What Is This?

What Is This, originally called Anthym before 1980, was an American rock band that got its start at Fairfax High School in Los Angeles. The founding members were guitarist Hillel Slovak, drummer Jack Irons, vocalist Alain Johannes, and bassist Todd Strassman. The group acted as the core from which the Red Hot Chili Peppers later emerged. After the band dissolved, its members played with acts like Eleven, Chris Cornell, Pearl Jam, Mark Lanegan, Them Crooked Vultures, Alain Johannes Trio, and Queens of the Stone Age.

The band first called itself Chain Reaction, then Anthem, then Anthym (because another band already had the name Anthem), and finally What Is This—a joke about the puzzled reaction they often got from people hearing them for the first time. While still known as Anthym, Slovak met Anthony Kiedis, who was in the audience at one of their shows; Kiedis soon became a roadie and hype-man for the group. Eventually, the band grew unhappy with bassist Todd Strassman’s playing and looked for a replacement. Johannes taught a Fairfax friend, trumpet player Michael “Flea” Balzary, how to play bass, and Flea took over for Strassman. After high school, the band played gigs around Los Angeles. Flea later left to join the punk band Fear, and Chris Hutchinson replaced him.

Around that time, Slovak and Irons played a one-off show with Kiedis and Flea under the name Tony Flow and the Majestic Masters of Mayhem at the Rhythm Lounge. They improvised a punk-funk jam while Kiedis rapped a poem called “Out in L.A.” The show was so well received that they were asked back the next week. The group renamed themselves the Red Hot Chili Peppers, played more shows, and recorded a demo—all while Slovak and Irons remained in What Is This. A few months later, What Is This signed with MCA Records, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers got a joint deal with EMI America and Enigma Records. Slovak and Irons chose to stay with What Is This, seeing it as their main project and the Chili Peppers as a side venture.

What Is This released their debut EP, Squeezed, in 1984. Around that time, Slovak grew unsure of his role in the band and decided to rejoin the Red Hot Chili Peppers. He left What Is This in 1985, halfway through recording their only full-length album, What Is This?. For their final EP, 3 Out of 5 Live, the band became a trio. Soon after, they broke up.