Red Hot Chili Peppers’ producer at the time, Michael Beinhorn, recalled the band’s initial negative reaction to Chad Smith to Rick Beato’s YouTube channel.Chad Smith auditioned for RHCP’s drummer audition at the time. When the band first met him, they thought, ‘What a jerk.’ However, Smith’s talent and fit with the band were soon recognized by everyone after he started to play the drums. Producer Beinhorn explained:
“So the last day, we’re sort of done. Just sitting around in a malaise. And the last drummer comes in, this big guy looking around the room like he owns the place. And we all hate him immediately. Everyone just looks at him and goes like ‘This fucking guy. What a prick! He looks like he belongs in a metal band.'”
Beinhorn said that Smith amazed him from the moment he started playing the drums. He continued:
“The guy sits down at the drum kit. And from the first hit, I was like, ‘Oh my God!’ And he’s also young. He’s like, Yeah, while he’s playing. He’s so comical. But he was so good! And something happened in that room that I’ve only experienced a few times in my life. It literally felt like some energy portal that opened.”
John Frusciante’s First Impression Of Chad Smith
When Chad Smith auditioned for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, his appearance initially left John Frusciante hesitant. But this first impression was soon changed by Smith’s subsequent performance. He said that when he first saw Chad, he judged him by his looks, but once Chad started playing, he began to lead the whole band. In 2018, Frusciante told RHCP Live:
“Chad walked in and he had a Metallica shirt on and his hair was all frizzy. I just thought, ‘Oh let’s just get this guy out of here’”
Describing Chad’s leading of the band from the drums, John told us that Chad’s comedic side was still there back then. He said:
“Chad walked in and all of a sudden he was carrying us. He was just speeding up and screaming ‘fu*k you’ at all of us.”
Anthony Kiedis’ First Impression Of Chad Smith
Anthony Kiedis’ first reaction to Chad wasn’t any different. Kiedis initially had doubts about Smith, primarily because of his appearance. But However, just like Frusciante, Kiedis abandoned his initial thoughts once Smith started playing drums. In his book Scar Tissue, Kiedis recalls the day he met Chad Smith at RHCP’s drum audition. He stated:
“We let this drummer come down to audition. I spied this big lummox walking down the street with a big Guns N’ Roses hairdo and some clothes that were not screaming, ‘I’ve got style.’ I had already decided against this guy based on how he looked, but he came in and we were all business.”
You can watch the full interview with Producer Michael Beinhorn talking to Rick Beato about RHCP below.
