Red Hot Chili Peppers Investigation: The Coffee Shop Location in By The Way Video
When Red Hot Chili Peppers released By the Way in 2002, most of the attention naturally went to Anthony Kiedis being violently driven through the city by a crazed taxi driver. But In between those chaotic cab sequences, there is a scene in which John Frusciante and Flea are calmly having coffee at a café next to a busy street, at the very moment Anthony desperately sends them a message asking for help.
As for the By The Way video itself, it was directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, and it is clear that it was filmed entirely in Los Angeles. The only publicly known locations you will find if you search online is the famous Belmont Tunnel, or the opening scene on Echo Park Avenue where Anthony is standing waiting to come inside the cab. However, when it comes to the place where John and Flea enjoy their breakfast and coffee, there is virtually no information available in search results.
That is precisely why we are launching this Junkyard Rock Scene investigation – to uncover the exact location where that scene was filmed. We did Metal Geo-Detective episodes before, and this is just a continuation of that project!
Disclaimer 1:
We do Junkyard rock scene investigations purely out of curiosity and for fun — without any intention of exposing anyone or revealing anything sensitive. If you happen to visit any of the locations mentioned, please do not disturb the people or businesses there under any circumstances.
Disclaimer 2:
For some of you who live nearby or in the same town as these investigations, this may not seem very interesting. But Junkyard is far away — and for us, this is a challenge.
The Scene Investigation
- Case file – #1
- Video: By The Way
- Artist: Red Hot Chili Peppers
- Scene: Where John and Flea are drinking coffee
Based on the provided scene, which can be captured as a screenshot, the name on the café where John and Flea are sitting is clearly visible – Madame Matisse. In this case, that serves as our first piece of evidence and the starting point of the investigation.
A simple Google search reveals that it refers to Madame Matisse Bistro located in Los Angeles, although there were a few other locations that we immediately ruled out. According to some sources, the bistro is currently closed, which wasn’t an issue considering we are looking for a scene filmed 24 years ago. Along with that, we also obtained the address via Google Maps. Which is< 3536 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026, USA – That address led us here:
The location we obtained is situated on the corner of two streets. The street on whose side John and Flea are sitting, and the one visible behind their backs in the video, indicate that they could only have been seated on the eastern side. Google Street View supports this, although a 2022 image shows a bus blocking our view, along with a brick building that might be the place we’re looking for.
We solve this problem easily by searching for a better angle overlooking the corner and by checking images from previous years. After reviewing them, a 2014 image appears to be the best for comparison. In it, we can clearly see that the café located there is called Madame Matisse, and we can also see the brick walls on both sides, which serve as the key piece of evidence.
Scene comparison
If we take a closer look at the brick walls, we can see that they are completely identical and positioned exactly where they should be. For additional confirmation, we can examine another scene.
After receiving a message (for the second time) on the pager that Anthony had indeed been kidnapped,and finally believing it to be true, John and Flea get into a yellow car and set off to find him. In the intersection scene, we can see a large “Video Market” sign on a yellow banner behind them. This refers to a house located directly across from Madame Matisse Bistro, and a 2009 Google Street View image confirms that this place was indeed there at the time.
Conclusion
That’s it, guys. Case closed. We’ve found the exact location where John and Flea were drinking coffee in the By The Way video.
Oh, and by the way, Junkyard is a rock music website, so not everything has to be that serious. We hope you enjoyed this geolocation, or rather, this rock investigation. By The Way is truly an impressive video with so many locations that could be explored. This time, however, we decided to go with a calmer option.
And yes, during the process we also learned a bit about the yellow car John and Flea drive off in to search for Anthony. It’s a first-generation Ford Bronco, a classic American 4×4 off-road vehicle produced between 1966 and 1977- in case you’re into cars and that sort of thing.
In the end, it’s often the small details that make the difference. This particular example wasn’t as demanding as it first seemed. The only tricky thing in this case was that we were trying to find a location based on a video from 2002. For a quarter of century things can change radically. Not to mention the low screenshot resolution taken from a video 24 years old. All in all, we hope you liked it. We plan to keep going like this. and you can always write to us and give us new investigation challenges!
