Flea
Flea
Fleas are insects that form the order Siphonaptera. They are wingless, with mouthparts adapted for piercing skin and sucking blood. Fleas are external parasites, living by hematophagy off the blood of mammals and birds...
NationalityAustralian
ProfessionBassist
Date of Birth16 October 1962
CityMelbourne, Australia
CountryAustralia
bunch doors music relationship school studied terms year
I went to school and studied music for a year at USC, which unlocked a bunch of doors for me in terms of my relationship to music.
angeles los music private public studied
I studied music at the most remedial level when I was a kid, through the Los Angeles public schools, with a little private instruction.
studied theory
I studied chord theory and started playing the piano.
charles charlie grew incredible
I grew up with all these old jazz guys in the '70s in L.A., and they grew up idolizing Charlie Parker, Charles Mingus, Lester Young - all of these incredible musicians.
aggressive scene violent
We were at the dark end of the L.A. punk scene, and that scene was full-on and violent and aggressive and wild and intense.
great growing high junior marching music played
When I was growing up, in L.A., I went to these schools, Fairfax High School, Bancroft Junior High School, and they had great music departments. I always played in the orchestra, the jazz band, the marching band.
I always thought I was a pretty terrible actor.
Being a rock star isn't all it's cracked up to be, let me tell you.
bands cool hold
Before every show, we get into a circle, hold hands, and someone makes a speech. Most bands are too cool for that.
develop
Bands develop their own weird ways of doing things.
based good intuition sounds toward
All my career, all that I've really done has been based on emotion and intuition and gravitating toward what sounds good.
academics athletics changed education equally life music treated
A big part of my life is music education because it changed my life - but arts, academics and athletics should all be equally treated in the school.
life love triumphs
I love my life and my mistakes and my triumphs - all of it.
life rest
My father was out of my life when I was pretty young - when I was 7 years old, he was gone. I didn't see him for the rest of my childhood.