"I don't want to be on the radio. I don't want to be on Mtv."-John Frusciante
Frusciante is well known for his work as the lead guitarist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, ranking #72 on Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Guitarists of all time. John has had a very productive and successful career as a solo artist as well. John began playing guitar at the age of 12. He studied guitarists like Jimi Hendrix and Frank Zappa. When he was 18 he attended a tryout for Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention but decided to leave last second due to personal goals.
Style: John's style is very unique; he grew up listening to everything from Jimi Hendrix to Funkadelic and Joy Division. There is a very noticeable Hendrixian influence on many of his solos. He also payed tribute to Eddie Hazel and his beautiful instrumental "Maggot Brain" on one of Frusciante's solo albums The Empyrean. The song is called "Before The Beginning".
Solo from Dani California Live
Live Jam
Before The Beginning
Equipment: John is known for his love of vintage guitars, most noticeably his 1962 Sunburst Fender Stratocaster . His most expensive guitar to date is a 1957 Gretsch White Falcon which costs roughly $30,000. This was given to him by his friend Vincent Gallo after John lost much of what he had owned to a house fire, from which he barely escaped.
Effects: John's go to effect is the wah pedal, which is an Ibanez Wh10. He owns several distortion pedals but his main choice is a BOSS DS-2 Turbo Distortion. He also uses an MXR Phase 90 which can be heard in the Californication album and Stadium Arcadium.
Solo Career: John has released 11 solo albums since 1994. In 2004 John released a flurry of 6 albums. His solo material sounds nothing like the Chili Peppers, and for someone to listen to his solo work expecting Chili Pepper influence, they might be disappointed. His vocals are very much like Cat Stevens, and the genres he plays range from acoustic folk reminiscent of Neil Young (Past Recedes), to something like a psychedelic space opera, if there was one(Unreachable). His solo work is unique and hauntingly beautiful if one can get passed his not so conventional vocals. He uses a lot of falsetto, and uses guttural screams similar to Kurt Cobain.
The Past Recedes
Unreachable
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