Red Hot Chili Peppers Drummer Chad Smith Talks Rock & Roll, Fantasy Football, His Beloved Detroit Lions and More! (08/24 Fantasy Football Podcast)

Summary

Podcast Summary: Fantasy Football Today

Episode Title: Red Hot Chili Peppers Drummer Chad Smith Talks Rock & Roll, Fantasy Football, His Beloved Detroit Lions and More!
Date: August 24, 2025
Host: Adam Aizer with guests Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer) & Lewis Smith (Chad Smith Foundation)
Timestamps refer to [MM:SS]

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Overview

This standout episode of Fantasy Football Today brings together the worlds of music and sports. Host Adam Aizer welcomes Chad Smith, legendary drummer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Lewis Smith, Executive Director of the newly launched Chad Smith Foundation. The episode blends fantasy football strategy, Chad’s passion for the Detroit Lions, behind-the-scenes rock stories, and exciting announcements about their upcoming charity fantasy leagues—where listeners can play fantasy football against Chad while supporting music education.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Chad Smith Foundation Launch & Charity Fantasy Leagues

• [05:05] Lewis Smith and Chad introduce the Chad Smith Foundation, emphasizing music education, access to instruments, and scholarships for young musicians.
  • Chad Smith: “Music and education has always been really close to my heart... we need teachers... equipment in people’s hands... inspire people... the next generation to want to play music.”
  • Listeners can join “Lose to Chad Smith” fantasy leagues to support the foundation. Multiple leagues, open drafts, all proceeds go to charity.
• [11:06] League details: 14-team, half-PPR, no DST/kicker/trades; multiple drafts on September 2nd and 3rd (4, 5, 6, 7pm Pacific both days).

2. Chad’s Love of the Detroit Lions

• [03:20, 14:59] Chad critiques Adam’s fantasy rankings for not giving Lions enough love (especially QB Jared Goff). He’s bullish on their real-life and fantasy prospects.
  • Chad Smith: “Don’t sleep on Goff... had the best offense in the NFL last year!”
• [16:19] Chad’s Lions memories: Calls out legends like Barry Sanders, Megatron (Calvin Johnson), and current talents (Aidan Hutchinson, Sam LaPorta).
  • On what it would mean for the Lions to win the Super Bowl: “I don’t know, my head would blow off.”
• Friendly Giants-Lions bet banter (Adam is a Giants fan).

3. Rock ‘n’ Roll Stories & Favorite Music Moments

• [06:40, 19:52] Chad’s deep cuts and live stories: “Easily” is praised as an underrated Chili Peppers song; Adam retells his missed chance at seeing the Peppers/Foo Fighters tour (chemistry test woes).

  • Chad jokes: “Maybe doing his chemistry test, he’s going to become a meth dealer. Thank God that he’s doing chemistry. Like Walter White.” [08:23]

• [20:13] Chad’s Top Five 90s Rock Bands (not including his own): Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Nine Inch Nails, Alice in Chains, Guns N’ Roses (also mentions Foo Fighters, Sublime, Smashing Pumpkins).

• [22:00] Touring history: Stories about hitting the road with Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters, and more:

  • “Pearl Jam, Smashing Pumpkins, chili peppers in ‘91 and ‘92... played with Nirvana right when they were taking over Michael Jackson in the charts. Those were great shows.”

• [23:28] Surprise appearance: Adam realizes he saw Chad on drums with the Foo Fighters at Citi Field.

4. Fantasy Rock Band Draft

• [24:21] Chad’s “fantasy rock band” (all-time dream lineup):

  • Drums: John Bonham

  • Guitar: Jimi Hendrix

  • Bass: Paul McCartney or John Entwistle (or both!)

  • Keys: Elton John or Nicky Hopkins

  • Vocals: Ozzy Osbourne

  • Chad Smith: “You know, I’m trying to put the right team together... if you got all like alpha crazy shredders, it’s not going to work. There’s only one football.” [26:49]

5. Red Hot Chili Peppers—Evolution & Process

• [29:08] Chad details the band’s evolution: Authenticity, chemistry (not chemistry class!), embracing all styles, and gratitude for their longevity.

  • “Any artist needs to keep growing and changing... You do the same thing over and over, I don’t know... there’s no real value in that... I probably love music more than I did starting out.”

• [33:04] “Under the Bridge” origin: Almost left off the album; importance of giving “softer” songs a chance.

