Book: Scar Tissue
Author: Anthony Kiedis
I started reading this book at the beginning of spring break and I am really enjoying it. It is the lead singer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Anthony Kiedis', autobiography. I'm about a quarter of the way through and I am shocked every time I turn a page. The things he's been through are ridiculous. At the age of 12, he was high almost everyday and had lost his virginity to his dad's current girlfriend. Something that amazes me is that a father figure of his until he was around 11 was a man by the name of Sonny Bono. As in Sonny and Cher. Sonny took him in for a while and acted as a role model to Anthony. At one point, Cher babysat him. You heard me, CHER. How is this possible?! Some of the most influential people in music have been in his life personally. I would kill to be babysat by Cher, or taught life lessons by Sonny Bono. That's just crazy.
When Anthony reached the age of 12 he decided to rebel against any kind of authority figure. Which in a way was Sonny. So he stopped seeing him and they drifted apart. His life at the age of 12 could be compared to a 25 year old rock star. He was constantly on some kind of drug, he went to clubs and bars and hit on women who were in some cases twice his age. The thing is, he was so young for this kind of lifestyle, but he loved it. I can't imagine getting up every morning, and trying to maintain a constant high, and staying up until all hours of the night. The toll that would take on a person's body is insane and I don't know how someone so young could handle it.
So far, the majority of this fault lies on his biological father. He lives in California and when Anthony moved there to be with him, leaving his mother, step father and newborn sister behind in Michigan, he adapted to the lifestyle his father led. Drugs, music, girls, stealing, all wrapped up into one world that he lived everyday.
At the part of the book I'm at right now, he has his band (The Red Hot Chili Peppers) and they are playing clubs everywhere. The lifestyle he lives is amazing to me, I honestly don't know how he did it.
It's weird reading this because I think a lot of people think celebrities, artists and musicians have and have always had it easy, which is almost never the case. I think knowing what Anthony Kiedis has gone through really makes you appreciate what he does and how he got there a lot more and it makes you realize that people in the public eye such as he, are real people, and have been through hard times as anyone else has. I think it's difficult for most people to share such intimate details and personal information of their life, so for Anthony Kiedis to write a book about such personal things, I find that shows the character and maturity of him.
This book is shocking in every way and though I'm nowhere near finished it, I strongly recommend it to everyone.
No comments:
Post a Comment