Why Rick Rubin left thinking ‘somebody was gonna get murdered’ at RHCP rehearsal
Rock News
Rock News

Why Rick Rubin left thinking ‘somebody was gonna get murdered’ at RHCP rehearsal

"You guys were terrifying, you were scary and it felt like somebody was gonna die. We had to go."

Red Hot Chili Peppers frontman Anthony Kiedis has opened up about the time that Rick Rubin had to leave a RHCP rehearsal because he thought “somebody was going to get murdered.”

Kiedis appeared on the latest episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, where he noted the band was in a dark place at the time when Rick Rubin brought Beastie Boys to their rehearsal. 

“I was basically a junkie, but still showing up to work from time to time, which was the basement of the EMI studios on Sunset Boulevard,” the singer told Rogan. 

“They gave us a little basement to rehearse in. They had signed us, but we were going nowhere very slowly – couldn’t get out of our own way. 

“But we were still making a buzz - there was still something exciting about us that caught people’s attention, and it caught Rick Rubin’s attention.”

He continued, "Rick brought the Beastie Boys to our dingy little rehearsal spot, and he sat there, and we rehearsed while they watched. 

“They’re on these little dirty couches, watching us, and we went through our songs. And Rick stood up and said, ‘We’re gonna go now.’ I was like, ‘OK, do we talk again? What’s going on?’

"He was like, 'I thought somebody was gonna get murdered in that rehearsal space. I thought somebody was gonna die. I had to leave.' That's how dark we had become. That's how dark I had become, he was afraid someone was gonna die and it was time to leave. 

“That's what he said. He's like, 'You guys were terrifying, you were scary and it felt like somebody was gonna die. We had to go.'"

Kiedis says he “didn’t see him [Rubin] for years” after that.

The frontman eventually cleaned himself up and worked with Rubin again in 1991 for ‘Blood Sugar Sex Magick’, and has worked with Rubin on every RHCP album, except one, since.

Red Hot Chili Peppers are headed to NZ! Check out all of the ticket and event info here.