I'm with you

The Album Name

The I'm with you album cover artwork

Anthony had been trying to come up with names for the title of the album and had lists of potential names for the album but he and the rest of the band felt that none of them felt right for the album, they were clever and good but didn't fit. For example Anthony gave the list to Flea and he read them and said, "these are good but there not the title of our record, its out there somewhere and when we find it we'll know" (from I'm with you interview 9 on youtube by RHCPtv). Then the next day Josh Klinghoffer came and said he had an idea for a title for the album and suggested "I'm with you" and they all agreed that that was going to be the album name. Anthony thought this, "Its just because it has a very good feeling and its something that brings people together. And then a few days later it was announced on the radio  un-known to me and I went into a public gathering and a young chap came up to me beaming from his eyes took my hand and said I'm with you, but it felt so beautiful when he said it to me" (also from I'm with interview 9 by RHCPtv). The band thought the name reflects he album because Josh is with them, they are with Josh and its open so it doesn't have to be literally indicative of the collection of music that's on the album its a little chandelier of sunlight above the songs as Anthony Kiedis said. Personally I think that its a great name for the album and it fits perfectly, this is because the album material to me shows a lot of closeness, togetherness, a lot of happiness and the name I'm with you shows those feelings perfectly and its not too long or complicated its just straight to the point and shows the colour of the band and the album.

Josh Klinghoffer

The New Guy

The writing process seemed to be very similar with Josh so the band just turned up for practising and plugged in and jammed and most of the songs have come from jamming. Another part of the writing process with Josh is that Josh had some material that he was working with for a while and so the used that to it’s extend and the rest of the songs came from Josh and Flea bringing riffs to the band or piano pieces. Josh seemed to fit into the band very well and very easily, this is because Josh had been working with them for some time as he worked with them in Stadium Arcadium and the fact that they are all close friends anyway that helped to fit together. For Anthony Kiedis he felt that Josh was the only real option and that they wanted someone who was already close to them and they knew so it would be easier to adjust as they have tried auditions before and the band felt that they didn’t go down well. When Josh was asked to be in the band he didn’t say yes straight away and went and thought about the decision for a week or so. This made Anthony confident of Josh being the new guitarist as he had actually thought about the decision and as ready and aware and it wasn’t a flippant rash decision. As well as playing guitar and piano Josh also plays the drums and apparently he is a very good drummer and drum’s n his own unique way, these factors helped in the decision for the band that they wanted him because he is a very accomplished musician and to the band the only one to them who knew what he was doing as a musician. Also Josh made music with John Frusiante that personally  I have listened to these tracks and I think they are great and show the amazing talent that they both have as musicians. Personally I think Josh is a good fit to Red Hot Chili Peppers and I love his guiitar playing because there are some amazing riffs and great guitar solos in the album and he brings a great musical direction to the band and I think he is more than equal to John.



Josh Klinghoffer playing 1965 Sunburst Fender Telecaster that
 was given to him by his friend John Frusciante
who he replaced in the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
(picure from feelnumb.com)







 





 





Recording

Recording Studio

They recorded their album in EastWest Studios in California, Los Angeles (the same recording studios that they recorded Californication) and their record label being Warner Bros. The recording dates started on September 2010 to March 2011. The band actually recorded enough material to have a double CD album like Stadium Arcadium but they decided not to, Rick Rubin, thought this was a shame as he said, "it was painful not to share all of the material that we had, but we felt it would be too much. We really wanted it to be twelve songs but it ended up being fourteen just because nobody could agree on which twelve." Rick Rubin is the bands producer and has been since their massive album “Blood Sex Sugar Magic” in the 90’s. The band love working with Rick and think he’s a great producer because he doesn’t try to change who they are as a band or what they sound like. The band thought that it is different working with him now than it was in the past because they didn’t have as much contact with him on this album because Rick lived far away and liked making decisions from home and that he also was working with a lot of other bands and people. However they thought that this did not at all affect the effectiveness of Ricks work and Flea said in an interview that in fact he has probably gotten the way he works down so well that working with him is so easy and that they work well together and he is a great source of ideas.  



