I'll be honest, I'm not a huge Chili Peppers fan, my kid is. My son has read this book several times and he encouraged me to read it. After all, momma loves her some Rock God grit. Unfortunately, in my humble opinion, Anthony Keidis is far from Rock God status. Don't get me wrong, he's not a bad front man, he can carry a tune and some women would consider him eye candy. However, he would never look at a woman twice because according to him, he prefers 16 year old jail bate. “That’s what I love about these high school girls, man. I get older, they stay the same age.” No, Anthony wasn't cool enough to pen that quote himself, but he was pathetic enough to live it over and over and over again.

But perhaps it is unfair to judge him. I mean, he apparently suffers a severe case of LSS (that would be Lead Singer Syndrome for those of you unfamiliar with the term). Even if you are a huge fan, can we just agree that the man is unbelievably full of himself? I'm not sure how you could read this book and disagree.

What did I learn about Anthony. He had a seriously messed up childhood. Yeah, so did a lot of people. Daddy was a hip drug dealer, so what? Daddy got you high, daddy got you laid, daddy got you into the club. As weird as it may seem, that doesn't make him cool or special, hell it doesn't even make him unique. It does make him abused, but I was hard pressed to feel any sympathy for him. Maybe because he was too proud of his cool childhood. Or maybe it was because Anthony Keidis just comes across as a dick and I don't care what he went through.

The book had a hell of a lot of drugs in it. Again don't get me wrong, I would never not read something because of drug abuse. Actually, most of what I read has drug use/abuse in it. Its just a genre I enjoy reading, it seems real to me if the plot has this in it. That probably says more about me than anything else though. I've read other Rock Star bios and I've watched real world people travel the highs and lows of addiction. But I have NEVER read/heard so much bragging about one's drug use/abuse before in my entire life! In fact, some of his stories are so damned grandiose that I honestly do not believe what he is writing is what actually happened. Perhaps some of it happened to other people and Mr. Keidis thought it would be cool to incorporate it into his life story. Maybe he was so high he didn't know it wasn't him who did those things. Or maybe he has an over active imagination and invented a few scenes in the book. And honestly, he should have cut them out because this damn book goes on and on and never ends.

I wasn't a Chili Peppers fan before I read this book. I never thought Anthony was anything special. But after reading this book, I can't stand Anthony Kiedis. The man seriously acts as if the planet revolves around him. It's not like he is Flea or Frusciante for fux sake ;-)

If you like Anthony and you want to hear tall tales of his drug abuse, and you want to hear exaggerated stories of his sex life (which even his bragging couldn't make sound exciting), and you think the front man is the end all be all of a Rock band, then by all means read this book. If that doesn't interest you, I hear Keith Richards has one coming out and...well I'm sure he can tell much better stories about sex, drugs, and rock n roll.

This got repetitive in the end, endless cycles of drugs girls, rehab, but i still enjoyed the stories of his life and how the red hot chilli peppers came to be

Absolutely a 4.5 read. If you have TW when it comes to drug abuse, def avoid. Love Anthony Kiedis and the RHCP. Have read this probably 3 times and now that I see Rider Strong ( Boy Meets World) narrates the audible, I will def be listening to it for the 4th time.

Even though I can only relate to a fraction of what is in this book, seeing how my own life is so radically different from that of the author, I loved every minute of reading this book. This book has everything you could possibly ask for; it made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me sad and it made me profoundly happy. If this book does not melt your heart, then you have a heart of stone. Someone shares his life with you in a very candid and open way, how can you not love that?

And of course, what I love even more as a Chili Peppers fan is obviously getting to know Anthony Kiedis better. I got to share the ups and the downs of a ride that's lasted for more than two decades. And we're not talking just about the music, but his life. Still, the funny thing is that what I liked the most is that the book made me listen to the music with new ears, so to speak. And the best thing of all is that some of the Chili Peppers songs that I love the most are among those that Kiedis gives you more inside information on. And now my appreciation of those songs has increased tenfold.

