A FORMER member of the Red Hot Chili Peppers has launched a GoFundMe page as he faces the threat of homelessness.
Arik Marshall has fallen on hard times since his time playing with the Chilis in the early 90s.
The talented guitarist has so far raised $2,000 towards a target of $20,000 to repay a debt to his landlord.
Page organizer Gisette Hidalgo outlined Arik's struggles, writing that his best friend and employer had died, leaving him without a primary source of income.
Gisette said Arik was already struggling financially due to the impact the coronavirus pandemic had on the music industry and was dealing with health issues.
She writes, "Arik was also diagnosed with a serious health condition which left him with a weakened immune system.
"All of this triggered a bad period of depression and several years of reclusiveness. Arik struggled to find consistent work and fell deeper in debt to his landlord."
Her ultimate hope is that some of Arik's famous peers will see the page and either use their resources to kindly help him out or share his plight with their followers.
And it might happen, as just last year Arik was pictured hanging out with Chilis drummer Chad Smith at a gig in Malibu.
The guitarist replaced current Chilis axe man John Frusciante when he quit the band in 1992 and was considered a reliable pair of hands.
Prior to the Chilis gig, he played with funky LA bands: Marshall Law, Trulio Disgracias and Afejirk.
Arik toured heavily with the Chilis following the release of their Blood Sugar Sex Magik album, including headline slots at Lollapalooza festival.
He told Guitar World magazine in 1992: "My first show with the Peppers was in front of 60,000 people in Belgium.
"It was at a huge festival with Bryan Adams, Lou Reed and Smashing Pumpkins. I think it went well.
"Surprisingly, I wasn't that nervous. I think it would have been a lot stranger if the Chili Peppers weren't so cool and down-to-earth and easy to work with. They really helped me feel comfortable."
The Chilis certainly respected Arik as a man, with bass player Flea describing him as "very considerate of other people at all times".
But in 1993, the band replaced him with Jesse Tobias, who himself was swiftly ditched within a month for the newly available Dave Navarro, who was deemed a better fit musically.
It was far from the end of Arik's time in the spotlight, though. He's worked as a session musician for legendary names like Sting and Etta James, and he went on to join Macy Gray's band and even had a cameo role in the Spider-Man movie with her.
While in 2009, he had a background role as a wedding band guitarist in The Hangover, which starred Bradley Cooper and Zach Galifianakis.
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