Josh Klinghoffer thinks being in the Red Hot Chili Peppers was “enormously stifling creatively”.
The musician – who was kicked out of the group after a decade when longtime guitarist John Frusciante rejoined in 2019 – insisted there was no option for “deviating” from the ‘By The Way’ group’s signature sound.
He told Guitar World magazine: “Obviously, it’s sad when something is taken from you.
“I did a perfect 10 years with them, but for as much as I love those guys and loved playing with them, it was also enormously stifling creatively.
“They’re an established band with an established sound, and I learned over time how little deviating from that was possible.”
The 42-year-old star explained that initially he tried to avoid “certain chords” in his writing “if they sounded like something John would play”, or something from a previous record.
However, he added: “I thought I was doing a good job writing with them, but it wound up not kind of becoming part of my story, or if it is part of my story with them, it’s a small part.
“As much as I thought they were up for experimentation, they generally stayed in their own lane.”
Josh described his time for the band as “a blessing and a beautiful experience”, albeit one he’s glad is over now he’s focusing on his work with Pearl Jam and the ‘Alive’ grunge legend’s frontman Eddie Vedder on his new solo album.
With both Chili Peppers and Pearl Jam, Josh has found himself joining bands with a wealth of material, but he wasn’t overwhelmed with songs to learn from scratch.
He explained: “I was already in the Chili Peppers’ orbit before joining them. I was good friends with John, and I toured with the band in 2007 as a second guitar player.
“I generally knew what they did and didn’t play, so I knew what to work on. Some songs from ‘Stadium Arcadium’ I wasn’t familiar with on the guitar, but I knew [‘Blood Sugar Sex Magik’] backward and forward.
“In the case of Pearl Jam, I know their catalogue from record one to five like the back of my hand. Albums from 2000 onwards, I don’t know as well.”