You might not know Michael Peter Balzary, but we’re guessing you’ve heard of Flea. The Red Hot Chili Peppers member may be 53 years old, but he remains relevant in the industry. However, despite the fact that Flea has spent a considerable amount of time in the spotlight and under the scrutiny of the public eye, there are still some things that many people don’t know. With that in mind, here we present our list of 15 things you probably didn’t know about Flea. Check out part one below, and stay tuned for part two, coming soon!
Number Fifteen: He Has an Impressive Film Resume. Flea has been featured in Back To The Future 2, Back To The Future 3, Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas, and Suburbia. Clearly, the dude’s got talent.
Number Fourteen: He Is Into Running. Flea has done the L.A. Marathon, and if that’s not impressive enough, he ran it to raise money for the Silverlake Conservatory of Music. Flea was featured in the magazine Runner’s World while he was preparing for the race.
Number Thirteen: He Founded the Silverlake Conservatory of Music. Flea founded the Silverlake Conservatory of Music in 2001 as a nonprofit. The conservatory gives children in need the opportunity to learn how to play instruments and perform music.
Number Twelve: He Has Two Kids. Flea has two children named Clara and Sunny Bebop. He had Clara with his first wife, Loesha Zeivar, and he had Sunny Bebop with model Frankie Rayder. His daughter Clara was in a band called The Tints.
Number Eleven: He Had a Troubled Childhood. Flea was raised with an alcoholic step-father in his house. His step-father’s alcoholism was so bad that he would even become involved in shootouts with the police.
Number Ten: He Is an Incredible Bass Player. Flea was awarded the title of the world’s second best bass player of all time in a poll by Contact Music. The only person to beat him out was The Who’s John Entwistle.
Number Nine: He Studied Music Theory. Flea has studied music theory, composition, and interestingly, jazz trumpet, at the University of Southern California, or USC.