Intro
A musical ensemble can also be referred to as a musical group. It is a group of musicians who either play instruments or are vocalists join together and play songs together. It makes no difference what genre of music the ensemble is playing it will still be a musical ensemble. In this unit I have chosen to use the red hot chilli peppers to help me to show what it takes to make a successful musical ensemble. In the blog below i have gone into great detail on a lot of the factors that have made then Red Hot Chilli Peppers such a brilliant group of musicians and such a good musical ensemble who have had a lot of success in the music industry.
What Makes a Good Musical Ensemble?
There are a lot of elements that contribute to making a good musical ensemble. I have chosen to analyze the world famous Red Hot Chilli Peppers to see what it is that makes them a successful musical ensemble.
Brief History of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers
The Red Hot Chilli Peppers formed in Los Angelis in 1983. The band has four main members; Anthony Kieldis on vocals, Flea on bass guitar, Chad Smith on drums and percussion and John Frusciante on guitar. Even though these are the four mane members there has been about 8 other members who have had to leave the band or been thrown out for whatever reasons. The core of The Red Hot Chilli Peppers is the relationship that has remained strong throughout all the years between Flea and Anthony Kieldis. The style of music that the Red hot Chilli peppers play is a mixture of all sorts of different genres. There music is clearly largely influence by rock music. Also some funk and Psychedelic rock influences can be heard. The Red Hot Chilli peppers are one of the most successful rock bands the world has seen. They have won seven Grammy awards and sold over 80 million records worldwide.
Influences of the RHCP
The video above is an interview with Antony Kieldis and Flea. The interview was filmed in 1986. In the interview they are asked what bands influenced them when they formed the red hot chilli peppers. The bands they listed are; Louie Loco and the Love Boats, Asus Cream Day And The Mighty Christ Fighters, Lost Faces, Harry Skidmore and The Armpit Hairs. These are mostly Funk bands from America.
The Band Members
Antony Kieldis
Antony Kieldis was born on November the 1st in 1962. He is 52 years old this year. Antony Kieldis spent some of his childhood growing up with his mother in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He moved to Hollywood to live with his father shortly before his 12 birthday. He attended Fairfax High School which is where he met Flea and other members that formed the foundations of the band but were not in it for the long run. When the band was still in the earliest of stages they played a gig under the name of ‘Tony Flow and the Miraculously Majestic Masters of Mayhem’ . To this day Anthony has recorded and been heavily involved in the righting process in 10 Red Hot Chilli Peppers studio albums that have been produced by various different produces and released on a few different record labels Keildis lyrical style has evolved throughout his career. I believe it has improved but that is a matter of opinion. The earlier lyrics reflected topics like sex, drugs and his life in Los Angeles whereas his more recent lyrics reflect topics of Love, Reflections of his life, addiction and Loss. As well as this, his older singing technique was more like rapping whereas his more recent lyrical ideas have more melodic techniques to them. Antony has been struggling with drug addiction for most of his life, but he has abstained from drug use sine 2000.
Antony Kieldis was born on November the 1st in 1962. He is 52 years old this year. Antony Kieldis spent some of his childhood growing up with his mother in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He moved to Hollywood to live with his father shortly before his 12 birthday. He attended Fairfax High School which is where he met Flea and other members that formed the foundations of the band but were not in it for the long run. When the band was still in the earliest of stages they played a gig under the name of ‘Tony Flow and the Miraculously Majestic Masters of Mayhem’ . To this day Anthony has recorded and been heavily involved in the righting process in 10 Red Hot Chilli Peppers studio albums that have been produced by various different produces and released on a few different record labels Keildis lyrical style has evolved throughout his career. I believe it has improved but that is a matter of opinion. The earlier lyrics reflected topics like sex, drugs and his life in Los Angeles whereas his more recent lyrics reflect topics of Love, Reflections of his life, addiction and Loss. As well as this, his older singing technique was more like rapping whereas his more recent lyrical ideas have more melodic techniques to them. Antony has been struggling with drug addiction for most of his life, but he has abstained from drug use sine 2000.
Flea
Peter Michael Peter Balzary is Flea’s real name. In his early years, he lived in Melbourne, Australia. Much like Antony he moved to Los Angles, California to attend Fairfax High School. Flea’s step father often had musicians over and held jam sessions. Although, this inspired him musically, Flea’s step father was an alcoholic and often violent including incidents in which he had shoot outs with the police. This emotionally effected Flea, causing him to say this quote "I grew up being terrified of my parents, particularly my father figures. It caused [me] a lot of trouble later in life." This made him experiment with drugs such as cannabis, this caused him to become a daily user from the age of 13.Throughout his career he has taken on the stage name: Flea. He was born on October the 16th on 1962. Flea is most famously known as being the bass player from the world famous Red Hot Chilli Peppers, he is also an actor. Flea has been in four bands alongside the RHCP. He was the co-founder of a band called ‘Silverlake’, another named ‘What is this?’ as well as a further band called ‘Fear’ and in addiction to this he performed with a band named ‘Jane’s Addiction’. More recently he has appeared as a member of the rock super group ‘Atoms for Peace’. Flea has been regarded of one of the best bass players of his era; he plays with a combination of different genres where you can clearly see the influences from ‘Punk Rock’, ‘Slap bass’ and ‘Funk’.
Peter Michael Peter Balzary is Flea’s real name. In his early years, he lived in Melbourne, Australia. Much like Antony he moved to Los Angles, California to attend Fairfax High School. Flea’s step father often had musicians over and held jam sessions. Although, this inspired him musically, Flea’s step father was an alcoholic and often violent including incidents in which he had shoot outs with the police. This emotionally effected Flea, causing him to say this quote "I grew up being terrified of my parents, particularly my father figures. It caused [me] a lot of trouble later in life." This made him experiment with drugs such as cannabis, this caused him to become a daily user from the age of 13.Throughout his career he has taken on the stage name: Flea. He was born on October the 16th on 1962. Flea is most famously known as being the bass player from the world famous Red Hot Chilli Peppers, he is also an actor. Flea has been in four bands alongside the RHCP. He was the co-founder of a band called ‘Silverlake’, another named ‘What is this?’ as well as a further band called ‘Fear’ and in addiction to this he performed with a band named ‘Jane’s Addiction’. More recently he has appeared as a member of the rock super group ‘Atoms for Peace’. Flea has been regarded of one of the best bass players of his era; he plays with a combination of different genres where you can clearly see the influences from ‘Punk Rock’, ‘Slap bass’ and ‘Funk’.
