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 Slaughter
John Frusciante Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
you'll be there in the slaughter
Freeing me when I'm cornered
Being arrested by the mind cops
they're the only ones worth changing what you do for
And i try to be in line
I guide my fate
And what its good for there's no telling
Its a flood
Ill know her face a mile away
Shell take me straight through that gate
Living there in a flower
You wouldn't have made it without her
Though she seems to stay in one place
She grows with your life
So cry for time
what's slow is fast at the same time
It comes to life
And if it dies
you'll never notice 'cause it
It slides as it climbs
Ill know her face a mile away
And ill know my pains a life away
The lyrics of John Frusciante's song "The Slaughter" suggests a struggle with one's mind and the freedom that can come from being rescued by another person. The opening line "I'll know her face a mile away" implies that the singer is searching for someone or something that will rescue them. The phrase "you'll be there in the slaughter" suggests that the person the singer is seeking may be found in a violent or chaotic situation, implying that they will find solace in the midst of destruction.
The lines "Freeing me when I'm cornered/Being arrested by the mind cops/They're the only ones worth changing what you do for" suggest that the person or thing the singer is seeking has the power to free them from the confines of their own mind, which may be a source of pain and distress. The phrase "mind cops" refers to negative thoughts or self-doubt, and the idea that only something powerful or inspiring could be worth changing one's behavior for.
The following lines "And I try to be in line/I guide my fate/And what it's good for there's no telling/It's blood/It's a flood" suggest that the singer is striving to take control of their own destiny but is uncertain about what that entails. The image of blood and flood suggests that the process of taking control can be chaotic and destructive, but also cleansing and transformative. The final lines "And I'll know my pain's a life away" implies that the singer believes that they will find the resolution to their struggles in the embrace of the person or thing they are seeking.
Line by Line Meaning
I'll know her face a mile away
I can easily recognize the woman I've been searching for
You'll be there in the slaughter
You'll be with me, supporting me through the difficult times
Freeing me when I'm cornered
Saving me when I'm in a difficult situation and have nowhere to turn
Being arrested by the mind cops
Being stuck in my own negative thoughts and perspectives
They're the only ones worth changing what you do for
Our own minds are the most important to change for, and the ones worth the effort
And I try to be in line
I strive to stay true to my own values and beliefs
I guide my fate
I take responsibility for my own life and the decisions that guide it
And what it's good for there's no telling
I don't know what the future holds, but it will be worth it
It's blood
Life is difficult and can be painful
It's a flood
Sometimes life can feel overwhelming and all-encompassing
She'll take me straight through that gate
The woman I've been searching for will help guide me to a better place
Living there in a flower
Existing in a beautiful, peaceful place
You wouldn't have made it without her
I couldn't have made it this far without the support of the woman I've been searching for
Though she seems to stay in one place
Although she may physically stay in one spot, her impact on my life is far-reaching
She grows with your life
She adapts and changes with me as my life continues to evolve
So cry for time
Acknowledge that time is limited and precious
What's slow is fast at the same time
Time can feel slow in the moment but passes by quickly in the grand scheme of things
It comes to life
Life comes into being
And if it dies
If something dies or fades away
You'll never notice 'cause it
You may not even realize it's gone
It slides as it climbs
As something fades away or dies, something new begins to rise and take its place
I'll know her face a mile away
I'll always be able to recognize the woman who has had such an impact on my life
And I'll know my pains a life away
I'll be able to leave the pain and suffering of my past behind, and move forward with her by my side
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: JOHN FRUSCIANTE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind