John Frusciante Allegedly Quit Red Hot Chili Peppers

Posted on Dec 14th 2009 10:00AM by John D. Luerssen
Comments

Guitarist John Frusciante has allegedly left the Red Hot Chili Peppers again. Frusciante -- who joined the band in 1989 only to quit in 1992 and rejoin again in 1999 -- could reportedly be replaced by guitarist Josh Klinghoffer, who has toured with Beck, PJ Harvey and Gnarls Barkley.

"Josh Klinghoffer has been playing with the group for a couple of months now," an anonymous source close to the Chili Peppers tells MusicRadar.com. "Optimistically, the Peppers are trying to lock down a replacement for John, who has apparently quit."

The report suggests that Frusciante -- who has released a series of offbeat solo records in the past five years -- recently refused to be introduced to be as "guitarist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers," asking to instead be referred to as "guitarist." Earlier this year, when asked of his future with the Chili Peppers, Frusciante told that site that he had "no plans."

When asked last month about Frusciante's future in RHCP, drummer Chad Smith told Classic Rock magazine, "At this time I can't talk about that. I have been told to stay away from the John questions."

"Mentally, John checked out a long time ago. He's interested in doing his own thing, his own albums -- the whole big rock band machinery just doesn't appeal to him anymore," the source added. "The big thing right now that the band will have to consider is, 'Can Josh write great songs? Can he help push them forward?'"