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Melrose Avenue · Laurel Canyon · Slane · Hyde Park · 1982–2026

Red Hot Chili Peppers

Flea, Anthony Kiedis, Jack Sherman and Cliff Martinez in a Los Angeles alley, February 1984. Gary Friedman, Los Angeles Times, CC BY 4.0. Show counts: RHCP Live Archive, October 2026.

Four in an alley, February 1984. Two of them never left.

Two friends from Fairfax High have played almost every show; the guitar and the drums have changed hands again and again. Fill the two spots.

Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles · 1977–1983

A headlock, a trumpet,
and a set one song long.

The front of Fairfax High School, a pale building behind lawns and palm trees
Fairfax High School on Melrose Avenue, 2006. Gary Minnaert · Public domain

Fairfax High School · 7850 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles

Flea first met Anthony Kiedis at Fairfax High School in Hollywood, in 1977. After that, he says, they were inseparable.

The band was formed in 1983 by Kiedis, Flea, Hillel Slovak and Jack Irons, classmates at Fairfax High. At the band’s star ceremony in 2022, Flea remembered that Fairfax High had more trumpet players than it needed.

Hillel Slovak was born in Haifa in 1962; his family moved to Queens and then to the Fairfax area of Los Angeles. A guitar was his bar mitzvah present. Flea was still mostly a trumpet player. Hillel was the one who asked him to start playing bass.

A working public high school. See it from Melrose Avenue or Fairfax Avenue; the grounds are not open to visitors.

Sources

Thursdays · 10pm · the Rhythm Lounge at the Grandia Room

16 December 1982

No name yet

  1. Out in L.A.

Meant as a one-off, opening for Gary Allen’s EP release party. Fewer than fifty people.

The whole set: one song.

The arched Paramount Pictures gate on Melrose Avenue under a blue sky
Melrose Avenue at the Paramount gate, a block from the Grandia Room site, 2012. Carol M. Highsmith (Library of Congress) · Public domain

Site of the Grandia Room · 5657 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood

The Grandia Room was a restaurant and nightclub at 5657 Melrose Avenue. Every Thursday at 10pm it became the Rhythm Lounge, a night of mostly hip hop and electro.

The band’s first show was here on 16 December 1982: an opening act at Gary Allen’s EP release party, meant as a one-off. They played one song, Out in L.A. Fewer than fifty people were there, and no photographs or recordings have ever surfaced.

The whole building was torn down in 2010.

The club building has gone; an apartment block with a restaurant space stands on the spot. The Paramount gate is a short walk east.

Sources
Hillel Slovak on stage with an electric guitar, 1983
Hillel Slovak playing guitar with the band in Philadelphia, 1983. John Coffey · CC BY 2.0
Anthony Kiedis singing into a microphone in dark glasses and a striped cap, 1985
Anthony Kiedis at the Chestnut Cabaret, Philadelphia, 7 November 1985. John Coffey · CC BY-SA 2.0

Two who stayed · two spots

Fill the two spots.

Counted show by show, Flea has played 1,926 and Kiedis 1,925. In the guitar spot: Frusciante 949, Hillel Slovak 373, Josh Klinghoffer 372, Jack Sherman 88, Dave Navarro 83. In the drum spot: Chad Smith 1,440, Jack Irons 248, Cliff Martinez 208.

Anthony KiedisVocals · 1,925 shows
FleaBass · 1,926 shows
Guitar ?Choose below
Drums ?Choose below

Guitar

Drums

Anthony and Flea are in. Choose a guitarist and a drummer.

Sources
A crowd filling Dam square seen from the back of a stage, with musicians mid-jump in the foreground
The band on the Uitmarkt stage on the Dam, Amsterdam, 26 August 1989, seen from behind the drums. Rob C. Croes, Anefo / Nationaal Archief · CC0

The Dam, Amsterdam · 26 August 1989

On 26 August 1989 the band played the Uitmarkt festival in Amsterdam: Kiedis, Flea, John Frusciante and Chad Smith.

The Nationaal Archief keeps Rob Croes’s Anefo photographs of the show, on a stage on the Dam.

Anthony Kiedis and Flea, shirtless, singing into one microphone under stage lights
Anthony Kiedis and Flea on the Dam, Amsterdam, 26 August 1989. Rob C. Croes, Anefo / Nationaal Archief · CC0
Sources
A blue Laurel Cyn Bl street sign on a pole above a street corner
A Laurel Canyon Boulevard street sign, 2024. The house itself is private and not shown. Jengod · CC BY-SA 4.0

Laurel Canyon Boulevard · 1991 · named, not mapped

Two months in the house,
one drummer on the road.

