings are capable of.  I read a while ago about the genocide that took place in Rawanda of the Tutsi people. It happened in the early nineties. A really great book called "We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families' by Phillip Gourevitch. That is a heavy book, but also really uplifting and inspiring. To hear of people who suffered the worst tortures that you can imagine, and yet retain their humanity, their love, it is amazing how great people can be in the face of the most malicious kind of evil. I highly reccomend that book. While I'm still on the subject of books, here's another one I reccomend, I was thinking about it today during our travel to Munich, about how much it inspired me and changed my life. My sister turned me on to it, it is about Haiti and an super cool guy who goes there to help out named Paul Farmer, and it is called 'Mountains Beyond Mountains' written by Tracy Kidder. It blew me away, and because of it I ended up in Haiti a few years after I read it. I really loved my trip to Haiti. Actually my trip was with some great guys who have an organization called 4real and you can look it up and see a film of the trip if you are interested.

 Well it's 2:54 am and I'm gonna get into something else now.

Really, this tour is going so well, I'm so happy with the way we are playing, and more than that, overwhelmed with gratitude for all of you who come to our shows and rock out and really listen. You give me faith.

F...F...Fortunate!

Posted on November 17, 2011 by Josh

All...

Just wanted to write a quite note expressing how fabulously, f%#cking, fortunate I feel be on tour with such wonderful people like Femi Kuti & the Positive Force, Fool's Gold and Foals.  Watching Femi and the wonderful folks in his band every night was such an uplifting experience for me.  Seeing the guitarist Ope Awomolo up close, watching his fingers move is a beautiful and hypnotic thing that I recommend everybody seek out.  It was such a joy having them out and we all thank them!  

At the moment here in the UK, Fool's Gold has been rocking with us every night!  I think I played on the same bill as the singer and bass player Luke when we were fifteen.  Maybe fourteen?  Raven's playhouse in North Hollywood, anyone?  That was over half my ago.  Tonight, Luke and I will be on the same bill at the Motorpoint Arena in Sheffield.  I probably listened to Pulp or Cabaret Voltaire on my way to that Raven's show.  I think I'm a little less nervous now than I was back at the Raven's Playhouse where I seem to recall playing most of the gig with my back to the crowd of about twenty two people.  There will be a few more than that there tonight and I hope you ALL enjoy Fool's Gold!  They are one of the most joyous and inventive conjurers of pop music around today.  Again, Lewis is an unbelievable guitarist and watching him up close is a incredible honour!  Brad came up and blew a ripping solo on "Did I Let You Know" and tore the roof off the MEN here in Manchester the other night.  We thank him for that!  I love these guys!

Next leg we have Foals who we did a few shows with in South America.  I'm surrounded by cool and interesting guitar players on this tour and I love it.  I look forward to seeing more of those lads as we tear the final pages off the 2011 calendar.  

Again, it's such an amazing privilege to be in a band that has the opportunity to tour with such important and inspiring bands.  I know support acts aren't always what one might want to see when you're excited for a headliner, but I really appreciate everyone giving our friends we have out with us a chance to make your heart feel good.  The RHCP have always had friends and great people on tour with them.  I opened for them a few times and it's always such a loving environment onstage, offstage, backstage and it seems, in front of the stage.  

Thank you for all the smiles I've seen thus far.

J...

knak7xf

Posted on November 11, 2011 by Flea

This run through Ireland, NOrthern Ireland, and Engladn so far has been fulfilling. Playing the music is always such an emotional thing. There are a lot of different levels of it for me. In one way, I go into a total animalistic single focus on rocking for all I'm worth, giving everything I have to make each song it's deepest most intense groove, to give every ounce of strength and concentration I can channel to every dynamic and emotiona twist and turn of the flow of the music. In another way, I just want to connect with the audience, to feel y'all, to do everything i can to uplift you, to share the magic from the divine source from where this music comes from, to get myself out of the way and let that happen. An in another way, the show, the music, all of it is a sanctuary for me, a safe place away from the chaos and pain and suffering of the world. Man, the whole thing is such a cathartic experience. Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeit.

      Yeah these shows have been fun. While we were here in London, the launch happened for the basses created by the great artist Damien Hirst and myself. Damien painted each one individually, they are all different and man they are just beautiful and wild!. You can see them at the 'Other Criteria' shop on New Bond Street in London.  You can also see pictures of them at Othercriteria.com. They are really amazing pieces of art, and every one of them is signed by Damien and I. Some of them come with additional artwork by Damien, and collaborative artwork by Damien and I. They are Dope! Rope a Dope!!!  All of the profit from the sale of these things will go to the Silverlake Conservatory of Music, I will not take a penny, and Damien is not even taking back the expenses he incurred making them, he has donated all his time and energy for free. He is a man among men with a heart the size of Leeds. The deluxe editions of the basses also come with individually handpainted cases, and are chockfull of great art surprises. Just sayin.

   We had a party for the basses on the night of the launch and Josh and Chad and Mauro and I jammed at it and let our freak flags fly as high as we could. Then Ronnie Wood joined us for a jam, and it was a goooooooood one. That ol' Ronnie Wood is a superb musician, it is always a beautiful thing to play with him.

