New LIMP BIZKIT Guitarist Explains How He Landed Gig

LIMP BIZKIT guitarist Mike Smith recently spoke to Australia's The Daily Telegraph about the chain of events that led to his joining the group in April of this year.

According to Smith, his destiny took its course when the now-defunct band SNOT were invited to tour on Ozzfest in 1998, which featured LIMP BIZKIT as the main attraction.

"Our buses would travel together so we hung out a lot," he says. "I live in LA and Fred [Durst] had just moved to L.A., so I hung out at his house a couple of times over the next couple of years."

Little did Smith know at the time that this growing bond would help him secure the coveted role of lead guitar player in one of his favorite bands three years later.

"Basically when they did that whole guitar player search, I ended up running in to John Otto, the drummer, at a bar one night and I hadn't seen him in a long time," he recalls.

"We just started talking about old times and touring and after 20 minutes I asked about how the band was going.

"I said I had heard that a girl had won the guitar search and he said no, that they were hoping for a family member but they couldn't find anyone and it was really hard on them.

"I left it about 20 minutes, 'cause I didn't want it to seem like I was there to talk to him about that, because I wasn't.

"So a couple more minutes went by and I said 'Hey, you know what, if you're up for it I'll come down and jam with y'all', so we exchanged numbers, a few days went by and the next thing you know I'm in a room with these guys."

Smith remembers the look of impatience on the band members' faces when he first walked in the studio, describing them as "over it" given they had been searching for the right player for so long.

However when Smith took to his guitar, a certain chemistry transpired between the group and all other hopefuls were promptly sent away.

"The first riff I played, they just looked at each other and they were like, 'Whoa!' and we ended up jamming for four hours after that," he says.

"It felt really great, right away, we just locked in.

"The first riff I ever played for the band ended up being the main riff for our first single 'Eat You Alive', so that's pretty rad."

Despite this instant rapport, Smith and LIMP BIZKIT parted ways after jamming for five weeks and the band went on to record an album without a lead guitar player.

But seven months later, Smith got the phone call that changed his life. "They said I was the only guy they really had chemistry with and asked if I would play live with them," he says.

"So we played Wrestlemania together and on the way back from there Fred and I were in a plane and he said 'you know what Mike, we have this new record and we're happy with it, but I feel like there's something special with you. I really feel like we could do something if we tried, if we just went to a rehearsal room with no pressure'.

"Next thing you know we wrote 13 or 14 songs in the studio. The vibe was really on." Read more.