Flea breaks silence on death of early Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Jack Sherman

9 September 2020, 10:54

The Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist has shared his thoughts on the late musician after taking "a couple of weeks to process" his passing.

Flea has opened up on the death of Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Jack Sherman.

The American musician - who was best known as the second guitarist to have joined the band in between the departure and return of Hillel Slovak - sadly passed away on 18 August 2020, aged 64.

Now, the band's co-founder and bassist Flea has broken his silence on the news and reflected on his relationship with Sherman, which he described as "fraught".

Sharing a picture of the late rocker on Instagram, he began: "It has taken me a couple of weeks to process the death of Jack Sherman. Our relationship was complicated, we stopped playing music together in 1985 and things were often fraught in the rare times we communicated since. I found him to be unreasonable sometimes, and I’m sure I behaved like an obnoxious asshole with him sometimes. This morning, in pondering him, a wave of appreciation washed over me, which is really the only truth of the matter."

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It has taken me a couple of weeks to process the death of Jack Sherman. Our relationship was complicated, we stopped playing music together in 1985 and things were often fraught in the rare times we communicated since. I found him to be unreasonable sometimes, and I’m sure I behaved like an obnoxious asshole with him sometimes. This morning, in pondering him, a wave of appreciation washed over me, which is really the only truth of the matter. When I first went to his house he had a ONE NATION UNDER A GROOVE flag on his bedroom wall, and he played me funk I had never heard, like March To the Witches Castle. He was beaming with glee when he played it, and we were enrapt in the mythology of the funk like a couple of little kids. He played the most wicked guitar part on our song Mommy Where’s Daddy, a thing that influenced the way I heard rhythm forever. He taught me about diet, to eat clean and be conscious of my body. But more than anything, he was my friend. We came from very different backgrounds, had different world views, and it was hard for us to relate to one another often. But the excitement we shared over music, and the joy that bubbled up between us will last forever. Rest In Peace Sherm I love you.

A post shared by Flea (@flea333) on Sep 8, 2020 at 9:31am PDT

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The Can't Stop rocker continued: "When I first went to his house he had a ONE NATION UNDER A GROOVE flag on his bedroom wall, and he played me funk I had never heard, like March To the Witches Castle. He was beaming with glee when he played it, and we were enrapt in the mythology of the funk like a couple of little kids. He played the most wicked guitar part on our song Mommy Where’s Daddy, a thing that influenced the way I heard rhythm forever. He taught me about diet, to eat clean and be conscious of my body. But more than anything, he was my friend.

He concluded: "We came from very different backgrounds, had different world views, and it was hard for us to relate to one another often. But the excitement we shared over music, and the joy that bubbled up between us will last forever. Rest In Peace Sherm I love you."

Jack Morris Sherman was born on January 18 August 1956 and joined the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 1983.

He played on the band's debut album The Red Hot Chili Peppers, and co-wrote much of their follow-up album Freaky Styley.

Sherman went on to work with several famous musicians including Bob Dylan, George Clinton, and The Undertones' Feargal Sharkey.

Sherman sadly died of a heart attack at his home in Savannah, Georgia on 18 August 2020.

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