The Red Hot Chili Peppers were titans of alternative funk rock in the 90s and 2000s. They initially gained this overwhelming success with the 1991 album Blood Sugar Sex Magik. The tonal shift from hard rock riffs to melodic instrumentation and songwriting helped them break through on more mainstream fronts. This surge of popularity briefly cost them guitarist John Frusciante, who wanted the band to stay as underground as possible. But the fame also brought new opportunities to tour with their up-and-coming contemporaries.
When the Red Hot Chili Peppers embarked on the Blood Sugar Sex Magik Tour, they brought along the Smashing Pumpkins and Pearl Jam. The Chili Peppers then started booking arenas instead of theaters. In response, promoters wanted to replace Pearl Jam with a more well-known band. Nirvana was shopped around as a replacement. But Billy Corgan refused to tour alongside them on the grounds that he used to date Kurt Cobain’s wife, Courtney Love.
The Smashing Pumpkins were dropped from the lineup, and Nirvana joined Pearl Jam in opening for RHCP. In hindsight, this is the quintessential 90s alt-rock lineup. Speaking with Howard Stern in 2022, the band recalled this tour and what it was like to play with Nirvana at the height of their popularity. Unsurprisingly, they had nothing but praise for the band.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers Recall Touring With ‘Powerful Entity’ Nirvana in 1992
“Nirvana was really carrying a heavy magic with them,” said Flea when the band was asked to describe what the tour was like. “Just this feeling that they are a powerful entity to be respected.”
John Frusciante added, “When we were still playing together in 88, 89, still playing in clubs, it really felt like a life-or-death thing that we had to succeed in what we were doing. Not just commercially, but our shows had to have an energy, our shows had to move people. Our styles were in large part developed because we put ourselves under that pressure of wanting to be good.”
“You know who was good?” interjected Anthony Kiedis, then saying, “Nirvana.” His band members agreed, and he added, “When we played with them, they were just good. And that was a life changer.”
When asked to elaborate on Nirvana being “just good,” Kiedis explained. “The feeling that John is so beautifully describing, it was just natural,” he said. “The first time we played it was just natural to have an energy, a passion, and have a live-or-die aesthetic to everything that we did. But I feel like Nirvana had that naturally as well.”
He continued, “They were certainly good at their instruments and songwriting and chemistry and all that. But then they also just had a combustibility that came from birth or came from God or came from the planets or something.”
Anthony Kiedis Admitted To Being ‘Nervous’ Around Kurt Cobain
When asked if he ever chatted with Kurt Cobain about being a frontman at the time, Anthony Kiedis admitted that he often felt “pretty nervous” around the Nirvana vocalist.
“I was usually pretty nervous whenever I was hanging around with him,” Kiedis said, before clarifying, “Just because I was in awe.” However, he added, “[Cobain] wasn’t the type who wanted to discuss being a frontman. He was just kind of shy and in his energetic state. But Flea and I had some nice moments with him at some MTV show. We snuck away and went backstage and sat with him while he was just getting ready to play. And that was a nice experience.”
Speaking about Cobain’s personality, Kiedis said he was “loose and warm and inviting and relaxed. And it wasn’t like he had been on tour for a long time and was all emotionally chaotic. He was quite within himself. He was a beautiful dude, and he left us with a ton of unbelievable music and energy.”
Photo by Gutchie Kojima/Shinko Music/Getty Images
The post The 1990s Superstars That Made the Red Hot Chili Peppers ‘Nervous,’ Calling Them a ‘Powerful Entity’ appeared first on VICE.