Chad Smith
Chadwick Gaylord is Chad Smiths real name. Chad was born on October the 25th. Chad spent most of his childhood in Michigan. Anthony Kiedis admired Smith and found his persistence pretty impressive. Chad joined the Chilli Peppers in December 1988 and in a few months was recording ‘Mothers Milk’. Chad plays percussion in the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. He joined the RHCP in 1988. Chad is also the drummer of a hard rock band that has Joe Satriani on guitar called Chickenfoot. Chad Smith has recorded with a huge variety of artist’s as well as the RHCP. Some of these artists are; Deep Purple, Kid Rock, Jake Bugg, Johnny Cash and The Dixie Chicks. Chad Smith has a very unique style when playing percussion; you can tell there has been a change in his drumming style since he started the Chilli Peppers. This is clear in the first four or five it is clear that he is heavily influenced by ‘Funk’. Moving onto the more modern albums you can tell that he is more influenced by the rock styles of the other members of the Chilli Peppers.
Chadwick Gaylord is Chad Smiths real name. Chad was born on October the 25th. Chad spent most of his childhood in Michigan. Anthony Kiedis admired Smith and found his persistence pretty impressive. Chad joined the Chilli Peppers in December 1988 and in a few months was recording ‘Mothers Milk’. Chad plays percussion in the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. He joined the RHCP in 1988. Chad is also the drummer of a hard rock band that has Joe Satriani on guitar called Chickenfoot. Chad Smith has recorded with a huge variety of artist’s as well as the RHCP. Some of these artists are; Deep Purple, Kid Rock, Jake Bugg, Johnny Cash and The Dixie Chicks. Chad Smith has a very unique style when playing percussion; you can tell there has been a change in his drumming style since he started the Chilli Peppers. This is clear in the first four or five it is clear that he is heavily influenced by ‘Funk’. Moving onto the more modern albums you can tell that he is more influenced by the rock styles of the other members of the Chilli Peppers.
Jhon Frusciante
John Anthony Frusciante was born on March 5th 1970. He is an American guitarist for the RHCP as well as being a singer songwriter and a producer. He recorded 5 studio albums with the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. He was a member from 1998 until 1992 and again from 1998 until 2009. He has recorded with various different artists alongside his very successful career with the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. As well as all of this he has recorded some very successful solo albums. As a solo artist he has releases 11 solo albums. John joined the Red Hot Chilli Peppers at the age of 18. The first RHCP album that John was on was ‘Mothers Milk’. John quit the band in 1992 because he had become overwhelmed by the bands massive popularity. John entered a long stage of depression and drug abuse, during this time he focused on his solo work. In 1997 after a good 5 years of his heroin addiction, he quit the drug cold turkey. In 1998 he completed a drug rehabilitation program and rejoined the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. He went on to continue touring and recording with the them until 2009.
John Anthony Frusciante was born on March 5th 1970. He is an American guitarist for the RHCP as well as being a singer songwriter and a producer. He recorded 5 studio albums with the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. He was a member from 1998 until 1992 and again from 1998 until 2009. He has recorded with various different artists alongside his very successful career with the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. As well as all of this he has recorded some very successful solo albums. As a solo artist he has releases 11 solo albums. John joined the Red Hot Chilli Peppers at the age of 18. The first RHCP album that John was on was ‘Mothers Milk’. John quit the band in 1992 because he had become overwhelmed by the bands massive popularity. John entered a long stage of depression and drug abuse, during this time he focused on his solo work. In 1997 after a good 5 years of his heroin addiction, he quit the drug cold turkey. In 1998 he completed a drug rehabilitation program and rejoined the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. He went on to continue touring and recording with the them until 2009.
Hillel Solvac
Hillel Solvac was born on the 13th of April in 1962. He was the original guitarist in the red hot chilli peppers and one of the four founding members. In the early stages of the red hot chilli peppers he did quit the band to play with his own band called ’What is this’. The band searched far and wide for another guitarist who could play Hillel’s amazing soulful funky guitar groves. They had to settle for a man called Jack Sherman who just wasn’t the same. When things didn’t quite goo to plan for Hillel in this band ‘what is this’ he rejoined the RHCP and went on to record Two albums with them. Hi is consider do have had a major influence on the red hot chilli peppers early sound. Much like Anthony Keldis and Flea, Hillel attended Fairfax High school and he is talked of very fondly in Anthony Kiedis autobiography and referred to as one of Anthony’s best friends. Hillel much like the other member of the RHCP struggled with drug abuse problems throughout his life. Hillel died of a heroin overdose at the age of 26. This was a horrible thing for the band to deal with and caused the drummer at the time to quit. Anthony went into a stage of depression in which the only way to solve his problems was more drugs. Hillels tragic young death was eventually the wakeup call that Anthony so badly needed. He made a promise to Hillels grave stone that he would never put another needle in his arm and kept that promise and went to a drug rehab. After Hillel’s tragic death the RHCP had to recruit two new members. They auditions a lot of people but eventually found the missing puzzle pieces in the form of Chad Smith and John Fruchiante
Hillel Solvac was born on the 13th of April in 1962. He was the original guitarist in the red hot chilli peppers and one of the four founding members. In the early stages of the red hot chilli peppers he did quit the band to play with his own band called ’What is this’. The band searched far and wide for another guitarist who could play Hillel’s amazing soulful funky guitar groves. They had to settle for a man called Jack Sherman who just wasn’t the same. When things didn’t quite goo to plan for Hillel in this band ‘what is this’ he rejoined the RHCP and went on to record Two albums with them. Hi is consider do have had a major influence on the red hot chilli peppers early sound. Much like Anthony Keldis and Flea, Hillel attended Fairfax High school and he is talked of very fondly in Anthony Kiedis autobiography and referred to as one of Anthony’s best friends. Hillel much like the other member of the RHCP struggled with drug abuse problems throughout his life. Hillel died of a heroin overdose at the age of 26. This was a horrible thing for the band to deal with and caused the drummer at the time to quit. Anthony went into a stage of depression in which the only way to solve his problems was more drugs. Hillels tragic young death was eventually the wakeup call that Anthony so badly needed. He made a promise to Hillels grave stone that he would never put another needle in his arm and kept that promise and went to a drug rehab. After Hillel’s tragic death the RHCP had to recruit two new members. They auditions a lot of people but eventually found the missing puzzle pieces in the form of Chad Smith and John Fruchiante
All of the Musicians in the RHCP are Very Technically advanced and very in tune with one another. This is one of the Things that make the RHCP Such a Great Musical Ensemble.
