Anthony Kiedis ( ; born November 1, 1962) is an American musician who is the lead vocalist of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. He and his fellow band members were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012.
Kiedis spent his youth in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with his mother, and then moved shortly before his twelfth birthday to live with his father in Hollywood. While attending Fairfax High School, Kiedis befriended students Flea and Hillel Slovak, who were members of the band Anthym. After high school, Kiedis took classes at UCLA, but dropped out in his second year.
When Kiedis received an offer to be the opening act for a local band, he enlisted Flea, Slovak, and drummer Jack Irons. After a show under the name Tony Flow and the Miraculously Majestic Masters of Mayhem, the band progressed and the lineup eventually became the Red Hot Chili Peppers. He has recorded thirteen studio albums with the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Kiedis's lyrical style has evolved throughout his career; early recordings discussed topics such as sex and life in Los Angeles, while more recent songs focus on more reflective themes including love, addiction, and loss. He struggled with addiction until 2000, and maintains that he has been clean since then.
Early life and education Kiedis was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on November 1, 1962, to Margaret "Peggy" Nobel and struggling actor John Michael Kiedis, known professionally as Blackie Dammett.Kiedis, Sloman, 2004. p. 39 His paternal grandfather's family emigrated from Lithuania in the early 1900s. In 2004, Kiedis wrote that his paternal grandmother, Molly VanderVeen, "was a pastiche of English, Irish, French, and Dutch (and, as we’ve recently discovered, some Mohican blood, which explains my interest in Native American culture and identification with Mother Earth)".Kiedis, Sloman, p. 9 In 1966, when Kiedis was three years old, his parents divorced, and he was raised by his mother in Grand Rapids. His mother later remarried and had two more children.Kiedis, Sloman, p. 14 Each summer, Kiedis would visit his father in Hollywood, California, for two weeks, where the two would bond. Kiedis idolized his father, recalling: "Those trips to California were the happiest, most carefree, the-world-is-a-beautiful-oyster times I'd ever experienced."Kiedis, Sloman, p. 21 In 1974, when Kiedis was 12, he moved to Hollywood to live with his father full-time.
Kiedis's father sold drugs, and the two often used marijuana and cocaine together.Kiedis, Sloman, p. 30 At age 18, Kiedis accidentally tried heroin for the first time, mistaking it for cocaine. Through his father, Kiedis landed his first acting role, appearing as Sylvester Stallone's character's son in the 1978 film, F.I.S.T. He landed two more acting jobs, in an ABC Afterschool Special and an appearance in the film Jokes My Folks Never Told Me.
Kiedis attended Fairfax High School in Los Angeles, where he struggled to find friends, but he met his future bandmate Flea. The two had a brief confrontation, but then became best friends and bonded while sitting next to each other in driver's education class.Apter, 2004. p. 34 Kiedis recalled, "We were drawn to each other by the forces of mischief and love and we became virtually inseparable. We were both social outcasts. We found each other and it turned out to be the longest-lasting friendship of my life."Apter, 2004. p. 35 Kiedis became a significant influence on Flea, exposing him to rock music, particularly punk rock. At age 15, while Kiedis and Flea were jumping from a building into a swimming pool, Kiedis missed the pool and broke his back, but recovered.Kiedis, Sloman. (2004). Scar Tissue. Hyperion. p. 96.
At age 16, Kiedis met future bandmate Hillel Slovak after seeing him perform with his band Anthym. After the show, Slovak invited Kiedis to his house for a snack. Kiedis later described the experience, "Within a few minutes of hanging out with Hillel, I sensed that he was absolutely different from most of the people I'd spent time with ... He understood a lot about music, he was a great visual artist, and he had a sense of self and a calm about him that were just riveting."Kiedis, Sloman, p. 64. Slovak, Kiedis, and Flea often used LSD, heroin, cocaine, and speed recreationally.Apter, 2004. p. 40 Kiedis excelled in school, often receiving straight-A grades. In June 1980, Kiedis graduated with honors from high school. That August, he enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles to study writing.
