Scar Tissue

Scar Tissue is Anthony Kiedis’s searingly honest memoir of a life spent in the fast lane. In 1983, four self-described "knuckleheads" burst out of the mosh-pitted mosaic of the neo-punk rock scene in L.A. with their own unique brand of cosmic hardcore mayhem funk. Over twenty years later, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, against all odds, have become one of the most successful bands in the world. Though the band has gone through many incarnations, Anthony Kiedis, the group’s lyricist and dynamic lead singer, has been there for the whole roller-coaster ride.

Whether he’s recollecting the influence of the beautiful, strong women who have been his muses, or retracing a journey that has included appearances as diverse as a performance before half a million people at Woodstock or an audience of one at the humble compound of the exiled Dalai Lama, Kiedis shares a compelling story about the price of success and excess. Scar Tissue is a story of dedication and debauchery, of intrigue and integrity, of recklessness and redemption -- a story that could only have come out of the world of rock.

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All Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

ROCKAPOTUMUS..., 2008-11-17
Great read. Played up a bit though of course. Could use more pictures of his ex-girlfriends topless.


0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

Hard to put down, 2008-10-28
Scar Tissue immediately draws the reader in through its easy-to-read style. Some of Kiedis' stories are hard to believe, like drug use with his father at such a young age or the people he met and spent time with on intimate levels, but it's those events and people that keep the reader hooked. Although the book is sad at times when Kiedis tells of his repeated attempts at rehab and relapses, the ending is uplifing and inspiring.


0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

If you think you've gone too far, this guy's gone further., 2008-10-27
The thing I like about this book is the brutal honesty. Anthony Keidis is completely honest, sometimes too honest in his depiction of his life. He gives very vivid accounts of a crazy rock and roll lifestyle. It's a very interesting book that would make for an excellent movie someday. And if you are a Chili Peppers fan, it's great because he deciphers a lot of his seemingly indecipherable lyrics.


0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

Fantastic journey through the mind of a former drug addict!!, 2008-08-05
I have never been more intrigued by a story in my life. Anthony Kiedis continually strived to have fun in his life and never took life too seriously. He made a life derived from the use of drugs and had magnificant experiences. This book is awesome and wonderfully expresses Anthony's deepest, darkest thoughts and feelings. Must READ!


1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

Glaring Error raises some obvious questions, 2008-07-24
I was pretty shocked that between the alleged writer, ghost writer and a major publisher that somebody didn't catch a blatant mistake that really casts some doubt as to the effort and veracity of this manuscript. About midway thru the book Anthony starts to discuss his contract negotiations with Warner Brothers and company president "Mo Austin". I believe, unless he was kidnpped by aliens, that the head of Warner's at this time was actually a man named Mo Ostin, a relatively well known figure in the record business. This would be like writing a book about the real estate industry and referring to a "Danield Trummp" This makes me wonder if Anthony either didn't even read the manuscript or didn't know how to spell the name of a reasonably important business associate, namely the person responsible for paying him millions of dollars annually. And the ghost writer should be ashamed of himself. Obviously, the publishing company probably didn't care since this has a People Magazine quality to it that spent more time racking up naked photos of ex-girlfriends and endless gossip about intercourse and "babes".
I expected a lot more from this book. On some level, I was entertained but ultimately this is a very disposable effort that is much like a fast food meal. Anthony's youth, his struggles with finding artistic success, his incredible self destructiveness and creative abilities are ultimately overwhelmed by the low rent, frat house behaviors that he knows are inappropriate but still seems all too willing to share. We never find out about what happened to his Dad in terms of how he left California, people like George Clinton who fade in and out without any follow up.

As much as Anthony's drug use is discussed in detail, he frequently pussies out with justifications stemming from inadvertent dentist novacaine and wrongly prescribed pharmaceuticals. I would have been more sympathetic if he manned up and just admitted that on all of these relapses it wasn't a relationship or a wrong prescription, he just wanted to fall off the wagon.

A word about the women. Living in LA, I get the sense that Anthony's outlook on women is totally defined by looks only. It was astonishing to me that a streetwise individual would have a woman he had broken up with come back to him and then after this leech starts trying to threaten him for palimony he falls madly back "in love". Only in LA. Another LA reference which I'm sure AK is already cringing over is his discussion of Kabballa which has already come and gone like alfalfa sprouts and oxygen bars as a passing and absurd fixation of LA's jaded. More revelatory moments (besides the aforementioned baffling inability to attend his "friend's" funeral) was when he went to give a Christmas present to Ione and the mother wouldn't even let him into the house. The mother must have been very pleased with the type of behavior her daughter, a veritable child was having to endure. It takes a lot of bad behavior to generate that kind of hostility.
Also, the story where he is so loaded that he forgets that he made a deal to sell his house and a realtor does that and he isn't even informed. Hello, doesn't a seller have to sign reams of paper during that process. that one was a bit hard to swallow especially because a buddy's family was literally living there. this all happened in a week. Can you spell escrow period? That's gotta be at least 30 days.

Anyway, I did find this book fascinating at least from the level of abuse and the hilarious kowtowing to celebrities that allowed anthony to literally walk the Earth as a veritable emotional, physical, ethical and professional zombie. Finally, this was written in 2004 with a supposed happy ending of sobriety but I don't think any reader would be at all surprised to find anthony hiding out in some future seedy motel, blazing away. I don't wish that on him or anyone else but it eems that if he can't even really explain this continual obsession to us readers he probably doesn't understand it himself. For a true biography of personal tragedy and the tortured artist those looking for a little more substance might like Richard Ellman's "Oscar Wilde", but, careful you will have to concentrate and you won't be able to read it with MTV on in the background.

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