Poll: Are The Red Hot Chili Peppers a 'Funk' Band?

[faulknersj]

Are They?

I thought it would be interesting to see what you all think.

Here is how it works:

1) Vote Yes or No
2) Post what you voted and why
3) Please Post the style of music that you mostly play

I say No...RHCP are a rock band with some other influences including Funk..... just like Zeppelin is a Rock band......not a blues band.

I Play Funk, Soul, Motown, RnB, Jazz, and Modern dance music mostly.

[zachoff]

I voted rock, but (especially in their early days) they had a lot of funk to them. I play metal & punk rock but listen to almost anything.

[Rebop]

They were pretty much a punk band with some funky stuff mixed in IMO. More like Punkrock-Funk.
I stopped listening to them after Mother's Milk. That album and everything before it is great. Now... not so much.
This poll should be a yes or no question, not a 'this or that' question. I can't vote for either genre where the early stuff is concerned. The modern stuff, definitely pop-rock.

Ninja edit: What kind of person would think Led Zeppelin is a blues band? Funny, I actually like the blues.

[zephyr_words]

Why can't they be funk rock instead of stuck into either genre? Doesn't matter anyway, the peppers are the peppers.

[faulknersj]

Zephyr-words - so your take is that they are equal parts funk and rock.

What kind of music do you play and listen to mostly? This is an important part of the thread for me.

No right or wrong...just curious.

[Mojo-Man]

They are to me, a funk-rock band.
They blend elements of both.
This is why labels are a bad thing.

[Marial]

Originally Posted by Rebop

They were pretty much a punk band with some funky stuff mixed in IMO. More like Punkrock-Funk.
I stopped listening to them after Mother's Milk. That album and everything before it is great. Now... not so much. <snip>

Agreed. From BSSM on they're most just another 'alt-rock' band, in my opinion.

[faulknersj]

Guys...are they MORE funk...or MORE rock in your opinion. We all know that both elements are present...What kind of music do you play?

[bass12]

I voted MOR

They're funk-y but they're not a funk band.

I play some funk, old-school R&B, disco, current top 40, reggae... I've also been a DJ for fifteen years and play a considerable amount of 60s and 70s funk.

[echoSE7EN]

I think they had strong funk elements early on, especially with Slovak and Flea holding court. However, I think once John entered the band, they took a more melodic course. John is my favorite guitarist, and a hell of a musician if you listen to his work outside of the Peppers (everything from acoustic folk/rock, alt/rock, and now a big push into electronic music).

Mother's Milk (with John) really showed the switch to more of a rock with elements of funk style. When John left and Navarro joined (One Hot Minute-era...terrible album IMO) they went very straight forward rock. I don't think Dave Navarro has the song-writing and musicianship that John has.

Once John rejoined the band, I felt as if they geared themselves more towards the melodic rock/funk (note the order there) sound that had been brewing since Bloodsugarsexmagic. It will be interesting to see what they do with Josh on guitar now. FWIW, Josh and John had collaborated prior to John's most recent departure from the group.

Back on point though...I definitely consider the Peppers to be a rock band that pulls from various genres and influences.

I tend to play and write (keys and guitar player also) more towards melody-driven alt./rock. When I first started I was a metalhead, but moved away from that genre 15 years ago. These days guys like JMJ and Owen Biddle are my "heroes".

[Astrobass75]

I too stopped listening to them after Mother's Milk and dismissed them as becoming too commercial. Then many years later, my now-wife introduced me to Californication, and I was really impressed with it. One Hot Minute was a low point (despite being a Dave Navarro fan) but they've definitely had some stuff that's worth listening to post Mother's Milk. My vote would be rock band, with funky elements.

[faulknersj]

Astrobass...kind of the same for me...I was huge into the old school stuff...up thru Mothers Milk which was one of my favorite records when I was in high school back in the early 90's...and while I liked Blood Sugar...for me that album was the start of a decline in my connection with the band. For me, a huge part of the purpose of this thread is for folks to reveal was school of music they mostly come from and therefore the lens thru which they view music....rock, reggae, funk, punk, metal, jazz, etc

Good take man!

[bassteban]

Like so many bands, they began to fade as soon as they got a little taste of success/started to take themselves(far too)seriously. Their best was the debut, & I consider them pop.

[JimK]

Originally Posted by faulknersj

I say No...RHCP are a rock band with some other influences including Funk..... just like Zeppelin is a Rock band......not a blues band.

I'm a bit in your camp...although the Blues were a huge part of Zeppelin (especially early on...just as every other '60s Rock band).

The RHCP have definite Funk/Punk/Rock influences...Gang Of Four, P-Funk, Sly, Hendrix, Stevie, Headhunters, & Looking Glass.

My .02-
A different drummer with a stronger Funk/R&B vibe...they would possibly lean more towards Funk (think someone like William Calhoun wouldn't put a foot up their butt?). Too, I am not really talking about their recent releases.

What I play-
Pretty much played it all since '72...except Jazz (my favourite to listen to). Once played in a band that did covers by the RHCP & Living Colour...our EP was locally reviewed & called "Primus-like".
Man, that back around '95!

[noahw1]

I think that now they're a pop band.
I agree with the above post about if they had a different drummer. When Blood Sugar Magic or whatever it's called came out the funk vibe kinda ended for me (although it was already starting to go with Mother's Milk) Chad Smith's a rock oriented drummer, very heavy handed, solid as rock but they lost that loose vibe. Cool stuff but they certainly lost me at that point.

[faulknersj]

Great point about Chad Smith's rock drumming style! When I was younger and really exclusively into rock music, I really did used to find the Peppers incredibly funky. Now that I have been on a Funk/Soul binge, both listening and playing, for the last 4 years...it is amazing how UNfunky they sound to me now, especially Chad Smith's drums. This isn't to say that their music isn't great...it just doesn't seem as authentically funky to me anymore.

[kenfxj]

They have a punk singer, a rock drummer, a funky bassist and various guitarists.

Resist pigeon holes.

[faulknersj]

See...it is actually pidgeon holes I am kind of interested in here...I wanna know how people from different musical schools pidgeon whole RHCP's sound. We all know that many influences are represented in their music...but given 2 broad general options..are they more rock or more funk to You?

[BigOldHarry]

they are a rock/punk band that used to play funky. Now they're just rock.

[seanm]

I voted rock band. Any RHCP songs I have are in the rock directory, not the funk directory. They have funky elements, but I consider them more rock oriented than funk oriented.

It's interesting that you want to know what we play rather than what we listen to. I play mainly classic rock.