Music fans were out in force on Hollywood Boulevard this morning for the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Hollywood Walk of Fame star dedication ceremony. With a soundtrack provided by the USC marching band, and in front of hundreds of cheering spectators, Anthony Kiedis, Flea, Chad Smith and John Fruiscante made the most of the photo opp, going so far as to lick the star once it was revealed.
The band, which is releasing a new album on Friday — “Unlimited Love,” the Chilis’ 12th full-length release, via Warner Records — holds a deep personal connection with the famous boulevard. As bassist Flea, a self-described ““Hollywood street kid” told Variety ahead of the dedication, at 15, he and frontman Anthony Kiedis would run around Hollywood in the wee hours of the night, “doing stupid little crimes, hustling for food. I’ve walked over every one of those stars — every sidewalk, every crack, every one of them. To be recognized and be a part of the physical fabric of those sidewalks means a lot to me.”
Added Kiedis: “I’m pretty sure that I have inadvertently vomited on Hollywood Walk of Fame stars in my lifetime. I’ve certainly slept on top of Hollywood Boulevard Walk of Fame stars in my lifetime. I’ve trod upon them not as a tourist but as a person running from the authorities or possibly running from somebody that I owed money to.”
How things have changed in 39 years. As Bob Forrest, a veteran music, former addict and recovery advocate, who was on hand to help present the honor, said at the ceremony: “In 1983, Hollywood was a different place, and there were crazy kids like us, who were tossed out and drug addicted and traumatized and we came to Hollywood Boulevand and we found each other and build a community of connection and love and that love is still here 39 years later. I love these guys. They’re my best friends; they’re the greatest band; and the greatest guys in the world.”
Woody Harrelson, who also made remarks in honor of the band, echoed the sentiment. “These guys really are amazing people and they really care,” he said, referencing their philanthropy efforts and climate activism. “And on top of all that, they were the first to really make the common ordinary sock a central part of the fashion wardrobe,” he cracked.
Also in attendance was George Clinton. The Parliament Funkadelic leader describes the Chilis as “the baddest band in the world.” Recalling their early years and working together, he added: “I always knew they was going to be most successful group in the world. … They had that fire in their eyes.”
In the band’s own remarks, Fruiscante made sure to thank the fans. “I want to thank everybody in the world who our music means something to, and all the people who came out here today,” he said.
“When I was 11 years old, I panhandled on this street,” said Flea. “When I was in high school, I marched on this street playing trumpet in the Hollywood High marching band. … I know this street inside out, and this street knows me. And whenever we’ve traveled around the world, this street has always been a part of me. And I’m really grateful that now we can be a part of it.”
“I’m so lucky to, to be able to do what I love to do and play music and follow my passion,” added Smith, thanking the “other band members that had been in the red hot chili peppers … like Dave Navarro, Jack Sherman, Cliff Martinez, Jack Irons, Hillel Slovak, Josh Klingfoffer” for all being “part of our journey.”
Smith also shouted out Foo Fighters’ Taylor Hawkins, who died last week at the age of 50. “He’s flying around,” said the fellow drummer. “I love you, Taylor. He would laugh and make a nice smart-ass comment about this whole thing.”
Kiedis spoke last and succinctly encapsulated the magic formula that makes a band this enduring. “To me, this is not a story of individuals,” he said. “Something happens when we come together, which is much greater than the individual parts. The sum total of our parts is that we were able to find something that we love doing and communicate with the entire world. We started off playing dive bar is up and down this street and making a handful of people dance and come to life. But as time went on, we stuck together as a team and as band, and now we can make everybody dance and feel joy.”
Members of the industry were also on hand to toast the band, including: attorney Eric Greenspan, Grammy-winning producer Andrew Watt, manager Guy Oseary, Merck Mercuriadis of Hipgnosis, business manager Bo Gardner and, from Warner Records, label chiefs Aaron Bay-Schuck and Tom Corson; promotion head Mike Chester, marketing executive Peter Standish, promotion exec Rob Goldklang, CFO Michele Nadelman and media strategist and EVP Laura Swanson.
Watch the ceremony in full below and click here to read Variety‘s feature on the band:
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