So What Makes the RHCP such a Good Musical Ensemble?
NO 1. The chemistry and the relationships between the members
NO 2. Communication within the RHCP between them members helped then to be a great musical ensemble
NO 3. The RHCP added members and fired members to make the band better
NO 4. The equality of the members in the band
NO 5. The amount of gigs they have played
NO6. The way that they rehearse is a big factor to making them a good musical ensemble
NO7. The way that they perform live makes them a good musical ensemble
NO8. There image as a band makes has helped to make them a sucsesfull musical ensemble
NO 2. Communication within the RHCP between them members helped then to be a great musical ensemble
NO 3. The RHCP added members and fired members to make the band better
NO 4. The equality of the members in the band
NO 5. The amount of gigs they have played
NO6. The way that they rehearse is a big factor to making them a good musical ensemble
NO7. The way that they perform live makes them a good musical ensemble
NO8. There image as a band makes has helped to make them a sucsesfull musical ensemble
NO 1. One of the things that makes the RHCP a Amazing Ensemble is the Chemistry Between the Members
There is so much chemistry between the members in the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. There is not only musical chemistry when they play together and when they right songs together, but the chemistry between Flea on bass and Antony on vocals. They have known each other since they were in year 10 and they have been playing music together for most of their lives. The chemistry between the two of them is special because they have both come from bad backgrounds and they grew up together like brothers. They shared a lot of experiences during there teens that Anthony has mentioned in his book so they are clearly important to him. They have been there for each other when the other one needs them like 2 of the times Antony went to drug rehab when Flea was the one there urging him to go and get better. And as well as the chemistry between Antony and Flea there is a great chemistry that has build over the years of them being with each other so much and dedicating their lives to making music together. When they go on toad together and spend so much time together it takes the relationships between the members to a whole new level and that is where some of this chemistry that makes the Red Hot Chilli Peppers such a good musical ensemble comes from. The video below is a video when Flea and Antony talk about their first ever meeting when they were both attending FairFax High School.
As well as the chemistry between the members that comes from knowing each other for so long and spending so much time with each of the members there is also a amazing live chemistry that the Red Hot Chilli Peppers have. There is this amazing live energy that they give off when they play live because of this musical chemistry that comes in great musical ensembles. When they play live they have the ability to make the audiences get lost in the music and the atmosphere that they create. I have a video below that demonstrates the amazing musical chemistry that there is between Flea on the bass guitar and Chad smith on the drums. In the video they are just jamming and you can see how in tune with each other they are even though they are just jamming. This shows the amazing musical chemistry that I am talking about and that helps to make a great musical ensemble.
- NO 2. Communication within the Band Members of the RHCP's is a reason that they are a Great Musical Ensemble
One of the things that have helped to make the Red Hot Chilli Peppers such an amassing ensemble is the communication between the members in the band. They communicate with each other in a lot of ways. They communicate ain the same way that friends would communicate with each other and the also communicate with music as musicians on stage and in rehearsals. The reason that I know that communication is one of the important things that helped the Red Hot Chilli Peppers become the amazing ensemble that they are today is that I have red Anthony Keildi’s book and in that book he goes in to very detailed descriptions of the highs and the lows that the Red Hot Chilli Peppers have experienced on
their way to the top. On example of one of the lows in the bands past witch was solved with communication within the band and talking between the members to establish the problem and to then go about doing what they can to fix it was when Antony had gone on one of his long drug binges. On these long drug binges he would often be gone for days or weeks shooting coke and heroin and getting himself in an awful drug addict state where all he was getting from life was the highs form the drugs he has ingesting. It’s was clear that the Red Hot Chilli Peppers would not be able to continue if Antony was too busy taking drugs that to make music. The rest of the bands were talking about the problem and they decided to communicate their feelings with Anthony so that they could fix the problem. They staged and intervention and they talked to antonym and told him that they were worried about him and that they think he should go back on a drug rehabilitation program. Antony did agree with then eventually even though he was reluctant at first.
There have also been times where the lack of communication within the band has caused problems. There was a stage when the Red Hot Chilli Peppers had just been on a huge tour of America and were getting ready to do their first ever tour of Australia when there was a lot of tension between the members. John and Anthony had been arguing a lot and shouting at each other witch does not come as such a huge surprise when you know that they were living on the road with each other, cooped up in the tar bus all day when they were driving and then playing in the
evenings. John Frushente who was the guitarist clashed a lot with Anthony because Antony was a reformed drug user and he found it very had to be around people who were using drugs, John had a huge Cannabis addiction and a heroin habit, and he was also pissed most of the time on red wine. This just created more tension between the band members and the lack of communication did not help. At that time John had begun to feel like he no longer fitted in the red hot chilli peppers and that he wanted to go off and do his own thing and play as a solo artist. He said that he no longer wanted to play to play in massive venues and to crowds that were going crazy to see them and singing along with every word to every song. He wanted to play to more intimate crowds in smaller venues. When they were touring America, instead of John talking to the other members of the band and trying to fix the problem and get the relationships within the band back on track, John would lock himself in his room on the buswith his girlfriend and not talk to any of the outer members. You could tell that there was something wrong with the relationships within the band by the way that they were playing live. John was a lot less in involved and would just stand on one part of the stage and didn’t seem to care much about what he was playing and how he looked. He would also use drugs before the shows witch is not
what they wanted him to be ding at the time.
