STAR PROFILEBy Harrison Crick

Anthony kiedis

Background

■ Anthony Kiedis is an American singer and songwriter best known as the lead singer of the band Red Hot Chili Peppers, which he has fronted since its conception in 1983.

■ Kiedis is a co-founder of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and has been with the band throughout their entire history, having recorded all eleven studio albums with them.

■ were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012. In 2004, he published an autobiography titled Scar Tissue, which became a New York Times Best Seller.

Early life■ Kiedis was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to John Michael Kiedis, also

known professionally as Blackie Dammett, an actor, and Margaret "Peggy" Noble. His paternal grandfather's family emigrated from Lithuania in the early 1900s; the remainder of his ancestry includes Greek, English, French, Dutch, and Mohican.

■ Shortly after hanging out with the band, and attending a few shows, Kiedis was offered a position in the band by Flea. He began as a "hype man", going out in front of the band blurting out jokes to the audience and getting them pumped up. The band was soon renamed "what is this" and later "the Red Hot Chili Peppers“

Formation of first album

■ The band had only one song, titled "Out in L.A.", and was formed for the purpose of playing the song once. The song was based on a guitar riff that Slovak wrote while "jamming" with Irons, and was not meant to become a real song until Kiedis decided to rap over the music.

■ The Red Hot Chili Peppers entered Bijou Studios to record a demo tape and subsequently secured a record deal with EMI.

■ Andy Gill, formerly of Gang of Four, agreed to produce their first album, 1984's ‘The Red Hot Chili Peppers’. Gill and Sherman clashed with Kiedis and Flea; they continuously argued over music style, sound, and the album's production.

Mainstream success

■ When Blood Sugar Sex Magik was released on September 24, 1991, it received an overwhelmingly positive critical response. The album peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 200, and went on to sell over seven million copies in the U.S. alone. The album's ensuing tour was critically acclaimed—the Chili Peppers commonly performed shows with over twenty thousand in attendance. Seattle-based grunge band Nirvana also toured with them during the West Coast leg of their United States tour.

■ Immediately following the release of Californication, the band embarked on a world tour to support the record, beginning in the United States. To culminate the US leg of their tour, the Chili Peppers were asked to close Woodstock '99.

Drug addiction

■ Although his band was experiencing greater success, Kiedis' withdrawal symptoms took a toll on his personal life. This led to the end of his two-year relationship with Skye in December 1989: "I had managed to stay sober by not ingesting drugs, so my body had healed from all that torturous activity, but my mind still wasn't healthy enough to work out all the problems that come up in a relationship.“

■ Since his father was an addict, Kiedis was constantly exposed to drug-using and drug-dealing behaviour while growing up. Some of Kiedis' early drug use came from substances he got from his father, including marijuana, which he first smoked when he was 11 years old. He used drugs for years, including during the formation of the band, where other members were also using. A few years into the band's career, he was briefly fired due to his heavy drug use, and at times it got so bad that he failed to show up to some of the band's performances.

Kiedis’ image

Album covers

Style of music video

■ There music videos are usually very abstract and indie style that usually show a meaning.

■ The song ‘otherside’ the music video is all about them trying to get away from their past drug habits.

■ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rn_YodiJO6k