Chad Smith - Red Hot Chili Peppers

Stadium Arcadium

Many of the gods, goddesses, angels, demons and elementals of the universe have conspired to send messages from beyond through the Red Hot Chili Peppers for the current civilization. After a year and a half of channeling and organization, these messages have taken the materialized form of the double CD Stadium Arcadium.

rhcp.com

This album was recorded primarily in Laurel Canyon in the Blood Sugar mansion. The recording and mixing was a year long project as it involved finishing 38 songs, 28 of which were chosen to become Stadium Arcadium. The album features Chad Smith on drums, Anthony Kiedis on lead vocals, Flea on bass, and John Frusciante on guitar and background vocals. They also all do this that and the other thing. Rick Rubin watched over the big picture and worked his brand of magic on the music, giving it balance whenever it might have fallen off the edge of the earth. --John Frusciante, March 2006

Chad's 2006 tour kit

Chad's first bands were called Rockin' Conspiracy, Tilt, and Terence but in 1982 he played with former P-Funk percussionist Larry Fratangelo in a band called Pharaoh. "I'd gotten to the point in my drumming where I felt what I was pretty good, but I didn't really know about dynamics and building songs. Larry was instrumental in opening my eyes and ears to that stuff." Eventually I thought to myself, 'I don't want to be hanging around at thirty years old and still playing the bars. I'm out of here.' So it was either New York or LA. I had had enough of the cold weather, and my brother lived in San Francisco, so I just came out" to LA.

Chad says "When I auditioned for The Chili Peppers, they were kind of a college cult band that sold a few records. I wasn't a fan of the band particularly. They were just auditioning friends of friends and I had a friend who told them, 'Chad eats drums for breakfast.' So when I brought my drums to audition, Flea asked, 'So, that's your breakfast?' And I'm going, 'Huh?' I set up and we started rocking. We just jammed. I didn't know any of their songs and they didn't care. There was musical chemistry right off the bat."

The Chili Peppers hit pay dirt straight away, as their first album together, 1989's Mother's Milk, became a hit due to MTV's exposure of their videos for a cover of Stevie Wonder's "Higher Ground" the album was certified gold by early 1990. The group knew that their next release would be the most important one of their career, so they moved into a mansion-turned-recording studio with producer Rick Rubin to work on what would become their most successful release yet, the stripped down Blood Sugar Sex Magik. The album became a monster and sold a staggering seven million copies in the U.S. alone, as it spawned such hits as "Give It Away" and the group's first Top Ten single, "Under the Bridge." The group's Californication and By The Way, proved to be another monster success, reconfirming the Chili Peppers as one of alternative rock's top bands.

The 5x14 Chad Smith Signature Snare Drum is one Pearl's most popular and recognized with it's subtle dynamic range and deep cracking sound. It looks as good as it sounds offering an exclusive black nickel plated steel shell, CL-55 "Bridge Style" minimum contact lugs, 2.3mm SuperHoop II's, "Gladstone Style" Vertical Pull Throw-Off, and precision-fit Stainless Steel tension rods and solid brass receives for super precise tuning.

With numerous platinum recordings under his belt with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Chad Smith has gained the recognition he has long deserved by cranking out one hit groove after another.