Red Hot Chili Peppers - John Frusciante

When Frusciante wrecked a band show – The video of the disastrous Saturday Night Live performance

by Claudio Fabretti

On February 22, 1992, at the Saturday Night Live studios in New York, one of the most controversial moments in the history of the Red Hot Chili Peppers played out. What should have been a routine TV appearance to promote “Blood Sugar Sex Magik” instead turned into the prelude to John Frusciante's first departure from the band.

The band opened the set with “Stone Cold Bush”, but from the very first minutes it was clear something was wrong. Frusciante seemed disconnected from the rest of the band, to the point that Anthony Kiedis even gave him a half-hearted kick on stage. The situation went downhill a few minutes later, when the Red Hot Chili Peppers launched into “Under The Bridge”. The guitar intro, normally delicate and melodic, was completely turned on its head. Frusciante improvised dissonant chords, out of key and miles away from the original version, creating an unsettling atmosphere that left both the audience and his own bandmates baffled. During the song he also botched the backing vocals and, according to Kiedis's account, even cranked his guitar volume up to the max, adding to the chaos.
Below is the video of that unfortunate performance.

Years later, in his autobiography “Scar Tissue”, Anthony Kiedis recalled the performance like this: “Sembrava su un altro pianeta. Iniziò a suonare cose che non avevo mai sentito prima. I had no idea what song he was playing or what key it was in. Sembrava fosse in un mondo diverso”.
The singer also revealed that Frusciante, in the years that followed, continued to insist he hadn't deliberately sabotaged the performance, explaining that he had simply been experimenting as if the band were in rehearsal. Kiedis, however, has never bought that version of events: “Secondo lui stava semplicemente sperimentando, come se stessimo provando. Sbaglia, perché non stavamo provando: eravamo in diretta tv davanti a milioni di persone. E quella roba era una tortura. I thought he was doing it on purpose, just to spite me”.

Whether it was deliberate sabotage, an artistic gesture, or simply a reflection of the deep distress the guitarist was going through at the time, that performance has, over the years, become a genuine cult moment among fans. Some consider it a stroke of provocative genius, others a display of Frusciante's unpredictable talent, and others still see it as the clearest sign that his relationship with the rest of the band had by then reached breaking point.
The split came just a few weeks later, during the world tour for “Blood Sugar Sex Magik”. Overwhelmed by sudden fame and increasingly crushed by addiction problems, Frusciante decided to leave the group after a concert in Saitama, Japan, returning to the United States and ending his collaboration with the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

After several difficult years marked by drug addiction, the guitarist managed to get clean and rejoined the band in 1998. His return immediately restored the creative magic that had defined the group's earlier years and gave rise to “Californication”, released in 1999 and destined to become the biggest commercial success of the band's career. Two more essential albums followed, “By The Way” in 2002 and “Stadium Arcadium” in 2006, along with a decade of triumphant tours around the world.
In 2009, however, came a second farewell. Through his official blog, Frusciante announced he was leaving the Red Hot Chili Peppers once again to devote himself entirely to his solo projects and musical experimentation. His place was taken by Josh Klinghoffer, who remained in the band until the guitarist's sensational return, announced in December 2019.