Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Flea: Retirement Discussion Is ‘Just Silly Talk’
Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith recently stirred up some concern amongst fans when he broached the topic of retirement in an interview and revealed that it was a discussion that had come up. But while Smith didn't say anything was imminent and wasn't sure what the future held for the band, that didn't stop a few eyebrows of concern being raised. But fret not Chili Peppers fans, as Flea has squashed the retirement talk in a new TMZ interview (seen above).
"That's just silly talk," says the bassist. "We never really look past the immediate future. We're on tour right now, we're rocking out and we're feeling the spirit and letting the music move us."
He continues, "To be honest, from the day we started this band nearly 35 years ago, I've never ever really known what's next or what's around the corner and I think the power of the band lies in that, just staying in the moment and staying with the energy that's moving."
In the interview with Eddie Trunk, Smith admitted that three of the band's members are now in their 50s and while retirement is a ways off, the group might consider changing their touring plans in the future. "I want to make records, I still love making records," said Smith. "But the touring part… I don’t know if we can continue."
He added, "I don’t know if we can continue to do the long tours — the year, year and a half we normally do. That’s a good question. We all have families and different things, your priorities shift a little bit. You kinda see that what’s gonna work for you maybe doesn’t necessarily work for other bands. But again, we’re just so grateful that people want to come and see us play, and we love to perform. I don’t know in the future how that’s gonna look.”
But for now, Red Hot Chili Peppers are going strong in their touring. They'll continue their European touring tomorrow (July 20) in Rome, Italy, with the European run following through to the end of the month. Dates can be found here.
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