“Hey, come see my baby!” Free said excitedly, holding up her iPhone as she stood next to her bike in the hospital parking lot. Silverlake Conservatory of Music. Red hot chili in basketball shorts and a red bucket hat His 60-year-old bassist from His Peppers cradles young son Darius at his home in Malibu Streetwear His designer wife Melody His Esani I’m having a face-to-face with.

Free, who has two older daughters, one 34 and the other 17, admits he forgot how exhausting baby care can be. “It was early this morning,” he says with a laugh. “But it’s unbelievable. He sleeps with us, and I get into bed every night and smell his soft little head.”

Darius isn’t the only one in need of Flea’s attention at this time. Last year, the Chili Peppers became the first LA veteran band with guitarist John Frusciante in over a decade to release two new studio albums, Unlimited Love and Return of the Dream Canteen. ]was released. The group, which now includes singer Anthony Kiedis and drummer Chad Smith, is touring stadiums and headlining festivals, including Lollapalooza in August. When Flea (real name Michael Balzary) comes home between tours, he learns jazz trumpet from Kamasi Washington’s father, Ricky.

He also has a podcast, ‘This Little Light’. The show interviews artists such as Patti Smith, Earl Sweatshirt, Rick Rubin, Stewart Copeland and Margo Price about his experience of loving music and learning to play. Produced by Free in partnership with Parallel and Ordersy’s Cadence 13, the show’s proceeds were founded by Free in 2001 to provide the kind of music education Free felt was no longer offered in Los Angeles public schools. It will be donated to the non-profit Silverlake Conservatory of Music.of the podcast finaleKiedis talks about his unexpected journey as a vocalist, and it’s out Thursday.

Moving from the parking lot to the airy practice room, Flea asked for a moment before we sat down and chatted. “I’m going to do a little ritual,” he says. Then he was silent for about 20 seconds and bowed his head.

Is it your daily routine?
Yes, I am a praying person. I pray when I wake up in the morning, when I go to bed, and when I eat. Pause for a moment during the interview. Let everything out of the way.

who are you praying to?
to God. I’m not religious at all, but I do believe in God to some extent. And I try to live a life that honors my idea of ​​what God is, something like God’s energy.

You talk to Patti Smith on the podcast about this thing, the idea of ​​finding God in music.
Music to me is the voice of God. I grew up rabidly anti-religious, but there was a period in the early ’90s, just as he was turning 30, when he became very ill with chronic fatigue. I was a drug addicted lunatic, partying all night and playing basketball all day. I thought I was Superman. And suddenly it felt like all the energy had been sucked out of my body. I felt like I couldn’t go on tour, I felt too sick. And I didn’t party, so I was cut off from my friends.

So I read a self-help book by a man named Jon Kabat Zinn. There he talks about what is left when all his thoughts and actions – pain, joy, memories and hopes – are removed. It really hit me because I was so trapped in the outside world. I started thinking about the emptiness, and at that moment God completely understood. As I said earlier, I have never believed in any religion. And I tried – even went to church.

Why did you feel the need to challenge yourself?
I think there is also a sense of community. In the 80’s I attended a church in South LA as an atheist. I had a friend who knew where the best gospel groups were, so when I went there, it was going to be incredible. I thought punk rock was intense. A punk rocker is a hell of a crowd compared to a church where people speak in tongues and throw themselves to the ground.

How has parenting affected your activities here at the Conservatory?
it’s the same thing. I just want my children to grow up and be the means by which their light shines.

Do you feel that music education is particularly important in an era defined by screens?
I think it was always important. But yeah, I’m worried about the screen. That’s why I didn’t give my middle child a cell phone until he was 15. Children don’t have time to lie idle on the grass and look up at the endless sky. It seems like a really important thing.

Are you trying to guide your child’s musical tastes?
I expose them to things. My little baby listens to Ornette Coleman and Stravinsky a lot. The wheels of the bus are not turning round and round in my house. F— “Mary had lambs.” [laughs] I listen to Sonny Rollins.

The 2022 Red Hot Chili Peppers, left to right: Anthony Kiedis, Chad Smith, John Frusciante, Free.

(Mariah Tauger/Los Angeles Times)

What did the podcast learn about interviewing people?
Before I interviewed anyone, the big lesson I learned from being interviewed 10 million times is that there is nothing worse than being interviewed by someone with an agenda. You can feel it right away. Or someone who just has a list of questions. “What is your favorite color?” “I like blue because it reminds me of eggs.” I just got it!”

