Former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist reveals being in rock band was ‘enormously stifling’

Former Red Hot Chillies guitarist Josh Klinghoffer has opened up about his 10 years performing with the rock band, claiming that the experience was “enormously stifling”.

Klinghoffer first joined the group in 2009 following guitarist John Frusciante’s exit. However, he was later asked to leave in 2019 once Frusciante returned.

Speaking about his “perfect” decade-long run with the “Californication” band, Klinghoffer told Guitar World (via Radio X) that “as much as I love those guys and loved playing with them, it was also enormously stifling creatively”.

He went on to explain: “They’re an established band with an established sound, and I learned over time how little deviating from that was possible.

“As much as I thought they were up for experimentation, they generally stayed in their own lane.”

The 43-year-old musician added that he would try and avoid “certain chords” in his music writing “if they sounded like something John would play”.

“I thought I was doing a good job writing with them, but it wound up not kind of becoming part of my story, or if it is part of my story with them, it’s a small part,” Klinghoffer said.

He described his time with the band as “a blessing and a beautiful experience”, later moving on to work alongside Pearl Jam and frontman Eddie Vedder’s solo album Earthling, which released in February of this year.

Red Hot Chili Peppers’ four-piece band is currently comprised of Flea, Frusciante, Chad Smith, and Anthony Kiedis. Their newest album, Return of the Dream Catcher, is expected to release on 14 October.