  Date Of Birth : November 1st, 1962 Birthplace : Grand Rapids Parents : Blackie Dammett & Peggy Idema
Musical Influences : Iggy Pop , Defunkt , Stevie Wonder , Sly Stone , Lou Reed , Jimi Hendrix , Bob Marley , Led Zeppelin It all began on November the 1st 1962 in St. Mary's hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Blackie Dammett and his wife Peggy,(they were married on July 2nd 1960), became the proud parents of a happy and handsome baby boy. After some 'discussion' he was named Anthony Kiedis. (Blackie changed his name to Dammett when he first started acting-he got the name from the mystery writer Daschiell Hammett). The family moved to L.A so Blackie could attend Los Angeles University (U.C.L.A). In 1960 Anyhony's parents divorced and in 1968 Peggy and Anthony, (now six), returned to Michigan leaving Blackie in L.A. Anthony kept in touch with Blackie and seemingly missed his dad, so at the age of eleven he moved to L.A to be with his pop. This was to be very much a 'growing' period for Anthony. He lost his virginity at the age of 12 to an 18 year old lady friend of his dad's and was doing every narcotic drug including heroin by the time he was 15. Sonny Bono, (RIP), (Cher's ex) was a friend of Blackie's and would often take Anthony away on trips for the weekend. Sonny remembers that Chastity, (Sonny and Cher's daughter), would love Anthony coming to stay as he would always invent great games for the two of them to play together. With so many actors around him it wasn't long before Anthony too graced the silver screen. Under the psuedo-Cole Dammett he played Sly Stallone's son-Kevin Kovak in the movie F.I.S.T. The experience proved to Anthony that he had no desire to be an actor. It was while attending Fairfax High School that Anthony would meet the true blue dudes who found themselves bound together by musical wants and desires. Hillel Slovak, (original guitarist of the RHCP), and Jack Irons, were already bonded buddies and attended music lessons together. Anthony remembers Hillel invited him over to his house and, "One afternoon was all it took for us to know we'd be friends forever". Flea and Anthony became pals after a school playground scuffle. Flea too already was having musical aspirations, playing the trumpet in the school marching band. Another inspirational person in young Anthony's life was his high school english teacher Mrs Vernon. She inspired Anthony to 'write words', so that is what he did. He wrote funny little love letters and poems to his girlfriend and some 'spastically amusing' compositions for school. Three mates bought together by the common good of teenagehood and the need to make music. Hillel, Flea, Jack and Anthony became a band, 'a band with a plan-the Organic Anti Beat Box Band, Uplift Mofo Party Band'. They were to name the 1st band, 'Tony Flow and the Miraculously Majestic Masters of Mayhem'. Flea and Anthony stayed up all night to write their first song which was Out In L.A. They wanted to finish it before Hillel woke up the next day. They managed to scrounge the dollars to put a demo down and then played it for 'anyone who would listen'. Anthony's lyrics reveal a guy who has ridden the roads thru heaven and hell and lived to tell the tale. No wonder he feels akin with the Nez Perce and Sioux Indians of America's west. Among Anthony's many tattoos, his shoulders bare the heads of Chief Joseph and Sitting Bull. Anthony is the soulful vocalist of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. His, and the bands life experiences are chronologically entwined through each Pepper album. To hear those certain lyrics which hit a pothole in your soul-you know they've been there too! Let's hope Anthony and the Red Hot Chili Peppers keep on keeping on......  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
  Date Of Birth : October 25th, 1962 Birthplace : St. Paul, Minnesota Wife : Maria Daughter : Manon St. John Smith (March 3th, 1997) Musical Influences : Kiss Chad Smith hit the planet on October 25th, 1962. Not much is known about his time before the Peppers -except his desire to sit astride a drum kit. Chad started out with a few old ice cream 'drums' - thanks to the local Baskin Robbins and his dad. He then progressed to a drum kit purchased from the local K-Mart. Chad left Bloomfield's Lasher High School in 1980. Four years later he joined his first band, Toby Redd. The band survived four years. Six months later he heard of auditions being held by the Peppers. Chad was one of the many hopefuls who lined up for a chance-he was also one of the last. When Chad was finally called up he strode out onto the stage. Sitting atop the drumkit he belted out a barrage of blistering beats , entwined with some choice obcenities. Chad was an original, with talent, just what the band needed - he was in. It was March 1989. During his years with the Peppers, Chad has persued outside interests and side projects. Aspiring drummers find inspiration and inside info at Chad's drum clinics. Chad's most recent side project was with Dave Navarro and the Spread cd. The cd has since been released through Warner Bros. Chad and his wife Maria became proud parents on the 3rd of March 1997. They named their little girl Manon St John. A few months later though calamity struck when Chad was thrown from his Harley, whilst riding along Sunset Boulevard. The resulting injuries included a dislocated shoulder, some cuts and bruises. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
  Date Of Birth : March 5th, 1970 Birthplace : New York � 1994 American Recordings
� 1997 Birdman Records
� 2001 WEA/Warner Bros.
