Former Red Hot Chili Peppers Guitarist John Frusciante Explains Why He Left the Band

2013-08-20

Story by Anne Erickson

John Frusciante says he left the Red Hot Chili Peppers to pursue electronic music

When guitarist John Frusciante left the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2009, fans were shocked by the move and wondered why he decided to jump ship. Now, Frusciante is revealing that he decided to leave the band to pursue electronic music.

“I had always wanted to do electronic music and I had only dabbled in it throughout the 10 years or whatever it was that I was in [Red Hot Chili Peppers] after rejoining [in 1998],” Frusciante told Billboard. “I just knew that I didn’t ever want to be in the band again. And I didn’t actually quit until several months after we were already on the break (following the band’s 2006 “Stadium Arcadium” tour), but I knew I wanted to quit months before the tour was over.”

Although Frusciante is releasing new music on Aug. 27 with his new EP of abstract electronic music called “Outsides,” he doesn’t plan on hitting the road in support of the release. In fact, Frusciante says he’s finished with touring and playing out.

“I have no interest in playing live,” he said. “I really don’t think of myself as a performer anymore. It was never something that came naturally to me. It was something that I adapted to, but it was never really an expression of who I was.”

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Anne Erickson

Meet the expert - Author, writer and editor Anne Erickson is a Detroit-based reporter and radio host. She has written for the USA Today Network, Consequence.net, Blabbermouth.net, and many more. Anne holds a master's degree from Michigan State University. Contact Anne at anne@audioinkradio.com.