Rick Rubin
(picture from Google)



This is a you tube video of an interview with Flea and Josh
and Flea is talking about working with Rick Rubin. I think it is great to hear what they are saying as it gives an insight into how the band work and the process in writing and making the album.

About the album

The Peppers thought that they would write for the album before going into the studio for one year. This is because as Anthony Kiedis said “if you put four guys in a room every day for a year to write music eventually the truth is going to come out”. So basically they wouldn’t write until they had 10 songs or 14 good songs they would just keep on writing and see what the end result would be. I think the main reason they did this is because they had a new guitarist and for the Red Hot Chili Peppers chemistry is very important so they needed to find out what they were going to be like. A lot of the material or at least most of the material on the album seemed to be written in the first stages or hours of writing such as Brendan’s death song and Annie wants a baby but they still felt they wanted to take their time and find out who they were together as a band. The album lasts for 60 minutes and the songs listing includes,
Monarchy of roses
Factory Of Faith
Brendan's Death Song
Eithiopia
Annie Wants A Baby,
Look Around
The Adventures Of Raindance Maggie
Did I Let You Know
Goodbye Hooray
Happiness Loves Company
Police Station
Even You Brutus?
Meet Me At The Corner
Dance, Dance, Dance 

Picture of Red Hot Chili Peppers
(picture from Red Hot Chili Peppers website)

Flea and the Piano

Flea’s main instrument in the band is the bass guitar and he sometimes uses the trumpet in songs to add to the depth of the music. In this album as well as bass and trumpet he also decided to bring piano into the band. He started playing the piano when he went to U.S.C and studied music theory so he started writing songs on piano and as Josh Klinghoffer also plays piano a lot of the albums songs were written on the piano and then brought into the band. Also it’s not just that there is a piano in the music because of this, this is what Flea said about it in an interview “it’s different and not just the fact that there is a piano playing on a record, I mean that’s a different sound but to me that’s not the difference on the sound of the music because the song can be written on a piano and you have the bass line along with the melody and chords moving and rhythm everything all there, and then you go and apply it to a rock band and we start interpreting it. It’s completely different than starting on the instrument your playing in that band, so you’re coming from a different place which is a really fresh ecstatic for us, its cool.”

Pictre of Flea playing piano
(picture from Red Hot Chili Peppers fan site)

Band Line Up

 Also in this album Flea decided to play piano in certain songs such as happiness loves company, this was to add more melody in the songs. Also they decided to add more percussion to their set up so they added Mauro Refosco to tour with them along with Chris Warren for keyboards to also add to their sound.

They also had a change of guitarist from their last album (Stadium Arcadium) to their current one (I’m with you) from John Fruscainte to Josh Klinghoffer. This change was due to John’s leaving of the band for new musical endeavours. So as Josh Klinghoffer was like rhythm guitarist in Stadium Arcadium and in their Stadium Arcadium tour, so the band felt that it was the most logical option. The band said that they know that no-one could ever be John or replace John so they wanted Josh to be Josh and bring his own thing to the band.  

Chad Smith-Drums
(picture from Google)

Josh Klinghoffer-Electric Guitar
(picture from Google)



Anthony Kiedis-Vocals
(Picture from Google)



Michael Balzary (Flea)-Bass Guitar
(Picture from FleaBass website)

Introduction

Hello, my name is Ross Millar I am 15 years old and I am in year 11 of the Minster school. I play bass and guitar and I am the bassist in a band called The Age Of Stella and we play our own compositions and play gigs regularly. I come up with the bass lines for the songs and sometimes write lyrics. Our music is like an alternate rock but more bass and more funk added to the mix. We have five members, Will Shipley-drummer, Bill Cotter-singer, Mash Lammiman-lead guitar, Jackson Brooksbey-rythme guitar and me Ross Millar-bass.

I am writing this blog for my music course in school and as Red Hot Chili Peppers is my  favourite band and their new album I'm with you is amazing I thought that I would do my blog on I'm with you. Including the band line up, where they recorded the album, how long it took them to come up with the songs and which songs they would put on the album, pictures of the album, videos of interviews, who was involved in the album and lots more.