Musical Influences : Red Hot Chili Peppers , Frank Zappa , Jimi Hendrix John Frusciante was born in New York on the 5th of March, 1970. I can't tell you much about John's life before the Red Hot's, but at 15 he was a big fan of the Peppers. He saw the Red Hot Chili Peppers play the Variety Arts Center in Los Angeles, and from that moment he was awestruck. Hillel's guitar wooed John like a mistress. John was hooked. He left home so he could follow the band enroute during tours and became well-known to the band members. It was also during these early times when Hillel succumbed to his hard living lifestyle. John, with the help of Flea and Anthony, auditioned as a guitar replacement for Thelonius Monster. Anthony and Flea sat on the sidelines to offer moral support, and when they saw and heard John play, the pair of pals couldn't believe their senses. John was a clone of Hillel. The besotted John had copied his idols technique for so long, it was now second nature. The Red Hot Chili Peppers had their new guitarist. Life on the road though wasn't easy for John. Fame wasn't all it was cracked up to be and in May 1992, during the Asian leg of the Peppers world tour, John bid the band farewell. He headed home and lived in solitude for a while but he always kept playing his beloved guitar. During his years away from the band John released two solo albums... | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
  Date of Birth : October 16th, 1962 Birthplace : Melbourne, Victoria, Austr�lia Daughter : Clara Balzary Film-6
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Musical Influences : Miles Davis , Defunkt , The Meters , James Brown , Funkadelic , Ornette Coleman Michael Balzary began his existence on the 16th of October 1962, in Melbourne, Australia. When he turned five however his parents parted and Flea and his mum headed for New York. They didn't stay in the Big Apple for long and ended up in L.A. Michael's mum became the wife of Walter Urban Jr. a well-respected jazz musician. Flea's musical interests developed with the help of his new step-father. Michael would often sit in on the weekly jam sessions with his step-dad and the constant flow of musical traffic which trucked through. Flea was rather shy as a kid but his musical obcessions seemed to help him with his confidence too. High School was not an easy road at first. Flea was often teased because of his funny accent and his weird musical tastes. Most of the kids were into disco and dance music, Flea preferred Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman and Dizzy Gillespie. Flea's first musical instrument was the trumpet and after school he would race home to play his Gillespie records and play along with his idol. His greatest childhood memory is when his mum took him backstage to meet Dizzy Gillespie after one of his concerts. Flea stood and talked to Dizzy for 15 minutes about his music and how he copied his trumpetting style. Then Flea heard his first Funk record and he was hooked. His musical interests now diversified to the bass guitar and his new idol became Jimi Hendrix. It was also at this time that his musical talent was noticed by the once hostile school chums. One regular perpetrator of Flea's harassment at school was Jack Irons. He once had Flea in a headlock in the school playground when Anthony Kiedis leapt to his defence. Anthony and Flea became instant mates. The two pals became known for their mischievious streak which often got them into strife. One favourite pastime was jumping off tall buildings into swimming pools. One misjudged leap saw Anthony fall onto the concrete pool surround and fracturing his spine. Due to Flea's obvious musical talents he was often sought out as a recruit for any band formed by other schoolies. One such band was 'Anthym', with mates Jack Irons and Hillel Slovak as members. After a shaky start the band got a few club gigs but no major breaks. Flea was asked to join the L.A punk band 'Fear" whose lead singer Lee Ving had a reputation for doing pretty wild shows. Flea headed off and joined Fear. He also got a small movie role in a Penelope Sphecris film called 'Suburbia'. Phil Lydon of 'PiL" also asked Flea to join his band when he left 'Fear', but he decided to rejoin his friends in 'Anthym'. When Anthony joined to make the band a foursome they renamed it, 'The Red Hot Chili Peppers' a name the guys claim they found on a burning bush in the hills of Hollywood. Flea got himself married in 1985 to a lady by the name of Loesha whose name he had tattooed over his left nipple -"close to his heart". They are now divorced, but are the proud parents of a cute little girl they named Clara. Clara travels with her dad on the road sometimes and has done some great art work for the RHCP's t/shirts etc. Clara was born on the 16th of September, 1988. |
