PAMore than a decade after leaving, Red Hot Chili Peppers’ guitarist John Frusciante is rejoining the band.
Frusciante confirmed his departure from the band back in 2009, having already left the year prior, citing different musical interests.
He was soon replaced by Josh Klinghoffer, who worked with them on 2011’s I’m With You and 2016’s The Getaway. However, the band announced on social media last night that Klinghoffer was leaving – and Frusciante is back in the band.
In a statement last night, December 15, on Instagram, the band wrote: ‘The Red Hot Chili Peppers announce that we are parting ways with our guitarist of the past 10 years, Josh Klinghoffer.’
The statement continued:
Josh is a beautiful musician who we respect and love. We are deeply grateful for our time with him, and the countless gifts he shared with us.
We also announce, with great excitement and full hearts, that John Frusciante is rejoining our group.
PAFrusciante first joined the Red Hot Chili Peppers back in in 1988 and contributed to a number of albums, including Mother’s Milk in 1989 and Blood Sugar Sex Magik in 1991. After another short departure from the band, he returned in 1998.
From there, he was alongside the band for some of their greatest, iconic hits, from Californication and Under the Bridge to By the Way and Tell Me Baby.
If we’re talking Red Hot Chili Peppers, you can’t not listen to this:
Commenting on leaving the band back in 2009, the guitarist wrote on his blog:
When I quit the band, over a year ago, we were on an indefinite hiatus. There was no drama or anger involved, and the other guys were very understanding. They are supportive of my doing whatever makes me happy and that goes both ways. To put it simply, my musical interests have led me in a different direction.
While he said he ‘really loves the band and what we did’, he decided to go off and make some music on its own.
PAFrusciante added:
Over the last 12 years, I have changed, as a person and artist, to such a degree that to do further work along the lines I did with the band would be to go against my own nature.
There was no choice involved in this decision. I simply have to be what I am, and have to do what I must do.
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After graduating from Glasgow Caledonian University with an NCTJ and BCTJ-accredited Multimedia Journalism degree, Cameron ventured into the world of print journalism at The National, while also working as a freelance film journalist on the side, becoming an accredited Rotten Tomatoes critic in the process. He’s now left his Scottish homelands and took up residence at UNILAD as a journalist.