YouTuber Salutes 'Californication' With Dazzling Bass Styles

YouTubers continue to wow us with fresh takes on songs that most everyone's familiar with and on the anniversary date of Red Hot Chili Peppers' Californication album, we've got Charles Berthoud offering a fun but also pretty damn impressive bass performance of the title track from that Chili Peppers album.

Berthoud and his friend approach their video performance as if the "Californication" bass solo was the hardest bass solo in the world, adding some humor with a sped up version of Flea performing and video of Kirk Hammett allegedly struggling to pick it up. Then looking at the tabs for the song, Berthoud is literally taken aback.

But after the laughs, Berthoud, whose YouTube channel has a wealth of bass interpretation videos, then tackles the challenging track. Kicking things off on bass with the track's typical guitar and bass open, he starts to vary off what fans have come to know.

First he takes Anthony Kiedis' vocal parts and then translates those as if it were all bass lines. From there, he changes to a slapping technique, then showing some dexterity with his tapping and eventually switching to a strumming style.

The remainder of the performance can best be described as free form with Berthoud alternating and naming his styles with titles such as "Tapocalypse" and "Dream of Taplifornication" along with some slapping and accentuating the funkier moments with the help of his friend who joins in on the fun. There's even a "Can't Stop" bass throwdown added in to wrap it all up.

Bass may not always be the most glamorous of instruments, but you'd never know it from Berthoud, who showcases his nimble skills and creates a tribute to "Californication" that could inspire musicians to want to try out the instrument and is entertaining for the viewer as well.

Check out more of Berthoud's videos over at his YouTube channel.