Rock star offers support to Scots brothers rowing across Pacific

South Wales Guardian

4 days ago

Michael Balzary – better known by his stage name, Flea – is the bassist for Red Hot Chili Peppers, and is the latest celebrity to back Scottish brothers Ewan, Jamie and Lachlan Maclean.
On Sunday, the brothers marked 100 days of their non-stop, unsupported row from Peru to Australia in a bid to raise money for clean water projects in Madagascar.
The entire trip will be around 9,000 miles, and the Macleans are expected to complete their challenge within the next 20-30 days.
Celebrities including actor Mark Wahlberg, rugby star Blair Kinghorn, TV presenter Lorraine Kelly and actor and comedian Greg Hemphill have also backed the brothers.
Ahead of the 100-day mark, Flea spoke with the brothers via a podcast, where they bonded over the challenge and revealed how living with your brothers or bandmates can lead to difficulties.
Flea, who was born in Melbourne, Australia, said: 'For us … (the Chili Peppers) we were together and touring for 10 years before we started becoming a really popular band and really making money.
'Without those 10 years, if that would have happened in the beginning, we would have fallen apart right away.
'I think it's really rare … Like, if you hear about a young artist that puts out their first record and they're a big success — very, very rarely do they continue on having a career that works. Something about just paying your dues.
'Like you already rode across the Atlantic (the brothers completed this voyage in 2019). But I'm sure before you did that, you did a million little trips where you learned how to do it. Learned what it is to be stuck on a boat with each other for months.
'There's days when we f***ing hate each other. And that's when it's really hard. When you can live together and everyone's getting along, it's this magical thing — you're this travelling entity and it's all love.'
The brothers' 28ft (8.5m) carbon fibre boat, Rose Emily, is named in memory of their late sister.
It has no engine and no sail and the brothers are powering their way across the ocean in two-hour shifts.
They left Peru in March on a mission to reach Australia and raise £1 million for clean water projects.
While speaking with Flea, Lachlan spoke of how he was washed overboard during a violent storm. Lachlan, who turned 27 while rowing the Pacific, said he was 'lucky' to be attached to his boat by a safety line during 40mph (64kmh) winds and 6m (20ft) waves last week.
He was dragged along behind the craft before his brother Ewan, 33, was able to help him to scramble back on board.
Flea also spoke about what drives him to keep performing after more than four decades with the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
He said: 'There's definitely times when I'm running on fumes and I've got nothing. We've been doing this for 43 years or something. And you know, our performance is really physical. I try to stay in the best shape I can. But for me, emotionally, the whole thing is, I'm doing this to be of service.
'I like money as much as the next person, but like a long time ago, I could have retired. I could be eating papayas, taking bong hits on the beach somewhere, you know?
'It's a job to bring joy to people through music. And when I stay in that mindset … because there are so many nights where I'm sitting in a hotel room and it's like, 'I don't wanna get up'.
'I don't wanna go face 50,000 people in the stadium and play a concert. But it's time to go. And it's like, OK, it's not about me. I feel like shit, I'm tired, I got the flu, whatever's going on with me — I'm heartbroken, my wife left me, whatever's going on — but it's like, I have to let go of my life completely and do it.
'Be there for the people. Be there for my bandmates. And be there to honour the tradition of music.'
Jamie commented: 'We've got a beautiful sunrise, we're sipping coffees out of baby beakers, and we're chatting to Flea. Doesn't get much better.'
They also swapped food stories, as the Macleans shared tales of freeze-dried meals prepped in Jamie's old school kitchen, while Flea reflected on years of bad roadside burgers.
'For years and years, we toured in a van, sitting up all through the night, driving through the night for like six months on end,' he said.
'You kind of start feeling like a caged animal, just eating shitty food … roadside truck stop food, whatever you can get.
'You always pull into town after a show, you're starving and there's just nothing to eat … but now we have it good. We eat like kings.'
The podcast, Dinner with the Macleans, is available on Spotify, and YouTube.
The brothers have raised around £218,000 so far. To donate, click here.