Frusciante joined the Chili Peppers at the age of 18 after the death of guitarist Hillel Slovak, and first appeared on their album Mother's Milk (1989). His second album with the band, Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991), was their breakthrough success. Overwhelmed by the band's newfound popularity, he quit in 1992. He became a recluse and entered a period of heroin addiction, during which he released his first solo recordings: Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-Shirt (1994) and Smile from the Streets You Hold (1997). In 1998, he completed drug rehabilitation and rejoined the Chili Peppers, taking them to major success with their albums Californication (1999), By the Way (2002) and Stadium Arcadium (2006). He left the Red Hot Chili Peppers again in 2009 to focus on solo work, and rejoined in 2019.
Frusciante's solo work encompasses genres including experimental rock, ambient music and electronica. He released six albums in 2004, each exploring different genres and recording techniques. In 2009, Frusciante released The Empyrean, which features Chili Peppers bassist Flea and guitarist Josh Klinghoffer. Frusciante also releases acid house under the alias Trickfinger. With Klinghoffer and Joe Lally, he has released two albums as Ataxia.
Frusciante was named one of the greatest guitarists by Rolling Stone and Gibson, and in a BBC poll. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2012.
Frusciante's musical style has evolved over the course of his career. Although he received moderate recognition for his early guitar work, it was not until later in his career that music critics and guitarists alike began to fully recognize it: in October 2003, he was ranked eighteenth in Rolling Stone's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time". Frusciante attributes this recent recognition to his shift in focus, stating that he chose an approach based on rhythmic patterns inspired by the complexity of material Jimi Hendrix and Eddie Van Halen produced. On earlier records, however, much of his output was influenced by various underground punk and new wave musicians.
In general, his sound is also defined by an affinity for vintage guitars. All the guitars that he owns, records, and tours with were made before 1970. Frusciante uses the specific guitar that he finds appropriate for a certain song. All of the guitars he owned before quitting the band were destroyed when his house burned down in 1996. The first guitar he bought after rejoining the Chili Peppers was a 1962 red Fender Jaguar. His most-often used guitar, however, is a 1961 Sunburst Fender Stratocaster that was given to him as a gift from Anthony Kiedis after Frusciante rejoined the Chili Peppers in 1998. He has played this guitar on every album since rejoining the Chili Peppers, and their ensuing tours. He also owns a 1955 Fender Stratocaster, his only Strat with a maple fretboard. Frusciante's most highly appraised instrument is a 1955 Gretsch White Falcon, which he used twice per show for the songs Californication and Otherside. Since 2006, he only uses it for the latter song, saying there was "no room for it", preferring multiple Stratocasters for the Stadium Arcadium tour. Virtually all of Frusciante's acoustic work is played with a 1950s Martin 0–15.
After leaving the Red Hot Chili Peppers, he switched to using a Yamaha SG as his primary guitar for his solo work. "With the Yamaha SG, I could play along with guitar players who were playing, say, Les Pauls, and feel like the sound matched what I was hearing on the record. ... People like Robert Fripp, Mick Ronson, Tony Iommi, and particularly John McGeoch from Siouxsie and the Banshees, who played a Yamaha SG, which is why I bought one in the first place". Frusciante has also noted his increased use of the Roland MC-202 for his electronic music, saying that he was at the point "where I thought as much like a 202ist as I did a guitarist ..." The MC-202 has been his primary melodic instrument in his electronic music.
With the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Frusciante provided backing vocals in a falsetto tenor, a style he started on Blood Sugar Sex Magik. He thoroughly enjoyed his role in the Chili Peppers as backing vocalist, and said that backing vocals are a "real art form". Despite his commitment to the Chili Peppers, he felt that his work with the band should remain separate from his solo projects. When he returned to the Chili Peppers in 1998, Kiedis wanted the band to record "Living in Hell", a song Frusciante had written several years before. Frusciante refused, feeling that the creative freedom he needed for his solo projects would have conflicted with his role in the band.
