Red Hot Chili Peppers Unveil ‘I’m With You’ Album Art

L.A. funk rockers Red Hot Chili Peppers are on target to release their new album, ‘I’m With You,’ on August 30, and the gang unveiled the release’s cover art today. The bare-bones image shows a fly positioned on a pink-and-white drug capsule that reads “I’m With You,” and the band’s name barely detectable at the top in white text.

As for the new album, Red Hot Chili Peppers bass player Flea says recording sessions were completely different from those for the band’s 1989 release ‘Mother’s Milk,’ since this round happened without guitarist John Frusciante.

“Well, there are a few huge differences,” he told Stereogum. “The number one difference is John Frusciante left the band, and he was a huge part of our creative process for a long time. I’m so grateful for him. He wrote the principal parts for many of our most popular songs, and the parts for many of our most artistically profound songs, which weren’t necessarily popular…”

Flea added that once Frusciante left, he didn’t want to continue with the band. But eventually, “I just felt so much love for the band and love for Anthony,” he said.

“I just wanted to keep doing it and once we made that decision I decided to get Josh, so my point is — I kind of went on a big tangent there — a big difference is having Josh Klinghoffer as our guitar player, because he’s a much different guitar player then John.”

Flea -- who spent much of his time on hiatus from the Peppers taking classes at University of Southern California -- helped launch a special nonprofit music school, the Silverlake Conservatory of Music in Silverlake, Calif., about ten years ago. The school currently has about 700 students.

“…it’s not about being famous or being a rock star, or anything like that,” he said, “it’s about technique on a particular instrument and learning to play it.”