Rating a book a 5 has never been this easy. Too bad it only goes up to five.

Drums begin at the same time as guitar. Steady rise, linear picking up of pace. The movement is coming to a massive peak, the crest of a wave about to crash over you. Bass is flirting with the rhythm in the background. Boom. It hits ya. Riff. One of the hookiest, catchiest, ear wormiest riffs of all time. Here he comes. Can’t stop addicted to the shindig, chop top, he says I’m gonna win big. Can’t Stop.

Right away with the voice. The band all begin together on this one. There is nothing but sheer anger. Hits you in the face and you want to jump up off the couch, hitting everything in sight. If you have a beer in your hand, you have to toss it at someone rather than allow them to hold it for you. One shot, all I need, I’ve got rhythm when I bleed. Right on Time.

Unreal technique on display at the beginning of this one. One of the most difficult guitar riffs to play for anyone who has ever picked up a guitar, for anyone who even knows what a simple C chord is. One of the most recognizable riffs in modern music. Vocals and harmonies are on point. Mellotron in the background – yep. Just like Strawberry Fields. Come to decide that the things that I tried, were in my life just to get high on. Snow (Hey Oh).

Great display of what happens after a fractured brotherhood is put together again for a second time – egos put aside, near old age, maturity at an all time high. The sissy troubles are all trifles, as they realize that love and friendship are the only two things that can carry you through the little eye of the needle. Fame and exploration of alternatives are no longer issues. Oh, I know that it’s only gold, and I come slow now for everything, the heavy wing. The Heavy Wing.

Sand. Billions of particles of sand. Each and every single one a life. Each with the potential to brush up against each other, making an impact on it. Each one is needed for the whole. Add a little bit of water to the sand and you can shape it, make of it whatever you want. Add some spirit to each life, mold it how you want. Form it how you want. Or don’t, if you can’t – but you can. How these boys have made a song that encapsulates the meaning of life, who can tell. My what a good day for a walk outside. Wet Sand.

Anthony Kiedis is not my favourite member of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but his voice is clearly front and centre in my mind when I think back to the most memorable moments of my life with their music (at this point, it has been about 16 years – maybe a bit more). He is a founding member. He is responsible for the lyrics, 99% of the time. It was a crime that I hadn’t read this book yet, but I was scared to pick it up, because I knew it would contain things that were unsavoury. Things I would rather not have thought about. But that’s a stupid excuse and I’m seeing them soon, so I read it. What did it contain? Exactly what I thought it would have. Go back and read the first letter of the first five paragraphs.

That.

Clearly, this is a must read for any fan of the Chilis. It fills in a lot of holes, talks about some fables and myths that surround the band, and gives you that sweet, sweet lore you have been craving. Anthony talks about the infamous Under the Bridge performance on SNL, how lots of William Burroughs was being read (surprising, right?), how Californication was written, how they all dressed up as the Spice Girls, lots of goodies. But that would take up about 30% of this book. The other 70% is sad. A depressing trip through the troubles of an addict. You get tired of Anthony relapsing yet again—how could he think it’s possibly a good idea to look for black tar heroin to take off the edge for a weekend? The problem is, this is the truth for many addicts. Logical reasoning is often out the window. And each repeated instance of relapse doesn’t lessen your sadness. Addiction is a beast.

He is sober now. The book came out in 2004, and the band has since reshuffled and reformed. The original members are together. They seem like they have it figured out. I do wish the best for them going forward, as they are such a massive part of my life – they are one thing (among many) that make my life worth living. The reading experience itself wasn’t superb, but reading it was necessary.

And yes, he has read Dante’s Inferno.

