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Hillel Slovak ((ヘブライ語:הלל סלובק); April 13, 1962 – June 25, 1988) was an Israel-born American musician best known as the original guitarist and founding member of the Los Angeles rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. Prior to his death of a heroin overdose in 1988, Slovak recorded two albums with the band, ''Freaky Styley'' (1985) and ''The Uplift Mofo Party Plan'' (1987). His guitar work was primarily rooted in funk and hard rock, although he often experimented with other genres including reggae and speed metal. He is considered to have been a major influence on the Red Hot Chili Peppers' early sound. Born in Haifa, Israel, Slovak immigrated with his family to the United States in 1967 when he was five years old. Slovak met future band mates Anthony Kiedis, Flea, and Jack Irons while attending high school in Los Angeles. He joined the group Anthym along with Irons while attending Fairfax High School; Flea would later join the group, which later changed its name to What Is This?. Slovak, Flea, Kiedis, and Irons started Red Hot Chili Peppers in 1982, which became popular in the Los Angeles area, playing various shows around the city. However, Slovak quit the band to focus on What is This?, which had gotten a record deal, leaving the Red Hot Chili Peppers to record their debut album without him. He rejoined the Chili Peppers in 1985, and recorded the albums ''Freaky Styley'' and ''The Uplift Mofo Party Plan'' with the band. During his career, Slovak developed a serious heroin addiction. He attempted to quit the drug many times, but ultimately succumbed to his addiction, dying of an overdose on June 25, 1988 at age 26. He was replaced by guitarist John Frusciante, who was greatly influenced by Slovak's playing style. Several Red Hot Chili Peppers songs have been written as tributes to Slovak, including "Knock Me Down" and "My Lovely Man". In 1999, his brother James Slovak published a book entitled ''Behind the Sun: The Diary and Art of Hillel Slovak'', which features Slovak's diaries and paintings. Slovak was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Red Hot Chili Peppers on April 14, 2012, with his brother accepting on his behalf. ==Early years== Hillel Slovak was born in Haifa, Israel, to Jewish parents who were survivors of the Holocaust. His mother was of Polish descent and his father of Croatian descent. The family emigrated to the U.S. when Slovak was five years old.〔 They settled in the Queens borough of New York City, then in 1967 relocated to Southern California. As a child, Slovak developed an interest in art, and would often spend time painting with his mother, Esther.〔Slovak, 1999. p. 37〕 He attended Laurel Elementary School in West Hollywood and Bancroft Jr. High School in Hollywood, where he met future bandmates Jack Irons and Michael "Flea" Balzary. Slovak received his first guitar at age 13 as a bar mitzvah present, and would often play the instrument into the late hours of the night. During this time, he was highly influenced by hard rock music such as Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, and Kiss.〔 As a freshman at Fairfax High School, Slovak formed a band with Irons on drums and two other high school friends, Alain Johannes and Todd Strassman. They called their band Chain Reaction, then changed the name to What is This? after their first gig. After one of the group's shows, Slovak met audience member Anthony Kiedis, and invited him to his house for a snack.〔Kiedis, Sloman, 2004. p. 64.〕 Kiedis later described the experience in his autobiography ''Scar Tissue'': "Within a few minutes of hanging out with Hillel, I sensed that he was absolutely different from most of the people I'd spent time with...He understood a lot about music, he was a great visual artist, and he had a sense of self and a calm about him that were just riveting."〔 Slovak, Kiedis and Flea became best friends and often used LSD, heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine recreationally.〔 Anthym's original bassist was deemed unsatisfactory, so Slovak began teaching Flea to play bass.〔Apter, 2004. pp. 40–45〕 Following several months of commitment to the instrument, Flea developed proficiency and a strong musical chemistry with Slovak. When Strassman saw Flea playing Anthym songs on his equipment he quit the band, with Flea quickly replacing him.〔Kiedis, Sloman, 2004. pp. 72-73〕 Shortly afterwards Anthym entered a local Battle of the Bands contest and won second place.〔 Anthym started to play at local nightclubs, despite the fact that the members were all underage. After graduating from high school, the band changed their name to What Is This?. Flea left Anthym around this time to accept an offer of playing bass in the prominent L.A. punk band Fear. What Is This? continued on and performed many shows along the California coast.〔Mullen, 2010. p. 21〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Hillel Slovak」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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