“I didn’t propose, they asked me,” says Navarro
The former guitarist of Red Hot Chili Peppers Dave Navarro he thought back to his time in the group Anthony Kiedis And Flea and to the lukewarm reception he received when he was called upon to replace John Frusciante who left the band in 1992. Navarro, in turn, had left the Jane’s Addiction the year before, so he took over from him. He recorded only one album with the band, “One Hot Minute”in 1995, which did not have the same success as the previous 1991 album, the superclassic “Blood Sugar Sex Magik” (read the review here).
Then, in April 1998, i Red Hot Chili Peppers they announced the exit of Navarro and the return of Frusciante, who left again in 2009, to return once again about ten years later. Now Dave Navarroin an interview with Guitar World, admitted that he always felt out of place in the band. “Whatever magic John brought to the Red Hot Chili Peppers, I didn’t have that kind of magic. If I had to narrow it down, I’d say that’s the point… It quickly became clear that, as much as we tried and as much as we wanted it to work, we weren’t coming from the same place musically. The best way to describe it is that I was in a cover band with the actual band. And it’s a very strange situation to be in, especially with a clash of styles.”
During the interview Navarro also spoke about the reaction he received from the group’s most die-hard fans, explaining: “There was a lot of backlash from the fans because I played the role of John. I always found it strange that this was all aimed at me. I thought, ‘Well, if you don’t like me being here, you can blame them. I didn’t propose, they asked me. All I did was say yes.'”
He then went on to say the lukewarm reception the album received “One Hot Minute” had an impact on all band members, but that he “felt the weight” of question marks over the album’s direction. Nonetheless, he described it as the “most successful record” he had ever played on, so for him personally it was a victory, unlike the rest of the band who experienced it as a failure.
