Red Hot Chili Peppers have clarified their lack of direct involvement with a new documentary based upon the band’s early years and their late guitarist Hillel Slovak. That documentary, ‘The Rise Of The Red Hot Chili Peppers‘, was directed by Ben Feldman (‘Bug Out‘, “Rich & Shameless‘), and is set to premiere on Netflix on March 20th.
While members of the group participated in interviews for the doc, the project does not have direct involvement from the band. In a collective statement shared on their social media yesterday, January 30th, the multi-platinum funk rockers explained their stance on the project as follows:
“Dear people of the universe,
About a year ago, we were asked to be interviewed for a documentary about Hillel Slovak. He was a founding member of the group, a great guitarist, and friend. We agreed to be interviewed out of love and respect for Hillel and his memory. However, this documentary is now being advertised as a Red Hot Chili Peppers documentary, which it is not. We had nothing to do with it creatively. We have yet to make a Red Hot Chili Peppers documentary. The central subject of this current Netflix special is Hillel Slovak and we hope it sparks interest in him and his work.”
A co-founding member and guiding force in the band who encouraged Flea to take up playing bass, Slovak‘s struggles with heroin addiction cost him his life in 1988 at the age of 26. He tragically died as the result of an accidental overdose in his Los Angeles, CA apartment.