What’s your favorite interview you’ve had?
The really good one was the match with Anthony. We had never talked to him about such things, so we both kind of burst into tears. Anthony does not consider himself a musician at all, nor has he had any musical education. He said the band should be renamed “Idiot and the Three Geniuses”. And people will despise him, won’t they? Eddie Vedder is just as good as Pavarotti, but with Anthony it sounds different.

do you think he is a good singer?
I think he is a great singer. And he’s always learning and improving. When we started the band, he couldn’t sing a single note, he just screamed. Now he has a melody and he doesn’t even stick to it. He moves around and improvises. See, I know who the great singers are: Kurt Cobain, Jim Morrison, Roger Daltrey. But for me, the only thing I care about with any musician is if they sound like me. No one sounds like Anthony Kiedis.

Before starting the current Chili Peppers tour, John Frusciante said he didn’t know what to expect on tour. how was he doing?
very good. Every gig seems sacred to him. In true John fashion, he practices about five hours before each show. He plays Jeff Beck’s “Blow By Blow”, plays every solo, and warms up his fingers.

Are football stadiums a good place for rock and roll?
Want rockstar answers? “Oh, I really miss seeing people’s faces in small clubs.” I’ve played for every club on the planet and seen their ugly faces. [laughs] I love playing in stadiums. It’s full when you go out and it feels really fun.

Sound may be missing something.
I have never been to see a stadium show.

Isn’t it the Stones or someone?
We Opened For The Stones At The Rose Bowl [in 1994]. I had sinus surgery and my nose was bleeding during the show. All I remember is that Jack Nicholson was there and he wanted to talk to him about the Lakers.

Which Lakers have you been friends with over the years?
Not really. A little Steve Nash. His wife is friends with a basketball player, so she always thinks I can go there on her behalf. I’m not the most social person in the world.

LeBron and Anthony Davis will get you wet when you’re courtside.
I’ve been messed up. But it is my wife who is really lame. I’m like a side piece.

Melody Esani and Flea courtside at a Lakers game in 2020.

(Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images)

The shows on this tour are fairly spaced. Is it necessary from a physical point of view?
It is also very helpful from a physical point of view. Sure we are older.

Are you up to the end of the night?
I always spent my nights at the end. Like I said when I couldn’t stand up in the 90’s, I was always pushing myself to the limit and hurting myself. Smoking crack didn’t help. But I really enjoy my days off. Go to the museum and see Duchamp. And I love exercise: yoga, meditation, running.

Do you listen to music while running?
I never have. I love the sound of my feet hitting the ground and the sound of my thoughts unraveling. I don’t want anything else. Listening to music is sacred time for me. Sometimes I find myself listening while playing chess and not actually listening. Cannonball She’s wondering where to put Luke because Adderley has done a great job.

Free and Anthony Kiedis in 1986.

(Lisa Horn)

Chess, right? Do you miss the days of Dionysus’ excesses?
I think it went in pretty well. I was talking to my little son this morning and sometimes I would say to him: “Darius, I don’t miss doing drugs, but to be honest, I really miss smoking.” “

When you were in your 20s, what kind of life did you envision for yourself at this age?
I don’t know how I predicted the future. Fresh out of high school, I worked as a delivery boy at a liquor store called Park Plaza Liquor on 3rd Avenue and Martell. And I remember this old lady coming in. She was at least in her late 80’s, but she was still on the move, always smiling and with a light in her eyes. She was beautiful to me because I had her love in her. She was not burning with resentment and anger and hatred. I remember looking at it and thinking, oh, if I get old and look like that, I’ll be fine.

Willie Nelson He recently played the Hollywood Bowl on his 90th birthday and seemed to be enjoying the ball.
Willie is a lot of fun. When he’s home, he gets up every morning to ride his bike, train in boxing, play cards, and smoke pot all day with his friends. I don’t want to brag, but I was part of that circle on Maui. He is having a great time.

Flea and John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood on July 31, 2022.

(Raul Roa/Los Angeles Times)

It seems silly to ask if the Chili Peppers are still playing when you guys are 90. But it would have seemed silly to ask the same thing 30 years ago when you were 60.
I don’t understand what is unreasonable. We all know that music is very important to us and we want to grow and get better. I’m still as obsessed with it as I was when I started the band.

What are the best Chili Peppers albums?
I’d say “Blood Sugar Sex Magick,” but there are some songs that, in retrospect, I shouldn’t have played. “Greeting Song” wasn’t good enough. “Californication” is pretty good from top to bottom. I met Adele a while back and she said it was her favorite record of all time. I’m a huge Adele fan, so it meant a lot to me.

And what’s the worst?
I always regret the first method. I think the song is really good. Our band was smoking at the time.but [drummer] Jack [Irons] and [guitarist] Hillel [Slovak] I quit and hired two more guys, Jack Sherman and Cliff Martinez. They were both great musicians, but they weren’t as close as the first members they were together. Many times I wanted to go back and re-record that album, but I can’t talk to anyone about it.