Flea (musician)

Flea, 2013

Michael Peter Balzary, with stage name Flea (* 16th October 1962 in Burwood [suburb of Melbourne ], Australia ) is the bassist for the American Crossover - / funk-rock - band Red Hot Chili Peppers , studio musician and occasional actor.

Career

Flea at Rock im Park 2016

Michael Peter Balzary "Flea" was born on October 16, 1962 in Melbourne, Australia . Flea is of Hungarian - Irish descent. In 1967 he emigrated with his family to New York for professional reasons of his father . Flea's first instrument was the trumpet . Due to the influence of his stepfather, Flea became interested in jazz , funk and soul from an early age . When Flea attended Fairfax High School in Los Angeles at the age of 17 and played the trumpet in the school's own marching band, he met Anthony Kiedis and Hillel Slovak , with whom he soon developed a deep friendship. At this time he learned to play the bass from Hillel Slovak. As a trained trumpeter who played in classical orchestras, Flea was initially alienated by his friends' new passion, punk . After a few concerts, this attitude changed, and a little later Flea was a member of the punk band Fear for a short time .

The trio Kiedis, Slovak, Balzary soon formed the group Tony Flow & The Miraculously Majestic Masters of Mayhem with drummer Jack Irons , from which the Red Hot Chili Peppers later emerged. Flea and Kiedis are the only members who are still involved with the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Flea learned to play the bass in a very short time. He never took regular lessons and still managed to become a generally well-respected rock bassist.

Flea published his memoir Acid For The Children in 2018 .

Style of play

Flea at the Rock in Rio Madrid 2012

Flea is known for his complex style of play that involves a good level of slapping . Especially on the first Red Hot Chili Peppers albums , Flea demonstrates the strength of his right playing hand. Pieces with particularly demanding bass runs are u. a .: Skinny Sweaty Man , Police Helicopter , Show Me Your Soul , Sex Rap , Love Trilogy , Blackeyed Blonde , Salute to Kareem , Get Up and Jump , Out in LA

Also on the more recent albums Flea shows that he is still very good at slapping. Examples include songs like This Velvet Glove , Get on Top , Can't Stop , Tell Me Baby, and Goodbye Hooray .

Especially with "normal" plucking technique, Flea plays very complex bass lines, like in Scar Tissue , Easily , Californication , Under the Bridge , I Could Have Lied , Otherside and above all Around the World .

Flea also incorporates his skills as a trumpeter with the Chili Peppers. You can hear that u. a. with the songs Subway to Venus , Pretty Little Ditty and Taste the Pain on Mother's Milk , Apache Rose Peacock on Blood Sugar Sex Magik , Tear on By the Way , Hump ​​De Bump , Torture Me and Funny Face on Stadium Arcadium and on Did I Let You Kow on the album I'm with You . Flea also likes to play smaller trumpet interludes in live performances, such as Live in Hyde Park and Live at Slane Castle .

His influences are in the funk, u. a. Defunkt , Bootsy Collins and Sly & the Family Stone , early punk rock bands like Black Flag and also in post-punk bands like Gang of Four , which stylistically expanded punk rock.

Flea also excels as a bass player through his constant improvisations in live performances.

Flea has also been a pianist for a few years . According to his own statement, this had a significant influence on his songwriting, as he wrote many songs on the album I'm with You together with Klinghoffer with the help of the piano and only then transposed them together on bass and guitar. He also plays the piano in the song Happiness loves Company .

Equipment

Bass

Flea has played a wide variety of basses throughout his career. The main tools are listed below:

