Good evening everybody, in today’s video we’re taking a closer look at the time guitar icon Buckethead auditioned for the red hot chili peppers.

In 1991 the red hot chilli peppers released their album ‘blood sugar sex majik’, arguably their best album which contained the hit songs ‘under the bridge’ and ‘give it away’.

Just over a year later lead guitarist john frusciante left the band, his replacement arik marshall was later fired and so, the chilli peppers needed a lead guitarist.
So who better to audition for the band than nun-chuck wielding mad man Buckethead.

The auditions were conducted in mid-1993 after the chilli peppers placed an ad in a newspaper. Which was a total clusterfuck, because everyone and their grandmother showed up to play.

By that time Buckethead had already toured with his band the Deli Creeps, released his debut album Bucketheadland and joined the supergroup Praxis-featuring bill laswell, bootsy Collins, Bernie worrell and brain..a supergroup in every sense of the word.

According to Bucketheads website-Buckethead was picked up at the airport by lead singer Anthony keidis. And despite the chilli peppers being fairly well known and successful at that point, Buckethead informed keidis that he hadn’t heard any of their songs. What a boss.
With keidis’ ego no doubt slightly battered, the audition still went ahead.

Keidis would mention Buckethead in his 2004 autobiography ‘scar tissue’ stating:-
“we auditioned this guy called Buckethead, who would play his whole set with a Kentucky fried chicken bucket on his head while encased in a chicken coop”.
bassist Flea would also later recount the audition in the January 1994 issue of Musician magazine stating:-
“he seemed sweet and normal. He came in and started jamming, playing all this crazy shit, a lot of fast, crazy runs with a lot of effects. That would be great, but we needed someone who could also kick a groove.

Well, I guess flea never listened to Bucketheads grooves on praxis’ transmutation album then.
Which in hindsight for Buckethead fans, was probably a good thing.

The chilli peppers would end up hiring janes addiction guitarist dave Navarro. The new line-up performed one of their first gigs at Woodstock 94, wearing giant light bulbs attached to their heads.
And many years later they would hit the stage wearing nothing but socks on their cocks.

So the next time you hear some idiot saying that buckethead is silly because he wears a kfc bucket on his head. Just remind them that if red hot chilli peppers had their way, he could’ve easily ended up being bulb head or bucket sock cock. Ah, what might’ve been? Thankfully we’ll never know and both buckethead and the red hot chilli peppers went on to have successful careers….kicking a groove.