John Frusciante

John Anthony Frusciante was born on March 5, 1970, in New York. He became interested in rock music at an early age. After his parents divorced, John and his mother moved to California when he was seven. When he was nine, his stepfather offered him his first acoustic guitar. John taught himself how to play guitar, and for the next several years he would spent all his time practicing. In California his interest in music grew and grew as he discovered bands such as The Germs. While at school it was clear that John was an outsider, mainly because he would rather concentrate on music and that was his life. In school he heard many artists who influenced what he played on his guitar, such as Jimi Hendrix and Frank Zappa, among others. John became a big fan of a local band called Red Hot Chili Peppers when he heard them at 15 years of age. At this time original guitarist Hillel Slovak was still in the band. At the age of 16 John left school and home to become a full-time musician. He had eve