A pretty fascinating, no-holds-barred look into the life of the vocalist of one of my favourite bands. This is possibly the first ever memoir.autobiography I've come across where the author not only admits how awful he may have been at points, but also makes no excuses for it. This actually ended up with me feeling much more sympathetic towards him than if he'd just been saying how awful he'd been with no attempt at apology, OR constant explanations along the lines of "yes I was awful but only because i=of the drugs" etc. Anthony seems to have become totally at peace, self aware and completely grown up while retaining a wonderful child-like innocence which is pretty amazing considering how wild his life has been.

There were a few negatives for me. I do think that parts of the near endless sex could have been removed - not in the interests of toning it down, at all, but merely because they served no purpose to telling his story. After a while it became repetitive and boring. I think I've mentioned this before but writing about sex should never come across as dull unless that is completely 100% the intended effect, which I'm pretty sure is the opposite of what's being described here. Also, though interesting to know about his "relationship" with Flea's sister, I think a little more tact around his oldest friend could have been exercised. Sounds like Flea was pretty pissed off about that ending up in the book. Memoirs and autobiographies do to automatically have to include those kinds of details about other people's families!

Still, fascinating read. I can see why the book is so popular.

Red Hot Chilli Peppers je jedna z nejdůležitějších kapel devadesátých let minulého století – možná ta nejdůležitější a Anthony Kiedis je jejím leaderem a nejvýraznější tváří této kultovní party a Scar Tissue (jak se v originále jmenuje tato kniha) je biografií jak samotného Anthonyho, tak trošku víceméně i redhotů.
— Vyprávění začíná již před narozením hlavního hrdiny a v rychlosti se seznámíme i se životem Blackieho Dammetta (autorova otce) před početím a narozením Anthonyho. Ten měl na životní styl a názory AK obrovský vliv. zejména to, že poměrně dlouho živil prodejem drog kalifornským celebritám a vedl hodně promiskuitní život.
— Už ve škole se věnoval konzumaci různé zábavní chemie a tam se také potkal se svým geniálním souputníkem jménem Flea. Hodně brzy si oblíbil kombinaci koko a héro neboli speedball. Obecně smažení a také pokusy o život bez drog je hned po hudbě významným leitmotivem celé knihy. Třetím tématem jsou hodně divoké vztahy AK s něžným pohlavím.
— Pro fanoušky kapely je také plusem, že kniha je prošpikována ukázkami textů z většiny alb redhotů a to jak v angličtině, tak v polských překladech. AK také vysvětluje nejen co svými texty chtěl říci ale také jaké byly okolnosti tvorby nejen textů ale i hudební linky a aranží velkých hitů RHCHP. Sám jsem nevěděl, že Under the Bringe není o smutném životě narkomana ale naopak o tom, jak jsi na tom špatně, když tvoji kamarádi hulí a fetují a ty jsi aktuálně čistý a nikdo s tebou nechce kamarádit.
— Je pravda, že sem tam byly pasáže o tom, co všechno si AK narval do žil a jaké blbosti prováděl trošku stereotypní a líčení stavů, kdy se neúspěšně snažil se smažením seknout nebo to jak pozoroval boj s drogami svých spoluhráčů. Ať už to byl Hillel Slovak, který drogám podlehl, John Frusciante, který těžce nesl, když se kapela stala slavnou nebo Dave Navarro. který neměl rád, jak si ho ostatní dobírali kvůli věku. Ale jinak se kniha četla dobře a skvěle se při ní vzpomínalo na skvělá devadesátá léta. A ano jsem velký fanoušek redhotů a slogan SPZ (Sadzić Palić Zalegalizować) mne nepobuřuje i když už téměř nehulím.

