Red Hot Chili Peppers

Coachella organizers are hard at work figuring out who will take Kanye's headlining Sunday spot at the festival -- and we've learned of 2 acts at the top of the list to take over.

First, who's out. We're told the organizers were hot for Silk Sonic, the dynamic duo of Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak. The pair make a lot of sense, coming off a clean sweep at The Grammys, including Record of the Year for "Leave the Door Open."

We're told Bruno Mars shut it down, saying there wasn't enough time for them to get a proper show together in time for Coachella.

As for who's still in play -- there's The Weeknd, who is coming off an insane year on the charts -- a new album and an upcoming stadium tour. We're told there's been talks between both sides, which stalled at one point ... but there's still a chance he takes the stage in some capacity.

Our sources say organizers were testing the waters to see if The Weeknd would perform a few songs along with Swedish House Mafia. They were also interested in The Weeknd as a stand-alone act. Our sources say no decision has been made.

Finally, our sources say The Red Hot Chili Peppers are a name that's being seriously considered. The group is set to hit the road this summer -- and recently played a low-key show in L.A. -- so they're ready to go. What's more, our sources say RHCP makes a lot of sense, because currently there's no major rock 'n roll act on the lineup.

One thing our sources have stressed -- there are others who are being considered, but the ones we just mentioned are at the top of the list.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers are feeling unlimited love from their fans ... folks are flocking to the ceremony for the band's Hollywood Walk of Fame star and the scene looks insane!!!

RHCP is being honored as we speak on Hollywood Blvd ... and it's causing such a ruckus the city decided to shut down the famous street to traffic.

Flea, John Frusciante, Anthony Kiedis and Chad Smith are a huge draw ... there's a huge throng of RHCP people crowding around the new star, plus a ton of cameras and a heavy police presence.

The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce looks like it's busting out all the tricks for this ceremony ... hiring the USC marching band and song girls to provide entertainment to those milling around on the streets.

Celebs in attendance include Woody Harrelson, George Clinton and Bob Forrest.

The Chilli Peppers are still huge in Los Angeles ... the band formed here way back in the 1980s ... and they're still super relevant. Flea is a fixture at Lakers games and other L.A. sporting events, and RHCP is about to release its 12th studio album, "Unlimited Love."

The Lakers have won just 3 of their last 10 games ... but now is NOT the time to panic -- so says L.A. superfan and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, who tells TMZ Sports everyone needs to R-E-L-A-X!!!

LeBron James and Co. have struggled quite a bit as Anthony Davis recovers from a calf/Achilles injury ... losing games to not-so-good teams like the Kings and Wizards.

The Lake Show has fallen behind the Utah Jazz and Phoenix Suns to 3rd in the Western Conference standings leading up to the All-Star break ... but Smith ain't worried one bit.

"Very early," Smith told us at Le Cafe de la Plage in Malibu. "Very early and as long as AD comes back healthy, Lakers baby."

FYI, Smith is as diehard as they come -- he's often spotted hitting up Staples Center to check out his beloved Purple & Gold.

As for Davis' injury, Smith says he's confident the Brow comes back completely healthy in time to defend their title.

"Lakers are gonna be fine and it's gonna be a repeat."

The estate of a man who died after slipping and falling at a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert has filed a lawsuit, claiming the concert set the wheels in motion for his death.

Thomas Decort went to the Wells Fargo Center in Philly on February 12 to catch the show. According to the lawsuit, while he was walking to his seat in a pitch-black area he slipped and fell, hitting his head, neck and back on the floor. He also tore a tendon in his knee, which required surgery.

During the surgery, Decort suffered a pulmonary embolism and died on the operating table.

Anthony Kiedis isn't the same guy after a round of surfing ... he literally changes right in front of you.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers lead singer hit up Malibu Saturday to catch some waves, and then stripped down to his birthday suit for a discreet wardrobe change in the open.

The estranged wife of ex-Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante says she needs $75k a month to keep the luxury train rollin' down the tracks.

Nicole Frusciante says in divorce docs the initial $20,000 payment she got from John doesn't cut it. She says it would be an enormous step down from their life as a married couple, with 3 homes, personal assistants and a private music studio.

Nicole says John has closed the vault on their fortune, leaving her with a bank account of under $30k. She wants access to his loot, which she claims hovers around $14 million.

TMZ broke the story ... the couple filed for divorce in May after being married for nearly 4 years.

There's a buzz around Flea ... a roaring, deafening buzz.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist put 3 beehives in his backyard last month ... each holding more than 60,000 bees.

The question, of course, why? Two reasons ... he really digs bees. But his passion for environmentalism has given him hives, because the honeybee population is dying off.

We’re told he’s only been doing it for a few months and has already mastered the craft, but it’s more of a hobby than anything else since RHCP aren't touring right now.

The reason that's important ... no bees means no bee pollination = a lot less food.

Hope he doesn't get Flea bitten.

Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith has one MAJOR piece of advice for Katy Perry when it comes to playing the Super Bowl halftime show this year -- don't do what they did.

Of course, Smith is referring to the RHCP performance at the Super Bowl last year ... where the band pre-recorded it's performance (everything but the vocals) ... and pretended to play their instruments along with the music.

At the time, Flea said if he could do the whole thing over again ... he would do it the SAME WAY -- because he still felt like he was able to bring the "spirit of who we are to the people" despite the fact their instruments weren't plugged in.

But it seems Chad feels a bit differently -- even though he says he felt like it was still a "performance" -- he's advising Katy to "plug in and play" when she takes the stage.

Check out the clip -- Smith praises Perry as a pretty good performer ... but when it comes to the greatest Super Bowl halftime performance of all time, there's only one person who comes to mind.

Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith almost threw up in a Malibu parking lot Saturday ... after learning the CIA allegedly used his band's music during a suspected terrorist interrogation.

Chad was leaving Coogies when our photog asked for his opinion on a recent news report saying RHCP music was used during a CIA interrogation in 2002.

According to Al Jazeera ... the report says Abu Zubaydah was shackled by his wrists to the ceiling of a secret prison site and forced to listen to one of their songs on a loop -- among other torture methods. No word on which song.

The 52-year old rocker is pissed at the feds -- and he's not shy about it.

1:00 PM PT -- Chad just apologized about the incident on Twitter, saying, "I want to apologize for my inappropriate antics at the drum clinic,my joke about team rivalries went too far. Flamenco [sic] fans...I'm sorry."

Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith might leave Brazil with some extra scar tissue ... 'cause a ton of fans in the country want him dead after he desecrated the jersey of the most popular club team in South America.

Chad made a big mistake Sunday afternoon in Belo Horizonte during a drum clinic when he was gifted a Flamengo soccer club jersey -- and shoved it down the back of his pants, as if to say he wipes his ass with it.

The crowd immediately boo'ed the crap out of Chad ... and one unruly fan even threw something at his HEAD!

RHCP already performed a few shows since the debacle ... but a big group of fans are just catching wind of what happened ... and now they're vowing to raise hell at tomorrow's RHCP concert in Rio.

One angry Flamengo fan wrote a death threat in the comments section of the YouTube page where the video was posted -- saying, "Will arrive in Rio de Janeiro you will die motherf***er."

Another said, "the fans of Flamengo wants to kill you, are already planning to invade his show to throw rocks at you."