• Alembic Epic: Flea used the Alembic Epic bass to record almost the entire album, One Hot Minute . Exceptions were airplane and pea. The bass can be seen in the second video for the single My Friends , which the band shows while recording One Hot Minute in the The Sound Factory studios.
• Fender Jazz Bass : Although Flea mainly used his modulus bass when recording By the Way , he also used jazz basses to record some songs, e.g. B. Body of Water . Torecord Stadium Arcadium , Flea only used jazz basses, primarily the only known specimen of a 61 shell pink jazz bass. This is the rarest color for '61 custom jazz basses, which now appears white due to the yellowish top coat over the pink color. Flea played this bass in the music videos for Californication and Dani California and in early promotional appearances for Stadium Arcadium .
• Fender Precision Bass : Flea used the Fender Precision Bass as a replacement bass during the Freaky Styley tourand early promotional gigs for Stadium Arcadium . Recently, Flea has been playing a Sunburst Precision on his tour with Thom Yorke
• Fleabass : Flea introduced his own bass brand, the Fleabass, at the 2009 NAMM Show (a music fair in Anaheim, California). It's a very cheap, high quality bass. Flea herself played a blue model at NAMM.
• Modulus Flea Bass: There are many notable examples of Flea's use of his signature Modulus bass, starting with a "Blue Flake" model. Flea used the modulus bass when recording Californication and used it on the Californication tour. Flea also used a "Silver Flake" model (whichcan be seenin the video for Can't Stop ) to play d-downtuning songs like By the Way or If you have to ask . Probably the best known is Flea's special signature bass (nickname “Punk Bass”), whichis paintedin the colors of the Dutch flag . This bass was Flea's main instrument during the world tour By the Way . During the larger tour of Stadium Arcadium , Fleas' 61 jazz bass could not assert itself in the mix. So Flea used his signature basses again; this time a new model in sunburst with black lane-poor pickups. After the Fleabass was introduced as Balzary's own brand, the Modulus Flea Bass was renamed Funk Unlimited .
• Music Man Cutlass I: Flea first played a "Cutlass I" on The Red Hot Chili Peppers tour. The appearance of the "Cutlass I" bass at the time can be seen in Anthony Kiedis ' autobiography "Scar Tissue" on a photo in which he and Flea can be seen live in 1984. After Flearecorded Freaky Styley with this bass, he used it in the music videos for Jungle Man and Catholic School Girls Rule .
• Music Man Stingray : Flea's first bass with the Red Hot Chili Peppers was a black Stingray bass from Music Man, with whom he recorded the debut album The Red Hot Chili Peppers . Both sides of the body and the top plate are painted green and stuck with pink adhesive strips in "zigzag" format. This “Stingray” should not be confused with the similar looking “Cutlass I”. The “Stingray” has a rosewood fingerboard and a wooden neck (and can be seen in the video by True Men don't kill Coyotes ); the "Cutlass I", however, has a graphite neck. While recording The Uplift Mofo Party Plan , Flea bought two more black Stingray basses. Flea has only recorded once with a five-string, a "Stingray 5", with Funky Monks and The Righteous and the Wicked by Blood Sugar Sex Magik . Flea also plays this five-string in the video for Under the Bridge . Flea had an endorsement contract with Ernie Ball / Music Man and played a slightly modified "Stingray MM3" with a lower cutaway.
• Spector NS: To record The Uplift Mofo Party Plan , Flea used a black Spector NS with chrome hardware, dotted fret markings, 2 jazz bass pickups and 2 stickers. He plays this bass in the “Fight like a Brave” video and during the “Uplift” tour ( 1987 - 1988 ). Flea also played a new black NS2 bass with gold hardware, striped fret markings and PJ pickups during the recordings for Mother's Milk and in the video for the single Knock me down . Flea also used this bass at live shows from 1989 to 1991 , alternating with the Music Man Stingray.
• Whale Custom Mark II: Flea used the blue whale bass to record almost all of the songs on the Blood Sugar Sex Magik album, with the exception of Funky Monks and The Righteous and the Wicked . In the film Funky Monks , which records the recordings of the aforementioned album in a documentary, the whale bass can be seen, which Flea never played live.

amplifier

Flea uses Gallien-Krueger- 2001RB-Tops and Gallien-Krueger-410RBH- or 115RBH-Cabinets as bass amplifier .

On the “ I'm with You ” tour, Flea initially used amplifiers from the manufacturer “Acoustic” (Acoustic USA 360/361). After a short time, however, he took up his Gallien-Krueger amps again because they were more assertive in the overall mix.

Effects devices

• DOD / FX-25 envelope filter ( e.g. in his instructional video ).
• Electro-Harmonix Mu-Tron III (including Sir Psycho Sexy [with dying battery] and The Power of Equality ).
• Electro-Harmonix Q-Tron (including 21st Century ).
• MXR-Micro-Amp (for a clean boost e.g. in various slap parts).
• 2 BOSS -ODB-3-Bass-Overdrive (e.g. in Around The World and Don't Forget Me ).
• Moog MF-103 ( e.g. in the Goodbye Hooray bass solo)
• Malekko Barker B: ASSMASTER (in various live solos)
• Electro-Harmonix Big Muff (for a softer overdrive e.g. So Much I ).
• Flea also used auto-wahs from BOSS , Dunlop Crybaby wahs, and Electro-Harmonix bass balls throughout his career .

