Apparently Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea is a big fan of the Denny’s diner chain and the love fest was reciprocated after the musician’s passionate tribute on comedian John Mulaney‘s Netflix show late last week.
Mulaney had been taking part in a series of live shows for the annual Netflix Is a Joke spotlight on comedy with a wealth of guests under the moniker, Everybody’s in L.A.. The finale of the live run featured a show-long bit centered on Flea.
“We’re doing a show about Los Angeles. No one embodies the freak flag spirit of Los Angeles more than Flea, the bassist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers,” exclaimed Mulaney to cheers from the L.A.-centric audience near the top of the episode.
“If you live in L.A. or spend anytime in L.A., you know that Flea is everywhere,” he continued. “He’s like a whack-a-mole. On a date at the Silverlake Reservoir? There’s Flea. Feeding a giraffe at the L.A. Zoo? So is Flea. Eating at a booth in Casa Vega? Who’s that over by the bar? It’s Slash … but Flea is still everywhere.”
The comedian then set up the premise for a game called “Finding Flea” in which two audience members for a $200 cash prize were sent to try to find the bassist in real time over the course of the episode airing.
Where Was Flea?
Yes, the Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist was never actually “missing.” In fact, as he proclaimed toward the end of the show, he was at a local Denny’s … and he was quite passionate about the diner chain delivering a tribute in which he called Denny’s “a microcosm of Los Angeles.”
“I’ll tell you what L.A. is, L.A. is Denny’s, motherfucker,” exclaimed the musician. “Denny’s is a magical place and is a sanctuary in this town. It’s a microcosm of L.A. It transcends all cultural and ethnics and economic boundaries. It’s a beautiful place. You can find everybody in Denny’s.”
He added, “I was just there. There are all these beautiful Latino kids just coming from their prom, coming from their quinceañera. It’s a great place. Well, you could go there at midnight. People bring their babies there at midnight and you might go, ‘Well, they better take that baby home.’ You don’t know what they’re doing! You don’t know why that baby’s there. They might be locked out of their apartment. I know I’m locked out of mine.”
The bassist concluded, “But what I really want to say is God bless Denny’s. God bless all those street musicians out there, put some money in their hat. And God bless this beautiful, filthy, glorious, sprawling city of Los Angeles.”
Sadly, the longtime favorite Rock ‘n Roll Denny’s on Sunset and Van Ness that was a late night hang for many clubgoers on the Sunset Strip was demolished in 2021, but there are still plenty of Denny’s in the Los Angeles area where Flea might have been dining.
What Did Denny’s Have to Say?
The Denny’s social media account loved the glowing words from Flea. They first reached out to Mulaney and Netflix, exclaiming, “No one is ever lost when they’re at Denny’s.”
But the love fest later continued on Flea’s posting, with the Denny’s X account telling the musician, “Can’t tell you how many times we’ve listed to this since the show ended.”
READ MORE: Someone Actually Got a ‘What the F*** Is Up, Denny’s?!’ Tattoo + it’s Great
Where Might Flea Actually Be This Year?
When he’s not out and about in Los Angeles or hanging at a Denny’s, you’ll likely find Flea on a concert stage somewhere. He and his Red Hot Chili Peppers bandmates will resume their touring on May 18 and 20 with two shows at the Tokyo Dome in Japan before returning stateside for a North American tour leg kicking off May 28 in Ridgefield, Washington.
See all the Red Hot Chili Peppers tour dates and get ticketing information via the band’s website.
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Gallery Credit: Lauryn Schaffner