Red Hot Chili Peppers' Flea Plays L.A. Show With Banyan

LA (Top40 Charts) - The Los Angeles-based improv jazz-rock group Banyan had a charity gig booked for Thursday night (Aug. 9) at the small Silverlake club, Spaceland, to benefit the kids at the local Garden Co-Op Nursery School. But when guitarist Nels Cline was unable to make the show because of other commitments, drummer Stephen Perkins was left to decide how to replace his super-talented bandmate.

Instead of trying to find a guitarist to fill Cline's shoes, Perkins (the ex-Jane's Addiction and Porno For Pyros drummer) enlisted his old friend Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers to join Banyan bassist Mike Watt (Minutemen, fIREHOSE) for an hour-long, unrehearsed jam session that resulted in one of the best Banyan shows in recent memory.

And to make a good thing even better, the amazing woodwind player, Charles Owens, who's played with everyone from Marvin Gaye and John Mayall to Buddy Rich and Barbra Streisand, joined regular Banyan trumpet player Willie Waldman (who plays some horn on Perry Farrell's new album) for a two-man wind section that had the packed club howling in appreciation.

The group played a tasty selection of Banyan originals, as well as a couple of John Coltrane songs. Perkins tells allstar he was thrilled just to be a part of the show. "It was just an honor to be onstage with those guys," he said.

Perkins also said Flea and the other players were eager for the challenge of an unscripted performance. "We never rehearse, anyway, that would ruin it. That would take the sickness out of a Banyan show."