Anthony Kiedis steps out of a taxi at the Four Seasons Hong Kong Hotel - and nothing happens. No paparazzi harassing his wife and child for a sneaky shot, no boob-tube fan armed with a magic marker, no college-age musician flogging his home-recorded EP. I'm sitting in the hotel's lobby, waiting and watching. Waiting to be shepherded upstairs to interview the Red Hot Chili Peppers on the night before their Hong Kong show, and watching for something to happen. But nothing does.
For a band that have been selling out international shows for more than a quarter of a century, you'd expect some recognition for its lead singer. But unlike, say, Kylie Minogue or Bob Dylan, Kiedis and his cohorts don't scream superstar personalities. He's wearing his trademark shorts, boots and T-shirt - and while tomorrow night he'll play in front of thousands at the AsiaWorld-Arena, right now he could be just another hip tourist.
The truth is - and fellow fans will agree - the Red Hot Chili Peppers aren't a group of personalities. They're not ego-filled celebrities with solo careers who come together for their own benefit. They're a band in the very definition of the word: a group of musicians organised for ensemble playing (Merriam-Webster). And it's the band collectively that sell out shows.
Thirty minutes later and I'm sitting opposite the Peppers to talk about their new album, I'm With You. It's their first release in more than five years which initially sent rumour mills swirling as to a break-up. After all, here are a band who have survived for almost three decades - how many times can they fall apart and rise again?
But, of course, rumours are almost always just that. 'We'd been working hard for almost 27 years, and in that time, we've only taken one six-month break,' says bassist Flea (aka Michael Balzary). 'Things had gotten a little dysfunctional and we really needed to step away for a while, so we took two years off. It was a wise choice, and after it was up, we went back to work. There's an impression in the public that we took more time off than we did, but we always spend about one year writing and one year recording.'
Near the end of those two years, another thing happened that had critics circling vulture-like: fan-favourite guitarist John Frusciante left for the second time to focus on his solo career. It again sent the last-leg rumours flying, most because Frusciante's contributions to the band were immense: a virtuoso musician and songwriter, he defined the Peppers' sound, slowly shifting it from their early funk-rap roots to the more mature, Beatles-like melodies on Californication and By the Way.