  • Chad Smith: “We didn’t think it was going to be this big hit... one of our most popular songs. But, like, Mo Austin knows a thing or two about music.” [35:07]

• [36:22] “Under the Bridge” was originally a poem; Rick Rubin encouraged Anthony Kiedis to turn it into a song, leading to John Frusciante’s chord arrangement.

6. Life on Tour, Setlists & Live Show Energy

• [37:15] Adam dives into setlist mechanics and live favorites:

  • Chad Smith: “Anthony writes the set list... if we play 18 songs, there’s probably 10 that are the popular songs... then we have like another 8 that we can move around, swap out... We Jam too much for [the same set every night].”

• [39:17] On “Give It Away”: “Never gets old... probably played that song every concert since 1991... The energy is just so great.”

• [40:44] “Can’t Stop” and crowd responses:

  • “It wasn’t a big hit back when it came out, but it’s kind of grown... it’s a sports song... It’s taken on this kind of life.”

7. Listener Engagement & Fantasy Team Name Fun

• [48:09] Call for Red Hot Chili Peppers–themed fantasy team names: e.g., “Under the Teddy Bridgewater,” “Slow Cheetah (Tyreek Hill).”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Chad Smith on Fantasy Football:

  • “You and your fantasy league, you’re living in a fantasy, baby.” [03:46]
  • “No, no, no, there’s good [QBs]. And then there’s my boy, Jared Goff, my friend.” [04:32]

• On Music & Sports:

  • Lewis Smith: “Rock stars want to be athletes. Athletes want to be rock stars.” [05:31]
  • Chad Smith: “Maybe doing his chemistry test, he’s going to become a meth dealer. Thank God that he’s doing chemistry. Like Walter White.” [08:23]

• On Longevity & Artistry:

  • “We can kind of play anything and it still sounds like us, which is pretty cool... It’s very honest.” [29:30]
  • “Any artist needs to keep growing and changing, and that’s really important.” [31:00]

• On “Under the Bridge”:

  • “Almost didn’t make the album... Mo Austin came and listened... he was like, that’s a good song. I think you should put that one on.” [34:00–35:07]
  • “Rick being Rick, who’s like, very in tune, and he’s like, nah... you should take that to the band.” [35:24]

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Rapid Fire Segment Highlights

[49:30] – Rapid Fire Q&A

• Favorite song to play live?

  • Chad: “Wet Sand.”
  • Lewis: “Wet Sand” or “Hard to Concentrate.”

• Which song gets the best crowd reaction?

  • Chad: “Higher Ground.”
  • Lewis: “Can’t Stop.”

• Favorite venue?

  • Chad: “River Plate in Buenos Aires, Argentina.”
  • Lewis: “Soldier Field” (personal fave).

• Favorite band to tour with?

  • Chad: “Foo Fighters, I swear to God. Because Taylor [Hawkins] was my buddy. I love Dave too... spent more time in their dressing room than my own.” [51:56]

• Top 3 Chili Peppers songs?

  • Chad: “For Your Eyes Only” (B-side), “Porcelain,” “Can’t Stop.”
  • Lewis: “Minor Thing,” “Torture Me,” “I Like Dirt.”
  • Adam: “Under the Bridge,” “Otherside,” “Scar Tissue.”

• On “Eddie” from Return of the Dream Canteen:

  • Adam praises the track; Chad explains it pays tribute to Eddie Van Halen and was written/recorded during the double album sessions: “That’s got all the classic Chili Pepper stuff in it... knew when we record I’m like, oh, this is a really good song.” [55:15]

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How to Join the Charity Fantasy Leagues

• Go to: ChadSmithFoundation.org or @ChadSFoundation (on X/Twitter)
• Drafts: September 2–3, 4/5/6/7pm Pacific each day (8 league opportunities)
• Format: 14-team, half-PPR, no trades/kickers/DST; proceeds benefit music education.

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Closing

Adam thanks Chad and Lewis for their candid, fun discussion and for the important work the Foundation is doing.
Chad: “Adam, hey you’re the best, and good luck, but you know you’re gonna lose.” [58:16]

Check out ChadSmithFoundation.org to support, join a league—and maybe finally Beat (or Lose to) Chad Smith in fantasy football!

