Anthony Kiedis biography

Synopsis

Singer, actor, writer. Born on November 1, 1962, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. As the lead singer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Anthony Kiedis has become one of best-known figures in alternative rock. His parents split up when he was very young. He lived with his mother, Peggy, in Michigan and visited his father, John, in California. While with his father, Kiedis was exposed to the Los Angeles club scene where he got a chance to see such rock acts as the Eagles, Neil Young, Deep Purple, and Rod Stewart.

Developing an aversion to authority at an early age, Kiedis acted out in school. He eventually convinced his mother to agree to let him live with his father in California. In his early teens, Kiedis moved in with his father and soon began experimenting with drugs. He started smoking marijuana and later tried heroin, cocaine, and Quaaludes.

His father earned much of his money from dealing marijuana and other illegal substances, according to Scar Tissue, Kiedis’s official autobiography. By the mid-1970s, John Kiedis decided to try to make as an actor, taking classes and the stage name Blackie Dammet. Anthony also started acting, using his own stage name Cole Dammet. He landed a few commercials and small parts.

Aspiring Musician

At Fairfax High School, Kiedis met and made friends with Michael Balzary—better known later as Flea—and Hillel Slovak. Slovak had a band known as Anthym and Balzary eventually joined it as the bass player. Kiedis acted as the MC for some of their gigs. They were also interested in the emerging punk scene and caught shows by such acts as Black Flag.

Kiedis moved out of his father’s place to live with a friend during the latter part of high school. Despite living in the midst of a party scene, he was able to keep up his grades. Kiedis did well enough to get accepted to UCLA. College, however, did not hold his interest for long.

In 1982, Kiedis found inspiration for his vocal styling from the hit song, “The Message,” from Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. He started a band with friends Slovak and Flea—although they were already in different bands—with Jack Irons on drums the following year. The group that would become known as the Red Hot Chili Peppers became a popular fixture on the L.A. club scene.

The group quickly went through a line-up change when Slovak and Irons left when their other band What Is This landed a record deal. Kiedis and Flea pressed on with their innovative funk-punk sound, bringing in guitarist Jack Sherman and drummer Cliff Martinez. The group eventually became known as the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers

Their 1984 self-titled debut didn’t sell, but the group started to attract a following with their energetic live shows. Often over-the-top rebels, the Red Hot Chili Peppers even performed a few times while only wearing strategically placed tube socks. For their second effort, Freaky Styley, the group enlisted the help of funk superstar George Clinton to serve as their producer. The album also marked the return of Slovak and Irons to the band.

Kiedis’s off-stage activities were starting to take over his life. He was using heroin and cocaine heavily, so much so that his bandmates kicked him out of the group for a while. Returning to Michigan for a time, Kiedis went through detox. He returned to Los Angeles and the band, but did not stay clean for long.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers released their third album, The Uplift Mofo Party Plan, in 1987. The album even made it onto the Billboard 200 album charts. The following year, Kiedis experienced a great personal loss. Longtime friend and bandmate Slovak died of a heroin overdose on June 25, 1988. After this tragedy, Irons decided to leave the band and Kiedis eventually went to a rehabilitation center.

Trying to regroup, Kiedis and Flea added guitarist Blackbyrd McKnight and drummer D. H. Peligro to the group, but this line up didn’t work out. They then brought in guitarist John Frusciante and drummer Chad Smith and recorded Mother’s Milk. They began attracting more fans and more media attention. MTV aired videos for two tracks—“Knock Me Down” and their cover of Steve Wonder’s hit “Higher Ground.”

In 1989, Kiedis found himself in legal trouble for a post-concert