Red Hot Chili Peppers: An Oral/Visual History

The Red Hot Chili Peppers have compiled a new book, chronicling their 27-year existence together as a band. The 256 page book, entitled An Oral/Visual History by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, is a compilation of their triumphs and tribulations as they worked their way up from the Los Angeles underground scene to headlining arena shows. It includes stories told by the members with the help of Brendan Mullen, as well as over 300 photos and ephemera, which serves as a snapshot of the culture surrounding the band’s early years.

“We started our band in ’83 — the Internet phenomenon of constant documentation didn’t exist then,” said bassist Flea. “But still, we took pictures and we were a part of a scene that people took pictures of. (It) was a real colorful situation. There was a vibrant underground music scene, and it was very creative and not regimented or divided up into a bunch of different cliques, like it is now.”

Flea also explains the book gets readers deep into the band members’ lives. “It is all here, nothing can hide: all the honesty, the pretense, the courage and one-of-a-kind-ness, the unbridled joy, the melancholy, and the shields we put up to shelter our scared, vulnerable little selves.”