Blood Sugar Sex Magik was made at Rick Rubin’s ten-bedroom Mediterranean house on Laurel Canyon Boulevard, built in 1918. It was the first album recorded there.

Kiedis, Flea and John Frusciante lived in the house for the two months it took.

Two months in the house. Who stays the night?

Frusciante told Interview magazine there were definitely ghosts in the house. Rubin found a poem in one of Kiedis’s notebooks and asked him to sing it. It became Under the Bridge.

A private home. It is named here and not mapped: there is nothing to see from the road and no visit to make.

Sources

6000 Sunset Boulevard · 1998–99

A summer in a garage,
five weeks in a circle.

After John Frusciante came back, the band rehearsed for most of summer 1998 in Flea’s garage.

Most of Californication was then recorded in Studio 2 at Cello, formerly Western Recorders, with Rick Rubin producing and Jim Scott engineering.

Flea, John and Chad played about ten feet apart in a small circle, Kiedis singing from a booth nearby. They could see each other all the time. They cut 30 songs in about a week; the recording took about five weeks in all.

The building was a grocery market in 1933, became Western Recorders in 1957, Cello Studios in 1999 and EastWest Studios in 2005. The studio’s own history adds One Hot Minute in Studio Five in 1995, By the Way in Studio Two in 2001, and Unlimited Love recorded and mixed in Studio Five in 2022.

Sources
The plain frontage of the studio building at 6000 Sunset Boulevard
EastWest Studios, 6000 Sunset Boulevard, 2019. Blz 2049 · CC0

EastWest Studios, once Cello and Western · now

A working studio, not open to visitors. See the building from Sunset Boulevard at Gordon Street.

A concert stage lit blue and pink above a crowd with raised hands
The band on stage in Stockholm in 2003, the year of Slane. Jacob Siverskog · CC BY-SA 2.5

County Meath and London · 2003–2004

A castle slope,
then three nights in a park.

Slane: the slope down to the Boyne.

A castle above trees and a green slope beyond a slow river
Slane Castle from across the Boyne, 2007. The slope where concerts are held is on the right. JP (geograph.org.uk) · CC BY-SA 2.0

Slane Castle · Slane, County Meath, Ireland

On 23 August 2003 they headlined, with Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age, PJ Harvey and Feeder.

The band first played Slane in support of U2 on 25 August 2001. Slane’s summer concerts hold 80,000 people, with the River Boyne and the estate’s parkland behind the stage.

The show came out as Live at Slane Castle, two songs short: in one of them John broke a string.

The castle is open by appointment and runs estate tours; the distillery is on the same estate.

Sources
Slane Castle

Slane Castle tours

Slane, County Meath, Ireland · €150 for up to 6, then €12.50 each

One-hour private guided tours of the castle by appointment, year round; public tours on select dates and in Heritage Week. Book a week ahead by email.

See tours
Slane Castle Estate

Rock Farm Slane

Slane, County Meath, Ireland · Book direct

An organic farm stay on the Slane Castle estate, across the Boyne from the castle: houses, a yurt and a small caravan. Pictured: the castle and the concert slope from across the river.

Check stays
A large crowd on the grass in front of a distant stage
A summer concert crowd in Hyde Park, 2018. Allan Lee (geograph.org.uk) · CC BY-SA 2.0

Hyde Park · Hyde Park, London

The band played Hyde Park on 19, 20 and 25 June 2004. Each night was sold out: 86,000 people, with James Brown in support.

An hour of the first night went out on BBC radio.

A royal park, open daily from early morning to midnight. Summer concerts are fenced and ticketed.

Sources
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Cleveland and Hollywood · 2012–2026

A plaque, a star,
and a night for Flea’s school.

Frusciante rejoins for a third time as Klinghoffer leaves.

A glass pyramid and white tower on the Cleveland lakefront
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland, 2014. Adam Jones · CC BY-SA 2.0

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame · 2012

Eight names are signed on the plaque: Kiedis, Flea, Hillel Slovak, Jack Irons, Cliff Martinez, John Frusciante, Chad Smith and Josh Klinghoffer.

The band were inducted in 2012; Chris Rock gave the speech. At the ceremony in Cleveland on 14 April 2012, Jack Irons and Cliff Martinez came back on stage for Give It Away. Hillel Slovak was inducted after his death; his brother James accepted for him.