their way to the top. On example of one of the lows in the bands past witch was solved with communication within the band and talking between the members to establish the problem and to then go about doing what they can to fix it was when Antony had gone on one of his long drug binges. On these long drug binges he would often be gone for days or weeks shooting coke and heroin and getting himself in an awful drug addict state where all he was getting from life was the highs form the drugs he has ingesting. It’s was clear that the Red Hot Chilli Peppers would not be able to continue if Antony was too busy taking drugs that to make music. The rest of the bands were talking about the problem and they decided to communicate their feelings with Anthony so that they could fix the problem. They staged and intervention and they talked to antonym and told him that they were worried about him and that they think he should go back on a drug rehabilitation program. Antony did agree with then eventually even though he was reluctant at first.
There have also been times where the lack of communication within the band has caused problems. There was a stage when the Red Hot Chilli Peppers had just been on a huge tour of America and were getting ready to do their first ever tour of Australia when there was a lot of tension between the members. John and Anthony had been arguing a lot and shouting at each other witch does not come as such a huge surprise when you know that they were living on the road with each other, cooped up in the tar bus all day when they were driving and then playing in the
evenings. John Frushente who was the guitarist clashed a lot with Anthony because Antony was a reformed drug user and he found it very had to be around people who were using drugs, John had a huge Cannabis addiction and a heroin habit, and he was also pissed most of the time on red wine. This just created more tension between the band members and the lack of communication did not help. At that time John had begun to feel like he no longer fitted in the red hot chilli peppers and that he wanted to go off and do his own thing and play as a solo artist. He said that he no longer wanted to play to play in massive venues and to crowds that were going crazy to see them and singing along with every word to every song. He wanted to play to more intimate crowds in smaller venues. When they were touring America, instead of John talking to the other members of the band and trying to fix the problem and get the relationships within the band back on track, John would lock himself in his room on the buswith his girlfriend and not talk to any of the outer members. You could tell that there was something wrong with the relationships within the band by the way that they were playing live. John was a lot less in involved and would just stand on one part of the stage and didn’t seem to care much about what he was playing and how he looked. He would also use drugs before the shows witch is not
what they wanted him to be ding at the time.
NO 3. The RHCP added members and fired members to make the band better
The Red Hot Chilli Peppers have been around for a long time and since the beginning of their career they have had a lot of members getting kicked out of the band and a lot of people being brought into the band. They have had 8 different guitarists throughout the years as they have been progressing and changing as a musical ensemble. These guitarists are: Hillel Solvac, Jack Sherman, Dave Navarro, Josh Klinghoffer, Aric Marshall, Jesse Tobias, DeWayne McNight and of cores John Fruscianta. Having all of these different guitarists in there band at some stage throughout their career has definitely helped them to become a great musical ensemble. This is because each guitarist has a different style of playing. Even though they might be playing mostly the same songs they will not sound the same when they are being played by a different guitarist. For example when Hillel Solvac quit the band a few years prior to his death, before he rejoined the band and died of a drug overdose at the age of twenty six, Anthony describes in his book how hard it was to find a guitarist who could match the way that Solvac used to play those funk riffs was almost impossible. They held auditions and lots and lots of them but they did not find what they wanted. In the end they brought in jack Sherman to replace Hillel, even though he had a totally different playing style to Hillel. They eventually fired Jack and brought in John.
Throughout the years they have not only changed the guitarist 8 times. They have also changed the drummer on numerous accessions looking for the perfect drummer with the perfect style to suit their band. They did eventually find the perfect drummer and his mane is Chad Smith. I have read about Chad Smits drum audition in Anthony Kields autobiography. At Chad Smits drum audition he came in and was very confident. Flea laid down a funky bass line and Chad instantly started playing an amazing powerful funky beat that fitted perfectly with the bass line. The whole band had a jam and throughout the whole thing Chad was showing off what he could do on the drums and the band loved it. They got him in the band instantly without thinking twice. Before Chad Smith was discovered and put in the band there were another 3 drummers. These drummers are: Jack Irons (the original drummer), Cliff Martinez and D. H. Peligro. These drummers will all have brought their own individual style of drumming to the Red Hot Chilli Peppers during their time in the band and in the long run that will have helped to make the Red Hot Chilli Peppers such an amazing ensemble.
Even though the Red Hot chilli Peppers have gone through 8 guitarists and 4 drummers over the years, the foundations of the band have stayed the same. These foundations come in the form of childhood friends Anthony Keildis and Flea. The relationship between these two particular members is what has kept the band alive throughout the years. Even though there has been lows for the both of them like when Flea was forced to Kick Anthony out of the band because drugs were consuming his life and he was ruining himself and the people around him. Thankfully Anthony came to his senses and got clean and rejoined the band. Also when Flea lost hope in the band and was going to quit. He came to his senses too thankfully. It is the fact that all of the members have been through the highs and the lows together and felt the same pains and the same great feelings that is one of the reasons that the red hot chilli peppers have such an amazing chemistry between the members and one of the reasons that the red hot chilli peppers are such an amazing ensemble.
Throughout the years they have not only changed the guitarist 8 times. They have also changed the drummer on numerous accessions looking for the perfect drummer with the perfect style to suit their band. They did eventually find the perfect drummer and his mane is Chad Smith. I have read about Chad Smits drum audition in Anthony Kields autobiography. At Chad Smits drum audition he came in and was very confident. Flea laid down a funky bass line and Chad instantly started playing an amazing powerful funky beat that fitted perfectly with the bass line. The whole band had a jam and throughout the whole thing Chad was showing off what he could do on the drums and the band loved it. They got him in the band instantly without thinking twice. Before Chad Smith was discovered and put in the band there were another 3 drummers. These drummers are: Jack Irons (the original drummer), Cliff Martinez and D. H. Peligro. These drummers will all have brought their own individual style of drumming to the Red Hot Chilli Peppers during their time in the band and in the long run that will have helped to make the Red Hot Chilli Peppers such an amazing ensemble.
