Red Hot Chili Peppers' Anthony Kiedis Says 'I'm With You' 'Snowballed'

Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Anthony Kiedis Says ‘I’m With You’ ‘Snowballed’

2011-11-21

Story by Cat Badra

Red Hot Chili Peppers singer says new album came fairly easy

When the Red Hot Chili Peppers set out to record their tenth studio album, I’m With You, they may have worried a bit at the onset about what it would be like recording with new guitarist Josh Klinghoffer. After Anthony Kiedis, Flea and Chad Smith got into in, though, they started to realize that working with Klinghoffer, 32, would bring a fresh dose of musical ideas, and no short supply of songs.

“We recorded about 50 songs in total. Not all were completely finished and along the way we had to choose our collective favorites to record and finish,” Kiedis recently told the Mirror. “The more we wrote the more we wanted to write and it snowballed. It was all such an exciting process.

He added that Klinghoffer carried the aura of confidence and competency from the get-go. “Josh walked through the door with a sense of self,” he explained. “Within a couple of weeks he started showing us some of his ideas and we thought these are really beautiful and we can build on them and make it happen.”

As for Flea attending the University of Southern California and studying the ins-and-outs of music theory, Smith says he’s uber-impressed with the bass player’s growth and increased knowledge of music. “He got really inspired by furthering his knowledge of music,” Smith gushed. “He went to college for a year and he really dedicated himself to music theory. I had to come in with some new things on the drums and we all went up on it. It was real fun again.” Flea recently described the writing process for the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ latest radio single, “Monarchy of Roses,” and he explained that the track was actually inspired by Black Sabbath and Michael Jackson.

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Cat Badra

Meet the expert - Cat Badra is a music writer for Audio Ink Radio and a range of other music, sports and lifestyle publications. She's a graduate of Michigan State University with a master's degree in theater and speech. Contact her at cat@audioinkradio.com.