A silver sparkle bass guitar in a museum case
A silver sparkle Modulus bass of Flea’s on show at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, September 2026. “2” as credited on the file page (uploaded by Buddyboy2112) · CC0
Sources
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

1100 Rock & Roll Blvd, Cleveland · Adult $45; youth (6–12) $30

The museum on the Cleveland lakefront, open daily 10am to 5pm from September to June, later on Thursdays.

Plan a visit
The new Walk of Fame star on the pavement on its ceremony day
The star outside Amoeba Music on the day it was unveiled, 31 March 2022. Steveshelokhonov · CC BY-SA 4.0

The band’s Walk of Fame star · 31 March 2022

The star, in the Recording category, was dedicated at 6212 Hollywood Boulevard on 31 March 2022.

George Clinton, Bob Forrest and Woody Harrelson unveiled it with Nicole Mihalka, chair of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. It was the 2,717th star since the Walk was completed in 1961. All four members came, the day before Unlimited Love was released.

On the pavement outside Amoeba Music, free to see at any hour. The Fonda Theatre is a block east.

Sources
The Fonda Theatre facade and marquee on Hollywood Boulevard
The Fonda Theatre, Hollywood Boulevard, 2024. Alexis Doine · CC0

The Fonda Theatre · 1 April 2022

The day after the star, 1 April 2022, the band played here. Flyers went out to Los Angeles record stores the day before, with a few tickets on sale the next morning.

George Clinton joined them for Give It Away.

A working theatre on Hollywood Boulevard. Buy a ticket for any show to go in.

Sources
The long low streamline frontage of the Hollywood Palladium with its marquee
The Hollywood Palladium on Sunset Boulevard, 2012. Doug Goodwin · CC BY-SA 3.0

Hollywood Palladium · October 2026

In October 2026 the band headlined a 25th-anniversary benefit here for the Silverlake Conservatory of Music, the Los Angeles music school Flea co-founded in 2001.

They played 11 songs in 51 minutes, with Organic Anti-Beat Box Band and Blackeyed Blonde for the first time since 2000. Foo Fighters, Vince Staples and the conservatory’s SCM All Stars were on the bill too; Marc Maron hosted.

A working concert hall on Sunset Boulevard. Buy a ticket for any show to go in.

Sources
A stadium stage with a striped screen; a singer in red, a bassist and a guitarist
John Frusciante back on stage with the band at London Stadium, 25 June 2022. Hel Davies · CC BY-SA 2.0

Where it is now

Every spot filled,
12 places.

Fairfax High, the Grandia Room site, EastWest, the Palladium, the Fonda and the star sit within a few miles of each other across Hollywood; the Roxy is at the west end of the Sunset Strip.

Where it is now

12 places you can visit, from Melrose Avenue to the Dam. The Laurel Canyon house is a private home: it is named and not mapped.

Pins mark public places; private homes are named but not pinned.

  • General reference · Restricted access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A working public high school. See it from Melrose Avenue or Fairfax Avenue; the grounds are not open to visitors.

  • General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. The club building has gone; an apartment block with a restaurant space stands on the spot. The Paramount gate is a short walk east.

  • General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. Still a working club on the Sunset Strip. Buy a ticket for any night to go in.

  • General reference · Restricted access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A working studio, not open to visitors. See the building from Sunset Boulevard at Gordon Street.

  • General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. On the pavement outside Amoeba Music, free to see at any hour. The Fonda Theatre is a block east.

  • General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A working theatre on Hollywood Boulevard. Buy a ticket for any show to go in.

  • General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A working concert hall on Sunset Boulevard. Buy a ticket for any show to go in.

  1. The front of Fairfax High School, a pale building behind lawns and palm trees
    Fairfax High School on Melrose Avenue, 2006. Gary Minnaert · Public domain

    7850 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles

    Fairfax High School

    Flea first met Anthony Kiedis at Fairfax High School in Hollywood, in 1977. After that, he says, they were inseparable.

    A working public high school. See it from Melrose Avenue or Fairfax Avenue; the grounds are not open to visitors.

    Sources
  2. The arched Paramount Pictures gate on Melrose Avenue under a blue sky
    Melrose Avenue at the Paramount gate, a block from the Grandia Room site, 2012. Carol M. Highsmith (Library of Congress) · Public domain

    5657 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood

    Site of the Grandia Room

    The Grandia Room was a restaurant and nightclub at 5657 Melrose Avenue. Every Thursday at 10pm it became the Rhythm Lounge, a night of mostly hip hop and electro.