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[End of Summary]

Transcript

[Adam Azer]

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[Adam Azer]

What's up, everyone? Today we are combining some of our favorite things. Fantasy football rock and Rol Charity. Wow. What an awesome random episode of fantasy football. Today this is going to be. We're presented by BetMGM, the sportsbook born in Vegas. And what an honor it is to have Chad Smith, drummer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Lewis Smith, the executive director of the Chad Smith foundation, here on fft. What's going on, Chad? Thank you so much for coming on. What a pleasure to have you. Thanks for being here.

[Chad Smith]

My. My pleasure, Adam. My pleasure, My pleasure. We gotta talk some. Some fantasy. You know, I do have a little bone to pick with you about your little fantasy rankings. So let me get this straight. You have a RB2 who could lead the position in receiving yards and a wide receiver, 8 and 26, and tight end number five, all on the same team.

[Adam Azer]

Yeah.

[Chad Smith]

And I'm a little upset you don't have my dog. Jared Goff is not in your top 10. Do you not know the Lions have the. Had. Had the best offense in the NFL last year? Don't sleep on golf. All right, so I'm saying. That's all I want to say right now. You and your fantasy league, you're living in a fantasy, baby. I love. I love it, man.

[Adam Azer]

I can't wait. I can't wait for to be in a league with you. And you can take Jared Goff really early, and I'm just gonna whoop you, man. Like, I'm sorry, I hate to lay it down in the first two minutes of the show, but I'm gonna whoop you in fantasy.

[Chad Smith]

Who are you taking?

[Adam Azer]

Well, that's the thing about quarterback. There are so many good ones, you know, so I'm happy to take golf.

[Chad Smith]

No, no, no, no. There's good ones. And then there's my boy, Jared Goff, my friend.

[Adam Azer]

All right, so he is on fire.

[Chad Smith]

And what is this? The league is not Beat Chad Smith league? No, no, no. It should be. It's the Lose to Chad Smith league.

[Adam Azer]

Dude, I could change the name if you want. Like, this is totally negotiable.

[Chad Smith]

It's a nice ring to it. Hey, Lewis. Smith.

[Adam Azer]

What's going on? Lewis, let's talk about how this all came together and what. What our purpose here is.

[Lewis Smith]

Yeah, well, thanks for having us. Honestly, I'm just in shock. I'm like, with two goats, the drumming goat, the podcast host goat. Like, this is very, very starstruck. I, I, I got, I feel like I have to really prove why I am included in this group of the three, but not, thanks for having me. This is really exciting. Like, from our perspective, music and sports, like, feels really separate, but they're all actually, like, super tied together. I mean, you can't really have sports without music. I mean, we all remember that train wreck of a Knicks half where they did, like, silent and just the pure sound of no music. And it was, it was awful. And also something I've thought that a great philosopher, Kevin Durant, I know agrees with. Rock stars want to be athletes. Athletes want to be rock stars. Katie was always like, yeah, rappers want to be in the NBA. NBA players want to rap. So, like, there's this tie between the two, but also the real reason why we are actually here. It's all you is all Adam Azer is probably like, three years ago, I was listening to a podcast and you were probably giving some outlandish take. You know, you were like, oh, yeah, Daniel Jones, easily top 5 QB in the league. But you went back, and after you said easily, you stopped, and you're like, hey, guys, you know the song Easily by Red Hot Chili Peppers? That's a good song. And I was listening. I'm like, I thought I was the only guy that still listened to those deep cuts off Californiacation. So. You've got great taste in music. Some of your takes, I know, are controversial, but your taste in music. S tier.

[Adam Azer]

Thank you, Chad. You know, it Easily, to me, is the most underrated Chili Pepper song. I don't know if you want to talk about that or other underrated chili Pepper song, but I love that song, man.

[Chad Smith]

Wow. Well, we used to play it live. We don't play it too much anymore when it came out. I remember when that record came out all those years ago, probably around the time that we toured with the Foo Fighters. Did you happen to see that concert?

[Adam Azer]

So funny you ask, you know, so Foo Fighters would be my second favorite band behind the Chili Peppers. I'm not just saying that to butter you up. It's a well known fact about me. If people listen to the podcast, I there was a Foo Fighters Chili Peppers tour, and I wanted to go and I had a chemistry test. I'm not going to be a chemist. I had a chemistry test the next day in high school, and my dad would not let me Go. You asked me before the show, where was. It was in South Florida. I'm not sure what venue you were playing at, but he wouldn't let me go. And I don't think I'll ever get to see those two bands. Can you guys maybe reunite, go on tour again and I'll show up?

