Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea shared his thoughts and feelings about his longtime friendship with singer Anthony Kiedis during his recent interview with Broken Record Podcast. He talked about the challenges that they had to face growing up and how they now argue with each other like kids.
Flea and Kiedis met while they were attending the same high school. As the neglected kids of divorced parents, they became close friends quickly, which would change their entire lives for good. The two young boys realized that they were both interested in and passionate about music. Then they decided to become both friends and bandmates after founding the legendary rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Undoubtedly, the friends had to overcome many problems from their teenage years to adulthood as rock stars because of personal issues, tragedies, and the burden of fame and popularity. The bassist opened up about these situations in his memoir entitled ‘Acid for the Children,’ saying that they were a perfect match. However, they often disagreed because of different tastes and views about specific issues.
Moreover, Flea recently stated that his relationship with Anthony Kiedis never changed. The secret to their longevity was growing up together while trying to survive without adults who should have told them what was right or wrong. He admitted that they could easily offend and hurt each other due to their longtime friendship. The Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist added that they tend to fight like boys even though they are in their 50s.
Here’s what Flea said about his relationship with Kiedis:
“In terms of our relationship, creatively, it hasn’t changed. The essence of what it is and what it’s informed by, which is so much still. I think its longevity is so formed by those years as kids, like growing up in our weird misguided way without real mature guidance or anyone holding our hands into like ‘This is how you become a man, a grown-up, these are like the tenets of morality.’
I don’t think I even started growing up until I got sick in my early 30s, to be honest. It’s still rooted in that, like when you’re with someone and going through these big changes and even though you’re confused and bewildered, like bumbling around, just trying to avoid pain and go to pleasure. It’s a survival together, and something about that is really deep.
I was thinking this morning like about as the years had gone by, there have been so many times when it was difficult between us. It also works against us that child stuff because we can get into these scraps or be offended or hurt by one another in a way that’s so f*cking childish. We revert back to being completely emotionally fragile and immature 15-year-olds in our 50s.“
You can check out the video below.