Cooperations with other artists

Flea often makes guest appearances. In the early 1980s, Flea was Fear's bassist, playing bass on Young MC's hit single, Bust a Move (1989) .

He was u. a. Already with Jewel , Alanis Morissette , Mars Volta and Jane's Addiction studio bassist.

Flea played the trumpet on Jane's Addiction album Nothing's Shocking and stepped in for Eric Avery during their 1997 “Reunion Tour”. Flea also played bass on De-Loused in the Comatorium (2003) and trumpet on Frances the Mute (2005) for The Mars Volta .

Flea played the trumpet on the song Smells Like Teen Spirit with Nirvana at Hollywood Rock 1993 , a festival in Brazil , together with Incubus on The Fourth Movement of the Odyssey for the Halo 2 soundtrack, on Mike Watt's album Ball Hog or Tug Boat? and with the jazz - saxophonist Joshua Redman on his album Momentum (2005).

For Alanis Morissette he played bass on the song You oughta know . He also accompanied the Algerian chanteuse Cheikha Rimitti , played with befriended musicians and bands such as Fishbone , Mick Jagger or Mike Watt bass or trumpet and also participated in all-star projects, such as the " Axis of Justice " in 2004 - Concerts at which he u. a. performed with Tom Morello and Brad Wilk from Audioslave and Serj Tankian from System of a Down .

Flea has appeared on stage with Patti Smith a few times in the past few years . They had joint appearances at the London Meltdown Festival 2005 and at the last concert in the legendary New York club CBGB , which was given on October 15, 2006. Flea can be heard as a guest musician on Patti Smith's album TWELVE (2007).

At a concert in Los Angeles in 2008, Flea played the song Fight Fire With Fire with Metallica .

Since 2009 he has played in the “ supergroup ” Atoms for Peace , whose debut album Amok was released in 2013.

In 2011 he played bass on Tom Waits ' album " Bad as Me ", including with Keith Richards on the radical anti-militarist song " Hell Broke Luce ".

Roles in films

In addition to music, Flea is also a casual actor; he plays u. a. in the movies Suburbia , My Own Private Idaho , Back to the Future II & III , The Big Lebowski , Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas , The Chase - The madness hunting , Son in Law , The Blue Iguana , Motorama , Liar's Poker and in the 1998 remake of Hitchcock's classic Psycho with. Flea also lent his voice to the wolf child Donnie in the animated TV series Expedition of the Gooseberries . In 2017 he played a supporting role in the action film Baby Driver as a no-nose . He got another role in the drama The Prodigal Son by Joel Edgerton . He can also be seen in a smaller role in Queen & Slim .

Private life

In 1985, Flea married Loesha Zeviar and they had their first daughter, Clara Balzary, on September 16, 1988. Clara plays in the video for Airplane and still appears often at Red Hot Chili Peppers concerts. Balzary and Zeviar's marriage was divorced in 1991.

Flea and his fiancée Frankie Rayder had a daughter named Sunny Bebop Balzary on October 26, 2005. Her godfather is John Frusciante . Flea is engaged to Frankie Rayder, but not married.

Others

• In the 1990s, he posted an instructional video talking about his bass playing, hosted by River Phoenix . Musically, Flea is supported by Chad Smith on drums.
• Flea supported Chad Smith with bass on his drum teaching video called Red Hot Rhythm Method . Among other things, they play various songs by the Red Hot Chili Peppers together.
• Flea is passionate about listening to jazz musician John Coltrane .
• In the Super Nintendo game "Chrono Trigger", as with Slash and Ozzy Osbourne , reference is made to Flea (in the form of a male, but very feminine-appearing, deaf game character).
• In 2001, Flea its own music school, the "Silver Lake Conservatory of Music" in the trendy Silver Lake in Los Angeles .
• Flea's dog Martian died during the recording of Stadium Arcadium , which inspired the band to write the song Death of a Martian .
• Flea is a big fan of the Los Angeles Lakers and had a blog on NBA.com about his beloved Lakers. The song Magic Johnson pays homage to this basketball team .
• Flea's daughter Clara played in the band The Tints , which consisted of 3 girls and even went on tour in England.
• Flea appears on Celebrity Deathmatch where he battles Kenny G (and wins).
• In 1983, Flea turned down John Lydon's offer to join his successor band, the Sex Pistols , so that he could concentrate completely on the Red Hot Chili Peppers . Remarkably, he did said even though Lydon was one of his idols for a long time .
• When recording Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991), Flea for the most part dispensed with his characteristic bass playing with large portions of slap, in order to prevent it from being imitated. He comments on this in the documentary Funky Monks (1991), which shows the genesis and recordings of Blood Sugar Sex Magik .
• On November 26, 2007, Flea's former villa in Corral Canyon near Malibu was completely destroyed by forest fires. The album Californication was made in the garage of the villa . The villa was empty at the time of the fire, and the bassist already lived in another ten million dollar villa in the same area that was spared from the fire.
• In 2009 Flea studied musicology, composition and jazz trumpet at the University of Southern California .
• In the music video for the song Ugly Boy by Die Antwoord , Flea can be seen alongside Jack Black , Cara Delevingne , Marilyn Manson and Dita Von Teese, among others.

