John Frusciante Defends Kurt Cobain's Guitar Abilities: His Solos Are Very Impressive

-Former RHCP guitarist John Frusciante defended Kurt Cobain's guitar-playing abilities, explaining how technical proficiency isn't what the man was about. He tells Fact Mag: "Kurt Cobain's improvisations are very impressive guitar solos because it's more about his energy, his looseness, not trying to impress you with the flying fingers or whatever.

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"Not adhering to things like staying in the right key - just play whatever note you want. That's how it is in electronic music."

John continued: "That's why I've always been very careful about how I incorporate guitar into electronic music. I don't want to make a spectacle of myself as a guitarist in the way that I did when I was in the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I wanted to be inside the music, not standing outside of it to grab your attention."

Further focusing on his anti-rockstar stance, the man continued: "You can't possibly appeal to people and be sincere all the time. Oftentimes the best musicians have to hide themselves in order to be appealing to people.

"That's what David Bowie was a master at. He was hiding all the time. He was always interviewed as a persona, and he was hidden as a person inside that person.

"And I think that was the correct way to deal with a world in which it's understood that if you want the backing of a record company, you have to sell yourself. If you’re gonna be fake and if you're gonna be insincere, make it into an art form! And that’s what Bowie did. But not everybody has that talent."

During the rest of the chat, Mr. Frusciante also discussed prog rock, saying the world is in dire need of quality prog these days.

He noted: "I always liked it in progressive rock when a band like Yes would have a long piece of music with various sections that were clearly not done all in one pass. Where the entire atmosphere and environment is completely different and it's like a different song. I was trying to do that same thing within a six or seven minute song."

Agreeing that "there's a lack of good prog-rock these days," he concluded: "What parades as [prog rock] is bullshit. I don't consider it to be progressive rock, it's all just heavy metal bullshit or whatever."

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