Michael Peter Balzary (born October 16, 1962), better known by his nickname Flea, is an Australian born American musician. He is best known as the bassist, co-founding member, and one of the composers of the rock band and 2012 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees, Red Hot Chili Peppers. Flea is also the co-founder of Silverlake Conservatory of Music, a non-profit music education organization founded in 2001. Flea also briefly appeared as the bassist for such bands as What Is This?, Fear and Jane's Addiction. More recently he has appeared as member of the rock supergroups Atoms for Peace and Rocketjuice and The Moon. Originally a jazz trumpet player, Flea learned to play bass in high school from close friend and future Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Hillel Slovak, who required a bassist for his band Anthym. Flea soon developed his own style and joined the group, but quit several months later in order to play for the punk rock outfit Fear. He t...