My Crazy Story: Autobiography of RHCP Bassist

"Almost everyone who picks up this book knows me as Flea. But before I get that name, I am still very far away from it. For now, I am Michael Peter Balzary—a little blonde boy from Australia." In 1983, a still unknown band played their first concert for 30 people. A few years later, the whole world knew them as Red Hot Chili Peppers. Seven "Grammys," 80 million copies of albums sold—a stunning success. We all know this story and have certainly heard the famous Californication. In this very book, one of the best bassists of our time talks about what was before and what remains behind the scenes: moving to the USA, parents' divorce and complicated family relationships, first love, first songs, first drugs. Crazy antics, jazz, funk, jumping into pools from rooftops, thefts, meeting Anthony Kiedis, a school friendship that will grow into the creation of RHCP. This is a journey from the dirty streets of Los Angeles to the heights of music charts and an army of fans around the world. Flea, on one hand, shows us a typical rock star story, but does it so wittily, effortlessly, and poetically, while not embellishing reality at all, that he emerges as a wonderful writer and deep philosopher. This is a candid story of a man who has managed to channel all the disappointment, love, and loneliness into his creativity, into the creation of music that inspires entire generations.