During a recent interview with Steve Black, Red Hot Chili Peppers frontman Anthony Kiedis discussed the challenges musicians face creatively when they become rich and famous.
“It’s always hard to write good songs, but I don’t think the amount of songs that you’ve previously written stops you from writing another good song. But the changes in your life from becoming successful will definitely get in your way and hinder your progress in making good songs, that’s my experience. I feel like the further away from the streets and your struggle, and your beginnings that you get, the harder it is to make good music.
Life becomes too easy and soft, once the struggle is gone, good luck writing good songs. I mean, I could give you 100 examples of some of the most beautiful songwriters ever, and then they get rich and comfortable and successful, and that just sort of disappears, because gone are those days where you have to fight for something.”
He added, “There’s the way people treat you, but there’s also just being out and about, in it and in the mix, the grit and the dirt of life. I mean, I guess that’s a big part of why people want to succeed, is to put distance between themselves and suffering, and struggling, and having a hard time paying the rent, and all of that, but it really gets in the way of the art in the long run. There are people that have managed to avoid that, but few and far between, so thank goodness for things like heartbreak, and other losses to start the fire.”
