Watch Flea transform US National Anthem into jazz odyssey
Red Hot Chili Peppers bass player performs at LA Lakers game
14 April marked basketball legend Kobe Bryant's final game for the Los Angeles Lakers, but before the team faced the Utah Jazz, longtime Kobe fan and Red Hot Chili Peppers bass madman Flea performed some jazz of his own in a pre-game rendition of the US National Anthem.
In time-honoured National Anthem tradition, Flea took a little artistic license with the melody, adding in a number of wah-heavy, 'outside' licks that left viewers baffled - Twitter responses ranged from "my ears are still bleeding from the 'national anthem' by Flea" (Kiel Eigen) to "Flea's National Anthem was as bad as the Lakers have been the last three years" (#NeverTrump).
Flea once described Kobe as a "master of his craft", comparing him to Charlie Parker, John Coltrane and Jimi Hendrix. One thing's for sure: nobody is making the same comparisons with Flea's performance.
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Mike is Editor-in-Chief of GuitarWorld.com, in addition to being an offset fiend and recovering pedal addict. He has a master's degree in journalism, and has spent the past decade writing and editing for guitar publications including MusicRadar, Total Guitar and Guitarist, as well as a decade-and-a-half performing in bands of variable genre (and quality). In his free time, you'll find him making progressive instrumental rock under the nom de plume Maebe.