[Chad Smith]

They don't make places big enough for those, you know, And I did. Wait, what, what, what. What town was that? What. What were you.

[Adam Azer]

It would have been Broward county. Would have been like Fort Lauderdale, maybe. Maybe Miami or maybe like where. The hockey arena there. It's probably like American Airlines arena back then or something.

[Chad Smith]

Yeah, I think we played easily that night.

[Adam Azer]

Of course you did.

[Chad Smith]

We opened with it. I think. I think we opened with it. If I could remember, you know.

[Adam Azer]

No, actually, I heard you opened and closed with it, actually, so I really missed a good show.

[Chad Smith]

Oh, just in case you came late, you know, this one's Ratta, maybe doing his chemistry test, is going to become a. A meth. A meth dealer. Thank God that he's doing chemistry. Like Walter White.

[Adam Azer]

Yeah, that's me. I was Walter White before Breaking Bad. So, Chad. Actually, Louis, maybe you want to talk about this too. There's an opportunity here to play fantasy football, to lose to Chad Smith, apparently, and to raise money for this foundation. Tell us about the foundation was just launched.

[Lewis Smith]

Well, Chad Smith Foundation. Chad, you can be the first one to talk about it.

[Chad Smith]

Well, you know, music and education has always been really close to my heart. I would have never made it through school if I didn't have all those programs in my public schools outside of Detroit and, you know, any way to give back. I'm lucky to be in a position where, you know, I'm in a group that people seem to like and I can shed a little bit of light on the educational part. Teachers, we need teachers. We need equipment in people's hands. We need to inspire people. We need, you know, just the younger gen, the next generation to want to play music and served me so well. I've been so lucky and I'm so passionate about it. So we're starting a foundation to get all these kids to either through scholarships or through, you know, there's lots of after school programs that, that, that need kids that want to play, that need teachers and also just instruments, just literally physical things to hit, make some noise. And so I'm just trying to. To get that going. And with the help of my brother Brad, also in the music industry, and of course Louis, who's, Who's Very passionate about it and he could speak much more articulately about it. But for me, I just love the idea of the next generation of musicians being able to have the opportunity and exposure to be able to do what. What I love. And they'll love if they want to do it.

[Lewis Smith]

Yeah. Chad's story is so great. Like, he got exposed to music early. He had a music program, then he was able to dedicate his life to being a musician. It worked out. So we're just trying to replicate that with you. Get them started. You let them smack a drum or strum a guitar and see if they want to be a musician. If they do, then you give them the access to education to keep playing.

[Chad Smith]

And.

[Lewis Smith]

And then if they want to go to college to pursue a career, we have scholarships set up. So we just announced our foundation publicly this week. So this is one heck of a coming out party being on this podcast. So everyone can check out ChadSmithFoundation.org to learn more.

[Adam Azer]

ChadSmithFoundation.org very cool website, by the way. And here's what we're doing for fantasy football, right? So Chad's going to be in six leagues and you can be in them, too. They're going to be 14 team leagues, half PPR. Don't even think about drafting Jared Goff. He's reserved for Chad. One one quarterback, two running backs, two receivers, two flex, one tight end, no DST or kicker, no trading in these leagues. Top six teams make. Yeah. And I agree because as running the FFT open, you don't want any collusion whatsoever. So you don't want to even have controversy. Trades can make people go crazy. So I think it's best to not do. Six teams are going to make the playoffs, but basically we're going to have two nights of drafting. They're going to have two nights of drafting with three snake drafts each night. So a little bit, you know, hopefully you're up late if you're on the East Coast. 4pm Pacific Time, 5:30pm Pacific, 7pm Pacific with 45 second clock. So if you want to play in these leagues, what are we doing? September 2nd and 3rd, what were the nights? I'm sorry, Louis. 2nd and 3rd. Okay. September 2nd and 3rd, three drafts each day, 4:00pm, 5:30pm and 7:00pm Pacific Time on September 2nd and 3rd. So if you want to be. If the people want to be in a league with Chad, how do they sign up?

