A funky Flea celebrates his birthday, his school's founding
ABC News
Flea had a funky birthday
LOS ANGELES -- Flea had a funky birthday. So did the music school he co-founded that has become an LA institution.
As the Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist turned 59 on Saturday, and his Silverlake Conservatory of Music turned 20, they celebrated with a joint party in the parking lot for the Los Angeles school that often serves as a de facto performance space for its faculty and students.
Flea led a band assembled for the occasion through a series of funk standards including James Brown's “Gonna Have a Funky Good Time,” banging his orange-beanied head and scissor-kicking across the makeshift stage.
“This is the best possible birthday gift I could have imagined, being here with everybody, celebrating that we got to do this for 20 years,” Flea said. “I’m so grateful for the opportunity to be part of a community and to work together with people to uplift young people.”
