John Frusciante

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"My apologies to you, our guitarist broke a finger": Red Hot Chili Peppers forced to cancel KROQ show following John Frusciante finger injury

By Phil Weller published 12 December 23

Vocalist Anthony Kiedis has now revealed the reason for the cancelation, with Frusciante sidelined for six weeks

Zach Irons of AWOLNATION performs at the Forum on November 10, 2018 in Inglewood, California.

“Flea said, ‘Dude, you have to sit down with my guitar player, John – he’s the best.’ I wasn’t a fan yet, but I said, ‘Cool. Let’s do it’”: How Zach Irons established a vital new voice in guitar playing – with a little help from John Frusciante

By Andrew Daly published 13 November 23

Guitarist for IRONTOM and AWOLNATION – and the son of Red Hot Chili Peppers and Pearl Jam drummer Jack – Zach Irons takes a truly individual approach to the instrument. He reveals how he’s combating guitar self-indulgence, why he’s finally coming around to digital tones, and what makes the vintage Strat given to him by Frusciante his number one

“I don’t think there’s any guitar playing in history that stands above that”: John Frusciante, Johnny Marr, Radiohead and the Edge rank him among their favorite players – now underrated guitar hero John McGeoch gets the spotlight in new documentary

By Matt Parker published 7 November 23

The Light Pours Out of Me film examines the life and legacy of the influential guitarist behind Magazine, PiL and Siouxsie and the Banshees

“We pulled a few guitars out – I loved the ’61 Strat immediately. John said, ‘I want you to take that guitar with you – it’s yours”: John Frusciante gave away a prized vintage Fender Stratocaster to a fan who became one of his favorite modern guitarists

By Michael Astley-Brown published 3 November 23

This 1961 Olympic White Strat has the rare honor of being played by both Frusciante and Josh Klinghoffer during the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Stadium Arcadium tour – but Frusciante eventually handed it over to a fan who would go on to become one of his favorite contemporary guitar players

Red Hot Chili Peppers survived 5 guitarist swaps, and each one shook up their sound. Here’s how the band’s guitar style evolved with each personnel shift – and what you can learn from them, too

By Jamie Hunt published 22 September 23

From Hillel Slovak to the second coming of John Frusciante, we trace the RHCP funk-rock sound through five guitarists

John Frusciante and Steve Vai perform live

John Frusciante’s guitar teacher once told him he wasn’t a good guitarist – so he learned to play like Steve Vai: “No-one was going to say that to me again”

By Michael Astley-Brown published 26 June 23

The Red Hot Chili Peppers guitar hero recalls being criticized because he couldn’t play the blues scale fast enough: “It was about the worst feeling I could imagine”

From Prince to John Frusciante via Cory Wong: learn the rhythm approaches of the pop-funk masters

By Steve Allsworth published 5 June 23

Hone your rhythm chops with examples in the style of the players who took funk in new directions

Guitarist John Frusciante of Red Hot Chili Peppers performs at Allegiant Stadium on April 01, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Does John Frusciante have a signature Fender Stratocaster in the works? Here’s the truth

By Michael Astley-Brown published 23 May 23

After sightings of a replica ’62 Strat prototype and some special deliveries from Fender, the Red Hot Chili Peppers rumor mill has gone into overdrive – we got the real story from Frusciante’s guitar tech

Justin Hawkins explains why he thinks John Frusciante is overrated

By Matt Owen published 22 May 23

In his podcast, The Darkness guitarist discussed why he gets “nothing from John Frusciante’s guitar playing” – and why he thinks no good rock 'n' roll has ever been played on a PRS

Josh Klinghoffer onstage with Jane's Addiction

Josh Klinghoffer thinks Red Hot Chili Peppers were making “cooler music” with him: “I was shocked when I heard their new record”

By Matt Parker published 6 April 23

The guitarist says he doesn’t want to badmouth his former band, but the experience of hearing their latest recordings with John Frusciante was “tough”

John Frusciante gets struck with cramp, forcing him to stretch his fretting fingers in the middle of a blistering live solo

By Matt Owen published 20 March 23

The 53-year-old succumbed to cramp despite having one of the most intense warm-up routines around, which includes plenty of finger strengthening and a Sous Vide cooking machine

John Frusciante and YouTuber Paul Davids

John Frusciante says this YouTuber’s mindblowing theory on the secret to his Scar Tissue sound is... dead on

By Matt Parker published 10 March 23

The Red Hot Chili Peppers man says Paul Davids’ idea about his Scar Tissue tuning is absolutely right – he just didn’t know he’d done it

Watch a 17-year-old John Frusciante shred like a hair-metal guitar hero in newly unearthed footage

By Michael Astley-Brown published 10 February 23

One year before he joined the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Frusciante could be found tearing up the fretboard of a Kramer-inspired SuperStrat with two-hand tapping, blinding legato and Floyd Rose whammy bar squeals

Flea and John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers

John Frusciante says he views bass as the lead instrument in Red Hot Chili Peppers: “I see each song as being like a bass solo where I'm there to support it”

By Matt Parker published 6 February 23

Frusciante and the band have been discussing their connection in a rare full-band interview on 60 Minutes

John Frusciante of Red Hot Chili Peppers performs at Mt Smart Stadium on January 21, 2023 in Auckland, New Zealand.

We finally have a good look at John Frusciante’s gigantic new Red Hot Chili Peppers pedalboard

By Michael Astley-Brown published 23 January 23

A newly posted photo gives us a closer look at the guitar hero’s all-encompassing pedal picks and choice settings

Eric Gales, Wolfgang Van Halen, Steve Vai, Nita Strauss, John Frusciante

Guitarists of the year: the players who left their mark on 2022

By Alison Richter published 28 December 22

We pay tribute to the returning champs, the young guns breathing new life into the guitar and this year's all-round heroes of the six-string – or, in Steve Vai's case, 23-string…

Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers performs at Nissan Stadium on August 12, 2022 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Flea: “Basslines take on a different type of melody with a pick”

By Nick Wells published 20 December 22

The Red Hot Chili Pepper explains the origins of his more melodic pick approach

[L-R] Nita Strauss, Steve Vai, Sophie Lloyd and John Frusciante

The 10 best guitar solos of 2022

By Jonathan Horsley published 14 December 22

As voted for by you, and featuring the lead guitar skills of Nita Strauss, Sophie Lloyd, John Frusciante, Polyphia, Steve Vai and more, here are the solos that lit up your year

John Frusciante performs with Red Hot Chili Peppers at Nissan Stadium on August 12, 2022 in Nashville, Tennessee

John Frusciante to release new electronic album in 2023: "After a year and a half writing and recording rock music, I needed to clear my head"

By Jackson Maxwell published 6 December 22

Produced by Frusciante himself, the album will be released – in two separate formats, with two different track lists – early next year

AWOLNATION's Aaron Bruno shares his guitar and emotional journey, and reveals why, for him, "music is mental health"

By Alison Richter published 23 November 22

The leader of the crossover rock act details his rocky road to success, how songwriting and guitar playing has helped him throughout his life – and how one of John Frusciante's Strats ended up on AWOLNATION's latest all-star covers album

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