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.
I May Again Know John
John Frusciante Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Remember me if you loved me.
Mother nature's slaughtered me.
Remember me if you loved me.
Mother nature's slaughtered me.
Love me.
I thought I saw a light.
All I saw was the place
Where's my mind
And I've gotta know what it wanted with me.
Well, and if you've gotta face exploring
And what you know is bringing your ass down, john...
..... your ass down.
John!
Oh john, where are you?
We'd known as as we'd meet
Oh, I am alone
And life goes on.
I have seen through lines of lies
Well, at least tell me
Is it a mad, mad choice?
Hidden in a place of darkness
Heaven is so cold with blackness
You have seen her show,
But do you know where you'd go?
I have seen through lines of lies
Well, at least tell me
Is it a mad, mad choice?
It's been so long
Since I've seen the sun
Yeah life lasts so long
That the harm is all gone
It's been so hard
We'll sing the song
Yeah life lasts so long
That the harm is gone
The song "I May Again Know John" is a deeply introspective work by John Frusciante, the former guitarist of the legendary rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. The song begins with the lines "Goodnight friends, Remember me if you loved me. Mother nature's slaughtered me. Remember me if you loved me. Mother nature's slaughtered me. Love me." These lines suggest that the singer is bidding farewell to his friends and loved ones, and the descriptor "Mother nature's slaughtered me" implies that he feels defeated, perhaps by an external force that was beyond his control. He urges his loved ones to remember him, as if he fears that he will be forgotten or ignored.
The song shifts in tone as it progresses, with the singer switching between introspection and a plea for help. The lines "Well, and if you've gotta face exploring and what you know is bringing your ass down, john... your ass down. John! Oh john, where are you?" imply that the singer is searching for answers within himself, but he is struggling with the weight of the task. He's asking for help and looking for John, who could be a reference to John himself, or perhaps a representation of a friend or mentor who can help him find his way. The lines "I have seen through lines of lies Well, at least tell me Is it a mad, mad choice?" suggest that the singer is questioning his own reality and trying to make sense of it all.
The song ends on a relatively positive and hopeful note, with the lines "It's been so hard We'll sing the song Yeah life lasts so long That the harm is gone." These lines imply that the singer has come to terms with his struggles and has found a way to move forward. While the lyrics in this song are open to interpretation, it is clear that John Frusciante is grappling with some very personal and intense emotions here.
Line by Line Meaning
Goodnight friends,
He is saying goodbye to his friends.
Remember me if you loved me.
He wants to be remembered by loved ones if he meant anything to them.
Mother nature's slaughtered me.
He feels that nature has destroyed him.
Love me.
He's seeking love or acceptance.
I thought I saw a light.
He thought he saw an opportunity or hope.
Ahhhhhhh, no...
Expressing disappointment at not finding what he was looking for.
All I saw was the place
He only saw a location that didn't offer anything to him.
Where's my mind
He's feeling lost and unsure of himself.
And I've gotta know what it wanted with me.
He needs to know what was the reason behind his experience.
Well, and if you've gotta face exploring
If you have to face the challenge of exploring
And what you know is bringing your ass down, john...
When what you know is causing emotional harm
..... your ass down.
Calm yourself
John!
Referring to himself as a way to snap out of his thoughts and emotions.
Oh john, where are you?
He feels lost and is talking to himself asking where he is.
We'd known as as we'd meet
We could recognize each other when we meet.
Oh, I am alone
Realizing that he's alone in his experience.
And life goes on.
Life continues, whether he wants it to or not.
I have seen through lines of lies
He's able to see through dishonesty and fake feelings.
Well, at least tell me
Asking for some kind of truth or information.
Is it a mad, mad choice?
Questioning whether a decision was irrational.
Hidden in a place of darkness
Something that is concealed in obscurity.
Heaven is so cold with blackness
Reinforcing the idea that heaven is not a place of pure bliss.
You have seen her show,
He is aware of a performance, potentially one being put on by a woman.
But do you know where you'd go?
Asking a philosophical question about what happens after we die.
It's been so long
Experiencing a feeling of time passing too quickly.
Since I've seen the sun
Hasn't felt happy or content in a long time.
Yeah life lasts so long
Life feels like it will never end.
That the harm is all gone
Over time, any emotional pain will disappear.
It's been so hard
Acknowledging how hard something has been.
We'll sing the song
Will continue to go on despite the challenges he may face.
Yeah life lasts so long
Cannot escape or avoid the longevity of life.
That the harm is gone
Eventually, old emotional wounds will heal.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: JOHN FRUSCIANTE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
sl1ghtlystoop1d
It's sad, because I love this album so much and I want to share it with all my friends, but none of them get it. Guess it's just for me to enjoy
Clepto Manicx
Same
Oz
Relatable.
Oz
@Strutting Bird So goddamn true.
Joel Lane
Your not alone, ever...
Mike Hunt
We can just all exist as friends, right in this here comment section
elephantshelf
I lost my mom a year ago to this day. When she passed I immediately went to this song. I couldn’t put into words how I felt. This song made me feel what I needed to within the shock of it all.
When my grandparents passed, I went to Niandra Lades.
I don’t know. John’s music has been there during the worst parts of my life. I reflect on my mom today and this is the only song or thing I can listen to that can match how I feel.
Prisms Edits
This is the strongest song i've heard ever. The feeling in this one is just so sad and depressing, you can feel how lost he was at that time. " John where are you ? " This line hits me so hard, this songs is for very few people to understand. I feel so close to John when i listen to this.
Niandra L
that's true about a lot of his music, and it's nice to see people understand, thanks for that
Prisms Edits
Indeed, but i don't really listen to this song because of that reason. It's too powerful and should be handled with care.