Had to stop listening by chapter 8. Seems like a terrible person and can't listen to much more of his drug and sex stories. Admits to having sex with a girl when she was 14 and he was 23. Hats off for beating his drug addictions and becoming the band they are but not bothered to listen any further. Narrator sounds like a dweeb too so maybe reading this would have been better

2.5
This was my second time reading this book, and let me say - I was not impressed at all. The writing is just plain bad, and if I had to read about one more sexual exploit that Kiedis had, I was going to throw this book across the room. Halfway through I realized I really didn't care much, and started skimming and skipping over chunks that truly did not matter. Yes, the pictures are cool and so is reading about the early workings of the Chili Peppers since I do love a lot of their music, but otherwise, who cares? Kiedis was his own worst enemy and yes its great that he's sober and doing well now, and at least he admits he is an egomaniac but damn. He is just incredibly full of himself from childhood to adulthood and everything in between, and it was hard to sympathize or feel bad for any of the stupid situations he got himself into. He is a predator when it comes to young girls, and the way he talks about women in this book is either based all on looks and whether he would want to have sex with them, or they were the love of his life that he just couldn't stop cheating on and then they were crazy. Drug addiction is a monster that many people deal with and it is nothing to be taken lightly, and I felt like he just didn't bring enough attention to the seriousness of it all. Hillel dies from an overdose and then he launches into a story that has nothing to do with Hillel, other friends die and then he launches into stories of sex with his woman of the day/week/month. Its hard to say how much of this was actually Kiedis' doing, since Larry Sloman helped write it, but either way, I've read books with a lot more heart on these topics than this one, and its interesting how much your point of view changes as you get older.

Anthony Kiedis was the lead singer of the influential American rock band, the Red-Hot Chilli Peppers, which was formed in 1983. He was the front man for one of the world’s most successful and popular rock bands of all time, but his life was riddled and marred by toxic relationships and probably the most intense drug abuse that the world has ever seen.

Anthony’s father was a hippy, drug dealer who ran night clubs around Hollywood. As a result, from a young age, Anthony was exposed with an alluring and crazy lifestyle early on, filled with girls and drugs. Constantly in his house, there were groups of his dad’s girlfriends partying in the house and doing drugs, so it was no surprise that he got involved in various vices early on.

At only age 4, Kiedis’s father blew smoke from a joint into his face, while they were walking down the street. That was his first experience with drugs. At age 12, Anthony asked his dad if he could have sex with one of his dad’s girlfriends, and his dad complied. That was his first sexual experience. At age 14, Anthony snorted a line of white powder on a table in his living room, which he presumed was cocaine. It turned out to be heroin and he nearly died as a result of overdose. That was his first experience with hard drugs.

From these 3 above experiences, these set off a hedonistic life; a life geared towards pursuing pleasure, fun and crazed experiences. During the teenage years in high school he would get up to as much mischief as possible, playing pranks, going on drug and alcohol fuelled adventures and pursuing sex with girls.

During the latter years of his high school, he started to get into hard drugs seriously- cocaine and heroin. He had no qualms about shooting them up, as he had seen so many people in his house do it before. The rush, excitement and adventures that cocaine brought him, led to a life of dependency on the drug and pursuing it no matter the obstacle. Once when he was gearing to shooting up, he realised he had no water, so he used to water out of a gutter to fill up his syringe. Heroin, on the other hand, he used for the horrific comedowns that accompanied the shooting up of coke. Heroin for him was pure bliss, euphoria and comfort, but again, it led to another dependency and doing whatever he could to get another fix.

Amongst all this drug usage and thrill seeking, Kiedis actually did well in high school. He was a smart kid with strong writing capabilities but what ultimately set him back was his trouble making. He had a poetic mind early on that was good at rhyming and forming sentences. He enrolled at the University of California for a couple of years, but he never really fit and dropped out.

During his uni days was the time when he started to really develop his musical talent and he joined a band. Music was a release and a spiritual experience for him, but with all his music playing, a constant stream of toxic relationships and drug binges accompanied them. The Red-Hot Chilli Peppers started as an underground and fairly edgy rock group, with most of the members number one priority focused on getting ‘loaded’, but really that made them who they were. They slowly built up into becoming a widely known international rock group; but throughout their careers, all of their old habits persisted.

This book is extraordinarily interesting with all its stories of the crazy stuff Kiedis and his band members did and the absolutely ridiculous drug benders he went on. Kiedis’s life story is basically one huge drug bender, with periods of sobriety, with some music playing and relationships playing a minor role.

