Ataxia was a short-lived American experimental rock band formed in 2004 by guitarist John Frusciante (Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Mars Volta), bassist Joe Lally (Fugazi) and drummer Josh Klinghoffer (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dot Hacker, The Bicycle Thief). Automatic Writing is the debut studio album by American experimental rock band Ataxia, released on August 10, 2004 on Record Collection. Ataxia consisted of then-Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante, Joe Lally of Fugazi, and Josh Klinghoffer, Frusciante's subsequent successor in the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The band recorded 10 songs, approximately 80 minutes of content, over a two week period, and played two live shows in a matter of four days. A second album, entitled AW II, was released on May 29, 2007 with the remaining five tracks recorded during this session. Regarding this release, Frusciante noted, "If you like me cause you saw me live, and I was beating the fuck out of my guitar, then this record - which is ! a collaboration with Josh Klinghoffer and Joe Lally - will give you what you're looking for. If you don't care about song structure, and you want powerful music with fucked-up guitar-playing and songs that are really long, this record is the one."
