Over the weekend, the Red Hot Chili Peppers stormed onto the Super Bowl halftime stage to perform their 1991 hit “Give it Away” with Bruno Mars. Yesterday, the band admitted that, at the request of the NFL, they did not use live guitars for their performance. We’re not sure—but it is—so we’d like to come to the band’s defense and commend their energetic, rousing performance. Jumping around is tiring, and with three-quarters of their members over the age of 50, the Peppers are no spring chickens.
When we first met the band, they still performed with socks on their cocks and were one year away from releasing their seminal album, which contained the singles “Under the Bridge” and, of course, “Give it Away.” It was the spring of 1990 and Johnny Depp was on our cover with his “Winona Forever” tattoo prominently displayed. The Red Hot Chili Peppers are players and athletes and poets and homepersons. They riff. They rap. They bark. They bite.
KIEDIS: To play music till the day I die, to be a good friend to all my friends, and to be nice to nature.KIEDIS: Sinéad O’Connor. I’ve met her, but I need to meet her again. I need to meet her hundreds of times. JOHN FRUSCIANTE: For me it’s the difference between being given shit for being different from everybody, and actually being able to be in complete control of yourself and your life and not having to give a fuck what anybody things about you.
FRUSCIANTE: Dealing with women. It’s sort of a necessary, terrible part of life, but a very wonderful necessary, terrible part of life.FRUSCIANTE: Yes. About a month ago Anthony and I went 10 days without having an orgasm.FRUSCIANTE: No, no, we weren’t allowed to masturbate or anything. In fact, right when we decided to go 10 days without an orgasm, opportunity knocked, and we had to really hold back.