What Is This (known prior to 1980 as Anthym) was an American rock band that originated in Fairfax High School in Los Angeles, California. Formed by guitarist

Hillel Slovak Hillel Slovak (; April 13, 1962 – June 25, 1988) was an Israeli-American musician, best known as the founding guitarist of the Los Angeles rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, with whom he recorded two albums. His guitar work was rooted in fun ...

, drummer

Jack Irons Jack Steven Irons (born July 18, 1962) is an American drummer. He is the founding drummer of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers until he departed in 1988 and is a former member of Pearl Jam and Eleven. Alongside his work with Red Hot Chili Pep ...

, vocalist

Alain Johannes Alain Johannes Mociulski (born May 2, 1962) is a Chilean-American multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, whose primary instruments are guitar and bass. He is a founding member of several bands, including the alternative rock group Eleven, and has ...

, and bassist Todd Strassman, the band served as the nucleus for the

Red Hot Chili Peppers The Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1982, consisting of Anthony Kiedis (vocals), Flea (musician), Flea (bass), John Frusciante (guitar), and Chad Smith (drums). Their music incorporates elements of a ...

. Members of the band would go on to perform with

Eleven Eleven or 11 may refer to: *11 (number) * One of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011 Literature * ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn *''Eleven'', a 1970 collection of short stories by Patricia Highsmith *''Eleven'' ...

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, Alain Johannes Trio and

Queens of the Stone Age Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated as QOTSA or QotSA) is an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1996. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme shortly before he returned to his native Palm Desert, California. ...

History

Originally named Chain Reaction, the band would later change its name to Anthem, then later to Anthym (as there was already a band using the former moniker), and then finally to What Is This, which was a tongue-in-cheek reference to the reaction they usually received from first-time listeners. During their tenure as Anthym, guitarist

became acquainted with an audience member at one of their shows,

Anthony Kiedis Anthony Kiedis ( ; born November 1, 1962) is an American musician and lead vocalist of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. Kiedis and his fellow band members were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012. Kiedis spent his youth in ...

, who was then brought on as a roadie and " hype-man" for the band. After a while, the band began to find bassist Todd Strassman's musical abilities unsatisfactory, so they considered replacing him. Alain Johannes decided to teach a friend of his at Fairfax,

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

player Michael "Flea" Balzary, how to play bass. Soon he replaced Strassman as What Is This' bassist. After graduating high school, the band began to play gigs in the Los Angeles area. Flea eventually left the band to play in the punk band

Fear Fear is an unpleasant emotion that arises in response to perception, perceived dangers or threats. Fear causes physiological and psychological changes. It may produce behavioral reactions such as mounting an aggressive response or fleeing the ...

and was replaced by Chris Hutchinson. Around this time, Slovak and

decided to play a show with Anthony Kiedis and Flea under the name Tony Flow and the Majestic Masters of Mayhem at the Rhythm Lounge. It consisted of the musicians improvising a

punk funk Punk funk (also hyphenated as punk-funk) is a music fusion genre that typically combine punk rock and funk influences. It gave way to and is closely associated with dance-punk, avant-funk, and funk metal, all of which are also alternatively de ...

jam (like Defunkt or

James Chance and the Contortions James Chance and the Contortions (initially known simply as Contortions, a spin-off group is called James White and the Blacks) was a musical group led by saxophonist and vocalist James Chance, formed in 1977. They were a central act of New York ...

) while Kiedis rapped a poem he wrote titled " Out in L.A." It was intended to be a one-time performance, but the show was received so well that they were asked to return again the following week. The group decided to change their name to the

, played several more shows at various Los Angeles clubs and musical venues, and eventually recorded a

demo tape A demo (shortened from "demonstration") is a song or group of songs typically recorded for limited circulation or for reference use, rather than for general public release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas in a fixed for ...

, all while Slovak and Irons were still playing with What Is This. A few months later, What Is This received a record deal with

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc. established in 1972, though MCA had released recordings under that name in the UK from the 1960s. The label achieved success in the 1970s through the 1980s, often by acquiring other ...

, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers received a joint deal with

EMI America EMI America Records was launched in 1978 by EMI as their second label in the United States after Capitol Records, relying on Capitol only for pressing, distribution, and international liaison. In 1987, EMI America merged with Manhattan Records, ...

and

Enigma Records Enigma Records (also known as Enigma Entertainment Corporation) was a popular rock and alternative American record label in the 1980s. History Enigma Records launched as a division of Greenworld Distribution, an independent music importer/d ...

. Hillel Slovak and Jack Irons decided to leave the Red Hot Chili Peppers and stay with What Is This as the latter was their primary musical project while the former was seen as side endeavor. What Is This released their debut EP ''Squeezed'' in 1984. Around this time, Hillel Slovak had become uncertain of his role in the band and decided to rejoin the Red Hot Chili Peppers. He left What Is This in 1985, midway through the recording of their only full length album, called ''What Is This?''. At this point, and for their final EP ''3 Out of 5 Live'', the band was a trio. After this, the band broke up.

later met

Natasha Shneider Natalia Mikhailovna Schneiderman ( rus, links=yes, Наталья Михайловна Шнайдерман, Natal'ya Mikhaylovna Shnayderman, nɐˈtalʲjə mʲɪˈxajlɐvnə ˈʂnajdʲɪrmən; May 22, 1956 – July 2, 2008), known as Natasha Sh ...

and the duo formed Walk The Moon, whose sole studio album featured Jack Irons and Chris Hutchinson on several tracks. Jack Irons later rejoined the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 1986, but would then leave in 1988 due to Hillel Slovak's death via a heroin overdose. Alain Johannes, Natasha Shneider, and Jack Irons later formed the band

. Jack Irons would later leave Eleven midway through the recording of their third album to join

(with whom he recorded two albums) only to later rejoin Eleven in time for their fifth album. Eleven disbanded after the death of Natasha Shneider. Both Johannes and Irons were later part of

Spinnerette Spinnerette was an alternative rock band formed in 2007. The band was a vehicle for the solo career of Brody Dalle following the breakup of her previous band, The Distillers, in 2006. The band featured Tony Bevilacqua (also from The Distiller ...

. What Is This song "Mind My Have Still I" from ''Squeezed'' was also featured on the

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

to the movie '' The Wild Life''. Their second album, which featured a cover of The Spinners hit " I'll Be Around", was produced by

Todd Rundgren Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the bands Nazz and Utopia. He is known for his sophistica ...

, who also played Fairlight Synthesizer on the record. "I'll Be Around" was released as a single and video; it peaked at #62 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #69 on the Cashbox Top 100.

Members

Original line-up *

: Lead Vocals, Guitar *

: Guitar, Backing Vocals *Todd Strassman: Bass *

: Drums Later members *

Flea Flea, the common name for the order (biology), order Siphonaptera, includes 2,500 species of small flightless insects that live as external parasites of mammals and birds. Fleas live by hematophagy, ingesting the blood of their hosts. Adult f ...

: Bass, Backing Vocals (replaced Todd Strassman) *Chris Hutchinson: Bass, Backing Vocals (replaced Flea) *Michael Bocretis: Keyboards

Partial discography

References

{{Authority control Red Hot Chili Peppers Alternative rock groups from California 1980 establishments in California Musical groups established in 1980