Why John Frusciante Left the Red Hot Chili Peppers
The first time was because he was a heroin junkie. The second time–well, that was different. Gibson reports:
John said he hadn’t thought about quitting the band until Chili Peppers’ bassist Flea told him that he wanted to take a two year break after the Stadium Arcadium tour. “When he said it I was kind of shocked, ’cause I thought we were on a roll, let’s just keep moving with this, you know? But once he said it to me, my mind started thinking, ‘What would I do with that two years if I had two years to just do whatever I wanted?’ And by about four months later I was so excited about quitting the band I didn’t even want it to be a two-year thing anymore.”
The guy’s been on a tear ever since, releasing solo album after solo album. And it’s not like he really has to worry about money.
