Casey’s Reviews > Scar Tissue > Status Update

One of the common themes Anthony Kiedis talks about in his book is his relationship with fame. For Kiedis, fame kind of helped him get off of drugs, as he wanted to continue making music. Yet, Kiedis also talked about how if a famous person doesn’t act absolutely warm and friendly, people will think he is arrogant. So, a famous man is always trying to prove his character to fans. T-Themes

“...my immediate read on Billy was ‘tall, gangly, musical, nerdy intellectual,’ not ‘ball-player.” But we started shooting around, and Billy stepped up and started draining outside shots.” I love this quote because it talks about a legendary Chicago musician, Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan. The tour they were on included RHCP, Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam, and later Nirvana. F-favorites

“He loved to ride around and listen to music ad infinitum.” Ad infinitum-(adverb) again and again in the same way; forever.

One of the things that I find so inspiring about this book is how people can come back from tragedy and turn it into something beautiful. In this case, Kiedis came back from the tragic death of his dear friend Hillel Slovak by living a drug-free lifestyle and producing great music with his friends. F- favorites

In the past few pages, a lot has happened. The founding guitar player of RHCP passed away, the founding drummer quit, and the musicians who replaced them had to be let go due to not having a connection with the band and heavy alcohol abuse. Yet, RHCP recruited guitarist John Frusciante and drummer Chad Smith. These men, combined with Flea and Anthony Kiedis, are considered to be the classic RHCP lineup. S- summary

After his close friend and band mate Hillel Slovak died, Kiedis went into a deep state of sadness and stayed in a small fishing village in Mexico with his girlfriend, missing his friend’s funeral. Slovak passing away is ultimately what helped Kiedis get clean, but he wrote less than I thought he would about his friend’s passing. Is it because his friend’s untimely death is still so hard to deal with? A- ask

“The whole band was suffering from Hillel and me being on drugs, but I was the much more obvious candidate to put the onus on, because I was literally asleep at rehearsal.” Onus- noun; used to refer to something that is one’s duty or responsibility. V- vocabulary

In this book, Kiedis explores not only how his own life was affected by heroin, but also how his friends have suffered from drug abuse. The band’s founding guitarist, Hillel Slovak, died from a heroin overdose. Anthony Kiedis describes Hillel’s physical decline, which became especially apparent during the band’s wrestling matches. Slovak’s ability to defend himself had been destroyed by his addiction. T-Themes

Speaking of a friend named “Johnny Devil” that Kiedis used to shoot Black Tar heroin with, Kiedis said that after after one successful drug purchase, “he disappeared, and I never saw or heard about him again.” One can only assume that he died soon after Kiedis’ last encounter with him. I-Inference

In his book, Anthony Kiedis appeals to the reader’s emotions by describing his struggles in such great detail that you can picture how he looked and felt in certain situations. In this way, his journey to stardom and his struggles along the way became much more relatable. W-Writer’s Strategies