Why do they call him Flea?

The Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist was first called “Flea” as a teenager for his seeming inability to sit still, and the nickname stuck.

The bassist, whose real name is Michael Balzary, founded the Chili Peppers alongside singer Anthony Kiedis,  guitarist Hillel Slovak, bassist Flea, and drummer Jack Irons in 1983.

Nicknamed Mike B the Flea, he went to Fairfax High School with the three of his band members and was an outcast due to his taste in music.

Flea met Anthony Kiedis in high school and after a minor confrontation, the two became virtually inseparable.

Anthony Kiedis said in an interview that they were both social outcasts. They found each other and it turned out to be the longest-lasting friendship of his life.

Hillel Slovak introduced Flea to rock music and Kiedis introduced him to punk rock.

Slovak also taught Flea to play and shortly after asked him to be a bassist in his band, Anthym, which did not last long.

Growing up, his stepfather used to invite all sorts of musicians to their home and his love for jazz. He was a fan of Miles Davis, Armstrong, and Dizzy Gillespie, and soon fell in love with the trumpet.

Flea, in a recent interview, has said that his greatest influence and favorite bassist is Paul McCartney.

Michael Peter Balzary was born in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia on October 16, 1962. Flea is of partial Hungarian and Irish descent. His father Mick Balzary was an avid fisherman who often took him fishing. When Flea turned four, his family moved to Rye, New York, for his father’s career.

After his parents got a divorce, Flea spent his childhood both in the United States and Australia before settling down in California.

Flea has also acted in movies and done voice-overs such as Baby Driver (2017), Back to the Future Part II (1989), The Big Lebowski (1991), and Inside Out 2 (2024).

The melodious influential rock band went on to compose great hits such as “Californication”, “Dark Necessities”, “Snow (Hey Oh)”, and “Scar Tissue”, among others.

RHCP’s music incorporates elements of alternative rock, funk, punk rock, hard rock, hip hop, and psychedelic rock.

The hall of fame rock band has influenced genres such as funk metal, rap metal, rap rock, and nu metal, the likes of Linkin Park, Limp Bizkit along many others.