    So I find myself this morning at still at the hotel in London, bout to get it together to go get on a whirlybird and head for the gig in Glasgow tonight. Letyour freak flag fly. Peace and Love to all.

a little tin whistle

Posted on November 05, 2011 by Flea

Last night was such a fun show in Dublin. Truly, Ireland has been an amazing place for us to pay through the years. There is something about the soul of the place that really touches me.  An intangible thing, can't describe it, but it blows me away. I think the greatest crowd I ever witnessed was when we played Belfast in '91. It was the most explosive feeling I ever got from an audience they were just on fire. Anthony begs to differ with me, he say the audience we had in Buenos Aires a couple of months ago was just as intense, but I don't know. I guess it really is a matter of how you pecieve it at the time, sometimes the most still audience can be listening the deepest and it is a whole other kind of intensity. But man, sometimes  you can walk out on stage and they really blast your face off! I hope no other countries feel like I am diminishing their connection with us, there are certain times and spaces when a magic thing happens that is impossible to control. That time in Belfast there was just a feeling in the air. It was a time of a ot of trouble there, tanks rolling down the empty streets and guys walking around in groups of four holding maching guns scared to death. There was a lot of tension in the air. Also, the Rollins bnd opened up the show and really stirred up some emotions, it was just a wild night.

I purchased a tim whiste the other day in Dublin. I like to sit in my room and play it and try to eek out some melancholy tunes. Gets me in touch with my Itrish heritage. On my father's side, his grandfather came to Australia from Ireland and his grandmother came from Hungary. My mothers side is all from England as far as I know. I was born in Australia, left there when I was 4, movied to the suburbs of New York when I was 11, then came to L.A. when I was 11. I just consider myself from L.A. I really love Los Angeles, people have such a weird impression of it around the world. It is really a soulful place. People just think about the film industry and the shalowness and power hungry weirdos and psycophants that are invoved in it. There is also an impression of Beverly HIlls and the weird shallowness of thoughtless wealth that is there. The truth is all that shit is but a fraction of what L.A. is. It is such a multicultural place, so many ethnicities, and cultures, and art and music and cool little working class communities. Such a great proximity to the mountains, the ocean, and the desert. Anyways, I'm not patriotic at all. I love the United States, I live there and there is so much beauty and freedom, but I dont care about it any more than I do about Botswana or Timbuktu if you know what I'm saying. I just love the divine energy that flows through all of us and everything, and as far as I can tell, the ratio of cool thoughtful people to selfish assholes is pretty similar everywhere I go, it crosses all ethnic, cultural, and economic boundaries.

I am addicted to the episodic television program 'Friday NIght LIghts'. It  really isnt that great, but there are parts of it that are great and I just cant stop watching it. I'll be hapy when I am done with it. Well., I;m gonna go hit the steets of Dublin a little bit and see what I can find.

it's been a long time since i've written into the ether...

Posted on November 03, 2011 by Anthony

it's been a long time since i've written into the ether so please feel free to let me know who you are. it all started a couple of years ago when the need to reconsider the brotherhood of the sacred red heart chili peppers led us to the livelihood that is josh klinghoffer. we plugged into amps and tuned into each other for 12 months of jamming, song writing, snacking, parking lot baseball and big sur bike riding. in a nut shell that's how we came to be a band. it was a grateful time and to create without expectation from the wandering spotlight is a beautiful thing. we found our songs and recorded them. i kind of knew what to expect from chad and flea but discovering the dedicated flow of josh's musical conviction in the studio was a wild ride. the whole experience was a microcosm of life where every conflict leads to an opportunity and every triumph is followed by a challenge. i'm already back in line to take that ride again. one more time, i feel like we've only just begun. then, we hit the road running. a 3 club california tour of the unannounced variety was first up. we executed with vicious joy. flea picked big sur as show one, josh picked nevada city as show two and i pleaded for west hollywood's the troubadour for show number three. chad killed it at all of them and the rock show baptismal was a cherry smashing blast. off to hong kong to test the arena waters. listening to josh play that first arena show in hong kong was like lucid dreaming. i realized we were becoming what the spirit of this band had always wanted us to be. my hat is off to all of the people who attended that show. no pun intended. before heading up to japan for summer sonic fun, flea, clara balzary (our on tour photographer) and i took a ferry ride through hong kong harbor to a little residential island. we walked, got sweaty and bought tin cups to commemorate our day....after a few more sopping wet days of sweltering mid summer japanese heat, a notion came to play. a friend of mine had been mixing it up with the crowds of the summer sonic festivals and taking photos of the their fascinating faces. the energy and appearance of these fans made me want to know more about them. who they are, where they come from and what their relationship to the music of our band is all about. so now my friend, david mushegain is traveling town to town with us while we tour the world to meet, photograph and interview our fans. we'll call them 'redheads' to pay bizarre homage to the fans of the grateful dead aka 'deadheads'. links will be set up from our various sites if anyone is particularly interested in participating in the making of this book...since japan we have been around the world playing a wild ass variety of shows from the silliest of television programs to the most soulful of exchanges with south american audiences. shows played in germany, sweden, denmark, holland and france were uplifting all day and all night. thank you people for the endowment of ecstasy. i feel like our evolution as a group has hit exponential strides and has found it's way into a rhythm of happiness that, as a band, is rare. i am so grateful for the current creative nature of this moving saturnalia. it's got me jonesing to reclaim the stage and our next show in ireland awaits. let there be love.