Stupid Questions You Heard There Were No Such Things? Check Out These, Put To Flea And Dave Navarro Of The Red Hot Chili Peppers
The Red Hot Chili Peppers made it clear a long time ago they’re more than just a rock band.
The Peppers’ crazed and dazed antics - on and offstage - have endeared them to a generation of wise-cracking listeners who love them as much for their devil-may-care lifestyle as their trendsetting funk-rock.
Wacky or whacked? This is a band whose members have appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine all nude - except for carefully placed tube socks. Who showed up onstage at Woodstock ‘94 with giant light bulbs on their heads. Whose bass player and drummer were arrested in 1990 for spanking a fan onstage.
An ill-timed broken wrist for drummer Chad Smith in November forced the band to lay low for four months and cancel a Detroit date. But Smith, bassist Flea, guitarist Dave Navarro and vocalist Anthony Kiedis have hopped back onto the concert trail.
Recently, Navarro - former guitarist for Jane’s Addiction - and Flea jumped eagerly at the chance to endure a little off-the-wall probing.
“Good,” Navarro said after hearing the day’s first question. “I love stupid stuff.”
Flea
Strangest thing thrown by a fan onto the stage?
I think it was a jar of fermented, pickled pig’s feet.
College basketball pick (NCAA Final Four)?
UCLA, baby! UCLA will crush ‘em. Ahh, just you wait! (Sorry guys, UCLA’s already out)
Musical guilty pleasure?
There’s a really bad one I secretly like: Hootie & the Blowfish. (Cackles) I’ve got a soft spot for Hootie… Something about that guy’s voice just soothes me. Ehhh - that’s kinda embarrassing.
1970s band you would most have loved to play with?
The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Either that or one of Miles Davis’ electric bands.
Preference - crunchy or smooth peanut butter?
Actually, I prefer almond butter.
Most annoying fellow Chili Pepper?
Oh, Jack Sherman, without a doubt. Easily the most annoying Chili Pepper, especially after he sued us. (Sherman, the band’s guitarist from 1983 to 1985, filed suit in 1993, claiming breach of contract.)
Preference - shot put or discus?
That’s a ridiculous question. I don’t like the shot put or discus. Sports are fine - I just don’t like that sport.
Dave Navarro
Most embarrassing onstage moment?
It’s so hard to choose. It would probably be one of the shows with Jane’s Addiction where I had to have a trash can next to my amplifier so I could throw up in it during my performance.
1970s band you would most have loved to play with?
Was ABBA in the ‘70s?
Yeah, ABBA was in the ‘70s.
They were? Then probably ABBA. That blond chick was rad.
Musical guilty pleasure?
I’m not really ashamed of anything that’s in my collection. But it would either have to be - for the sake of coming up with an answer - the Cranberries or the Carpenters.
Preference - crunchy or smooth peanut butter?
Crunchy. Except, you know what the real truth is? I don’t eat peanut butter, because of its fat content.
Weirdest thing you’ve ever put your tongue on?
Well, I was over at my family’s house one Christmas, and I was watching television, and something was on the side table by the couch. I was just holding it, and kinda got lost, and just started playing with it, and, like, I stuck it in my mouth, and was watching TV, and noticed there was this really bitter, waxy taste. I held it out to look at it, to see what it was. And it was like time stopped - a dramatic heart-zoom, very theatrical. It was my uncle’s hearing aid.
College basketball pick (NCAA Final Four)?
Would the Bulls be a good answer?
Strangest thing thrown onto the stage?
An actual living eel in a bag full of water. That was a drag. There was a Jane’s Addiction video (“Soul Kiss”) where I take a fake eel out of a tank and bash it against a table, and I guess somebody thought it would be funny. But it was really depressing and sad.