Flea Reveals He Still Takes Music Lessons

Flea revealed he still takes music lessons. The legendary Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist spoke to Bass Player magazine and explained how he looks back at the band's past and his individual musicianship: "I’m always discovering things, y'know, and trying to develop. I like to think that the best parts of myself back then, I’ve kept, and that I’ve gotten rid of the bits that I don’t need. I’ll try to add more essential parts and I’ll get better."

He went on to say, "Y'know, I really want to be a good jazz bass player -- that’s something I really want to do, whenever I get the time. I was studying with someone for a little while, around the time I finished tracking on the last Chili Peppers album. I was studying jazz with this girl whose husband plays saxophone on our record, just working on trying to play through changes on walking bass, because upright bass is the most comforting sound to me. I remember when we were tracking Californication, we were all sitting around the studio lounge, and John (Frusciante) was asking everybody in the room, 'What’s the real comfort music that you put on and it’s like breathing?' I realized that for me, it’s jazz, mostly because I liked it when I was a kid."

Fleas shed light on how he maintains his bass chops: "When we’re on tour, I’m playing so much. We’re playing gigs all the time, and I play scales for an hour before every show. Something about the Chili Peppers is that never for a second have we ever taken the audience for granted, or thought 'We’ll just go out and play the hits.' I always take every show as a sacred moment, as part of a mission of being alive. So I keep my chops up. I’m ready. I’m ready!"

(from PulseOfRadio.com)

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