Red Hot Chili Peppers Talk New Album ‘I’m With You’

Red Hot Chili Peppers are returning with a fresh approach to their sound on their tenth studio album 'I'm With You' due out August 30th. Singer Anthony Kiedis and Co. recently spoke about the new album, new guitarist, and their decision to continue after the departure of John Frusciante.

In the five years since 'Stadium Arcadium' the members of the band have been involved in a few outside projects such as Chad Smith's Chickenfoot and Flea lended his bass skills to Atoms for Peace; Thom Yorke of Radiohead's live band. Guitarist John Frusciante released the solo disc 'The Empyrean' and collaborations with Mars Volta axeman Omar Rodriguez-Lopez. Apparently he enjoyed his independence from RHCP's (at times) exhausting schedule and decided he would not return to the band.

In an interview with Rolling Stone, singer Anthony Kiedis said that after Frusciante's exit, himself and Flea "had this intuitive feeling. We're not really done. We wanted to maintain the Red Hot Chili Peppers if we could do it in a way that upheld historically what we had accomplished."

The solution was the addition of RHCP touring member and former Beck guitarist, 31 year old Josh Klinghoffer to the band's roster. Though Kiedis admits "There were some interesting conversations, about do we try to find someone we don't know, or maybe there is somebody right in our own backyard who is the perfect solution."

Klinghoffer joined in the conversation saying "I felt like I had the experience. There was no real adjustment. This is playing music with people I admire and who have been friends for years."

"Josh has not lacked the necessary assertions. His voice is as dominant as any other voice on the record." Kiedis said of Josh's contribution to 'I'm with You', which Klinghoffer co-wrote with the rest of the band.

Flea says 'I'm with You' is reminiscent of  Rolling Stones' (the band not the magazine) albums 'Exile on Main Street' and 'Tattoo You'. Flea spent a lot of time listening to those albums during the recording process and compares them by saying "It's about a feeling and a song, about everyone embracing the moment of the song, not always about the riff."

The band is currently in rehearsal for the tour to support 'I'm with You', which Flea jokes will last "forever". Soon they plan to release the first single 'The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie', which gives the classic Pepper's funk the hard-pop treatment. Don't let that description scare you off though, Kiedis vouched for the album claiming "I know when we write mediocre stuff, and when we write good stuff. I can't wait to go out and play this."