[Lewis Smith]

Yeah, so you can go to the Chad Smith Foundation. Twitter. We got Chad S Foundation because there's a Character limit in Twitter names and you can see the links. You sign up for each league. You purchase your entry by draft time. So make sure you see the draft time of the league that you want to buy into. Soon as you buy your ticket, you had your. You have your spot reserved. So we'll email out the draft information once the whole league is filled. And depending on how many people sign up, maybe we add another league or two. We'll see. But really excited for this. And also, Adam, so I was planning on coming here and just saying, like, I want to per. I want to personally buy you a spot in one of the leagues because I appreciate you having us on here and I think you're so great at your job and all those things are true. But then I listened to yesterday's podcast and you can totally blame Jamie for this. I will gladly personally buy you a spot in one of the leagues if you sing one red hot chili pepper lyric to Chad.

[Chad Smith]

If you.

[Lewis Smith]

If you don't sing a lyric, I will blackball you from. From every league. So this is your one shot.

[Adam Azer]

Can it be the one? Can it be the one I sang yesterday?

[Chad Smith]

You're in.

[Adam Azer]

Can I be the one? Can it be the one I sang yesterday?

[Lewis Smith]

Yeah, but you gotta do the whole line. You gotta do the whole line. You stopped halfway. That's what I meant. Give it your all. And you got Chad Smith here.

[Adam Azer]

Well, I just. I wanted to know, Chad, because you said you had 20 battery left on your phone. So how long. How long can we podcast for?

[Chad Smith]

I don't know.

[Adam Azer]

Can I do that? Lewis, is that okay?

[Lewis Smith]

You're right.

[Chad Smith]

You're right.

[Lewis Smith]

That's great, man.

[Chad Smith]

Do it.

[Adam Azer]

All right, cool. Oh, man. Okay, I'm sorry. Let's get. Not bad, not bad. Thank you. Thank you. I will tell you that that was. That was the first song I ever sang in front of a crowd. When I was in high school, I actually got into music, too. Actually, I think it was the second song. I sang two songs. I sang Santa Monica by Everclear and Other side by the Chili Peppers. The first time I ever performed in front of people. All right, so you're a big.

[Chad Smith]

How did it go? How did it go? Did you go to the Grill?

[Adam Azer]

It did not really. I don't remember how it went. I think it was okay. I was so nervous, but it was okay. So I know you're a bit. We're going to talk music in a bit. We're going to get, like, some of your favorite chili pepper songs and ask you for your top five 90s rock bands, other than the Chili Peppers. Really fun stuff today. But talk about the Lions, man, you must be so pumped up. What would it mean to you if they won the Super Bowl? Would it just bring you to your knees? Enjoy.

[Chad Smith]

I mean, you know, obviously never in my lifetime. And, and so in 60 plus years, the Lions, you know, I feel like. I feel like this is the window. They got their window they ran into, you know, I've been at the playoff games. I'm playing the drums before the games. I know some of the players. Dan Campbell is awesome. What a coach. Like, what a culture there. It's so great for the fans and the people of Detroit to rally around their sports teams like they always do, win or lose. But now that, like, having the line, being a really great team is so great for the city. But he's amazing. It would be. It would. You know, I don't. I. I just never thought it was possible they could even, you know, I mean, when they got close. They've never been to the super bowl, obviously, but I think that, that it would be. I don't know, my head would blow off. Yeah, that's what would happen.

[Adam Azer]

I've always liked the Lions, I think, because of Barry Sanders. What are your, you know, when I was growing up in the 90s, Thanksgiving and Barry Sanders and just. I just love the Lions.

[Chad Smith]

Yeah, man.

[Adam Azer]

What are your. Some, Some of your favorite memories?

[Chad Smith]

Yes. When, obviously when I was younger, Barry Sanders, of course, and, you know, Megatron, like, those are the two standout offensive players for the line. But, like, Matt Stafford was a great quarterback for them for a long time. Just couldn't. They didn't have. They could never put it together. And so it was. They would give you hope for a minute and then crush your soul. So I feel like this, this, this is a more. The chemistry is good. They have a more unified team. The injured, the defensive injuries decimated us and caught up to us last year. But, you know, Hutchinson is back. Gibson, Montgomery, my boy, Brian Branch in the back. I mean, Sam Laporta. Don't sleep on Sam laporta.

[Adam Azer]

No, we definitely won't. Man, he's so good, dog.

