Chad Smith
Chad Smith
Chadwick "Chad" Gaylord Smith is an American musician and current drummer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, which he joined in 1988 and was inducted of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012. Smith is also the drummer of the hard rock supergroup Chickenfoot, who formed in 2008, and currently the all-instrumental outfit Chad Smith's Bombastic Meatbats, who formed in 2007. As one of the most highly sought-after drummers, Smith has recorded with Deep Purple vocalist Glenn Hughes,...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionDrummer
Date of Birth25 October 1961
CitySaint Paul, MN
CountryUnited States of America
I had sort of exhausted all the avenues playing in Detroit. So again, through the stewardship of my brother, I ended up in California and went to the Musicians Institute in L.A. I wanted to get better as a player.
We always feel pretty creative as far as writing songs. We write them together; we just get in a room, or on occasion in Flea's garage. We just sort of improvise, like jazz musicians.
I just love to play and I get a chance to play with other musicians and I jump on it.
Going up north with the redwoods and driving along the coast, it's got everything, man. It's got the desert, the mountains, and the ocean. It's beautiful.
People who come up to me are drummers or fans of the band. I don't get it too much, but I'll be somewhere and someone will have me take a picture or something.
Playing along with records is key. And as far as equipment goes it has gotten so much more affordable and the drum sets are of great quality. I play Pearl; their Export Series is great for a beginner.
I'm being a dad and a good husband.
I took a private lesson, but it didn't really work out, so I went back to playing along with records. That's really the thing that got me into playing a lot - getting excited about playing along with my favorite bands like Zeppelin and Black Sabbath.
I'm a little more of a lead instrument in the Meatbats.
Drums all have their own particulars - each drum has a place where they sound the best - where they ring out and resonate the best, and the head surface isn't too loose or too tight, mainly so you get a good rebound off of the head.
Jazz can be so serious, no sense of humor.
Flea and Anthony are into funk, like old school Meters and stuff like that.
I was in every band class I could get in, like after school jazz band and marching band, and that's where I really learned to read music from elementary all the way through junior high and high school.
The Meatbats are a throwback band.