After the Chili Peppers announced a long hiatus due to exhaustion, Flea enrolled in music classes at the University of Southern California.
Beginning in the fall of 2008, he studied music theory, composition and jazz trumpet.
Flea attributed his interest in attending such courses to a newfound desire to widen his appreciation and understanding of music: "it's so much fun to learn this stuff because I never knew anything.
I played trumpet in the school bands.
I learned things I liked to play on my trumpet but I didn't learn why this note goes with this note and why it produces that sound.
Or how to create tension in the composition [...] Knowing the structure is really fun."
Flea also revealed plans to release a mainly instrumental solo record, recorded in his home; guest musicians include Patti Smith and a choir from the Silverlake Conservatory.

In 2009, Flea joined Atoms for Peace, a supergroup formed by Radiohead singer Thom Yorke to perform songs from Yorke's debut solo album, The Eraser (2006).
The band toured the United States in 2010, and released an album, Amok, in 2013.
The album was followed that year by a tour of Europe, the US, and Japan.

The Chili Peppers ended their hiatus in October 2009 without Frusciante, who quit the band to pursue other musical interests.
He was replaced by Josh Klinghoffer.
The band began rehearsing and writing for their tenth studio album.

In June 2011, Flea announced that he was giving away a personally customized bass guitar covered with graffiti and a one-on-one bass lesson as a prize in an eBay auction.
The auction will benefit Style Wars, a 1983 documentary on early hip hop.
The auction will raise money for restoring the film's negatives.
Brad Pitt, James Franco, and Spike Jonze also took part in the auction, which ended on 11 June 2011.

In a 23 June 2011 interview, Flea discussed the band's return and how he almost quit the Chili Peppers during their hiatus.
Flea said, that he just felt like he wanted to take two years away just to really look and see if the band was "something we should still be doing". "
Things had gotten dysfunctional and not fun, even though I thought we were making great records, doing great shows and were a really powerful, mighty thing as a band.
I was proud of what we did." "
For me, the biggest thing during the time off, and what really made me want to continue doing the band, specifically after decided he didn't want to continue in the band anymore, [was] I just realized, Anthony, man, he's my brother, I love him so much, and we started this band when we were kids.
I wanted to keep that going, I never want to let that go.
Playing with him is something, even though I can do other things that are exciting and beautiful and I always will do those things and I'll always want to grow and do music outside of the band, the thing that we have is special to us and something that is blood."

The Red Hot Chili Peppers released their tenth studio album, I'm with You on 29 August 2011.

Flea played bass on two songs on Tom Waits's 2011 album Bad as Me, released on 21 October.

On 27 October 2011, it was announced that Flea's side-project with Damon Albarn and afrobeat legend, Tony Allen would be called Rocket Juice & the Moon.
According to Albarn, on where the band's name came from, someone in Lagos did the sleeve design and that's the name he gave it, which he said he is fine with, because trying to find a name for another band is always tricky.
The band made their live debut on 29 October 2011, in London and their debut album was released in 2012.

On 7 December 2011, the Red Hot Chili Peppers were announced as 2012 inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Flea commented on the induction by saying, "It's always been easy for me to pooh-pooh these awards—the [Rock] Hall of Fame too.
But I inducted Metallica a couple of years ago, and it was really a beautiful thing to see as all these people were being inducted.
It made me love it.
I love halls of fame anyway—the Basketball Hall of Fame, the Baseball Hall of Fame.
So I feel grateful for the recognition of what we
After the Chili Peppers announced a long hiatus due to exhaustion, Flea enrolled in music classes at the University of Southern California. Beginning in the fall of 2008, he studied music theory, composition and jazz trumpet. Flea attributed his interest in attending such courses to a newfound desire to widen his appreciation and understanding of music: "it's so much fun to learn this stuff because I never knew anything. I played trumpet in the school bands. I learned things I liked to play on my trumpet but I didn't learn why this note goes with this note and why it produces that sound. Or how to create tension in the composition [...] Knowing the structure is really fun." Flea also revealed plans to release a mainly instrumental solo record, recorded in his home; guest musicians include Patti Smith and a choir from the Silverlake Conservatory.
In 2009, Flea joined Atoms for Peace, a supergroup formed by Radiohead singer Thom Yorke to perform songs from Yorke's debut solo album, The Eraser (2006). The band toured the United States in 2010, and released an album, Amok, in 2013. The album was followed that year by a tour of Europe, the US, and Japan.
The Chili Peppers ended their hiatus in October 2009 without Frusciante, who quit the band to pursue other musical interests. He was replaced by Josh Klinghoffer. The band began rehearsing and writing for their tenth studio album.
In June 2011, Flea announced that he was giving away a personally customized bass guitar covered with graffiti and a one-on-one bass lesson as a prize in an eBay auction. The auction will benefit Style Wars, a 1983 documentary on early hip hop. The auction will raise money for restoring the film's negatives. Brad Pitt, James Franco, and Spike Jonze also took part in the auction, which ended on 11 June 2011.
In a 23 June 2011 interview, Flea discussed the band's return and how he almost quit the Chili Peppers during their hiatus. Flea said, that he just felt like he wanted to take two years away just to really look and see if the band was "something we should still be doing". "Things had gotten dysfunctional and not fun, even though I thought we were making great records, doing great shows and were a really powerful, mighty thing as a band. I was proud of what we did." "For me, the biggest thing during the time off, and what really made me want to continue doing the band, specifically after decided he didn't want to continue in the band anymore, [was] I just realized, Anthony, man, he's my brother, I love him so much, and we started this band when we were kids. I wanted to keep that going, I never want to let that go. Playing with him is something, even though I can do other things that are exciting and beautiful and I always will do those things and I'll always want to grow and do music outside of the band, the thing that we have is special to us and something that is blood."
The Red Hot Chili Peppers released their tenth studio album, I'm with You on 29 August 2011.
Flea played bass on two songs on Tom Waits's 2011 album Bad as Me, released on 21 October.
On 27 October 2011, it was announced that Flea's side-project with Damon Albarn and afrobeat legend, Tony Allen would be called Rocket Juice & the Moon. According to Albarn, on where the band's name came from, someone in Lagos did the sleeve design and that's the name he gave it, which he said he is fine with, because trying to find a name for another band is always tricky. The band made their live debut on 29 October 2011, in London and their debut album was released in 2012.
On 7 December 2011, the Red Hot Chili Peppers were announced as 2012 inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Flea commented on the induction by saying, "It's always been easy for me to pooh-pooh these awards—the [Rock] Hall of Fame too. But I inducted Metallica a couple of years ago, and it was really a beautiful thing to see as all these people were being inducted. It made me love it. I love halls of fame anyway—the Basketball Hall of Fame, the Baseball Hall of Fame. So I feel grateful for the recognition of what we 
Flea (musician)