Even though the Red Hot chilli Peppers have gone through 8 guitarists and 4 drummers over the years, the foundations of the band have stayed the same. These foundations come in the form of childhood friends Anthony Keildis and Flea. The relationship between these two particular members is what has kept the band alive throughout the years. Even though there has been lows for the both of them like when Flea was forced to Kick Anthony out of the band because drugs were consuming his life and he was ruining himself and the people around him. Thankfully Anthony came to his senses and got clean and rejoined the band. Also when Flea lost hope in the band and was going to quit. He came to his senses too thankfully. It is the fact that all of the members have been through the highs and the lows together and felt the same pains and the same great feelings that is one of the reasons that the red hot chilli peppers have such an amazing chemistry between the members and one of the reasons that the red hot chilli peppers are such an amazing ensemble.
In the video above the Red Hot Chilli Peppers are getting inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame. When you watch the video you see Anthony talking very kindly about the original guitarist ‘Hillel Slovac’ would have thought about them getting inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame. Flea then goes on to talk about two of their past drummers(jack Irons and Cliff Martinez) who deserve credit for what they achieved with the red hot chilli peppers because they recorded a few albums with they and played a lot of live shows.
NO 4. The Band Members all have equal importance and Status within the band
One of the things that I believe has contributed hugely to making the Red Hot Chilli Peppers become such a brilliant musical ensemble is that they are equal within the band. There are lots of examples of bands where the members are not equal and it sometimes can bring the band to a
bad end. An example of that is the Beatles. In the Beatles there were the two main members and the two members who were leading the band to success and who were in charge. They were also righting the songs and making a lot of the big decisions. The two members who were in charge were John Lenin and Paul McCartney whilst George Harrison and Ringo Starr were just going along with it. A similar thing happened with Pink Floyd between Dave Gilmore and Roger Walters and hat caused the band to separate and a lot of the members from Pink Floyd now the
each other.
I the Red Hot Chilli Peppers there is a mutual respect for each of the members who are in the band and if someone has ideas or wants do something in a certain way they will listen to what the ban member has to say and they will take it into count. The band all communicate well with each other and them made all of their big decisions as a band together. Whether that was what producer they wanted to produce there record or what record companythey wanted to sign or there managers what shows they do and don’t play and lots of other things like that that they will have come across during the career as the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. One of the reasons that h members are so equal is that they are all coming from the same place and that goes especially for Anthony and for Flea. Antony and Flea have grown up together and they share a
lot of fond childhood memories together. In Anthony’s book he mentions a lot of stories about him and Flea going out as kinds and skateboarding and playing lots of games like jumping of high buildings s into swimming pools. There have been times when things have gone wrong. For example Anthony was nearly disabled for life from one of the jumps the used to do of o high buildings when they were seeking thrills and rushes. He was in hospital for a long time and Flea was there or them. It’s things like this witch have made here relationship so strong
over the years.
bad end. An example of that is the Beatles. In the Beatles there were the two main members and the two members who were leading the band to success and who were in charge. They were also righting the songs and making a lot of the big decisions. The two members who were in charge were John Lenin and Paul McCartney whilst George Harrison and Ringo Starr were just going along with it. A similar thing happened with Pink Floyd between Dave Gilmore and Roger Walters and hat caused the band to separate and a lot of the members from Pink Floyd now the
each other.
I the Red Hot Chilli Peppers there is a mutual respect for each of the members who are in the band and if someone has ideas or wants do something in a certain way they will listen to what the ban member has to say and they will take it into count. The band all communicate well with each other and them made all of their big decisions as a band together. Whether that was what producer they wanted to produce there record or what record companythey wanted to sign or there managers what shows they do and don’t play and lots of other things like that that they will have come across during the career as the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. One of the reasons that h members are so equal is that they are all coming from the same place and that goes especially for Anthony and for Flea. Antony and Flea have grown up together and they share a
lot of fond childhood memories together. In Anthony’s book he mentions a lot of stories about him and Flea going out as kinds and skateboarding and playing lots of games like jumping of high buildings s into swimming pools. There have been times when things have gone wrong. For example Anthony was nearly disabled for life from one of the jumps the used to do of o high buildings when they were seeking thrills and rushes. He was in hospital for a long time and Flea was there or them. It’s things like this witch have made here relationship so strong
over the years.
NO 5. The amount of gigs they have played
The Red Hot Chilli Peppers have played a lot of gigs throughoutthe years and I think that this is one of the things that contribute hugely to them being such a brilliant musical ensemble. They started to play gigs in and around Grand Rapids in the USA. In Anthony’s Keildis auto biography he talks a lot about their first ever gig when they were starting up for one of Fleas friend’s bands. They played the gig using the name Ton Flow and the Miraculous Masters of Mayhem. They played one song that they wrote together and it was a very hard Funk Rock/Rap song that they wrote or he show. When the song began there was a magical moment that went down in Rd Hot Chilli Peppers history when there was an explosion of drums and bass and vocals and as the song was counted in like; one, two, one, two, three, four. On the number four before the son exploded and started Anthony did a front flip on the spot on the stage and they played the song very well and they were told that they should really consider starting a band and playing some big shows because they had some real potential.
Now that the Red Hot Chilli Peppers have taken off as a musical ensemble an now that they have sowed there music to the word and he world has embraced it and loved it there is a lot of high expectations for here shows and they never fail to meet those expectations. They have toured
he world and played all over it. They have played all over America and played in Australia and japan and England and many other places. They have played all sorts of different types of shows that include headlining shows, supporting shows and all sorts of festivals and many more.
