Acid for the Children: A Memoir

For anyone who loves the RHCP this is a must have!!! I just love Flea!

Nice to get inside of this splendid musician from one of the best bands ever.Great flow. No shock there.

I grew up on the Chilis. Used to always see Flea’s graffitied Mercedes out in Hollywood in the 90’s. I’ve read a lot of “Rock Star” memoirs, and none read like literature. Flea writes like an author, and a lover of books; words flowing, effortlessly taking you into his world. You have to remind yourself that it’s a memoir, and not a captivating work of fiction. I hope he continues to write and release books. It’s a second calling.

I bought this book a few weeks ago and I'm on my second time reading it. I can relate to alot of how he felt as a child and he writes so beautifully. Definitely a must read whether you're a Chili Pepper fan or not. Flea is a treasure and a wonderful soul and I hope he writes more books in the future.

The 1st time I set down to read this I only made it 7% of the way through before stopping. When I came back to it to, a tour through through through it and 4 or 5 days....... It is a bit just joined it and non sequitur. But that's what ends up the coming what I like about it

I've read a lot of rock and roll biographies. I have to say this is one of the books I most enjoyed. Flea seems to have a good heart. I related to some of his misspent youth, the drugs (although I would have been dead if I had done some of what he did) and like Flea going to a movie theater makes me fall asleep too, lol. .When he told about meeting Dizzy Gillespie as a youth it actually made me tear up. He hopefully will write a sequel and tell us about being in the Chili Peppers!

Bought as a gift and it was very well received!!!!! Interesting, lively throughout!!

I slowly worked my way through this one. Reading bit by bit before bed. It felt like a very pure and honest perspective of a young wild child trying to figure themselves out and falling in love with music. Uniquely written, but mildly redundant. I'm sure there are things you could pick apart and bring this book down to a 3 or so, but I had fun. 5 it is. Rock on Flea.

I had a similar childhood experience to Flea and so Flea's experiences were triggering af for me to read through. Even so, Flea holds out hope that if you get through the pain of a damaged childhood you will come out stronger and more capable of love the other side. That's why this is ultimately a inspiring read, despite the painful experiences which cover so many of its pages.Many people locked in the prison of early childhood trauma lose all sense of agency, and Flea's "screw it, just do it" attitude is a great antidote to this. Sadly the bodies of those who are unable to find this power within themselves litter the pages of this book.People who have suffered chaotic childhood's are often dismissed as drug addicts or losers. Flea dismisses himself early on, until he meets Anthony Keidis who teaches him a new philosophy - to celebrate your own freakiness and embrace your individuality.Flea's life is told as a chaotic jumble of wild incidents, probably because it was. A child and adult suffering from the affects of trauma often lead lives that are disorganised and volatile. Flea's childhood world was full of adults who were reckless and did crazy things without any rational explanation. He is forced to live on the streets, where there just isn't the luxury of thinking things through. His survival instinct pushes him into a constant search to get into some altered state or musical groove, and ultimately it is the music that saves him.Flea's personal philosophy centres around "the spirits", forces which direct people, speak through their art, provide the unknowable order to things. it's not elaborate, but this is a memoir not a philosophy text. This barebones philosophy sees him through his ordeals and helps put them into some form of universal context.Perhaps the most revealing incident that Flea talks about in the book is how he and Anthony Keidis would throw themselves off a cliff to jump into water, blindly trusting they will be ok. It's a raw and instinctive approach to the problems of existence, but it has served them well.

If you bought or are buying this book with the idea of getting to the extraordinary bass playing abilities of Flea...this is just a heads up.....its based around his early childhood, very misspent youth and tales of druggery and a little petty crime.From a musical point of view.....his first real exposure to music was through Jazz and his double bass playing and very unstable step dad. So I get perhaps that he was never going to approach ..lets call it "Rock Music" from the usual angle. He also blew trumpet...and again that is a different place to approach the bass from...(although I did dabble with the same instrument before I got to the bass. I was too lazy and unengaged with this to do much)So most of the rest of the book revolves around his dabbling with narcotics, with some teenage angst and girl crushes. He clearly had a "Non standard" ..Experimental Jazz upbringing, and of course this has a big effect on him, and in a way that is quite sad and very harrowing.Despite several statements that he wasn't addicted and wasn't an addict.....in my eyes...it seems that he was..ok maybe not to one particular narcotic, and he was quite damning of heroin about heroin, but clearly he couldn't stop taking drugs of some sort.By the end of the book is the realisation that drugs are very bad and have a long lasting effect on mind and body. I would question the several pages written about how precisely and step by step, (24 steps) you should "Geez" (inject cocaine) if drug taking is bad.On a musical point...I know there was always a fair old gap between what UK Punk (Rock) was about and US Punk was about. But Flea seemed to have been taken by the Circle Jerks...and that this band was his "Punk Rock Template"..I find this extraordinary ....shoot me down all you US Hardcore fans.....but this was very different from the Punk Rock world I grew up with here in the UK (Circa 1976/77)Ok so a lot of our musical geniuses were pretty messed up with Narcotics of one sort or another, but forgive me for saying that they probably are not a requirement for developing your talent. I think Flea is an outstanding player, and I will never forget him being hung upside down on the Jonathan Ross TV Chat show and performing Foxy Lady with the RHCP's ..perhaps he was just imagining he was back in the country of his birth!!!I'm assuming I'm going to get more from Volume II of his story ..as by the end of this....the band had yet to form..Knock Me Down......

Having almost worn out Anthony Kiedis' book, Scar Tissue, I was extremely excited to learn that Flea was releasing his own memoirs. I excitedly picked it up in an instant. It is an excellent read.The structure of the book is a lot more segmented. Where most autobiographical works stick with the traditional a-couple-dozen-pages-per-chapter structure, Flea often summarised parts of his life, or memories in one page. As I was with my wife while she was in labour, it made it really easy to come back to.I do have a couple of criticisms - often Flea goes into tangents (printed in italics) which break away from the context. Sometimes these were just thoughts, but other times it confused me. Is it a poem? Is it a memory? Who knows?Also, it doesn't seem to end on a note of significance, just half-heartedly around the time of RHCP's formation. He focused on Hillel's death much sooner than I'd imagined, too (in one of his italic sections no less). I can only hope he's writing a follow up to the book as I find the story of the Chili Peppers extremely fascinating.That said, as far as autobiographies go, this ticks all the boxes. It felt like I knew Flea a lot better after putting it down and appreciated his role in the formation of the band.

Maybe it said and I didn't see it but I did t realise this book was in two parts. I hope the second isn't so pricey.I enjoyed most of it but he tends to go off on tangents, like when someone starts boring you with an account of the dream they had last night. Heartbreaking in parts and funny in others. I don't think I'm in a mad rush to buy the next one

Given loads of stars as believe it's going to be great. It has to be. I pre ordered it over a year ago!Xmas present (last year) for my husband who's a huge fan. Waiting for him to finish so I can read. I'm sure it'll be as amazing as the man himself. 🙃🤪