10 Hard Rock Musicians Who Were Almost In 2 Legendary Bands

It's virtually impossible to think of the Red Hot Chili Peppers without bringing up Flea. While Anthony Kiedis and John Frusciante have their own unique stage presences, Flea is one of the few bass players who can be considered a rock star all by himself, blending funk, rock, and even jazz styles into his basslines. At the same time, Flea could have easily decided to stick with the punk rock attitude in the early '80s.

Before hooking up with Kiedis for a jam session, Flea had auditioned and was even offered the low ending job in FEAR, who had been making waves on the underground scene with songs like I Don't Care About You. Things ended up going pretty smoothly for a while, but it started to get a little testy when Flea started to double dip with the Chilis in his downtime.

As the Chili Peppers started to really pick up scene in the LA area, Flea was given an ultimatum to either commit to FEAR or give up his work in the Chilis by frontman Lee Ving. While FEAR already had a firm following, it was clear that Flea made the right choice by not abandoning his funk brothers, going on to score hit after hit with albums like Blood Sugar Sex Magik and Californication. Flea may have an unbreakable bond in the Chili Peppers, but you can still hear that punk rock fury every now and again when he unleashes onstage.