Flea

First I'm not a the fan of Red Hot Chili Peppers and till I picked up this book had't ever heard of him. This was recommended to me and an exceptional read, better even on audio. So I listened, I was quickly brought into a familiar world of growing up the 60's and 70's. These were wild, dangerous, crazy times and "Flea" tested all the offers of the times, and lived to tell the story. Emotionally distant parents, poverty, drugs, drugs, and more drugs, friendships made, lost, found and sadly show more death.
I walked along the same path as him through many of the 60's and 70's, Los Angeles was a wild place to grow up. As I listened to his heart opening story I learned somethings about myself as well as weeped with his pains. I loved this touching story not of a rock star but a boy, a man, in transition every moment with no known destination. show less

So like most musician biographies, this was filled with sex, drugs and rock and roll. Usually the drugs/drinking part really bums me out because I don't feel like I can relate to them at all (been straight edge all my life) and it usually ends badly or there are these horrific periods of their lives. With Flea it was different, he partied hard and spent a lot of time in the book describing the drugs, but he's been clean for a long time and isn't boasting about it. He talked a lot about how show more lucky he was not to have completely ruined his life.

Lots of entertaining, funny and sad stories along with the meanderings of a poetic soul. He's someone I feel like I could really get along with and who would be really fun to hang around. I LOVE that he narrated the book himself.

There was a surprising lack of talk about the Red Hot Chili Peppers, so if you're reading this to find out about them you'll be sorely disappointed. He did hint at a "book 2", but not sure if that was a joke or not because he did it in a hilarious way. show less

Fun book, a bit ragged and unhinged but that seems right. It definitely wasn’t cleaned up by a ghostwriter. Follows Flea’s rough childhood and his years as a young musician/druggie in late 70s early 80s LA (where he went to JR and Sr high school. Stops just at the formation of RHCP, so we don’t get to hear about them taking over the world.

I'm actually not a Red Hot Chili Peppers fanatic so came to this as a reluctant reader. The book recounts Flea's (RHCP bassist) unconventional upbringing in 1970s Los Angeles., delving into his early experiences with music, his struggles with addiction, and his professional journey in the music world. Flea's frank and introspective writing style makes for a compelling and inspiring read.