Under the bridge downtown...

I’ll be honest…

I hadn’t read a book in 20 years.

It’d gotten to the point where I didn’t think I could actually fucking read anymore.

Jess said, “you need to do more to relax!”

I completely disagreed.

I believe my “non stop” “high strung” “potentially psychotic” approach to life has boded well thus far.

Nevertheless — she handed me Scar Tissue, Anthony Kiedis’ memoir that covers the tales and triumphs of the Red Hot Chili Peppers from their high school days up to early 2002.

“Read this!”

I read the book.

She now claims reading has changed my life.

But as a man of Rock n Roll, this was some seriously low hanging fruit…

While Kiedis’ sexcapades were wildly entertaining, it’s the band’s timeline that should inspire every artist around the world…

• 1982 — Band forms in Los Angeles as Tony Flow and the Miraculously Majestic Masters of Mayhem (core: Anthony Kiedis, Flea, Hillel Slovak, Jack Irons)

• 1984 — Debut album The Red Hot Chili Peppers released

• 1988 — Guitarist Hillel Slovak dies of heroin overdose → major turning point

• 1989 — Mother’s Milk released; introduces John Frusciante and Chad Smith (classic lineup forms)

IMPORTANT F*CKING NOTE #1: It’s been almost a decade now — sex, drugs, successes, failures, death, uncertainty…

But most importantly — god given talent and a (soon to be declared) pursuit of greatness.

• 1991 — Breakthrough album Blood Sugar Sex Magik → global fame

  (“Under the Bridge” “Give It Away”)

Kiedis wrote Under The Bridge five years after losing everything he had — his lowest point.

He was kicked out of the band, his girlfriend left him, he had no place to lay his head, and he was completely consumed by heroin.

Sometimes I feel like I don't have a partner
Sometimes I feel like my only friend
Is the city I live in, The City of Angels
Lonely as I am, together we cry

His lowest point, forever tied to one of his greatest achievements.

• 1992 — John Frusciante quits mid-tour at peak success

  • addicted to heroin four years after Kiedis gets clean

• 1994 — Anthony Kiedis relapses after a dentist prescribed him the opioid-based painkiller Tramadol.

  • the medication triggers a return to heroin.

• 1998 — John Frusciante returns → band revival begins

IMPORTANT F*CKING NOTE #2: It has now been 16 years.

Anthony Kiedis is 36 yrs old.

The band enters its most prolific years.

• 1999 — Californication drops → massive comeback

  (“Scar Tissue” “Californication”)

• 2002 — By the Way → melodic shift, continued global dominance

  (“By The Way”) (“Can’t Stop”)

Anthony Kiedis writes & releases Scar Tissue (memoir, 2004)

He assumes this is it — the top of the mountain.

He’s now 43 yrs old.

• 2006 — Stadium Arcadium → first #1 album, multiple Grammys.

It’s been 25 years.

If you find yourself under the bridge, you may be living through one of the more meaningful times in your life.

Keep your spirit alive and your soul strong.

Not everything needs to make sense.

It won’t always add up.

But somewhere along the way, you’ll remember those feelings…

And with them, you may do something great.

Leave the door open.

(to anything but heroin)

Long live Rock n Roll,

Lucas