Red Hot Chili Peppers Guitarist Weary of ‘Absurd’ Comparisons With John Frusciante

Comparisons between Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer and his predecessor John Frusciante are perhaps inevitable. But that doesn't mean Klinghoffer is taking them in stride.

"Of course, it gets annoying," he tells Metro News. "On one hand, it’s an honor for me to be part of this band, and be mentioned in the same breath as Frusciante. But all these comparisons are simply absurd."

Klinghoffer, who joined Frusciante as members of the band's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction class in 2012, began working with the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2007 as an additional on-stage guitarist. When Frusciante – a member of the group from 1988–1992 and then again in 1998–2009 – ended his second stint, Klinghoffer officially took over.

"We are two totally different people," Klinghoffer adds. "I have never tried to emulate his technique – and, of course, I was not trying to get him to leave the band. Seriously, anyone trying to compare us is an idiot."

Klinghoffer and the Red Hot Chili Peppers are touring now in support of the just-released The Getaway, their second album together after 2011's I'm With You. Both reached No. 2 on the Billboard charts. Frusciante, meanwhile, has launched an idiosyncratic solo career that has taken him well away from guitar-focused music.

Klinghoffer, nevertheless, hopes they'll work together again. "He tried as much as possible to distance himself from the group – and I had to learn to live in it," Klinghoffer says of Frusciante. "Our paths diverged. Some day, we’ll be able to communicate well again.”

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