[Chad Smith]

He's great. Like, I'm not worried about the office. And everyone's like, oh, you know, they lost Ben Johnson, they lost their defensive quarter, and, you know, it's. It's Dan Campbell's team. Yes, those guys were great, but I think that, you know, I think they'll be. I think they're going to be okay. And. But they Have a brutal schedule. Like a really, really difficult schedule.

[Adam Azer]

Yeah, man. They're facing the Giants. My Giants. Dude, we got. We're coming for you.

[Chad Smith]

No, besides the Giants and the Browns, I think the first eight teams are all playoff contenders.

[Adam Azer]

Oh, man, that's cold.

[Chad Smith]

Wait, you're a Giant fan?

[Adam Azer]

I am.

[Chad Smith]

No, dude, look.

[Adam Azer]

You see this? This back here is super bowl right now.

[Chad Smith]

That's really bad. It's like the old line. Oh, my God.

[Adam Azer]

It's not good.

[Chad Smith]

Is dirt your boy?

[Adam Azer]

I think I'd like to see Russell Wilson do well enough where we can keep Jackson Dart on the. On the bench.

[Chad Smith]

Oh, no. You want Tommy.

[Lewis Smith]

Tommy cutlets the comeback.

[Chad Smith]

Oh.

[Adam Azer]

So listen, Louis, you know Dave Richard, of course.

[Chad Smith]

I think he's third string. I think he's still on the team. I love that guy's. His agent was, like, amazing.

[Adam Azer]

Oh, yeah.

[Chad Smith]

I love his agent. Maybe more than him.

[Adam Azer]

Listen, Louis, Dave Richards in the chat and he says there should be a Giants Lions bet. So maybe.

[Lewis Smith]

Adam, are you feeling that confident that you want to take that?

[Adam Azer]

Well, do I get any points? As. I do not want to take that.

[Lewis Smith]

I guess he's a professional linemaker. He left us at the spread.

[Adam Azer]

That's true.

[Chad Smith]

Yeah. I, you know, is it in Detroit or is it in New York?

[Adam Azer]

It is. Does it matter? It's in Detroit. It's in Detroit.

[Chad Smith]

We're going to. We're probably going to have a 13 point spread.

[Adam Azer]

Probably. You know, look, it's in November. A lot of guys could be injured at that point. You never know. You never know.

[Lewis Smith]

Chad's setting the line. We'll do. We'll give you 13 and a half.

[Adam Azer]

13. All right, I will take that. That's a huge line.

[Chad Smith]

If we can't cover that, definitely take that. Yeah, that's a really. That's. That's. That's. That's pretty good.

[Adam Azer]

All right.

[Chad Smith]

If.

[Adam Azer]

If the Giants cover.

[Chad Smith]

There you go.

[Adam Azer]

The Giants cover.

[Chad Smith]

You know.

[Adam Azer]

Yeah. Sorry.

[Chad Smith]

If the Giants might cover. If they cover, they cover. I just want the Lions to win on them.

[Lewis Smith]

No one in their right mind's going to take that bet outright for the Giants.

[Adam Azer]

No, definitely not. All right, so let's. Let's get into music if. If that's cool with you. Let's talk about. If you wouldn't mind your top five. Top five 90s rock bands, other than the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Who do you got?

[Chad Smith]

Oh, that's. Well, that, you know, there's. There's. There's the grunge, the grungies. I mean, do they have to be started in the 90s or popular and.

[Adam Azer]

Then how does that know you guys? Obviously you started in the 80s, but, you know, so anything that's 90. No, they don't have to start in the 90s. Popular in the 90s.

[Chad Smith]

Okay. I like. I like the Pearl Jam. I like the Nirvana. I like Nine Inch Nails. God, man, there's so many. There's really good bands in the 90s, though. I like, like. I do like the Seattle band. I like. I do like the Alice in Chains. I enjoy the Guns N Roses from that era. How many is that?

[Adam Azer]

That's five. That's Pearl Gem, Nirvana, Nine Inch Nails, Allison Chains, Guns N Roses. Can I give you a couple more that maybe think about. Throw them on there?

[Chad Smith]

Yeah.

[Adam Azer]

How about the Foo Fighters?

[Chad Smith]

I Guess They're a 90s band. I like the Foo Fighters.

[Adam Azer]

How about Sublime? A little bit different. Different vibe. It was one of my favorites.

