Flea (musician)

Flea
Flea
	Flea performing with Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2016
Background information
Birth name	Michael Peter Balzary
Also known as	Mikey B the Flea;
Born	October 16, 1962 (age 62); Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Genres	Rock; funk; jazz; electronica;
Occupations	Musician; actor;
Instruments	Bass guitar; trumpet; keyboards; vocals; guitar;
Years active	1982–present
Labels	Warner Bros.; EMI;
Member of	Red Hot Chili Peppers
Formerly of	Atoms for Peace; Antemasque; Fear; Jane's Addiction; The Mars Volta; Rocket Juice & the Moon; What Is This?;

Michael Peter Balzary (born October 16, 1962), known professionally as Flea, is an Australian/American musician and actor. He is a founding member and bassist of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers and, along with the vocalist Anthony Kiedis, appears on every one of their albums.

Flea was born on October 16, 1962, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; his family moved to Rye, New York, when he was 4. After his parents divorced, Flea spent his childhood in the United States and Australia before settling in California. In 1983, he formed the Red Hot Chili Peppers with his schoolfriend Kiedis. Flea is also a member of the supergroups Atoms for Peace, Antemasque, Pigface, and Rocket Juice & the Moon, and has played with acts including the Mars Volta, Johnny Cash, Tom Waits, Alanis Morissette, Young MC, Nirvana, What Is This?, Fear, and Jane's Addiction.

Flea's playing incorporates elements of funk (including prominent slap bass), psychedelia, punk, and hard rock. In 2009, Rolling Stone readers ranked Flea the second-best bassist of all time, behind John Entwistle. In 2012, he and the other members of Red Hot Chili Peppers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Flea has acted in films and television series such as Suburbia, Back to the Future Part II and Part III, My Own Private Idaho, The Chase, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Dudes, Son in Law, The Big Lebowski, Low Down, Baby Driver, Boy Erased, The Wild Thornberrys, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Babylon. He is the co-founder of Silverlake Conservatory of Music, a non-profit organization founded in 2001 for underprivileged children. In 2019, he published a memoir of his early life, Acid for the Children.