Discography

Red hot chili peppers

• 1984: Red Hot Chili Peppers
• 1985: Freaky Styley
• 1987: The Uplift Mofo Party Plan
• 1989: Mother's Milk
• 1991: Blood Sugar Sex Magik
• 1992: What Hits !?
• 1994: Out in LA
• 1995: One Hot Minute
• 1999: Californication
• 2002: By the Way
• 2003: Greatest Hits
• 2004: Live in Hyde Park
• 2006: Arcadium Stadium
• 2011: I'm with You
• 2016: The Getaway

Solo releases

• 2012: Helen Burns

Alanis Morissette

• 1995: Jagged Little Pill

Antemasque

• 2014: Antemasque

Videos

Red hot chili peppers

• 1990: Psychedelic Sexfunk Live from Heaven - Live
• 1990: Positive Mental Octopus - Music Videos
• 1991: Funky Monks - Making of Blood Sugar Sex Magik
• 1992: What Hits !? - music videos
• 2001: Off the Map - Live
• 2003: Greatest Hits and Videos - music videos
• 2003: Live at Slane Castle - Live

Flea Solo

• Master Sessions - Instructional DVD with drummer Chad Smith and host River Phoenix

Filmography (selection)

• 1983: The Outsiders (The Outsiders)
• 1983: Suburbia - rebels of the suburbs (Suburbia)
• 1983: Nightmares (Nightmares)
• 1986: Archie and Harry - You Can't Leave It (Tough Guys)
• 1986: Trashin 'war of the kids (Trashin')
• 1987: Dudes - Hold me tight, the desert is shaking! (Dudes)
• 1987 sub-zero (Less Than Zero)
• 1989: Back to the Future Part II
• 1990: Back to the Future Part III
• 1991: Motorama
• 1991: My Private Idaho (My Own Private Idaho)
• 1992: Roadside Prophets
• 1993: The Simpsons ( The Simpsons , TV series, 1 episode, Voice)
• 1993: Son-in -law Junior (Son in Law)
• 1994: Highway Heat
• 1998: The Big Lebowski
• 1998: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
• 1998: Psycho
• 1998-2004: Expedition of the gooseberries ( The Wild Thornberrys ; animated series, 89 episodes, voice)
• 2002: Adventures of the Gooseberry Family ( The Wild Thornberrys Movie ; voice)
• 2003: The Rugrats on the move ( Rugrats Go Wild ; voice)
• 2014: Joe Albany - My Dad, the Jazz Legend (Low Down)
• 2015: Everything is upside down ( Inside Out ; voice)
• 2015: American Dad (TV series, 1 episode, voice)
• 2016: Family Guy (TV series, 1 episode, voice)
• 2017: Song to Song
• 2017: Baby Driver
• 2018: The Prodigal Son (Boy Erased)
• 2019: Queen & Slim

Web links

• Flea in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• silverlakeconservatory.com Official website of Flea's Music School
• Workshop on Flea's bass playing with sheet music and sound examples, 1st part on bonedo.de
• Workshop on Flea's bass playing with sheet music and sound examples, part 2 on bonedo.de

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Flea in the nndb (English)
2. ↑ Red Hot Chili Peppers go back to the studio. Retrieved September 13, 2018 . 
3. ↑ Fleabass debuts at NAMM 2009 (English)
4. ↑ http://www.acousticbassusa.com/artists/artist-spotlight.html ( Memento from January 17, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
5. ↑ tomwaits.com
6. ↑ Nick Wells: Funky Monk (Interview with Flea) In: Bass Guitar Magazine No. 42, May 2009, p. 25.