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Michael Peter Balzary, better known by his stage name Flea, is an Australian-born American musician and occasional actor. He is best known as the bassist, one of the co-founding members, and one of the composers of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers with whom he was inducted in 2012 into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Biography
Early Life
TBA
Chain Reaction/Anthem/Anthym/What Is This
What Is This was originally known as Chain Reaction, changed their name to Anthym, then changed their name to What Is This.
He quit What Is This to join Fear before any of What Is This's commercial releases.
Fear
He was a touring bassist for Fear.
He quit Fear to co-found Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Red Hot Chili Peppers and Side Projects
He co-founded Red Hot Chili Peppers with Anthony Kiedis, Hillel Slovak, and Jack Irons.
In 1984, he was a touring bassist for Circle Jerks.
In 1990, he played on several songs on the Weirdos album Condor.
In 1997, he played bass for Jane's Addiction. Jane's Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro was also a member of Red Hot Chili Peppers at the time.
More recently, he has appeared as member of the rock supergroups Atoms for Peace, Antemasque, Pigface, and Rocket Juice & the Moon. Flea has also collaborated with many artists including The Mars Volta, Johnny Cash, Alanis Morissette, and Young MC.
Widely regarded as one of the best rock bass players of all time, in 2009, Rolling Stone 's readers ranked Flea the second-best bassist of all-time in their top ten poll, ranked behind only John Entwistle and ahead of Paul McCartney.
Flea has also made occasional forays into acting, appearing in films that span many genres such as Suburbia, Back to the Future Part II and Part III, My Own Private Idaho, The Chase, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Thrashin', The Big Lebowski, and Baby Driver, in addition to voicing the character Donnie Thornberry in The Wild Thornberrys animated television series and films. In 2014, Flea made his long awaited return to acting when he appeared in the film Low Down.
Flea is the co-founder of Silverlake Conservatory of Music, a non-profit music education organization founded in 2001 for underprivileged children.
Discography
With Red Hot Chili Peppers
Demos
Studio Albums
- The Red Hot Chili Peppers (1984)
- Freaky Styley (1985)
- The Uplift Mofo Party Plan (1987)
- Mother's Milk (1989)
- Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991)
- One Hot Minute (1995)
- Californication (1999)
- By the Way (2002)
- Stadium Arcadium (2006)
- I'm With You (2011)
- The Getaway (2016)
- Unlimited Love (2022)
- Return of the Dream Canteen (2022)
Live Albums
- Live in Hyde Park (2004)
Live EPs
- 2011 Live EP (2012)
- 2012-13 Live EP (2014)
- Live in Paris EP (2016)
With Jane's Addiction (as a band member)
- Kettle Whistle (1997)
Guest Appearances
- Jane's Addiction - Nothing's Shocking (1988)
- Young MC - Stone Cold Rhymin' (1989)
- Keith Levene - Violent Opposition (1989)
- George Clinton - Hey Man, Smell My Finger (1993)
- Mike Watt - Ball-Hog or Tugboat? (1995)
Videography
With Red Hot Chili Peppers
Live Home Videos
- Red Hot Skate Rock (1988)
- Psychedelic Sexfunk Live from Heaven (1990)
- Off the Map (2001)
- Live at Slane Castle (2003)
Tourography
With Fear
TBA
With Red Hot Chili Peppers
- Red Hot Chili Peppers 1983 Tour
- Red Hot Chili Peppers 1984 Tour
- Freaky Styley Tour
- The Uplift Mofo Party Tour
- Turd Town Tour
- Mother's Milk Tour
- Blood Sugar Sex Magik Tour
- Tour de La Sensitive
- One Hot Minute Tour
- Californication Tour
- 2001 Tour
- By the Way World Tour
- Roll on the Red Tour
- Stadium Arcadium World Tour
- I'm With You World Tour
- Red Hot Chili Peppers 2013-2014 Tour
- The Getaway World Tour
- 2022 Global Stadium Tour
With Circle Jerks
TBA
With Jane's Addiction
TBA
Bibliography
Photo Gallery
See Also
- Flea on the What Is This Wiki
- Flea on the Fear Wiki
- Flea on the Jane's Addiction Wiki