    The club building has gone; an apartment block with a restaurant space stands on the spot. The Paramount gate is a short walk east.

    Sources
  3. The Roxy nightclub frontage on Sunset Boulevard with its name in lights
    The Roxy on the Sunset Strip, 2007. Gary Minnaert · Public domain

    9009 Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood

    The Roxy

    On 5 February 1987 the founding four, Kiedis, Flea, Hillel Slovak and Jack Irons, played a benefit here for the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

    Still a working club on the Sunset Strip. Buy a ticket for any night to go in.

    Sources
  4. The plain frontage of the studio building at 6000 Sunset Boulevard
    EastWest Studios, 6000 Sunset Boulevard, 2019. Blz 2049 · CC0

    6000 Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood

    EastWest Studios, once Cello and Western

    After John Frusciante came back, the band rehearsed for most of summer 1998 in Flea’s garage.

    A working studio, not open to visitors. See the building from Sunset Boulevard at Gordon Street.

    Sources
  5. A pink terrazzo star with a brass record emblem reading Red Hot Chili Peppers
    The band’s star on Hollywood Boulevard, July 2026. Alexis Doine · CC0

    6212 Hollywood Boulevard, outside Amoeba Music

    The band’s Walk of Fame star

    The star, in the Recording category, was dedicated at 6212 Hollywood Boulevard on 31 March 2022.

    On the pavement outside Amoeba Music, free to see at any hour. The Fonda Theatre is a block east.

    Sources
  6. The Fonda Theatre facade and marquee on Hollywood Boulevard
    The Fonda Theatre, Hollywood Boulevard, 2024. Alexis Doine · CC0

    6126 Hollywood Boulevard

    The Fonda Theatre

    The day after the star, 1 April 2022, the band played here. Flyers went out to Los Angeles record stores the day before, with a few tickets on sale the next morning.

    A working theatre on Hollywood Boulevard. Buy a ticket for any show to go in.

    Sources
  7. The long low streamline frontage of the Hollywood Palladium with its marquee
    The Hollywood Palladium on Sunset Boulevard, 2012. Doug Goodwin · CC BY-SA 3.0

    6215 Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood

    Hollywood Palladium

    In October 2026 the band headlined a 25th-anniversary benefit here for the Silverlake Conservatory of Music, the Los Angeles music school Flea co-founded in 2001.

    A working concert hall on Sunset Boulevard. Buy a ticket for any show to go in.

    Sources

Stay

A farm on the Slane estate.

Rooms, a yurt and a caravan across the Boyne from the castle.

Slane Castle Estate

Rock Farm Slane

Slane, County Meath, Ireland · Book direct

An organic farm stay on the Slane Castle estate, across the Boyne from the castle: houses, a yurt and a small caravan. Pictured: the castle and the concert slope from across the river.

Check stays

Go there

Stand where it happened.

Slane Castle and the Hall of Fame direct, and tours in Los Angeles, Amsterdam and London.

Slane Castle

Slane Castle tours

Slane, County Meath, Ireland · €150 for up to 6, then €12.50 each

One-hour private guided tours of the castle by appointment, year round; public tours on select dates and in Heritage Week. Book a week ahead by email.

See tours
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

1100 Rock & Roll Blvd, Cleveland · Adult $45; youth (6–12) $30

The museum on the Cleveland lakefront, open daily 10am to 5pm from September to June, later on Thursdays.

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Live marketplace results for walking tours of central Amsterdam that start or pass through the Dam. Check each itinerary for its stops.

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Hyde Park and London music walks

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What’s on

Back on the slope.

The next concerts at Slane Castle, June 2027.

Checking current event dates…

Take it home

Three posters, three books and three records.

Original posters from 1988, 1989 and 2003, the memoirs, and the records made in the places on this page.

Printed Originals · Our poster store

Red Hot Chili Peppers: Can’t Stop (2003)

An original 2003 poster from the By the Way year, the summer of Slane.

In stock

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Red Hot Chili Peppers at the Fillmore (1988)

An original San Francisco concert poster from 1988, art by Arlene Owseichik.

In stock

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Red Hot Chili Peppers at the Fillmore (1989)

An original 1989 Fillmore poster, art by Arlene Owseichik: the year of the Dam.

