Here’s Why Red Hot Chili Peppers “Can’t” Play Their New Songs Live

Red Hot Chili Peppers have been laying low this year, but they’ve written a stack of new tracks — they just “can’t” play them live yet, because they don’t want the internet to get its grubby little digital hands on them.

Earlier this week, RHCP performed a special acoustic set at a benefit concert for the Silverlake Conservatory of Music, a non-profit music school co-founded by the band’s bassist-turned-beekeeper, Flea.

In an interview with Rolling Stone ahead of the Chili’s performance, frontman Anthony Kiedis says he’s very happy with how the group’s latest tracks have come together, but isn’t prepared to share them.

“The torture about doing this [show] is that we’ve been writing new music for the last year, and we’ve written some songs that I feel are as good as any songs we’ve ever written,” Kiedis says.

“We’re just dying to play the new songs — but we can’t, because every single human has a recording device on them at all times.”

RHCP have been working with lauded producer Danger Mouse (real name Brian Joseph Burton) on their 11th studio album, which will be their first since 2011’s I’m With You.

Speaking about working with Danger Mouse, Kiedis says, “He’s very good about coming up with super-modern ideas, but he’ll also touch on the acoustic guitar in the control room and strip the song down to its acoustic essentials. Which is a beautiful place to be.”

By August 2014, Red Hot Chili Peppers said they already had up to 30 songs ready for their next album. Since then, Flea has called the band’s new music “super danceable” and “introspective”. The only thing we currently know is that the music is definitely not YouTubeable.

While the Chili’s don’t want their new songs to leak onto the web, footage of their intimate acoustic performance from the weekend (including a cover of Jimi Hendrix’s Fire) has done just that. Catch those clips below, as we wait patiently for the band’s new tunes.

https://instagram.com/p/8905_IwT2I/

https://instagram.com/p/8-BrOlsZF8/

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