Background
In 1988, the band's guitarist Hillel Slovak died of a heroin overdose. Drummer Jack Irons subsequently quit, leaving vocalist Anthony Kiedis and bassist Flea to search for a new guitarist and drummer. As an avid fan of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, John Frusciante expressed interest in joining the band, but former P-Funk guitarist DeWayne "Blackbyrd" McKnight had already been chosen to fill Slovak's place. When the chemistry between McKnight and the rest of the band was determined to be nonexistent, he was fired. During that time, Frusciante was about to become a part of Thelonious Monster, a punk rock band formed by Bob Forrest; however, he was asked by Flea to join the Chili Peppers and accepted instantly. Drummer Chad Smith joined the band two weeks prior to pre-production of Mother's Milk, following successful open-auditions. Mother's Milk would become the band's second album to enter in the Billboard 200, peaking at number 52. Although the record was mildly successful, production was weighed down by producer Michael Beinhorn. He convinced Frusciante to play with an overall heavier tone, and instructed Kiedis to write lyrics that would be more radio viable, thus causing the band to feel restricted creatively.
As the Chili Peppers' contract with EMI came to an end, they began looking for a new record company to release their next album. The group reached a consensus to go with Sony BMG/Epic, with the proviso that they buy out their last album from EMI. Even though the label promised it would take only a few days, the process stretched out into several months. Although a deal had been made with Sony/Epic, Mo Ostin of Warner Bros. Records called Kiedis to congratulate him on the successful deal, and complimented the rival record label. Kiedis recalled of the situation: "The coolest, most real person we had met during all these negotiations had just personally called to encourage me to make a great record for a rival company. That was the kind of guy I'd want to be working for." Kiedis pursued the idea, and eventually dropped the contract with Sony in favor of a deal with Warner Bros. Ostin called an old friend at EMI, who immediately allowed for the label transfer.
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