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Out in L.A.: The Red Hot Chili Peppers, 1983

Hamish Duncan

The band’s first year, show by show, from the Grandia Room on.

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Acid for the Children

Flea

Flea’s memoir of a 1970s Hollywood childhood, up to the band’s start.

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Scar Tissue

Anthony Kiedis with Larry Sloman

Kiedis’s memoir, the source of the haunted-house story.

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Blood Sugar Sex Magik

Red Hot Chili Peppers · CD, 1991

Made in the Laurel Canyon house in two months.

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Californication

Red Hot Chili Peppers · CD, 1999

Mostly recorded in Studio 2 at Cello, three players ten feet apart.

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Live in Hyde Park

Red Hot Chili Peppers · 4×LP, 2004

From the three June 2004 nights in Hyde Park.

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Dates, prices, rooms and stock change: confirm with the provider before you travel or buy. A stay or tour is described as a filming location only where the card says so.

The full record

Every place and moment behind this page, with sources.

13 of 13 places · 22 of 22 Moments

  • Fairfax High School

    7850 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles

    • Counted show by show

      Counted show by show, Flea has played 1,926 and Kiedis 1,925. In the guitar spot: Frusciante 949, Hillel Slovak 373, Josh Klinghoffer 372, Jack Sherman 88, Dave Navarro 83. In the drum spot: Chad Smith 1,440, Jack Irons 248, Cliff Martinez 208.

    • A headlock and a crew cut

      Flea and Anthony Kiedis meet at Fairfax High; they are inseparable from then on.

    • From trumpet to bass

      Hillel Slovak asks Flea, still a trumpet player, to start playing bass.

    • Hillel Slovak

      Hillel Slovak dies of a heroin overdose, aged 26. Jack Irons leaves the band; Chad Smith replaces him, and John Frusciante joins on guitar.

  • Site of the Grandia Room

    5657 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood

    • One song

      An opening act meant as a one-off: Out in L.A., to fewer than fifty people.

    • Two songs

      Asked back, they play two songs, advertised as The Flow.

    • A name

      They become the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

    • A new guitar and drums

      In 1984 the band plays with Jack Sherman on guitar and Cliff Martinez on drums.

  • The Roxy

    9009 Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood

    • The four again

      Hillel and Jack Irons are back; a benefit for Sea Shepherd on the Sunset Strip.

  • The Mansion, Laurel Canyon Boulevard

    Laurel Canyon Boulevard, Los Angeles (a private house; named by its street only)

    • Two months in the house

      Blood Sugar Sex Magik is made in a rented house in Laurel Canyon; Chad rides home each night.

  • EastWest Studios, once Cello and Western

    6000 Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood

    • Woodstock

      With Dave Navarro on guitar the band plays Woodstock at Saugerties, New York, and records One Hot Minute in Studio Five.

    • Flea’s garage

      Frusciante is back; a summer of rehearsals in Flea’s garage, then five weeks at Cello.

    • Ten feet apart

      Flea, John and Chad play in a small circle in Studio 2; 30 songs in a week.

  • The band’s Walk of Fame star

    6212 Hollywood Boulevard, outside Amoeba Music

    • A third time

      Frusciante rejoins for a third time as Klinghoffer leaves.

    • A star on Hollywood Boulevard

      George Clinton, Bob Forrest and Woody Harrelson unveil the star outside Amoeba Music.

  • The Fonda Theatre

    6126 Hollywood Boulevard

    • The next night

      A show announced by flyers in record shops, George Clinton on Give It Away.

  • Hollywood Palladium

    6215 Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood

    • For the conservatory

      A benefit for the music school Flea co-founded, with two songs not played since 2000.

  • Saint Andrew’s Hall

    431 East Congress Street, Detroit

    • Freaky Styley in Detroit

      In Detroit to record, they borrow a pub band’s gear for a few songs; in October they play Saint Andrew’s Hall.

  • Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

    1100 Rock & Roll Boulevard, Cleveland

    • The Hall of Fame

      Eight members inducted; Irons and Martinez back on stage for one song with Josh Klinghoffer and Chad Smith.

  • The Dam, Amsterdam

    Dam square, Amsterdam

    • Uitmarkt

      Kiedis, Flea, Frusciante and Smith on a stage on the Dam.

  • Slane Castle

    Slane, County Meath, Ireland

    • Slane

      Headlining the castle slope over the Boyne.

  • Hyde Park

    Hyde Park, London

    • Three nights in Hyde Park

      86,000 a night, three nights in one June.

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