Josh Klinghoffer is opening up about his dissatisfaction during his time in Red Hot Chili Peppers. The guitarist spent a decade in the band, and recorded two albums — 2011's I'm With You and 2016's The Getaway — before getting asked to leave upon John Frusciante's return in 2019.
In August, Klinghoffer lamented about how producers got in the way of RHCP "making great music," now he's admitting that his whole experience was "enormously stifling creatively."
“As much as I love those guys and loved playing with them, it was also enormously stifling creatively. They’re an established band with an established sound, and I learned over time how little deviating from that was possible,” he explained in a new interview. “As much as I thought they were up for experimentation, they generally stayed in their own lane.”
As for the way things ended, Klinghoffer remarked that “obviously, it’s sad when something is taken from you.”
Things seem to be going well for him, though. Since getting ousted from RHCP, Klinghoffer has focused on his solo project Pluralone and is a touring member of Pearl Jam. As for RHCP, they're gearing up to release a new album called Return of the Dream Canteen this Friday (October 14).