Producer Michael Beinhorn, who was working with Red Hot Chili Peppers at the time, recalled calling Chad Smith a prick in a recent interview with Rick Beato.
When Chad Smith auditioned for the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 1988, the band wasn’t initially impressed. The band was undergoing changes while dealing with the loss of guitarist Hillel Slovak to a heroin overdose and recruiting John Frusciante as his replacement. Additionally, their then drummer, D.H. Peligro, had been fired.
The producer recalled the day meeting the band for the first time:
“I thought, ‘Oh, this is the Chili Peppers. We’re not going to have any problem at all getting a new drummer.’ [But] I have never seen a more lackluster group of drummers under one roof in my entire life.”
Apparently, Smith looked like he owned the place the moment he entered the place for the audition. That’s when the producer and the remaining members thought he was a prick:
“And we all hate him immediately. Everyone just looks at him and goes like, ‘This fucking guy. What a prick!'”
How Smith Was Picked As The Drummer
Released in 1989, Smith’s first album with Red Hot Chili Peppers, was ‘Mother’s Milk,’ and he has played on all of the band’s releases ever since. Before he joined the band, he was highly criticized by the band members. The drummer’s look was deceiving, according to the producer. Beinhorn explained why he looked deceiving:
“He looks like he belongs in a metal band. He’s got a bandana around his head and stuff like that. Just so not right. And I’m just thinking to myself, I just want this guy to go. What’s your name? Chad? Perfect name. Play your drums, get the f*ck out.”
Despite the not-so-nice words the band had for him, they were surprised to hear what Smith sounded like on drums. Beinhorn continued:
“From the first hit I was like, ‘Oh my God.’ He was so good. And something happened in that room that I’ve only experienced a few times in my life, like it literally felt like some energy portal had opened… It literally felt like a whole bunch of doors had opened, like a magic incantation had been recited and everything just [fell into a place] like that in a movie… Everything shifted. It was incredible.”
The producer also revealed that Anthony Kiedis, Flea, and Frusciante think that Smith is the best drummer they had ever auditioned, in fact, the best they have ever played with.
You can watch the rest of the interview below.
