CHICKENFOOT's CHAD SMITH Considers Himself 'Lucky, Fortunate And Grateful'

Amy Kelly of Ultimate-Guitar.com recently conducted an interview with drummer Chad Smith (RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, CHICKENFOOT, CHAD SMITH'S BOMBASTIC MEATBATS). A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Ultimate-Guitar.com: There was a rumor that you weren't going to continue with CHICKENFOOT.

Chad: That's not true. Sam [Sammy Hagar, CHICKENFOOT frontman] likes to talk. He was kind of frustrated. He knew all along that I was in another group. A little band from Hollywood — well, two bands — but one of them takes a lot of my time right now. So he was a little frustrated. But we played the other day and it was really fun. We had a great time again. So Joe [Satriani, guitar] is doing his solo album tour, and I think he's starting now. In December or maybe two weeks in January, we're going to start up. I'll be done with my CHILI PEPPERS stuff long before then. We'll go into the studio probably in the middle of January. That's the plan.

Ultimate-Guitar.com: How unique is the songwriting process with the BOMBASTIC MEATBATS compared with CHICKENFOOT or the CHILI PEPPERS?

Chad: They're different and they're the same. Your ultimate goal is to play what's best for the song. In the CHILI PEPPERS, we always jam. Then we have people come in with ideas, so it's a combination of both. The CHICKENFOOT thing is more — certainly on the first record — Joe had a lot of ideas. He would send demos around. He's got a little studio in his house. Then he and Sam would get together. Then Mike [Anthony, bass] and I would come up from L.A. when it was like, "Yeah, we've got great ideas." Joe comes up with the initial ideas, not just songs but riffs. Then everybody puts in their input, which is great. For the MEATBATS, it's really organic. Out of 12 songs, I would say eight of them came out of jams. We came up with them in this little place that's cool called the Tiki Room. In the Tiki Room, it all goes down! I may have a beat or Jeff might have an idea. That's usually how it goes. Somebody has got something, and then we run with it. We start playing and jamming. Sometimes it's great and sometimes it doesn't go anywhere. It's a real organic process, which is really fun. It just comes out of nowhere and it's real. I prefer it because everybody has their input.

Ultimate-Guitar.com: Do you have a dream collaborator with whom you'd like to work?

Chad: Yeah, I'd like to play with Jimmy Page. Who wouldn't, though? We have the same managers, and he used to come to some of our gigs. I was like, "Man, do you want a rhythm section?" He smiles! I can tell that he wants to play. He's frustrated. I don't think Robert Plant wants to do it anymore. I could play LED ZEPPELIN songs all day long, but supposedly he has a bunch of ideas and a bunch of stuff recorded. I don't know. That's what I've heard. I mean, LED ZEPPELIN was my favorite band. I think it would be fun to get in a room and bang out some ideas and see what would happen. I think there would be five million drummers right behind me wanting to do the same thing. I'm so fortunate. I get to play with the best musicians. I'm in a fantastic musical situation. The CHILI PEPPERS have been together for 25 years and we're still happy to be doing what we're doing. We're lucky, fortunate, and grateful. We're changing and growing. I think wherever I go in all my musical situations, I am just happy to be playing music. That's what I love to do. I'm just really lucky, but I work at it. I want to keep growing and getting better as a person and a musician and a friend and dad and a husband. It all goes together.

Ultimate-Guitar.com: Congratulations on being voted the 10th best drummer of the last 25 years by Rhythm magazine. How does it feel to have an honor like that?

Chad: It makes me feel old! That's really nice. It's always nice to be recognized by your peers or the industry or your fans — anybody. With lists and things like that, it kind of sounds like a competition. I don't really subscribe to that. Music is nothing about competition. You basically do your thing. It's what you like and what you don't like. You have a choice. It's really nice because I'm proud and do the best that I can. The great thing about that is that if I can inspire somebody to pick up an instrument or the drums or start a band or anything, that's great. For people who are just starting out, that's cool.

Ultimate-Guitar.com: What advice would you give to up-and-coming musicians in today's current industry?

Chad: Be yourself first and foremost. That's the most important thing. Don't try to be like somebody. You can be influenced by other people, but don't copy somebody. You can really tell if somebody is being authentic. The only thing is that I see this immediate gratification or "I want it now, right now, and then I'm on to the next thing tomorrow." It's a craft unless you're an incredibly gifted genius and can grasp everything at once, like if you're Tony Williams and you play with Miles Davis when you're 17. That's far and few between. You have to really work at it. That takes putting in time and energy. It just doesn't happen overnight. People are like, "Oh, I've got my one beat and one fill and I'm going to be on TV." That's part of our culture and this whole reality-TV thing. I think it's detrimental to what people really need to do to be able to be really good and have quality in their life. I think it just takes time, whether it's time as in years or time as in how much work you put into it. That's the only thing I can see a little bit. It's a lacking of a wanting to put in the hard work into what needs to be done to be proficient at what you do and get good at something. What good is something unless you really work at it? You have to be passionate about it. I want to work at it because I love it. I would just say be yourself and do it because you love it. Good things will happen. Whenever you play, try to play in all kinds of situations. Get out of the box. When I was a kid I really liked hard rock like LED ZEPPELIN and the English hard rock blues bands from the late '70s. I really didn't listen to lots of different music. I had music that spoke to me, so I stayed there for awhile. I wish at a younger age that I would have branched out a little bit to different types of music and became more well-rounded earlier. If you love it, you'll see it out. It will work out.

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