John Frusciante Confirms He's Left Chili Peppers

John Frusciante says rumours about him quitting the Red Hot Chili Peppers are true, and he says he left the band "over a year ago."

Whisperings that Frusciante had left the band for a second time hit the internet earlier this week, but weren't confirmed until Wednesday (Dec. 16) when Frusciante took to his blog.

"When I quit the band, over a year ago, we were on an indefinite hiatus," he wrote on Wednesday (Dec. 16). "There was no drama or anger involved, and the other guys were very understanding. They are supportive of my doing whatever makes me happy and that goes both ways."

Frusciante went on to say that his "musical interests have led me in a different direction" and said he was excited to work in a rock band again when he rejoined the band in 1999. (Frusciante previously left the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 1992 when he was struggling with heroin addiction.)

"A couple of years ago, I began to feel that same excitement again, but this time it was about making a different kind of music, alone, and being my own engineer," he wrote.

"I really love the band and what we did. I understand and value that my work with them means a lot to many people, but I have to follow my interests. For me, art has never been something done out of a sense of duty. It is something i do because it is really fun, exciting, and interesting.

"Over the last 12 years, I have changed, as a person and an artist, to such a degree that to do further work along the lines I did with the band would be to go against my own nature. There was no choice involved in this decision. I simply have to be what I am, and have to do what I must do."

Musicradar.com reported earlier this week that the Red Hot Chili Peppers have begun working with Josh Klinghoffer, but he has to prove he can "write great songs" first. The band are said to be actively looking for Frusciante's replacement in addition to testing Klinghoffer out.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers have been on a two-year hiatus while their members have been working on other projects. They plan to release the follow-up to 2006's Stadium Arcadium late next year.