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.
Head
John Frusciante Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
With you my soul's gotta be endless soon
Your head can always be in it when you clean it
Please tell me lies of what you got to do, well
I just got to say I follow you, right there
Yeah... ((Screaming...))
The lyrics of "Head" by John Frusciante are a bit ambiguous and open to interpretation. However, one way to understand these lyrics is that the singer is expressing his desire to be with someone, to support them and let his soul merge with theirs. He alludes to the idea that the person he wants to be with has a lot on their mind and is struggling to cope with it. He tells them that they can find comfort in the fact that he will always be there for them, and their head can be at ease if they just let go of all their worries.
The second half of the song introduces an interesting twist by seemingly contradicting the first half. The singer asks the person to tell him lies about what they have to do, perhaps suggesting that he wants to block out reality and indulge in make-believe. But at the same time, he admits that he will still follow the person regardless of the situation. This could be interpreted as saying that even though the person he wants to be with might not be living in reality, he still wants to be close to them and join them in any way possible. The screaming towards the end of the song represents the intense passion and emotion that the singer is feeling, reinforcing the idea that his feelings for this person are genuine and strong.
Line by Line Meaning
I - I'll to be there for you
I am devoted to being by your side and supporting you in any way that I can.
With you my soul's gotta be endless soon
Being with you brings me such joy and fulfillment that I feel like I could live forever in this moment.
Your head can always be in it when you clean it
You can focus on your thoughts and inner self when you take the time to clear your mind and engage in self-care.
Please tell me lies of what you got to do, well
I want you to share with me your grandiose plans and dreams, even if they may not be entirely truthful. I just want to hear about what you hope to achieve.
I just got to say I follow you, right there
I respect and support your decisions, and will stand by your side through thick and thin.
Yeah... ((Screaming...))
Expressing intense emotion and passion for the connection and love shared with the person being addressed.
Contributed by Noah T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.