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Michael Balzary Biography |
Flea (born Michael Peter Balzary on October 16, 1962 in Melbourne, Australia) is the bassist for the alternative funk band, Red Hot Chili Peppers.
After his parents divorced when he was four years old, his mother moved the family to the United States, and eventually settled in Los Angeles in 1972. Flea got his start in music while in high school. He played trumpet is his school's band, and was considered by his teachers to be one of the best trumpet players they had ever seen—an especially high accolade considering that renowned trumpeter and record executive Herb Alpert had attended the same high school a generation earlier. He was even accepted into the Juilliard School of Music for his trumpeting skills.
He eventually met Anthony Kiedis in high school, and they went on to form Red Hot Chili Peppers together. Flea is widely considered to be among the finest bass guitarists in recent history.
He also works outside of the RHCP; Flea joined the alternative rock band Jane's Addiction in 1996, replacing the band's former bassist Eric Avery. He has done a trivial amount of acting, having appeared in the movies The Big Lebowski, My Own Private Idaho, Suburbia, The Chase (1994) (with RHCP bandmate Anthony Kiedis), Back to the Future 2 and 3 as 'Needles' and providing the voice of the feral boy Donnie in the animated television series The Wild Thornberrys.
Over the years Flea has had drug and alcohol problems and has been to rehab several times. He currently claims to be clean.
Flea married Loesha Zeivar in 1985. Their daughter Clara was born in 1988. Flea and Loesha split up in 1990 but remain on friendly terms and have joint custody of Clara. |
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