According to reports in the US, Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Frusciante has quit the band for a second time. A source told Music Radar that “mentally, John checked out a long time ago. He’s interested in doing his own thing, his own albums – the whole big rock band machinery just doesn’t appeal to him anymore.” His replacement, already said to be rehearsing with the band, is Josh Klinghoffer.

UPDATE:

This statement from Frusciante on his MySpace site:

“To put it simply, my musical interests have led me in a different direction. Upon rejoining, and throughout my time in the band, I was very excited about exploring the musical possibilities inherent in a rock band, and doing so with those people in particular. 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.”

Red Hot Chili Peppers – Parallel Universe Intro on MUZU