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 0β15.
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 Will To Death
John Frusciante Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But we saw them, saw them
We looked right in their eyes
Right at them, at them
Pinning space to the world
We slaughtered, slaughtered
Not a sound to be heard
We're awful, awful
How they run
Out of gas
They beat the pain
They sing in the rain
Endless and formless
They fly to the end
And back to the
Beginning again
Have you put them aside
Your crazy thoughts and dreams
No they're a part of me
And they all mean one thing
The will to death is what keeps me alive
It's one step away, step away
Limitations are set
Only then can we go all the way, all the way
And have you seen how the cars when they pass
They come your way
Then they're speeding away
Coming to you and then going away
But for them nothings changed, for them nothings changed
The lyrics of John Frusciante's song The Will To Death are a reflection on the human condition and the inevitability of death. The opening lines refer to something that may be perceived as lies, but that the singer has actually witnessed firsthand. This can be interpreted as a metaphor for the idea that death is often seen as something distant and abstract, but it is in fact an unavoidable part of life. The use of the first person plural (we) emphasizes the universality of this experience.
The next lines describe the act of killing, with the metaphorical imagery of "pinning space to the world". The lack of sound and the use of the word "awful" create a sense of unease and horror. This is followed by a shift in tone with the question "have you seen", which introduces the idea of something that is beyond the physical and earthly world. This is further emphasized by the image of running out of gas, which can be interpreted as a metaphor for running out of the physical energy needed to sustain life.
The chorus of the song emphasizes the idea that the will to death is what keeps us alive, which can be interpreted as the idea that the awareness of our own mortality gives us the impetus to make the most of our lives. The final lines are a reflection on the idea that although things may seem to change for us, the universe goes on regardless.
Line by Line Meaning
And they're thought to be lies
People believe that what we saw was not true
But we saw them, saw them
We actually saw what people don't believe
We looked right in their eyes
We stared straight into the eyes of what we saw
Right at them, at them
We didn't look away
Pinning space to the world
We created a permanent memory of what we saw
We slaughtered, slaughtered
We killed our doubts and fear of what we saw
Not a sound to be heard
We were silent about what we saw
We're awful, awful
We feel guilty about what we saw
And have you seen
Do you observe and understand
How they run
How people aimlessly rush through life
Out of gas
Without energy and motivation
They beat the pain
They cope with the difficulties of life
They sing in the rain
They make the best of the worst situations
Endless and formless
Life is without boundaries and form
They fly to the end
They move fast towards reaching their goals
And back to the Beginning again
And start all over again
Have you put them aside
Have you dismissed your unrealistic and insane thoughts and dreams
Your crazy thoughts and dreams
Your wild and unrealistic aspirations
No they're a part of me
No, they are an integral part of who I am
And they all mean one thing
All my thoughts and dreams represent one idea
The will to death is what keeps me alive
My desire to live life to the fullest is what drives me to keep going
It's one step away, step away
It's within reach, just one step away
Limitations are set
Boundaries are established
Only then can we go all the way, all the way
But only when we push past our limitations, we can truly excel
And have you seen how the cars when they pass
Have you noticed how cars move past you
They come your way
They come towards you
Then they're speeding away
Then they move away quickly
Coming to you and then going away
Approaching you, and then leaving you
But for them nothings changed, for them nothings changed
But for the cars, nothing has changed after passing you
Lyrics Β© O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: JOHN FRUSCIANTE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind