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Nicole Turley is John Frusciante’s ex-wife. The Red Hot Chile Peppers guitarist and Turley filed for divorce in 2015 after four years of marriage.
Turley is a musician best known for her project, Swahili Blonde. She was previously the drummer and vocalist of WEAVE! Swahili Blonde was formed in 2009.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers announced on Instagram Sunday Frusciante is rejoining the band with the departure of Josh Klinghoffer.
“The Red Hot Chili Peppers announce that we are parting ways with our guitarist of the past 10 years, Josh Klinghoffer,” the band wrote on Instagram. “Josh is a beautiful musician who we respect and love. We are deeply grateful for our time with him, and the countless gifts he shared with us. We also announce, with great excitement and full hearts, that John Frusciante is rejoining our group.”
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Nicole Turley Is a Musician Best Known for Swahili Blonde
Nicole Turley has released multiple albums for her band, Swahili Blonde, and other projects. The group is based in Los Angeles, California. The band began as her solo project in 2009.
“Alternating between tightly-wound and loosely fluid, the Los Angeles group Swahili Blonde tastefully mine the legacy of No Wave, Dub, Krautrock, and Post-Punk creating a sound that is immediately playful and fun but also futuristic; revealing it’s complexity and new layers upon repeated listens,” her website said. “From the ashes of the rawkus now-defunct LA dub-punks WEAVE!, Swahili Blonde was formed in 2009 when former WEAVE! drummer and vocalist, Nicole Turley, started experimenting in her studio; creating unconventional dubby art-rock arrangements while giving a recorded voice to paralleled realities, vibrant visuals, and delightfully mismatched rhythms and patterns. Since then, Swahili Blonde has become a reputed dynamic and engaging live act, as an 8-piece band featuring members of The Like, Dante Vs Zombies, Corridor, WEAVE!, and DEVO.”
She released “Psycho Tropical Ballet Pink” in 2011, writing, mixing and producing five of the LP’s six songs. “Dieties in Decline” was released in 2015. She wrote, recorded, mixed and mastered each of the songs.
“I feel like I’m finally comfortable in my own skin—warts and all,” Nicole Turley said after the release of the 2015 EP, according to her website. “There’s a grace and ease to self-acceptance that’s really nice.”
Her latest LP, “And Only the Melody Was Real,” was released in 2016.
“The relationship reminded me of a melody: abstract and intangible, irrational and illogical… We were enchanted with each other in a dream state,” she said of the album on her website.
2. John Frusciante & Fans Ridiculed Nicole Turley for her Alimony Request When the Couple Divorced
Nicole Turley requested $75,000 a month to maintain her lifestyle immediately after her separation from John Frusciante, a request the guitarist called “crazy,” according to TMZ. Frusciante argued he should not have to continue funding her music career, which included $21,000 to rent a recording studio.
“So Nicole Turley’s status just went from some obscure female drummer in John’s life to HUGE F****** B****,” one person wrote on Reddit at the time. “They have no kids together and nothing to stop them from going their own way. Gold digging b**** is what she is.”
The couple finalized their divorce in October 2016 after separating in May 2015. Frusicante agreed to a one-time payout of $1.6 million to Turley, according to TMZ. They were married in 2011.
At the time of their split, Frusciante gave Turley $20,000 as an initial payment. She requested $75,000 a month. A judge ordered Frusciante to pay Turley $53,000 per month while the divorce was finalized, and to cover her legal and living expenses including $14,000 for rent and utilities and a $71,000 legal bill. As a part of the final settlement, he was also ordered to pay a large portion of her legal fees.
“Nicole will keep her four paintings by Lou Reed’s artist widow Laurie Anderson, a travel studio her former husband had built for her, and her Toyota Prius, while John holds the keys to four homes in Los Angeles, and maintains all master recordings and compositions made before, during, and after their marriage, which includes his contributions to the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ 1991 album Blood Sugar Sex Magik and smash hit Give It Away,” TMZ reported.
3. Nicole Turley’s First Band Was a Punk Band, Seventh Sea, Formed in 2003
Nicole Turley joined her first band, Seventh Sea, in 2003.
“It was very punk. Most of us ladies couldn’t afford instruments, so we made the best out of hand me down stuff our musician friends didn’t want anymore,” she told 15 Questions.
She had varied tastes in music, starting with ’50s music and Broadway musicals as a child, she told the publication. She started listening to mainstream and alternative radio in junior high. In high school, she made mix tapes for punk and ska music, new wave ’80s music and Hungarian and Romanian folk music.
“I’ve always been one of those people where no matter how hard I tried to be like someone else (and at different points in my life I wanted nothing more) – for better or worse, I could only be me. So say for example, one day I decided to write a song I wanted to sound like Talking Heads, I could try, but that reference would never come across in an obvious way. I just don’t know how to do that,” she said in the interview.
Turley was also a drummer and vocalist for WEAVE! before forming her current band, Swahili Blonde. She writes and produces music for the project.
4. Nicole Turley Credited John Frusciante for her First Studio & his Studio Manager for Teaching her Skills
Nicole Turley credited her ex-husband, John Frusciante, for her first music studio in a previous interview. She also thanked his manager, Anthony Zamora, for teaching her about Pro Tools software and the basics of recording and producing, according to an interview with 15 Questions.
“I began writing and producing my own music in 2009 with Swahili Blonde, mainly because John Frusciante provided me with my first studio to write and record in. And his studio manager, Anthony Zamora, taught me the basic ins and outs of Protools, recording and mixing. I am very grateful to both them,” she said.
The couple squabbled over the studio after their separation in May 2015. Turley demanded $75,000 a month from Frusiciante to maintain her lifestyle, including $21,000 to rent her recording studio. A judge ordered Frusciante to pay her $53,000 per month until they reached a settlement in October 2016. As a part of the settlement, Frusciante paid Turley a lump sum of $1.6 million, according to TMZ. The couple was married in 2011, and their divorce was finalized in 2016.
5. Nicole Turley & John Frusciante Finalized Their Divorce After a Separation
Nicole Turley and John Frusciante finalized their divorce in October 2016. They were separated for more than one year before their divorced. The couple first separated in May 2015.
At that time, Frusicante agreed to a one-time payout of $1.6 million to Turley, according to TMZ. They were married in 2011.
At the time of their split, Frusciante gave Turley $20,000 as an initial payment. She requested $75,000 a month. A judge ordered Frusciante to pay Turley $53,000 per month while the divorce was finalized, and to cover her legal and living expenses including $14,000 for rent and utilities and a $71,000 legal bill. As a part of the final settlement, he was also ordered to pay a large portion of her legal fees.
“Nicole will keep her four paintings by Lou Reed’s artist widow Laurie Anderson, a travel studio her former husband had built for her, and her Toyota Prius, while John holds the keys to four homes in Los Angeles, and maintains all master recordings and compositions made before, during, and after their marriage, which includes his contributions to the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ 1991 album Blood Sugar Sex Magik and smash hit Give It Away,” TMZ reported.
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