Ah Yom
John Frusciante Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A million ways things could be
In dull moments I feel like
There's a million options I see
The trouble is choosing one
The trouble is doing one
A slave in the fields one night
He's running along
And he's feeling so strong
That's how actions should be
Freeing
Step after step is our only choice in a walk
When we run at the mouth we jump back and forth
There's only one place I'm going
There's only one destiny
And if my mind tells me otherwise
Then it's a poor guide for me
All of the energy in life
Is nothing more than a spark in a fire
The whole course of time is the blink of an eye
Rain in the slums
Ah Yom
Into the cards
Ah Yom
Rain in the slums
Ah Yom
Into another world
Ah Yom
The lyrics of John Frusciante's Ah Yom delve into the concept of the unlimited choices we have in life and the difficulty in making decisions. In the first verse, Frusciante sings about having a million options to choose from and feeling overwhelmed by the choices he sees. He then repeats that "the trouble is choosing one" and "the trouble is doing one." This sentiment suggests that while we have a seemingly endless array of possibilities in life, it is the act of making a decision and taking action that is truly difficult.
The second verse gives an example of a slave who runs away to gain his freedom, illustrating the idea that sometimes taking action may be challenging, but it ultimately leads to freedom and a feeling of strength. Frusciante goes on to say that actions should be "freeing" and that step after step is the only choice in a walk, emphasizing the importance of taking action, no matter how small.
The final lines of the song discuss the impermanence of life and how all the energy we expend is merely a spark in a greater flame. The rain in the slums and the repeated use of the phrase "Ah Yom" suggest a sense of longing or searching for something, perhaps a deeper meaning or purpose in life. Overall, the lyrics of Ah Yom encourage listeners to take action and make choices, even if it feels difficult or overwhelming at first.
Line by Line Meaning
I've got a million to choose from
There are endless possibilities and options available to me.
A million ways things could be
There are countless paths that life could take.
In dull moments I feel like
During times of boredom or monotony, I sense...
There's a million options I see
There is no shortage of alternatives that I perceive.
The trouble is choosing one
The difficulty lies in making a decision and committing to a course of action.
The trouble is doing one
The challenge is following through on a single choice.
A slave in the fields one night
A person who was once held captive working in the fields one evening...
He's running along
He flees as fast as he can.
Gets far enough to be a free man
Eventually makes enough progress to attain freedom.
And he's feeling so strong
The sensation of power and strength courses through his body.
That's how actions should be
This is how actions should feel - empowering and freeing.
Freeing
Liberating.
Step after step is our only choice in a walk
The only option we have whilst walking is to take one step after another.
When we run at the mouth we jump back and forth
If we speak too much, we go back and forth without any tangible progress.
There's only one place I'm going
I have a singular direction in mind.
There's only one destiny
There is just one ultimate fate.
And if my mind tells me otherwise
If I have thoughts that contradict this direction...
Then it's a poor guide for me
Those thoughts do not provide reliable guidance for me.
All of the energy in life
Every bit of life's energy...
Is nothing more than a spark in a fire
... is as insignificant as just a single fraction of a much larger flame.
The whole course of time is the blink of an eye
The entirety of human history passes by in a mere instant.
Rain in the slums
Precipitation falling in less wealthy urban areas.
Ah Yom
A nonsensical vocalization that's indicative of the sound of rain falling.
Into the cards
Heading towards an uncertain and unpredictable endpoint.
Into another world
Entering a new space or reality.
Contributed by Ethan F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Vademecum Ad Inferis
Every time I listen to Frusciante, every time I think he's maybe the best musician ever!
thepr0
@Kevin Myrick i never felt the same thing hearing Zappa. The feeling hearing frusciante >
G B
Indeed he is
Amy Darland
He's up there with the likes of Mozart
Roxana Landaverde
Is
Roxana Landaverde
Not maybe IS!!
Somiten
It's beautiful John, thank you for the most beautiful pieces of music I heard
Chris M
This song always puts me in a good mood
Miguel Diaz
"That's how actions should be" and the piano that goes with it...Amazing, I always repeat that part
Awakening Navigator
Every song from John is such a beautiful experience.Sometimes I feel like I wait all day just to hear him again..I know that's not just me!