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"I feel like when a song is written, the whole thing has already existed prior to the first idea in the song coming into this dimension," he began in one of several galactic discourses. "The shapes and the colors and a snapshot existed of it in a dimension that had no time. To me, giving it that form and then presenting it to people makes the place that they're from grow and become bigger."
Frusciante said he can't begin to understand how he can write such magical songs, but he's sure he's receiving help from creative minds that passed away long ago.
"Spirits get involved before it comes into existence in our eyes," he said. "They used this dimension that has time in order to give the feelings of where they're from movement and space and make them last forever and make them move and grow and change and give them a form that people here can hear."
At times like these, Kiedis and Flea yearned to intervene. They'd start by patiently letting Frusciante speak his mind. Then Flea's eyes would begin to roll and he'd clasp his hands tightly while the band's singer pursed his lips and both looked for an opening. Usually, the best route to distraction was through humor, which is a Chili Peppers specialty.
At one point, the singer reached out, plucked a yellow pump off the foot of an MTV producer who was in the room, and held it to his ear like a telephone.
"Hello? Hello? It's for you," he said, then handed the shoe back to the woman, temporarily derailing Frusciante's rant.
Other moments were equally silly. When asked what their favorite tracks were, Kiedis said, "I like the old Hot Wheels tracks — the orange ones," and Flea countered with, "I like anything on Wax Trax Records."
When talking about security concerns in today's volatile political climate, the guys had their own unique take on the situation.
"Two guitar picks have gone missing and we haven't able to locate them," Kiedis said. "It's disconcerting, to be frank."
"We're especially concerned about Spain, where there's a big market for picks," Flea interjected.
"They were taped to the mic stand, but there are no witnesses. But it's not gonna stop us from touring or anything," Kiedis said.
Humor has always been a safety net for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and as they approach their 20th year in the business, they're at least as in touch with irony, sarcasm and stupidity as they were when they donned giant lightbulb costumes to take the stage at Woodstock '94. The video for "By the Way," directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, is an amusing spoof of the Mexican film "Amores Perros." The clip depicts Kiedis being kidnapped by a maniac cab driver, and when the singer tries to page his bandmates for help, at first they think he's joking. When they realize he's really in trouble, they hop in their jeep and zip to the rescue.
Maybe not taking themselves too seriously despite all the personal trauma, lineup shifts and changing musical trends has been another major factor in the band's continued longevity.
"It could be," agreed Kiedis, who then opened his eyes so wide he resembled a cartoon character. "Just in case it is, let's leave it at that. Whatever's working for us, we don't want to mess with the secret sauce."
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Photo: MCA
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