Dave Navarro Once Lent a Les Paul Guitar to John Frusciante in Rehab
Dave Navarro and John Frusciante have both passed through the ranks of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but there's even more in common between the two. Both guitarists endured issues with substance abuse, finding resolve in the same rehabilitation center at different points in their life. When Frusciante found himself confronting his problems, he reached out to Navarro for a little help while he was seeking treatment — he needed a guitar to play.
"So I had a Sunburst Les Paul guitar because I was considering joining Guns N’ Roses at the time," began Navarro on a recent episode of his Dark Matter podcast (transcribed by Alternative Nation). He recalled being asked to join GN'R, but admitted the timing wasn't right since he was "string out on drugs or whatever," so he decided to lend Frusciante this particular axe. "So I brought the Les Paul to the facility, we hung out, we talked a little bit, and I never saw it again. I think he left the facility, who knows what happened. So life goes on, I end up leaving the Chili Peppers, I don’t know where John is," he continued.
Fast forward a decade and Frusciante dials Navarro and asks to come over his house. "He comes up, knocks on the door, and has a guitar case. It’s not unusual that a guitar player would bring a guitar to a guitar player’s house," Navarro described, going on, "He opens it up, and it’s a black Les Paul. He goes, ’I just wanted to give this to you because years ago you gave me a Les Paul and I sold it and bought drugs with it and I just want to make it right.’ I was like, ‘Wow man.’"
Navarro said he still has that black Les Paul at his house. "I love that he tried to make amends with that," he said. "In a weird roundabout way, the black Les Paul that he replaced it with is more special than the original one was.”
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