In a new interview with BOSS, John Frusciante’s former guitar tech Dave Lee revealed what it took to bring the guitarist back to the band.
He recalled receiving a call from the guitarist for the first time in years. Frusciante asked the tech to ‘take a look’ at his guitars, not realizing that he was getting ready to reunite with the band.
“When Eric [the owner of Eric’s Guitar Shop] saw [the guitars], he looked at me and goes, ‘John’s going back to the Chili Peppers.’ I said, ‘No way is he ever going back to the Chili Peppers. I just spent two hours with him, and he’s the happiest I’ve ever seen him.’ But Eric goes, ‘I bet you he is.’ I guess he was right,” Lee recalled.
Frusciante did ask Lee to rejoin his team, but the guitar tech had to turn it down for a reason: “I got a text from John. He wrote: ‘I know that you probably don’t want the job, but I’m just letting you know that it’s available to you if you want it.’ Maroon 5 had so much work planned, so I texted him back saying, ‘John, I’ve committed to a bunch of stuff that I have to do. But I’ll gladly help you in any way I can to get stuff sorted out.’ It felt so weird having to turn that down!”
Frusciante left Chili Peppers back in 2009 to explore new musical avenues, focus on personal and professional growth, and enjoy a calmer life away from the spotlight. In 2019, he rejoined the band.
Lee worked with Frusciante from the beginning to the guitarist’s exit in 2009. The guitar tech thinks that though Frusciante was kind and big-hearted, he was difficult. “John is a very kind person with a very big heart. Having said that, at times he could be difficult. He gets frustrated easily and becomes overwhelmed sometimes,” he said in an interview with JF Effects.
“He’s very emotional. And his mood can be switched by the slightest thing. So I would say, as much as I love him as a person, I found it best to try to keep our relationship more a ‘working’ relationship rather than a friendship,” Lee added.
The band is gearing up for their upcoming 2025 tour. They will start on December 20 in Louisville, Kentucky, and wrap it up on April 18 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