Career
1983–1984: Formation and first album
Kiedis began working with Flea and drummer Jack Irons, where he was described as a "manic master of ceremonies" before he even began singing for the group. Irons and Slovak began playing together in a high school band called Chain Reaction. The group included then bassist Tom Strasman and Chile-born vocalist and guitarist Alain Johannes. Strasman was intent on becoming a lawyer, and quit the band to focus on college. Flea soon offered Kiedis a position in the band. Kiedis began as a hype man, going out in front of the band and getting the audience pumped up.Thompson, Dave. "Footnote Archives: What Is This Pre-Chili Peppers Anthym?" Proquest. Goldmine, January 23, 2004. Web. February 2, 2016
Kiedis, Slovak, and Flea began to create their own music after finding inspiration in a punk-funk fusion band called Defunkt.Page, Scarlet (July 2004). "Red Hot Chili Peppers: The LA Punks Who Defied Death, Grunge And A Burning Crack Den". Mojo. Kiedis rejected the violence and misogyny of the Los Angeles punk rock scene, and wanted to create a more peaceful environment to encourage women to come to concerts.Mullen, 2010. p. 80 The three reunited with Irons, who had recently left his previous band Anthym, to form a new band called Tony Flow and the Miraculously Majestic Masters of Mayhem. The band had only one song, titled "Out in L.A.", and was formed for the purpose of playing the song once.Apter, 2004. p. 60 The song was based on a guitar riff that Slovak wrote while jamming with Irons, and was not meant to become a real song until Kiedis decided to rap over the music.Mullen, 2010. p. 16 Mike Chester, a friend of Kiedis', invited the band to open for his act Mike and Neighbor's Voices at The Rhythm Lounge, as he felt that Kiedis had potential as a frontman.Kiedis, Sloman, 2004. p. 104 Slovak and Flea felt that Kiedis did not have enough vocal experience, but the two eventually agreed to perform. Kiedis later described the performance: "All the anticipation of the moment hit me, and I instinctively knew that the miracle of manipulating energy and tapping into an infinite source of power and harnessing it in a small space with your friends was what I had been put on this earth to do."Kiedis, Sloman, 2004. p. 106
After the group's first show at The Rhythm Lounge, the owner of the bar asked them to return, but with two songs instead of one. After several more shows, and the addition of several songs to their repertoire, the band's name was changed to The Red Hot Chili Peppers.Apter, 2004. p. 61 The band's concert repertoire grew to ten songs as a result of months of playing at local nightclubs and bars.Apter, 2004. p. 62 At a performance at a strip club in Hollywood called Kit Kat Club, the band members performed wearing only socks on their penises, an idea formed by Kiedis.Kiedis, Sloman, p. 120 This gained the band notoriety, and club owners even began booking the group on the condition that they would perform in this manner. The Red Hot Chili Peppers entered Bijou Studios to record a demo tape and subsequently secured a record deal with EMI. Irons and Slovak, however, decided to leave the Red Hot Chili Peppers in order to pursue a "more serious" future with their band Anthym, which by this time had been renamed What Is This?Apter, 2004. pp. 70–74 Kiedis ultimately respected the decision, but felt the band would be lost without them. Kiedis and Flea hired drummer Cliff Martinez from The Weirdos and guitarist Jack Sherman to fill Iron's and Slovak's places, respectively. Andy Gill, formerly of Gang of Four, agreed to produce their first album, 1984's The Red Hot Chili Peppers. Gill and Sherman clashed with Kiedis and Flea; they continuously argued over music style, sound, and the album's production.Apter, 2004. pp. 78–88 Sherman was fired from the band following the tour and replaced by a returning Slovak.
1985–1988: Freaky Styley, The Uplift Mofo Party Plan, and death of Hillel Slovak
Funk musician George Clinton was hired to produce the band's second album, Freaky Styley, as Slovak returned on guitar. The strong chemistry between Clinton and the Chili Peppers was felt instantly. Freaky Styley was released in August 1985. It received only a bit more attention than The Red Hot Chili Peppers with roughly 75,000 copies sold by year's end. The band hired Michael Beinhorn, their last resort among potential producers, to work on their next album.Apter, 2004. pp 130–141 What Is This? had finally disbanded, and Irons returned to the Chili Peppers in mid-1986 after Martinez was fired. Flea, Slovak and Kiedis especially were involved in heavy drug use and their relationships became strained. Flea recalled that "it began to seem ugly to me and not fun; our communication was not healthy". Kiedis became dependent on heroin, leaving Flea and Slovak to work on much of the album's material by themselves. Both Kiedis and Slovak struggled with debilitating heroin addictions, which grew worse as the band was preparing to record The Uplift Mofo Party Plan. Due to his addiction, Kiedis lacked the motivation to contribute to the band musically, and appeared at rehearsal "literally asleep".Kiedis, Sloman, 2004. p. 191 He was asked to leave the band in order to undergo drug rehabilitation. During that time, the band won the LA Weekly Band of the Year award, which prompted Kiedis to quit using heroin cold turkey. He visited his mother in Michigan for guidance, who drove him to drug rehabilitation immediately after picking him up from the airport upon seeing his unhealthy appearance.Kiedis, Sloman, 2004. p. 193 Kiedis checked into a Salvation Army rehabilitation clinic in Grand Rapids, Michigan, an experience which he initially detested until he noted that the other people in the clinic were understanding of his struggles and were trying to help him. He moved in with his mother after twenty days at the clinic, a time which marked the first time he was completely abstinent from drugs since he was eleven years old.Kiedis, Sloman, 2004, p. 198 After Kiedis completed his stint in rehabilitation, he felt a "whole new wave of enthusiasm" due to his sobriety and wrote the lyrics to a new song titled "Fight Like a Brave" on the flight home.Kiedis, Sloman, 2004. p. 200
He rejoined the Red Hot Chili Peppers in Los Angeles to record the album.Apter, p. 133 Upon returning home, he began dating actress Ione Skye, whom Flea met while appearing with her in the 1987 science fiction film Stranded.Kiedis, Sloman, p. 202 Although Kiedis had recently become clean, his withdrawal symptoms increased and affected his musical contributions to the group. After fifty days of sobriety, Kiedis decided to take drugs again as a one-time attempt to celebrate his new music, which led to his resumed addiction. The recording process for the album became difficult, and Kiedis would often disappear to seek drugs.Apter, 2004. p. 184. Producer Michael Beinhorn recalled that, "There were points in pre-production where I really thought the record wasn't gonna get made."Mullen, 2010. p. 164 Kiedis felt "excruciating pain and guilt and shame" when he would miss a recording session so he would try to write lyrics while searching for drugs; although the band members were upset by his drug use and frequent disappearances, they were impressed with his musical output at the time.Kiedis, Sloman, 2004. p. 205