Now that the Red Hot Chilli Peppers have taken off as a musical ensemble an now that they have sowed there music to the word and he world has embraced it and loved it there is a lot of high expectations for here shows and they never fail to meet those expectations. They have toured
he world and played all over it. They have played all over America and played in Australia and japan and England and many other places. They have played all sorts of different types of shows that include headlining shows, supporting shows and all sorts of festivals and many more.
NO6. The way that they reherse is a big factor to making them a good musical ensemble
The way that the Red Hot Chilli Peppers rehearse is a big part of how they are such a great musical ensemble because it is a fact that the more an ensemble rehearses together then the better the ensemble will get. The red hot chilli peppers have had a variety of different rehearsal spaces. I know this because Anthony Keldis mentions them in his autobiography. They have rehearsed in Fleas livening room, Anthony garages, abandoned buildings, and as they began to get big and go on tour they began to rehearse in rehearsal studios with lots of high quality gear and lots of expensive kit.
When the Red Hot Chilli peppers are rehearsing a lot and preparing for big shows and big tours they rehearse in the same way as a lot of other very successful bands. They sort out the set list that they are going to play and they perfect each song individually first and once they have done this they practice there live set like it was the real performance. Anthony describes the Red Hot Chilli Peppers rehearsal sessions as being very energetic and very loud. This is the same sort of vibe that they give of when they perform on stage. In Anthony Kieldis book he describes how passionate all of the band members were in there rehearsals and how they were equity passionate on stage.
In the Red Hot Chilli Peppers rehearsal sessions they also write music. When they were begging to write they would usually start with the bass riff and then add in guitar and drums and then Anthony would put his own meaningful lyrics over the top of it and then as simple as that they would have a song. Over the years there writing style has changed in a few ways, they still write in there rehearsal sessions and they still use all of the members in the band to contribute to the songs. There are now some different members. Anthony describes in his book that when they were rehearsing and righting for their album ‘Californiacation’ it felt like the red hot chilli peppers had been record and that there was a new electricity in their music because they had just got John back in the band and the rehearsals were going very well and johns playing style had changes so much from what it used to be. It used to be very complex and funky but it had changed to a more simplistic style of playing. I have some evidence of Red Hot Chilli Peppers rehearseal sessions below.
When the Red Hot Chilli peppers are rehearsing a lot and preparing for big shows and big tours they rehearse in the same way as a lot of other very successful bands. They sort out the set list that they are going to play and they perfect each song individually first and once they have done this they practice there live set like it was the real performance. Anthony describes the Red Hot Chilli Peppers rehearsal sessions as being very energetic and very loud. This is the same sort of vibe that they give of when they perform on stage. In Anthony Kieldis book he describes how passionate all of the band members were in there rehearsals and how they were equity passionate on stage.
In the Red Hot Chilli Peppers rehearsal sessions they also write music. When they were begging to write they would usually start with the bass riff and then add in guitar and drums and then Anthony would put his own meaningful lyrics over the top of it and then as simple as that they would have a song. Over the years there writing style has changed in a few ways, they still write in there rehearsal sessions and they still use all of the members in the band to contribute to the songs. There are now some different members. Anthony describes in his book that when they were rehearsing and righting for their album ‘Californiacation’ it felt like the red hot chilli peppers had been record and that there was a new electricity in their music because they had just got John back in the band and the rehearsals were going very well and johns playing style had changes so much from what it used to be. It used to be very complex and funky but it had changed to a more simplistic style of playing. I have some evidence of Red Hot Chilli Peppers rehearseal sessions below.
The video above is a video of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers practicing back stage in Cologne, Germany on October 7th 2011. The video shows them in the playing without Antony there. In the video you can see that Chad smith is leading the practice, they are following Chads drum beat. The song they are playing has got a bass riff that takes the part that the guitar would usually play. The bass is very dominant and powerful. Flea’s technique of playing bass is often like this because he has developed a technique of slap bass. His technique is very much his own. There are other ways to play slap bass but Fleas technique is very loud. The guitar part in this song sounds very much improvised. This makes me think that this could be a new song that they just decided to try play through back stage.
The video below is footage of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers Rehearsing for their performance at the Grammy Awards in February 2007. The video also has a long interview with the guitarist; John Frusciante. At the beginning of the video you can hear Chad Smith sound checking his drum kit. You can then hear Flea sound checking his bass guitar. You can see that the rehearsal is a bit chaotic at the begging Unlike the video above Anthony Kiedis is hear too and is ready to sing. Four minutes into the video it gets less chaotic and the Red Hot Chilli peppers run through a song called Snow (Hey Oh). They play through the Song and it sounds Good but by there standards there was room for improvement. There is then chaos in the video until they run through another track and then play Snow (Hey Oh) again. This time the song starts at 17:00. They play it through perfectly the second time round. Apart from the sound teck messing up on the levels of the guitar making John Frusciante have to stop playing and signal to him to turn him up.
The video below is footage of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers Rehearsing for their performance at the Grammy Awards in February 2007. The video also has a long interview with the guitarist; John Frusciante. At the beginning of the video you can hear Chad Smith sound checking his drum kit. You can then hear Flea sound checking his bass guitar. You can see that the rehearsal is a bit chaotic at the begging Unlike the video above Anthony Kiedis is hear too and is ready to sing. Four minutes into the video it gets less chaotic and the Red Hot Chilli peppers run through a song called Snow (Hey Oh). They play through the Song and it sounds Good but by there standards there was room for improvement. There is then chaos in the video until they run through another track and then play Snow (Hey Oh) again. This time the song starts at 17:00. They play it through perfectly the second time round. Apart from the sound teck messing up on the levels of the guitar making John Frusciante have to stop playing and signal to him to turn him up.