Towards the backend of his career, he made many attempts at getting sober. These attempts constantly were futile. He got sober and then relapsed over 20 times, with the urges and drive to experience the ultimate pleasure constantly being too strong.

Reading some other review's of this book on good reads, I encountered many extremely negative reviews, on account of his bad behaviour during his life and all the pain he caused himself and others through his selfishness, addictions and recklessness. What this book really offers is perspective through the telling of one of the craziest, amazing, scary and adventurous life’s. This book will help you understand about the idea of addiction and what some people go through- certainly helping you empathise in the process. The book also provides a perspective of life in Hollywood, with all its ego, pop culture, drug taking and fame that is involved. While Hollywood is obviously the centre of a lot of the world’s most amazing cultural works, it can also be an absolutely toxic environment for some, due to its superficiality and bad values- themes which Kiedis explores in a lot of his songs, such as Californication. And obviously, this book also presents the background into the Chilli Peppers music making, something I found very interesting given a lifelong love of their music. You really get an understanding of the lyrics of their great songs and pain that was involved in writing them. This was music had had an extreme cultural influence over the world.

Kiedis has now been sober since 2000 and is constantly trying to help others become sober, while still fighting his own demons and temptations of drugs. He still tours with the Red-Hot Chilli Peppers to this date.

I give this book 5 stars. Kiedis writes fantastically and his story is absolutely amazing. He has certainly lived one of the craziest lives of anyone to live- full of the highs and immense lows. Fan of the Chilli Peppers or not, give this book a read.

Wow, what a ride!

I had zero interest in the Red Hot Chili Peppers when I bought this, I just knew the lead singer Kiedis was supposed to have had a big drug problem that inspired their song Under the Bridge. Everyone knows that song, right? I knew a few of their other more recent hits, but that was about the extent of it.

Still, me and my love of horrible books and gritty life stories meant I'd been meaning to read this for a long time. When I spied it for 50p in British Red Cross I had to have it.

I'm so glad I picked it up! This was great from start to finish. Well written and detailed, but without ever being boring. There was great pace – he skipped from anecdote to anecdote and didn't ramble on for pages about the same thing, as other autobiographies can do.

I can see why the naysayers dislike this book. There's a lot of sleeping around and of course the infamous drugs – both of which may offend those of a more delicate constitution. But for me, being in a band and having a major drug problem is something I will more than likely never experience (probably for the best, I know), so it was fascinating for me to live vicariously through Kiedis in this book. To see through the keyhole. He takes you right there with him through all the ups and downs. What a life he's led! My boring little life just pales in comparison.

Although this autobiography is over 10 years out of date, it was still an excellent read. I would love for there to be added chapters bringing it up to the present day. I'll admit the sleaze is what drew me in, but I also found myself unexpectedly enjoying the band chat: how they came up with the songs, how the albums were recorded, the various concerts and tours, general insider info on the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I'd be happy to read more of that.

Just a really great read. It won't be going back to the charity shop, it'll be on my bookshelf from now on!

Para fans de RHCP, tiene todos los detalles y situaciones que quisimos saber sobre el origen de muchas de las canciones y momentos que consideramos invaluables e importantes en la historia de la banda. También ofrece un vistazo mucho más auténtico y real no solo de la personalidad e historia de Kiedis sino de todos los músicos involucrados: Flea, Chad, John, Slovak, Navarro, Irons y demás figuras.

Para quienes no sean fans de RHCP, aquí encontrarán una historia por demás fascinante de un alma en constante búsqueda, espiritual y creativa, que bajó a los niveles más bajos del inframundo para volver a la tierra y contarnos su historia.

No se guarda ni un detalle, no se disculpa ni se deslinda. Sabe que al contar su historia de la manera más honesta posible no sólo conectará con más personas, sino que podría salvarle la vida a más de una.