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EARTHQUAKE IN CHILI

NEW YORK—Like their namesake food, there is nothing subtle about The Red Hot Chili Peppers. And like the spicy little devils, the band is a decidedly acquired taste. A weird hybrid of rap/funk and metal/punk, the band calls their music “bone crunching mayhem funk.”

June 1, 1985
Richard Fantina

EARTHQUAKE IN CHILI

The Beat Goes On

NEW YORK—Like their namesake food, there is nothing subtle about The Red Hot Chili Peppers. And like the spicy little devils, the band is a decidedly acquired taste. A weird hybrid of rap/funk and metal/punk, the band calls their music “bone crunching mayhem funk.” Lead singer Anthony Kiedis (who looks like a cross between Jggy Pop and David Lee Roth) joined friends What Is This for a rap gig—“a one time joke.” They were so well received and had so much fun they decided to start another band, the Red Hot Chili Peppers. As time went on and label interest in both What Is This and the Peppers grew, it became obvious that the same members couldn’t continue to play in both bands. Enter Kiedis’s friend bassist Flea (who had played with Fear), Cliff Martinez on drums, Jack Sherman on guitar and the Peppers lineup was complete.

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