A Chronological Journey Through History's Most Influential 'What Is' Works
By Elena Rostova
While dance music conquered the early 1990s, the interrogative prefix had already left a quiet mark on Southern California’s alternative rock underground. In the late 1970s, four Fairfax High School classmates in Los Angeles formed a band initially named Anthym. By 1980, guitarist Alain Johannes, bassist Todd Strassman, drummer Jack Irons, and guitarist Hillel Slovak rechristened themselves What Is This.
The group played jagged, art-punk-infused rock around the Sunset Strip, but their primary historical importance lies in their personnel overlaps. Slovak and Irons split time between What Is This and a secondary side project formed with school friends Anthony Kiedis and Michael "Flea" Balzary, a group originally called Tony Flow and the Miraculously Majestic Masters of Mayhem, later renamed the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
When both bands landed record deals in 1983, Slovak and Irons chose What Is This, leaving the Chili Peppers to record their debut album with replacement members. What Is This released two EPs and a 1985 self-titled studio album produced by Todd Rundgren before disbanding. Slovak and Irons eventually returned to the Chili Peppers, laying the musical foundations for alternative rock’s mainstream explosion later that decade. The group remains a fascinating "what-if" footnote in Los Angeles music history.
Elena Rostova holds a Master's degree in Public Health Journalism. She covers groundbreaking medical research, holistic wellness trends, mental health awareness, and nutritional science.
