It is this aspect of Los Angeles that spawned Anthony Kiedis, singer and lyricist with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, a band who have long made much of their lifelong association with the city (witness their 1999 album, Californication). Led Zeppelin minted the imperious boorishness of the hard- rock lifestyle on Sunset Strip John Lennon saw out his mid-Seventies lost weekend not far away scores of musicians, from Ozzy Osbourne to Depeche Mode's Dave Gahan, have marked the low point of their careers by cloistering themselves in west Hollywood hotels and taking as many drugs as they could get their hands on.

If the music's ethos has a hub, however, it lies in Los Angeles, that sun-kissed expanse where rock's emphasis on life in the moment and the equation of glamour with excess are made flesh. It is instead a compelling story of dedication and debauchery, of intrigue and integrity, of recklessness and redemption.America's rock'n'roll Hall of Fame was built in the slightly misplaced surroundings of Cleveland, Ohio, but rock's true birthplace probably lies somewhere near Memphis, Tennessee and some of its most celebrated developments have taken root in Seattle and New York.

SCAR TISSUE far transcends the typical rock biography, because Anthony Kiedis is anything but a typical rock star. Crisscrossing the country, the Chili Peppers were musical innovators and influenced a whole generation of musicians.īut there s a price to pay for both success and excess and in SCAR TISSUE, Kiedis writes candidly of the overdose death of his soul mate and band mate, Hillel Slovak, and his own ongoing struggle with an addiction to drugs. He formed the band with three schoolfriends - and found his life's purpose.

and plunged headfirst into the demimonde of the L.A. Raised in the Midwest, he moved to LA aged eleven to live with his father Blackie, purveyor of pills, pot, and cocaine to the Hollywood elite.Īfter a brief child-acting career, Kiedis dropped out of U.C.L.A. In SCAR TISSUE Anthony Kiedis, charismatic and highly articulate frontman of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, recounts his remarkable life story, and the history of the band itself.

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