Tour and Slovak's Death
The band embarked on an extensive international tour to promote the album. The Chili Peppers noted that during the tour, their fan base had rapidly increased both in size and enthusiasm. Kiedis recalled "During the Uplift tour I remember actually feeling a change taking place not just in the amount of people showing up at the gigs but the intensity of the fan base." Flea added that "We were in love with those songs and how much fun we were having playing them."
Despite the band's new enthusiasm, Kiedis and Slovak continued to struggle with their worsening drug addictions. Both Kiedis and Slovak stopped using heroin prior to the tour and decided to help each other "steer clear" of the drug. During the tour both experienced intense heroin withdrawal, with Slovak much more unstable than Kiedis. His withdrawal symptoms took a toll on his ability to play his instrument; at one point Slovak had a mental breakdown and was unable to play a show, leaving the rest of the band to play an entire set with no guitar. He recovered a few days later, but his bandmates felt he was not healthy enough to perform and replaced Slovak with DeWayne McKnight for a few shows. After a few days with McKnight, the band decided to give Slovak another chance, and he rejoined for the European leg of the tour. Kiedis attempted to take Slovak to drug addiction counseling, but Slovak had difficulty admitting that his addiction was serious enough to require medical help.
Upon returning home, Slovak isolated himself from the rest of his bandmates, and struggled to resist the drug without the mutual support provided by his friends, Kiedis in particular. A few weeks after the band returned from the tour, the members attempted to get in contact with Slovak, but were unable to find him for several days. Slovak was found dead by police in his Hollywood apartment on June 27, 1988. During his autopsy, authorities determined that he had died on June 25, 1988 due to a heroin overdose. Irons subsequently left the group, saying that he did not want to be part of a group where his friends were dying. Kiedis and Flea debated whether they should continue making music, but ultimately decided to move ahead, hoping to continue what Slovak "helped build". The two recruited eighteen year old guitarist John Frusciante, who was a fan of the group and idolized Slovak. To replace Irons, the group held a lengthy open audition process, and eventually chose drummer Chad Smith.
Read more about this topic: The Uplift Mofo Party Plan
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