Red Hot Chili Peppers To Launch First U.S. Tour In Four Years

A lot is going on for the Red Hot Chili Peppers in the waning days of 2011. The band is about to kick off their first U.S. tour in four years and they were just inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The Chili Peppers are part of the 2012 class that also contains Guns N' Roses, The Beastie Boys, The Small Faces/Faces, Donovan, Laura Nyro, Freddie King, and Don Kirshner (he created The Monkees and The Archies). The induction ceremony is planned for April 14 and will air on HBO sometime in May.

Say what you will about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, getting inducted is an honor and of all the 2012 recipients, RHCP are the most deserving. They actually play rock, they're pioneers in the genre of funk rock, and unlike some inductees, most people can name more than one of their songs.

Personally, I think the R&RHOF is a joke. Or at least it has become a joke. There are probably just 50 to 60 artists/contributors that have the necessary credentials worthy of enshrinement into some contrived "hall." Of course the current Rock and Roll vestibule includes significantly more than a few dozen acts.

Since the organization seems to let just about anyone in—regardless of the genre of music they play or whether or not they actually influenced future generations—the honor has lost some of its luster (or all of it). The Beastie Boys don't play rock; The Small Faces were pretty much a blimp on the rock and roll map; Donovan's music is about as timeless as a housefly; and who has ever even heard of Laura Nyro?

Sadly, Nyro was inducted because she's a woman and The Hall has a dearth of female rockers. While that's definitely a concern, inducting someone because of who they are and not what they've done defeats the purpose. It's like giving Jay Buhner or Joey Cora a bust in Cooperstown because there are not enough Seattle Mariners in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Of course none of this matters to fans of the Chili Peppers or to the band themselves. Flea posted on the group's Web site that he's very excited about being part of the Class of 2012. If he's happy, I geuss we should be too.

Regardless, fans are exciting about the opportunity to cash in their Red Hot Chili Peppers tickets and see their favorite hall of famers on stage as part of their highly anticipated "I'm With You Tour."

Their long-awaited trek begins Jan. 20 in Sunrise, Florida and ends March 16 in Little Rock, Arkansas. Highlights of their itinerary include stops in Orlando, Memphis, New Orleans, and Houston.

The band's last major outing was in 2007 when they launched their "Stadium Arcadium Tour." The upcoming series of Red Hot Chili Peppers concerts will be the first with guitarist Josh Klinghoffer.

The band, who is currently performing all over Europe, is touring to support their tenth studio album, I'm With You. The Rick Rubin-produced collection dropped in August of 2011.

Red Hot Chili Peppers' 2012 Itinerary
>>Jan. 20 - Red Hot Chili Peppers tickets for Sunrise, FL @ Bank Atlantic Center
>>Jan. 21 - Red Hot Chili Peppers tickets for Orlando, FL @ Amway Arena
>>Jan. 23 - Red Hot Chili Peppers tickets for St. Petersburg, FL @ St. Pete Times Forum
>>Jan. 25 - Red Hot Chili Peppers tickets for Charlotte, NC @ Time Warner Cable Arena
>>Jan. 27 - Red Hot Chili Peppers tickets for Raleigh, NC @ RBC Center
>>Jan. 28 - Red Hot Chili Peppers tickets for Columbia, SC @ Colonial Life Arena
>>Jan. 30 - Red Hot Chili Peppers tickets for Duluth, Georgia @ Gwinnett Center
>>Jan. 31 - Red Hot Chili Peppers tickets for Greensboro, NC @ Greensboro Coliseum
>>Feb. 3 - Red Hot Chili Peppers tickets for Memphis, TN @ FedEx Forum
>>Feb. 4 - Red Hot Chili Peppers tickets for New Orleans, LA @ New Orleans Arena
>>Feb. 29 - Red Hot Chili Peppers tickets for San Deigo, CA @ Valley View Casino Center
>>March 6 - Red Hot Chili Peppers tickets for San Antonio, TX @ AT&T Center
>>March 8 - Red Hot Chili Peppers tickets for Houston, TX @ Toyota Center
>>March 9 - Red Hot Chili Peppers tickets for Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center
>>March 13 - Red Hot Chili Peppers tickets for Tulsa, OK @ BOK Arena
>>March 15 - Red Hot Chili Peppers tickets for Oklahoma City, OK @ Chesapeake Energy Arena
>>March 16 - Red Hot Chili Peppers tickets for Little Rock, AR @ Verizon Arena