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John Frusciante on Bass

#21
(Flame suit on....)
If he wasn't in RHCP and that song was floating out there, it wouldn't get any attention.

As for him refusing to play anything prior to BSSM......Hmmm he didn't play and on Freaky or Uplift so......
Personally, I think the guy is a hack guitarist. At best.

But I grew up on Freaky and Uplift Mofo. To me, that's RHCP....with the exception of a few gems, everything else is pop fodder.

Maybe he can write a song or two. Lionel Ritchey wrote some of the biggest pop ballads on piano, and he can hardly play it. So I'm NOT saying you have to be good to write songs. Hell Curt Cobain flat out sucked as a guitar player, but moved a whole generation.

His story though, way cool and mad respect to him for cleaning himself up and inspiring others through his actions.
 
#22
John is definitely my favorite musician. A lot of his talent goes unnoticed because of its subtlety. I love most of his solo records. His dedication to music, if you read any of his interviews, is unmatched in music today.
 
#24
I think even though the later chilis stuff is pretty bland, the intention that Frusciante has with it is pretty admirable, with his interest in backing vocals from doo wop etc. He always seems to have concepts that are fresh to him, and it's more imaginative than the contributions of the other three members, with flea seeming completely out of place and trying to push some extra notes into songs that are devoid of any grooves, and Kiedis singing 'my little pony' adverts, and the drummer just kind of bashing away regardless.

It's good that Flea has taken his own path somewhere more interesting by doing the jazz course and no doubt he has loads of cool projects on the go outside the chilis. He was playing at meltdown recently with Patti Smith. But it seems like they've been continuing the legacy of the chili peppers long long after it was relevant to their own lives - sort of out of duty or something.
 
#26
CapnSev said:
Yeah, everybody grows up at some point, but Frusciante says himself that he flat out refuses to play pre-BSSM songs, because he "Hates who he was". The only exeption is "Me and My Friends".
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He's left the band since this post, but yeah, I thought that attitude stunk. He only played on one album prior to BSSM, so he was really just ignoring the Hillel material. I saw them in 2000, and they were a completely different band from the dynamic, chaotic beast I saw twice in the mid-80s. They only played one pre-BSSM song, Blackeyed Blonde, and I could barely hear it because all the kids around me were yapping their heads off while waiting for Under the Bridge.
 
#27
KPAX said:
I wouldn't blame Frusciante.
After Uplift Mofo and Mothers Milk I think they realized they had to branch out, which they definately did on BSSM. One Hot Minute was an interesting (and heavier) departure but when Frusciante rejoined I think they continued in the direction they had been going with Frusciante.
I think they would be a LOT less interesting if they had continued in the same direction they were going pre-Frusciante. I mean, for their old style, were they going to top Mothers Milk? I don't think so.
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I love their early stuff, but I also wonder if that sound and style of their music weren't products of the time, and would it still be viewed in the same light if they were writing and recording like that now? I tend to think of them almost as 2 bands - the original RHCP that culminated with BSSM, and the new RHCP that began with One Hot Minute.

Of course, this is coming from someone who didn't really start getting into them until BSSM had already been out for a few years.
 
#29
Hi guys! I'm new here, and I'm really impressed too every time I listen to 'Dark/Light'..John's amazing, ***in' awsome.
I wonder if someone of you bassist here have the music sheet, or just tabs, of this wonderful piece of music! I'm still not that good in finding notes just hearing to them.. Hope you guys can help :bassist:
 
#31
Anything John plays bass on is played on a Fender bass VI

Massive fan of his solo work and always really respected that at points of his RHCP time he said he went out of his way to not play solos.

I'm a fan of his playing style on his solo albums more than RHCP, he really doesn't get enough credit for his vocals or the organ sounds flirting through RHCP material which the instrumentation on his solo albums help to correct.
 

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