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.
More
John Frusciante Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
What it seems to be
Hell and all the babies on the babies
Laugh at me
And I just wanna shine on and on and on the sky
Hey on the bay, on the bay, on the bay
Hey you out there want you
On the wall on me, on me
Hey now, hey now, hey now, hey now
Hey now, hey now, hey now
The love, the love, I need you
The white hope and the law roads all are here
Wine with me dead I go
I can't wait another day
To find the one who went away
The one who went there at the start
The one who went away and the part
Who am I who plays the part
Who plays the part, the one who plays the part
The part, oh the part
The lyrics to John Frusciante's song "More" seem to be somewhat abstract and open to interpretation. The opening line "Well is the pipe for what it seems to be" could refer to the idea that what we initially expect or assume things to be (represented by the pipe), may not actually be the case. The next line "Hell and all the babies on the babies laugh at me" is more difficult to decipher, perhaps alluding to feelings of inadequacy or being a target of ridicule.
The chorus appears to be about yearning for connection with someone else: "I just wanna shine on and on and on the sky. Hey on the bay, on the bay, on the bay. Hey you out there want you, I need you and I want you here on the wall on me, on me. Hey now, hey now, hey now, hey now. Hey now, hey now, hey now. The love, the love, I need you." There's a sense of urgency to the singer's desire for this person to be with them ("I can't wait another day"), and the repetition of "hey now" and "on me" seems to emphasize that desire.
The last stanza of the song is perhaps the most cryptic, with lines like "The white hope and the law roads all are here" feeling somewhat disconnected from the rest of the song. However, the idea of searching for someone who has gone away is repeated, as is the idea of playing a part. There's a sense of questioning one's own identity and role in the situation.
Overall, the song seems to be expressing a desire for connection and meaning, but with a sense of uncertainty and confusion.
Line by Line Meaning
Well is the pipe for
Is the pipe really what it appears to be?
What it seems to be
Or is it something else?
Hell and all the babies on the babies
The horrors of the world and the innocent victims of it
Laugh at me
Sometimes it feels like even the world is against us
And I just wanna shine on and on and on the sky
Despite the challenges and difficulties, all we really want is to shine and be happy
Hey on the bay, on the bay, on the bay
We want to find our place in the world and be surrounded by beauty and peace
Hey you out there want you
We crave connection and relationships with others
I need you and I want you here
We need the support and love of those around us
On the wall on me, on me
Sometimes it feels like the world is closing in on us
Hey now, hey now, hey now, hey now
Calling out for help and hoping that someone hears
Hey now, hey now, hey now
Repeatedly asking for help and reassurance
The love, the love, I need you
Needing love and support to get through the struggles of life
The white hope and the law roads all are here
All kinds of people are in this world, including good and bad
Wine with me dead I go
Life is short and we should enjoy it while we can
I can't wait another day
Don't take life for granted, live in the present
To find the one who went away
Trying to recapture lost love or memories
The one who went there at the start
Thinking about where it all began
The one who went away and the part
Trying to find closure or answers to unresolved questions
Who am I who plays the part
Reflecting on our role in life and who we are
Who plays the part, the one who plays the part
Questioning who is really in control of our lives
The part, oh the part
Contemplating the complexities of life and our place in it
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: JOHN CHARLTON, CHRIS DICKERSON, BRETT HESTLA, TED LEDBETTER, JASON MARCHANT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@leandrobarbaro6685
Well is the pipe for
What it seems to be
Hell and all the babies on the babies laugh at me
And I just wanna shine on and on and on the sky
Hey on the bay, on the bay, on the bay
Hey you out there want you
I need you and I want you here
On the wall on me, on me
Hey now, hey now, hey now, hey now
Hey now, hey now, hey now
The love, the love, I need you
The white hope and the law roads all are here
Wine with me dead I go
I can't wait another day
To find the one who went away
The one who went there at the start
The one who went away and the part
Who am I who plays the part
Who plays the part, the one who plays the part
The part, oooooo the part
@mightyduckyo
Well is the pipe for
What it seems to be
Hell and all the babies on the babies
Laugh at me
And I just wanna shine on and on and on the sky
Hey on the bay, on the bay, on the bay
Hey you out there want you
I need you and I want you here
On the wall on me, on me
Hey now, hey now, hey now, hey now
Hey now, hey now, hey now
The love, the love, I need you
The white hope and the law roads all are here
Wine with me dead I go
I can't wait another day
To find the one who went away
The one who went there at the start
The one who went away and the part
Who am I who plays the part
Who plays the part, the one who plays the part
The part, oh the part
@mrpower9712
Well is the pipe for
What it seems to be
Hell and all the babies on the babies
Laugh at me
And I just wanna shine on and on and on the sky
Hey on the bay, on the bay, on the bay
Hey you out there want you
I need you and I want you here
On the wall on me, on me
Hey now, hey now, hey now, hey now
Hey now, hey now, hey now
The love, the love, I need you
The white hope and the law roads all are here
Wine with me dead I go
I can't wait another day
To find the one who went away
The one who went there at the start
The one who went away and the part
Who am I who plays the part
Who plays the part, the one who plays the part
The part, oh the part
@Austin1Arse
There are so many insanely great melodies on this album. Even for the average person who listens to nothing of this nature, the melodies should be fascinating.
@uTube359
Ja!
@shanegarm
absolutely
@mochimochi6357
So true
@stevenrivera3977
Lo-fi is bad ass. I was so drunk and drugged up in my period of downfall and that gave me such great ideas. This song makes me cry. This is is just addiction at its worst just like I go through. It gets better. I cry so fucking hard. Even when I am sober I GET HIGH PLAYING THIS SONG! Thats what john wanted to show us. Not through this album though, music is it's own high... Peace and love! You ADDICTS WILL MAKE IT!!!! He did! I know we all can.
@theheroinundergroundandchi1622
Heroin is the love of my life and my biggest enemy. Frusciante also reminds me of all my years of drug addiction. I can not believe I’m goin on 13 years. It’s gotta end. I am 7 days clean, so feeling better. But I don’t even trust myself anymore. There have been times where I swore I was certainly done for sure, and not because I felt it was the right thing to do, but because I was genuinely sick of the whole life. People tell me work the program of 12 steps, never been, don’t know if it it will help. I feel like I need a ibogaine trip to heal my self loathing.
@jaydenvandersluys8477
@The Heroin Underground and Chico how’s it going now all these years later ?
@pirituflauti6094
@The Heroin Underground and Chico how are u?
@plurbodude
"First you have to die,so i gave it a try..". This album is pure chemical....and the very essence of soul...when there's nothing left but pencil scratches and a blood curdling scream from the gut.
@dumbage
that lyric is from time tonight, from the curtains album another masterpiece