Dot Hacker frontman Josh Klinghoffer wasn't really sure how he'd celebrate the release of his band's debut album, Inhibition: "Um, I probably won't, really. It'll be a quiet celebration. Maybe... where will I be on May 1?"
For the past three years, Klinghoffer's been the lead guitarist of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, a career-defining gig that's taken him to stadiums around the globe and, just last April, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It has also made it difficult for him to promote Dot Hacker, his independent project with Jonathan Hischke, Clint Walsh, and Eric Gardner, all Los Angeles-based "session musician types" who spend much of their lives on the roads as well. It's no wonder that the album, an architectural-yet-intimate collection of songs recorded in 2009, is just now being released through ORG Music.
Klinghoffer phoned in from a RHCP tour stop in Toronto to talk the band's genesis, his fears as a front man, and injuries sustained in the name of rock.
Josh Klinghoffer of Dot Hacker and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. (Getty) Zimbio: Dot Hacker is a group of really talented musicians best known for working with extremely famous people. How did you find each other?
Josh Klinghoffer: I met Clint, the other guitar player, when we were touring together with Gnarls Barkley in '06, and we sort of quickly became really good friends and talked about always wanting a bandhe has a band, but I never really did, so we talked about trying to pull it together, if we could. I met Eric through him, and I introduced him to Jonathan, who I had met when he was touring with the band Hella, coming out of California, I had known those guys for a long time. We just kind of threw it together and it worked instantly.
This album has been finished since 2009, but it's just now being released. Why the delay? Did you ever consider a self-release?
JK: So initially, people started going out of town, doing their tours here and there to support themselves, and then I got asked to join the Chili Peppers, so that kind of took me out of the equation. So then it kind of sat there, and we were always hoping to keep it alive, and looking for someone to put it out, I guess we weren't too proactive about it... It's kind of hard to sell someone on putting out a record by a band that's unavailable to tour or promote it or anything like that.
Then there were periods of delays. We tried to get it out before the Chili Peppers, then something or the other didn't happen... We thought it was probably better for it to come sometime after the Chili Peppers rather than putting it out right on top of it.
Zimbio: Do you have any plans for touring now? Is there any time and space for that?
JK: There is. There's nothing planned at the moment, but the Chili Peppers' touring schedule is pretty solid. I'm pretty certain where I'll be for the next year or so, because everyone in the band has families. Our schedule's pretty solid, two weeks on, two weeks off, so I can potentially book shows with Dot Hacker any break. I'm sure we will at some point. I'm sure this summer we'll do stuff. Really any time we can I'd love to.
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Zimbio Exclusive Interview: Josh Klinghoffer of Dot Hacker and the Red Hot Chili Peppers