John Frusciante Intentionally Sabotages “Under The Bridge” On SNL
John Frusciante notoriously left the Red Hot Chili Peppers after concert at Tokyo’s Club Quattro on May 7, 1992. However, since the release of Blood, Sugar, Sex, Magic, Frusciante began to develop a dislike for the band’s popularity and began to resent the song “Under The Bridge” popularity so he would play convoluted intros, purposefully throwing Anthony Kiedis off. The most notable incident of John sabotaging “Under The Bridge” was during a televised performance on Saturday Night Live on February 22, 1992.
Kiedis said it “felt like I was getting stabbed in the back and hung out to dry in front of all of America while Frusciante was off in a corner in the shadow, playing some dissonant out-of-tune experiment.” Frusciante used a distortion pedal for the ending verse and screamed into the microphone during his backup vocals both of which weren’t typical in live performances of “Under The Bridge.”
Frusciante was probably pissed that Kiedis intentionally kicked him in the back of the knee during the first song they performed on SNL that night “Stone Cold Bush“.
The intentional kick that Kiedis never mentioned happens at around the 3:25 mark…
42 Comments to “John Frusciante Intentionally Sabotages “Under The Bridge” On SNL”
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Haha just like stuff Kurt would do, except krist and dave wouldn't mind.
What's wrong with making something more fun?
glad to hear im not the only one who thinks that song sucks!!!!!!!!
Franky this is why i love John.
it may not be the best song ever written, but it was written from A.K.'s heart about a very personally trying time in his life. I can understand why he felt betrayed when John sabotaged the song. I also think it's commendable and very professional the way the rest of the band kept it together and did their best to compensate.
I hate when artists bitch about songs they made. If you hate the song so much, why the fuck did you make it? If it got popular and you bitch about it, you're just a little bitch. As a musician, I completely disrespect this attitude towards music, I don't give a shit how good you are. You may be a good guitar player, but your also a shitty musician. Learn to really play John and stop complaining about music you wrote, you fuckin hypocrite.
music is about expressing your feelings and emotions. this video shows music at it's best. besides that, if i wanted to hear the original version i would just listen to the cd instead of watching them live.
Why are people praising him…such a douche move. Fucked the song up, it sounded like shit.
Both sides are totally understandable, and kiedis doesn't hold a grudge, or at least he doesn't say he still does in Scar Tissue, which is a great book.
scar tissue is not a book…
http://www.amazon.com/Scar-Tissue-Anthony-Kiedis/…
Scar Tissue is a biography that Kiedis wrote.
You just made an ass of yourself. haha
biographies are typically books.
It's ok, he's never read one.
I like how everyone is saying the only one of them that thought it was a good idea to wear a shirt on national tv is an asshole
it was to cover up the track marks
I think thats bullshit cuz… everyone in the band is very creative… if one of them start to improvise… the other just follow… and if you listen well, the end of every riff, was the same of the original version.
it still sounded like shit
At least they're wearing more than just a sock this time.
That's not sabotage, he's making cock ups! He fluffed his chord twice playing a song he was probably playing for the millionth time, and the end part benefits from the dirty guitar! Keidis would have loved this and described it as art if that was Hillel Slovak on guitar….
Sabotage? Or Awesome-tage?
I don't care if the band plays it like the CD or if they decide to change it up… if the BAND decides. If you don't like the songs they're doing then quit. But being in a band… any band… means you work together as a group and decide things in practice as a group. So for this John is an a**hole! They should have kicked his ass out the band immediately after the show!
is that will ferrel playing drums??? lol
hmmm… this looks like a copy paste from wikipedia….
is this really an article about a live variation? the chili peppers are very well known for their improvising.
frusciante is awesome but what a douche move
if I was in this band I would try and not be such a moron. all rock stars act like 2nd graders.
it sounds good to me, i think it shows that AK has trouble singing his own song if its not "perfect"
the guitar is only a little over the top, everything about it is in key, tune and rhythm.
kudo's to a rocker that can freestyle and show real talent.
where was that talent on "true men don't kill coyotes"?
eh wasn't that bad. wasn't very good improv either. the screaming just sucked though.
Quite frankly, that sounded fucking amazing. Unique like real live music is supposed to be.
Seems OK to me.
Thought the guitar was fine, backing vocals sucks. But Keidis can't hold a tune in a bucket anyway.
i love red hot chili peppers, but what a dick
i feel as if this is a great version of this song itself. John is an amazing musician, and sometimes playing the same shit gets old fast. i understand where he's coming from.
when the screaming started i just couldn't help but laugh.
what´s the fuzz? Best version ever!!
While I did actually enjoy this version, John's guitar is beautiful, and I might be the only person who liked the screaming, it is a really awful move to do this without giving a heads up to the band. Sometimes John says some wise stuff, but other times in interviews he goes off in this world of delusional thinking. It is truly a shame he ever got addicted to drugs.
I thought it was hilarious what John did but I don't support his reasons at all. I saw the Chili Peppers live in '08 and even then John seemed so disengaged, his back to the audience, repairing his guitar in the middle of the hump de bump drum solo… I don't get why he stayed the whole time… TWICE!… only to leave again. It's like he's just desperate to be in a band.
I dunno..it doesn't look like he kicked john intentionally.
Other than the backing vocals, I think that was a really good version of the song. Cranking it up at the end seemed to really work, and flea and chad smith respond really well.
I understand why John would’ve done it (and actually think it sounded pretty cool), but I can’t blame Keidis for getting pissed off about it. As a performing artist, my heart skipped a beat just watching it. You practice it one way for so long, “improv” can become a little tricky. But I’ve got to hand it to Anthony, he totally pulled it off. Had to chuckle a little bit when he sings, “Sometimes I feel like I don’t have a partner”.
I think Frusciante was being a bit of a bitch by screaming into the microphone because that song was written from the bottom of Anthony’s heart… and frankly that was just disrespectful of John. But that is just my opinion… :/