Biography
Smith was born Chad Smith on October 25, 1961 in Saint Paul, Minnesota but spent most of his childhood in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan where he attended Andover High School and graduated from Lahser High School in 1980. Following high school, Smith spent his time playing in many local bands and the local club scene. It wasn't until 1988 when Smith decided to fly to California to visit his brother that his life changed. While in California, Smith was one of the last drummers to audition for the vacant spot left open by D.H. Peligro in the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Smith completely blew the other three band members away with his aggressive drumming, although Smith's personal style and background of hard rock and motorcycles didn't completely mesh with the other three, who came from a punk rock background. Singer Anthony Kiedis hired Smith to be in the band although he insisted that he needed to get rid of his bandana and long hair. The following day, Smith showed up for another audition wearing the same bandanna and sporting the same long hair. Kiedis admired Smith and found his persistence pretty impressive. Smith joined the Chili Peppers in December 1988 and within a few months was recording his first album with the band, Mother's Milk. Smith reflected on joining the band in a 2012 interview by saying “I remember thinking, ‘Oh, cool, they have a record deal. Great! I’d love to be in a band that has a record deal. We started playing, and right away we just hit it off musically. I was like, ‘Man, this is a blast! These guys are great!’ … We were just doing what we do. We just jammed, which is what we still do today. It’s very similar.”
In 2008, during a break for the Chili Peppers, Smith joined the hard rock supergroup Chickenfoot. The group has released two albums to date.
Smith along with musician Leslie Bixler released a children's album titled Rhythm Train in 2010. The album also featured legendary actor, Dick Van Dyke.
In 2011, due to touring commitments with the Chili Peppers, Smith was unable to tour with Chickenfoot and was replaced by Kenny Aronoff although Smith still remains a member of the band and plans to record more music with them during the next break away from the Chili Peppers.
In August 2011, the Chili Peppers released I'm with You, their tenth studio album, seventh with Smith. The band expects to be on the road until at least 2013 supporting the album although Smith said a new album isn't expected until at least late 2013. In April 2012, the band was inducted by Chris Rock into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
On May 16, 2012, Smith rejoined Chickenfoot for a four song encore at the Orpheum in Boston, MA.
In March of 2012, Smith released The Chad Smith Drum App which is free mobile application for iPhone, iPad and Android devices and features his "Drummer GPS". Drummer GPS spotlights drummers Smith has been influenced by and those he regards as some of the best drummers around today. The Chad Smith Drum App has received great praise from both fans and from fellow drummers.
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