Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea recently reflected on his early days with bandmate Anthony Kiedis. He shared an unconventional strategy they used to attend concerts without paying, according to Rick Beato.
Flea explained that growing up in low-income families in 1970s Hollywood, he and Kiedis had to be resourceful just to survive. This struggle shaped their approach to experiencing live music and developing their musical foundation.
“Anthony and I, when we were kids, we were up to so much wild stuff. We were just loose and gone… in Hollywood in the ’70s, it was crazy,” Flea said. “We didn’t have any money. Both of us came from low-income families, so it was like, How are we going to get lunch today? What are we going to do?… Because we were always so used to just trying to survive on the street, when it came time to have a band, we had… this grit.”
Beyond their concert-sneaking tactics, Flea emphasized the diverse musical influences that shaped the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ sound. Their musical palette extended far beyond funk, encompassing avant-garde and rock genres.
“We didn’t just listen to funk. We listened to Ornette Coleman, we listened to the No New York scene in New York in the ’80s, the Lounge Lizards and James Chance and all of that. And we loved Led Zeppelin and the mighty rock bands. We went to go see The Who, and at the same time we go see Jaco Pastorius, we saw Weather Report and Miles Davis,” he continued.
Flea concluded by sharing his unconventional advice for concert infiltration: “We knew how to sneak in everywhere. I’m telling you, kids, you want to sneak into something, walk in backwards, they’ll never notice you. Just walk in backwards. I’m telling you, it works.”
Flea’s recollection of his chaotic youth with Kiedis reflects a deeply formative period that would define the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ identity. The two musicians bonded at Fairfax High School in 1976, as reported by Louder Sound. They spent their teenage years in what they themselves describe as a “feral” existence—loose, rebellious, and constantly navigating survival on the streets of Hollywood.
Flea’s musical foundation was uniquely shaped by his early exposure to jazz. Born Michael Peter Balzary in Melbourne, Australia in 1962, Wikipedia notes that Flea moved to Los Angeles after his parents’ divorce. His mother’s marriage to a jazz musician exposed him to legends like Miles Davis and Louis Armstrong. This early immersion in jazz became the bedrock of his musical sensibility, even as he later embraced the aggressive, DIY ethos of the L.A. punk scene as a teenager.
The combination of Flea’s jazz background and his street-level struggle with Kiedis created a unique musical chemistry. Flea began as a trumpet player with jazz aspirations, as detailed by Só Groove Oficial. He was later drawn into punk and funk, a shift that would ultimately define the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ eclectic sound. The band formed in 1982–1983 with guitarist Hillel Slovak and drummer Jack Irons. Their upbringing in a low-income, chaotic environment, paired with their deep immersion in jazz, punk, and funk, became a core part of their musical identity.
The grit and resilience that Flea mentions in his recent interview stems directly from this turbulent period. RNZ documented Flea’s reflections on his “pretty violent, chaotic” upbringing. He described how the constant struggle for survival instilled a relentless work ethic and creative drive. This energy would later fuel the band’s explosive sound and innovative approach to music. This foundation of hardship transformed into artistic fuel, allowing the Red Hot Chili Peppers to create music that resonated with audiences worldwide.
