John Frusciante (born March 5, 1970 in Queens, New York) is a guitarist performing with the Red Hot Chili Peppers as well as a solo artist. His father, John Sr., and his mother, Gail Frusciante, were both musicians themselves. Gail even lent her voice to the Red Hot Chili Peppers song, " Under the Bridge". John Frusciante Sr. is the judge who oversaw the recent Clonaid case. John Frusciante has released ten solo albums, plus one EP and has been featured on the Red Hot Chili Peppers albums Mother's Milk, Blood Sugar Sex Magik, What Hits!? (a compilation album), Californication, By the Way, Greatest Hits (another compilation album) and Live in Hyde Park.
John Frusciante first saw the Red Hot Chili Peppers in concert in 1985 and they instantly became his favorite band. John began to hero-worship Hillel Slovak, the current guitarist for the band, learning every guitar and bass part from their first three albums. Hillel, however, died from a heroin overdose in 1988 and drummer Jack Irons left the band due to personal problems. Bassist Flea and singer Anthony Kiedis eventually regrouped to continue with the band.
John had become good friends with D.H. Peligro (drummer for The Dead Kennedys) around 1988, and they often jammed together. One day, Peligro invited Flea, bassist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers over, to jam with them. Flea was so impressed by John's skill, and since he was looking for a new guitarist (their current replacement for Hillel, Duane 'Blackbird' McNight had no good bond with the others) he called Anthony Kiedis (vocalist for The Chili Peppers) to watch John play. It was a unanimous decision: John was in. John was about to sign a contract with Thelonious Monster at the time, but Flea and Kiedis swiped him from under their noses. Needless to say, Thelonious Monster was not pleased, but the two bands remained friends anyway. (Frusciante also was among the final five guitarists trying out for Frank Zappa's band, but left before the final try-out due to Zappa's strict prohibition of illegal drug use amongst musicians in his band.) When John was asked to join the band he was thrilled, claiming to have "boot marks five feet high on the wall in my room for months after that call."