Red Hot Chili Peppers on John Frusciante: "His Departure Was a Relief, But a Positive Relief"

In a recent interview with the U.K's The Sun, members of the Red Hot Chili Peppers expressed that while they had sensed the departure of guitarist John Frusciante before it happened, he never once slacked off in his commitment to the band.

"The time John revealed his plans to move on was something everyone had sensed and was emotionally prepared for," said lead singer Anthony Kiedis. "You can't carry someone who doesn't want to be there – not that he was kicking and screaming. He played his ass off till the last note so his departure was a relief, but a positive relief."

• Listen To The Red Hot Chili Peppers' New Single, "The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie"
• Exclusive: Anthony Kiedis Talks About How Josh Klinghoffer Joined The Red Hot Chili Peppers

Flea admitted that the band had some apprehension about moving on without their long-time guitarist, adding: "It was different this time. We'd made three records with him and had a lot of success and John's writing and creative input was such a big part of that. I thought we'd never do it without John – it would be stupid to try. But when he left, I was presented with this new reality of what it was and it made me realise and we had to go on and could go on."

You can read the full interview here.