Otherside has the heartwrought sense of unresolved history. Under The Bridge is a snapshot into its key playersвЂ™ souls. Give It Away remains untouchable for its taboo-busting provocation and in-your-face bravado. Given the contrasting eras and different facets of their sound, itвЂ™s harder to pick a favourite Red Hot Chili Peppers track than for most other bands. band in history: over 80 million album sales, countless turnstile entries, six GRAMMYs and a 2012 induction into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame are all under their belts. Their combination of genre-melding mischief, taboo-busting sexuality, streaks of emotionally-resonant melancholy, oddball eccentricity and sheer crossover listenability has seen them become, by far, the most successful alt. The definitive (and, as of writing, current) line-up featuring Anthony, Flea, guitarist John Frusciante and drummer Chad Smith first came together in 1988 and are responsible for the decade-defining twin masterpieces Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991) and Californication (1999), though with JohnвЂ™s ongoing substance struggles, six-stringers such as Dave Navarro and Josh Klinghoffer have also been involved. At their best, the Chilis became capable of striking stylistic shifts quite unlike anyone else. Formed as a one-off вЂњjokeвЂќ all the way back in 1983 (yes, almost four decades ago) by vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Michael вЂ FleaвЂ™ Balzary, guitarist Hillel Slovak and drummer Jack Irons, foundations rooted in the punk-funk of bands like Defunkt and Contortions were built on with elements of the emergent alt.rock genre, while personal experiences with addiction and the 1988 death of Hillel bled a darkness into their sound. So all-encompassing has been Red Hot Chili PeppersвЂ™ mainstream ubiquity and accessibility over the past 30 years that many вЂrealвЂ™ rock fans seem to have forgotten the things that made the Los Angeles quartet great in the first place.

Where are peerless guitars made