NO7. The way that they perform live makes them a good musical ensemble
When the Red Hot Chilli Peppers Perform live there is a so much energy from their performance. All of the members are so confident about what they are doing. One example of how the red hot chilli peppers are so confident on stage is that there was a thing that they used to do when they went out on stage with all of the members wearing nothing but one carefully positioned sock over their genitals. They did this so much that venues started to put in the contracts that they have to do it at their venue. There was even one performance where Flea the bass player went on stage totally naked. When the Red Hot Chilli Peppers perform live all of the members are not afraid to communicate with the audience. They talk to the audiences and tell them jokes and funny storeys. They always manage to get the audience on their side. One of the things that ad’s to how great a red hot chilli peppers performance is the fact that they are such a great ensemble on their records and all of the audience know the words and sing along to their songs. This is an example of how the audience connect with the Red Hot Chilli Peppers and that is one of the things that make the Red Hot Chilli Peppers a great musical ensemble.
Presence on stage – When the Red Hot Chilli Peppers perform live all of the members have a great stage presence. They are all so confident with their performances and they all know exactly what they are doing. They all hold themselves in such a way as to let the audience get involved and enjoy watching them perform. They all move around the stage and get very involved in the music by jumping and swaying and running on the spot and other things like that. Chad Smith who is the drummer has a great presence on the stage because he plays on a huge drum kit on a raised stage at the back of the stage. Anthony is the front man of the band and he looks so natural when he is performing with the Red Hot Chilli peppers. He has a great stage presence and he is not afraid to stand right at the front of the stage and sing straight to the audience to help them get involved. Anthony Keilds is very lively when he performs and because of this he has suffered from shin splints and other problem like that that might also be due to drug abuse. On tour at one stage he needed some kind of perscripted pain killer for his shin splints so the he could go on stage and do what he usually dose in regards to stage presence.
The video below is a video that shows all of the members and how there stage presence helps to make the Red Hot Chilli Peppers a great musical ensemble. This video was recorded in 1995 at RockPlast.
Presence on stage – When the Red Hot Chilli Peppers perform live all of the members have a great stage presence. They are all so confident with their performances and they all know exactly what they are doing. They all hold themselves in such a way as to let the audience get involved and enjoy watching them perform. They all move around the stage and get very involved in the music by jumping and swaying and running on the spot and other things like that. Chad Smith who is the drummer has a great presence on the stage because he plays on a huge drum kit on a raised stage at the back of the stage. Anthony is the front man of the band and he looks so natural when he is performing with the Red Hot Chilli peppers. He has a great stage presence and he is not afraid to stand right at the front of the stage and sing straight to the audience to help them get involved. Anthony Keilds is very lively when he performs and because of this he has suffered from shin splints and other problem like that that might also be due to drug abuse. On tour at one stage he needed some kind of perscripted pain killer for his shin splints so the he could go on stage and do what he usually dose in regards to stage presence.
The video below is a video that shows all of the members and how there stage presence helps to make the Red Hot Chilli Peppers a great musical ensemble. This video was recorded in 1995 at RockPlast.
Communication with the audience – When the Red Hot Chilli Peppers perform live a large part of their set is communicating with that audience. They communicate with the audience in a lot of different ways. They talk to the audience between songs and sometimes during songs. The RHCP don’t always talk to the audience. There are lots of videos showing them shouting down the microphones to the audiences. They also communicate with the audiences and get the audiences involved with them by getting the audiences to sing the lyrics to their songs back to them. I believe that the Red Hot Chilli Peppers communication with the audience dose add to the greatness of their live set even though it does not directly link with how the RHCP are such a great musical ensemble however it does add to their live performances and make their live performances more enjoyable and this adds to them being such a great musical ensemble.
The video below is a video that has a lot of comunication with the audience. The video was filmd at Woodstock in 1999. And yes. Flea the bass player iss totaly naked.
The video below is a video that has a lot of comunication with the audience. The video was filmd at Woodstock in 1999. And yes. Flea the bass player iss totaly naked.
The band know what there doing when they perform - When you watch a Red Hot Chilli Peppers Performance it is
clear that the band have rehearsed the songs a lot because all of the musicians
in the band are playing the parts flawlessly. They are all such brilliant performers
when you take into abound that they are playing perfectly whilst running around
a jumping about. Because the Red Hot Chilli Peppers have spent so much time
practicing they are a brilliant ensemble and a brilliant live act. That takes
me back to my last point (NO6) that the more an ensemble rehears and practise
together the better the ensemble will get. Here is a video of the Red Hot Chilli
Peppers playing live. When you watch this video you will hopefully see why the
Red Hot Chilli Peppers are such a good live act by the quality of the music
being produced. In the video they are playing a song called cant stop of the album 'By The Way'.
NO8. There image as a band makes has helped to make them a sucsesfull musical ensemble
One of the reasons that the Red Hot Chilli Peppers are such a successful musical ensemble is because they are marketable as a band and producers and record labels have seen thins and signed contracts with them. One of the main reasons they are marketable is because they have a marketable image and a cool look that stood out from a lot of the other bands at the time. The Red Hot Chilli Peppers have changed their image a lot as the years have gone by They have changed their image as they have changed their genre of music. If you type ‘the red hot chilli peppers’ into google a lot of the pictures that will come up are there promotional photo shoots that they have done with professional photographers to put on posters and advertisements for shows and festivals that they are playing at and lots of other things like that that require promotion and need to show of the band, like the bands website and online blogs and things like that. The Red Hot Chilli peppers have a few different thymes to their promotional photo shoots that they have picked up over the years. One of them is that they all go topless or naked in the photo shoots and show off as much skin, including all their tattoos in the promotional photos as possible to give of the right sort of ‘crazy’ vibe in the band image. They also sometimes try to get that some kind of vibe when the go on stage and perform. I have mention earlier on the blog how the Red Hot Chilli Peppers used to go on stage wearing nothing but one carefully positioned sock, or nothing at all.
The images below are all photographs that were taken between the years of 1983 to 1990. You can clearly see from all of the pictures the kind of image that the band was going for. At that time they were a hardcore funk band, in some of the pictures there are all of the original members of the band including Hillel Solvac. One of the reasons that I believe the image they had in this era helped them to be a successful musical ensemble because people saw them as different form all of the other bands in America at the time. The band had message, that they didn’t care what people though and that they were a cool band to listen to. People obviously picked up on this image because the reception to them as a band with the image they had was very good.
