Artist of the Week: Red Hot Chili Peppers

Here's the deal, this week's band really doesn't need an introduction. So I won't give them one, but I will give you a brief history lesson, just in case you've been living on Mars or something. The band was formed in Los Angeles, California back in 1983. The band line up has pretty much always consisted of Anthony Kiedis(Vocalist), John Frusciante(Guitarist), Michael "Flea" Balzary(Bassist), and Chad Smith(Drummer). Although the band released four albums in the 80s, they didn't make it big til 1991 with their release of Blood Sugar Sex Magik Thanks to singles like "Give it Away", "Under The Bridge" and "Suck my Kiss", the album was a huge success and went on to sell over 12 million copies. Shortly after, drug addiction started to take it's toll on Frusciante, and he decided to quit the band in 1992. in 1995, the band released their next album One Hot Minute with the help of Dave Navarro, but sadly the album wasn't as successful as their last. In April of 1998, due to some problems with drugs and what the band called "creative differences" Navarro was fired from the band. That same year, after having many problems with drugs himself, Frusciante admitted himself to a rehab center. When he completed his treatment, former band-mate Flea visited Frusciante and openly invited him to re-join the band. An invitation that he happily accepted, and within a couple of days, the original band was reformed and had started working on their next album. Then in June of 1999, Californacation was released. The Album which included singles "Scar Tissue", "Otherside" and "Californacation" went on to sell over 15 million copies. In 2001, the band went back to the studio to work on their next album. Then in July of 2002, they released By The Way. The album sold over 700,000 copies in it's first week and produced some great singles in "By The Way", "Can't Stop" and "The Zephyr Song". In 2003, the band recorded two new songs, "Fortune Faded" and "Save the Population" which they included in their Greatest Hits album which was released in November of that year. In 2006, the band released their next album Stadium Arcadium. The initial plan was to release the 38 recorded tracks in three separate albums spaced six months apart. Instead, they released 28 of the tracks in a double album and later released the remaining 10 as b-sides. The album was the first for the band to debut as #1 by selling over 1.1 million copies on it's first week worldwide. The album also produced three consecutive #1 singles in "Dani California", "Tell Me Baby" and "Snow(Hey Oh)". Although the band is currently on a break, they have said that they will be returning to the studio in September of this year. Who knows how much more amazing music they'll make, all I know is, I can't wait. That being said, this week's artist is Red Hot Chili Peppers with their video Snow(Hey Oh), enjoy.