Wednesday, March 2, 2016

That Psycho Flea



Michael Peter Balzary, or more famously known as Flea, is an Australian born, American Raised bassist. Balzary was nicknaed Flea because of his inability to sit still in class, and it stuck with him ever since. Flea had a pretty tough life as a child: He and his family moved to New York for his dad's musical career. His parents divorced, and his father moved back to Australia. His mother remarried to a Jazz musician, who became an aggressive alcoholic, and eventually got involved in shoot-outs with the police. Yeah, he was pretty crazy. Flea said: "I was raised in a very violent, alcoholic household". He went on to say: "I grew up being terrified of my parents, particularly my father figures. It caused [me] a lot of trouble later in life." He began using recreational Marijuana to cope with his feelings. Flea began his musical career as a trumpet player being deeply in love with Jazz music, and was then introduced to punk rock through his high school friends Hillel Slovak and Anthony Kiedis. Flea learned how to play the bass through Slovak, and then joined his band called Anthym. Flea then quit, and joined a band called Fear; he rejoined the first band, which was ultimately the creation of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. He learned many different bass styles like slap bass and fingering techniques, which gave him the wide range of abilities he has now. In each of the band's 16 albums, Flea is able to incorporate his different techniques to create bass lines that feel full and meaty. His behavior on and off stage created an image that matches his playing style-- being funky, wild, crazy, and sporadic. There is no specific bass of choice for Flea--  He believes having a specific bass is unimportant: "what mattered was how you hit them [basses] and your emotional intent, and I still think that's the bottom line."  As a result of his musical style Flea  is listed as the second best bassist of all time in Rolling Stone. Flea is currently alive and well, still with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and also doing small gigs with random artists for fun. He is also an avid philanthropist, and has done tons of performances for charitable causes. Check out some of his awesome skills in the video:


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