The pictures below are all promotion shots that the band had taken of them between the years 1990 to 1997. In all of the photos you can still see that the old vibe that the RHCP youste to have is not dead but there over all image of the band is a bit less in your face and crazy. By this time the red hot chilli peppers were very world famous and people were really starting to recognise the members when they see them out and about. Antony Kiedis mentions when he went to a country near India when he walked thorough a foreign market and all of the stores were selling Red Hot Chilli Peppers merchandise. He said that this was the moment that he realized just how famous he was. The Hot Chilli Peppers image was so important because when people hear the music it is very mad and fast which is what they were trying to achieve with their musical ensemble and then when people see their image it portrays. That’s why the Red Hot Chilli Peppers image is so important to making them a successful musical ensemble.
When you look at the first group of four pictures and then the second group of four pictures you can see how over the years they have changed their look, as their musical style got less mad, so did the promotion shots. You can see that they are wearing more cloves in the newer promo shots and that they are acting less crazy. This tells me that a good musical ensemble needs time to progress from what they start as to something better, not only in their music but also in their image and the look that they give off to the world.
Analysis of the 8 points
I
have looked at the eight points and I have had to think a lot about the one’s
that I deem more important than the others I have come to the conclusion that in
the case of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, one of the most important points that I
have mentioned is he chemistry within the band. As I mentioned earlier, the
chemistry within a musical ensemble is something that you cannot fake and it
does make your ensemble better. Another point that I thought is very important
is the way het the band treat each other equally so that they don’t argue and
there are no problems. I also
think that the image of the band has helped them to be successful because that
image has sold millions of times around the world on cds and on posters and on
various other things, not only because the Red Hot Chilli Peppers are such a
good musical ensemble in terms of the musical ability’s and such. But the fact
that he image is a cool image and people like that.
have looked at the eight points and I have had to think a lot about the one’s
that I deem more important than the others I have come to the conclusion that in
the case of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, one of the most important points that I
have mentioned is he chemistry within the band. As I mentioned earlier, the
chemistry within a musical ensemble is something that you cannot fake and it
does make your ensemble better. Another point that I thought is very important
is the way het the band treat each other equally so that they don’t argue and
there are no problems. I also
think that the image of the band has helped them to be successful because that
image has sold millions of times around the world on cds and on posters and on
various other things, not only because the Red Hot Chilli Peppers are such a
good musical ensemble in terms of the musical ability’s and such. But the fact
that he image is a cool image and people like that.
How Have the RHCP Evolved as a Musical Ensemble?
The Videos below help us to see how throughout the time they have spent together as the Red Hot Chilli Peppers they have evolved and improved as an ensemble. This shows me that the more time spent in the musical ensemble playing music with your group the better you will get.
Here is a RHCP performace recorded in 1984.
Here is a video of the RHCP performing in 2013.
The Red Hot Chilli Peppers have been a band for almost three decades. In this time they have changed so much. Not only in the style of music they write and play but also in the way they perform on stage and the way they present themselves to the world. They began by playing very hard Funk/rap/rock but have evolved into playing power full rock music with strong melody lines. The topics that Anthony Keildis wrote his lyrics about have changed vastly too. In the early days of The Red Hot Chilli Peppers the topics he wrote about were predominantly Sex, Drugs and the ‘Rock n Roll’ life style he was leading in Los Angeles. In more recent years his lyrics have reflected topics like Love, Addiction, Loss/pain and reflections of the eventful life he has led.
Quotes form 'Scar Tissue' by Anthony Keidis About the early Stages of the RHCP showing how they are such a great musical ensemble and how great musical ensembles can start
Quotes from where it all started, at the first gig. Anthony’s friend, Gary Allen, was playing a small venue called the Rhythm Lounge and suggested that flea, Hillel and a drummer called Jack and Anthony should open the show and play one song.
Page 104 - 'Hillel and Flea were initially sceptical, since I wasn’t a singer'
Page 105 - 'We didn’t have a space to rehearse and we weren’t taking our first gig too seriously'
Page 105 - ' We called ourselves Tony Flow and the Miraculous Masters of Mayhem because that was show we wanted to play, majestic and chaotic.'
The quotes below are quotes that show how the Red Hot Chilli Peppers wrote their songs at the beginning of there career.
The first song they ever wrote was called ’Out in LA’. The quote below is how they wrote it:
Page 105 - ’Flea came up with his bass line, and Hillel invented a funky guitar riff, and Jack Irons who is the drummer in a band called What is This Laid down a Beat. Then I went off to write some lyrics.’
Page 109 - ’Flea would be coming up with these soulful emotional funk grooves. I’d sit there and interject,”Yeah, that the one! I can work with that,” I’d run into my room and get my pad of paper and wed write a song. It’s the same formula that we use today to write songs, which is no formula. We just show up and start improvising while I collect notes.’
Page 109 – ’With us all things are born from a jam. We just go in and start wailing and see what works.’
Page 104 - 'Hillel and Flea were initially sceptical, since I wasn’t a singer'
Page 105 - 'We didn’t have a space to rehearse and we weren’t taking our first gig too seriously'
Page 105 - ' We called ourselves Tony Flow and the Miraculous Masters of Mayhem because that was show we wanted to play, majestic and chaotic.'
The quotes below are quotes that show how the Red Hot Chilli Peppers wrote their songs at the beginning of there career.
The first song they ever wrote was called ’Out in LA’. The quote below is how they wrote it:
Page 105 - ’Flea came up with his bass line, and Hillel invented a funky guitar riff, and Jack Irons who is the drummer in a band called What is This Laid down a Beat. Then I went off to write some lyrics.’
Page 109 - ’Flea would be coming up with these soulful emotional funk grooves. I’d sit there and interject,”Yeah, that the one! I can work with that,” I’d run into my room and get my pad of paper and wed write a song. It’s the same formula that we use today to write songs, which is no formula. We just show up and start improvising while I collect notes.’
Page 109 – ’With us all things are born from a jam. We just go in and start wailing and see what works.’