RHCP on the ‘Monumental Change’ of John Frusciante Back in the Band

Red Hot Chili Peppers with John Frusciante just hits differently, and apparently, Anthony Kiedis and Flea agree.

In a new interview with NME, the Chili Peppers touch on the second return of their beloved guitarist with Kiedis saying, "The biggest event, honestly, was John returning to the band. That was the most monumental change in our lives. And God was I down for anything and everything."

The idea to approach Frusciante on returning to the Chili Peppers came up during the early days of writing Unlimited Love, the band's new album that drops on April 1.

Kiedis said, "It was going slowly and without a real definitive drive to it. It was just sort of meandering. And then both Flea and I had a zeitgeist of a feeling inside of ourselves independently which was: ‘It would be really nice to involve John somehow in this process.’ It had been a long time and he was making himself known in our circles again after having been in his very own circle."

Of course, by bringing Frusciante back, that meant Josh Klinghoffer had to be let go after being in the band for a decade.

"He’s been with us for 10 years, and it was an emotionally difficult thing to do," said Flea of firing Klinghoffer. "Not only was he a great musician, he was also a thoughtful, supportive team-player – a communally-minded, kind and intelligent person. But artistically, in terms of being able to speak the same [musical] language, it was easier working with John. Getting back into a room and starting to play and letting the thing unfold… was really exciting."

RHCP released their latest single "Black Summer" last Friday (February 4.) "Black Summer" comes with a new music video (embedded below) that finds the Chili Peppers rocking out in front of various green-screened landscapes and other images. The track is available for streaming and download here.

Unlimited Love is available for pre-order in a variety of formats at RedHotChiliPeppers.com.