PLANNING: HOW MY BAND DEVELOPED ITS STAR BRAND

Formation and first album (1983?1984)

A promotional flyer featuring the band from 1986.

Red Hot Chili Peppers (originally Tony Flow and the Majestic Masters of Mayhem) were formed by Fairfax High School alumni Anthony Kiedis, Hillel Slovak, Jack Irons and Michael "Flea" Balzary in 1983. RHCP's first performance was at the Rhythm Lounge, to a crowd of roughly thirty people, opening for Gary and Neighbor's Voices. One song had been created for the occasion, which involved the band improvising music while Kiedis rapped a poem he had written called "Out in L.A.". As Slovak and Irons were already committed to another group, What Is This?, it was intended to be a one time performance. However, the performance was so lively that the band was asked to return the following week. Due to this unexpected success, the band changed its name to the Red Hot Chili Peppers, playing several more shows at various LA clubs and musical venues. Six songs from these initial shows were recorded onto the band's first demo tape.

Several months after their first performance, the band was signed to the record label they were noticed by EMI. Two weeks earlier, What Is This? had obtained a record deal with MCA, and as Slovak and Irons considered the Red Hot Chili Peppers a side project, they quit to focus on What Is This?. Instead of dissolving the band, Kiedis and Flea decided to recruit new members. Cliff Martinez, a friend of Flea's, was asked to join the Chili Peppers shortly thereafter. Auditions for a new guitarist produced Jack Sherman.

Gang of Four guitarist Andy Gill was hired to produce their first album. Despite Kiedis and Flea's misgivings, he pushed the band to play with a cleaner, crisper and more radio-friendly sound. The Red Hot Chili Peppers was released on August 10, 1984. Though the album didn't set sales records, college radio and MTV airplay helped to build a growing fan base. The album ultimately sold 300,000 copies. During the ensuing tour, continuing musical and lifestyle tension between Kiedis and Sherman complicated the transition between concert and daily band life. Sherman was fired soon after, with Slovak returning to the Chili Peppers after growing tired of What is This?.

History - where this information was found 

Richard Dyer - Stars (1980)

Richard Dyer's view on 'Stars', meaning those people or bands who come into the scene quickly is that they are signed by a record label in order to do this, and then are made to sell - not for the quality of the music - but the image that record label can set for the particular artist. 

His hypothesis on 'Stars' in the RHCP's point of view is not applicable because the first record company that they were signed too, didn't provide worldly success for the Chilli Peppers with their first album actually released and produced by a record label only managed to sell 300,000 copies which although this is a lot for a first album it would seem, it wasn't enough for the RHCP's to go global - it was up to other organisations such as MTV who had no association with the RHCP's in anyway to promote them as much as possible, and therefore it was the RHCP's own style, determination and image that gave them success. 

Therefore, by the time the RHCP were signed by Warner Bros. a big record label, they had already distinguished an audience of people who liked THEIR own personal style and therefore this couldn't be changed as they would have lost the fanbase they already had, however, because of Warner Bros superior status in the music world, the Chilli Peppers individuality was easily promoted to those who hadn't heard of them or listened to their genre of music.

In this case - the hypothesis of Richard Dyer's was not applicable. However, in the RHCP's song - Californication, they seem to share the view of Richard Dyer's Star's saying that today's music is fake and manufactured by those record companies who are out purely to provide an image - no involvement in the quality of the music whatsoever. This is very helpful to understand considering this is the song I am using for my A2 piece of work and will therefore be very interesting to write about and delve deeper into.