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.
The First Season
John Frusciante Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And that season be the first
Shadows we're in become us
So we set up interspersed
Between here and away
Become your space every day
When it changes up my row
Light starts being there
To talk about all he's feeling for the moon
To even the lie damn him
In that halo
Evil
Round that halo
Evil
It hangs by evil
You revolve now with my echo
You rose inter wound
Actually people in the wrong
Come through and go on
Leave my lonely mind a cell
Keep flowing on a drill
I keep holding on to myself
Be humble, take it the slow way
As I'm aloud
Even holding on
My cell of space that holds me
The lyrics of John Frusciante's song The First Season appear to be quite abstract and open to interpretation. In general, the song seems to be about the nature of existence and the ways in which we construct our own realities. The opening lines, "Let the pretend take over / And that season be the first," suggest a deliberate choice to embrace imagination and fantasy as a way of anchoring oneself in the world. The next few lines, "Shadows we're in become us / So we set up interspersed," reinforce the idea that our surroundings have a profound effect on us, and that we have the power to shape our own environment for better or for worse.
The rest of the lyrics are similarly fragmented and surreal, but there are a few key themes that emerge. One of these is the idea of change and transformation. The line "When it changes up my row / It slates when time will turn to a room" seems to suggest that time and space are malleable, and that we have some control over how we experience them. Similarly, the lines "You rose inter wound / Actually people in the wrong / Come through and go on" may hint at the cyclical nature of life, with people constantly coming and going and leaving their marks on us.
Overall, The First Season is a haunting and enigmatic song that invites listeners to explore its many layers of meaning.
Line by Line Meaning
Let the pretend take over
Allow your imagination to take control
And that season be the first
Let this new beginning, this change, be the start of a new season in life
Shadows we're in become us
The darkness of our past can shape and define us
So we set up interspersed
We establish ourselves interactively with our surroundings
Between here and away
There is a space between where you are and where you want to be
Become your space every day
Embrace your surroundings and make it your own
When it changes up my row
Life becomes uncertain and unpredictable
It slates when time will turn to a room
Intense emotions can blur the line between reality and fantasy
Light starts being there
New possibilities are revealed
To talk about all he's feeling for the moon
Expressing emotions and desires for something out of reach
To even the lie damn him
Acknowledging that sometimes what we want can be deceiving
In that halo
In the light of what we seek
Evil
The darkness that lurks beneath the light
Round that halo
Surrounding and corrupting the things we desire the most
It hangs by evil
Our aspirations can be tainted by the negative aspects of life
You revolve now with my echo
Others are influenced by our actions and words
You rose inter wound
You emerged from difficult situations, wounded but stronger
Actually people in the wrong
Those who do wrong
Come through and go on
Come and go without remorse
Leave my lonely mind a cell
Feelings of isolation and despair
Keep flowing on a drill
Endure and keep moving forward
I keep holding on to myself
Maintaining our sense of self in the face of adversity
Be humble, take it the slow way
Stay grounded and take things one step at a time
As I'm aloud
With permission or acceptance of oneself
Even holding on
Despite the challenges, we must continue to push forward
My cell of space that holds me
Our personal space, both physical and emotional, is what keeps us intact
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: JOHN FRUSCIANTE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@cakesloveapples
Lyrics:
Let the pretend take over
And that season be the first
Shadows we're in become us
So we set up interspersed
Between here and away
Become your space every day
When it changes up my row
It slates when time will turn to a room
Light starts being there
To talk about all he's feeling for the moon
To even the lie damn him
In that halo
Evil
Round that halo
Evil
It hangs by evil
You revolve now with my echo
You rose interwound
Actually people in the wrong
Come through and go on
Leave my lonely mind a cell
Keep flowing on a drill
I keep holding on to myself
Be humble, take it the slow way
As I'm allowed
Even holding on
My cell keep flowing on a drill
I keep holding on to myself
Be humble, take it the slow way
As I'm aloud
Even holding on
My cell of space that holds me
The cell of space that holds me
I have an EP on this music channel. Plz check it out - hearts
@jes8253
Let the pretend take over
And that season be the first
Shadows we're in become us
So we set up interspersed
Between here and away
Become your space every day
When it changes up my row
It slates when time will turn to a room
Light starts being there
To talk about all he's feeling for the moon
To even the lie damn him
In that halo
Evil
Round that halo
Evil
It hangs by evil
You revolve now with my echo
You rose inter wound
Actually people in the wrong
Come through and go on
Leave my lonely mind a cell
Keep flowing on a drill
I keep holding on to myself
Be humble, take it the slow way
As I'm aloud
Even holding on
My cell of space that holds me
@luisalejandrosmithdextre5321
Let the pretend take over
And that season be the first
Shadows we're in become us
So we set up interspersed
Between here and away
Become your space every day
When it changes up my row
It slates when time will turn to a room
Light starts being there
To talk about all he's feeling for the moon
To even the lie damn him
In that halo
Evil
Round that halo
Evil
It hangs by evil
You revolve now with my echo
You rose interwound
Actually people in the wrong
Come thru and go on
Leave my lonely mind a cell
Keep flowing on a drill
I keep holding on to myself
Be humble, take it the slow way
As I'm aloud
Even holding on
My cell of space that holds me...
@prismsedits2320
For me, the song builds up in tension and stress, and then at 3:31, it just releases the feeling. I fucking love this moment. Cant even say how much.
@boskameel
Prisms Edits best part ever
@tylerdussault1932
It shows the most emotion
@prismsedits2320
+Smexy Goosebear I listened to this so much man it's not even funny
@StevenRecknagelMusic
gives me chills every time man
@amandabeardsley1298
Its called refrain. Such beauty. My favorite song❤
@smurfsdeadfetus
My favorite frusciante song by far. If this don't give you goosebumps man I don't even know if you're human
@amandabeardsley1298
Sarah Six yes..
@stefanoponce6090
It's beautiful, indeed.
@dres4039
the live version always gives me the chills.