[Chad Smith]

I like the Sublime, but. But I. I like them more now than I did back then. I thought they were kind of like. I mean, I. I get. I get. I get what they were doing, but, yeah, I mean, yeah, that. You know, food fighters could be in there. Smashing Pumpkins, There's a lot of good band. You know, there's. There's, there's, there's, there's. There's good 90s, 90s. It was the best.

[Adam Azer]

It was the best.

[Chad Smith]

Yeah.

[Adam Azer]

And you told you toured with. With, I'm assuming, most or all of those bands, right? I mean, who. Who did you really enjoy shows with.

[Chad Smith]

With all those bands? For sure. We obviously tour with the Foo Fighters that you didn't see. That was a great. I think that Sunrise, Florida show is one of the best ones on the tour, by the way.

[Adam Azer]

That's what I thought.

[Chad Smith]

They made a live album out of it. Well, I think there's a live record somewhere. Like, wow, what a night.

[Lewis Smith]

You toured with Nirvana, like, when they blew up.

[Chad Smith]

We did. We did a West coast tour. We did. We did Pearl Jam. We took Pearl Jam on their first, like, real tour for their first album. So it's Pearl Jam, Smashing Pumpkins, chili peppers in 91 and 92. We played with Nirvana. Yep, we did. Right when they were. They were, you know, taking over Michael Jackson in the. In the. In the charts. That was. Those were great shows. Yeah, most of those bands, you know, I mean, I don't think we played with guns, and we've never toured with Guns N' Roses, but, you know, we all know each other and, you know, we're. When you're been around that long? Yeah, but, yeah, there's been. We're just fortunate to be able to do our thing, and people still want to come out and see it. We're. We're just happy as clams. Almost as happy as Aiden Hutchinson when he's eating quarterbacks.

[Adam Azer]

Wait a sec. I have a memory. I don't know if you guys, this happens to you a lot, but I think I have these memories where I'm only about 30% sure they actually happened. But I'm gonna throw this out there. I'm gonna say it's about 10 years ago. It was in New York at Citi Field and the Foo Fighters. It was a Foo Fighters concert. One of the last concerts I've attended, unfortunately. Did you come out and play drums, like, as a guest appearance? Am I making this up? Yes, I was at that show. Okay. I did see. Chili Peppers, Foo Fighters show. How about that?

[Chad Smith]

Let's go. No, I. Yeah, it was. It was. Was it Citi Field or MetLife? Citi Field.

[Adam Azer]

It was Citi Field. And Dave Grohl had broken his leg. He was in his throne of guitars.

[Chad Smith]

Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And we played a Faces song and Taylor sang saying that. Stay with Me.

[Adam Azer]

Oh, awesome. That's a great song, too. That's so fun.

[Chad Smith]

Yeah, I think that's what it was, like 2016. Something like that.

[Adam Azer]

Yeah, something like that. Yeah. I think I was still living long time ago.

[Chad Smith]

Yeah. Yeah. Cool. All right. You saw a version of it?

[Adam Azer]

Yeah.

[Chad Smith]

There you go.

[Adam Azer]

I knew you recognized me.

[Chad Smith]

All right. The guy from Florida, the chemist.

[Adam Azer]

The chemist, Yep.

[Chad Smith]

All right.

[Adam Azer]

So this was a cool idea from Lewis in the sort of fantasy theme here. Make a fantasy rock band. You can pick one.

[Chad Smith]

Yeah.

[Adam Azer]

Musician for vocals, 1. Guitarist, bass, drums, producer. Anything you like. Give me a fantasy band.

[Chad Smith]

Live or dead, I think.

[Lewis Smith]

All time greats.

[Adam Azer]

Yeah, anything.

[Chad Smith]

Yeah, all time great. Like the mountain.

[Adam Azer]

Yeah, yeah. Mount Rushmore. Absolutely.

[Chad Smith]

No Chili Peppers Rock for me.

[Lewis Smith]

I don't want there to be some hot takes.

[Chad Smith]

Don't rate us like that. I would put it would be. This is just for me. This is my taste. John Bonham on drums. Jimi Hendrix on guitar. Paul McCartney and. Or John Entwistle on bass. Maybe they're both on bass and on keyboards. It would probably be, I don't know, hard to say. Maybe Elton John, maybe. But he plays piano. I don't know. Nikki Hopkins used to play with the Stones. And then vocals. I'd have to go with Ozzy because I love him so much.

[Adam Azer]

Yeah, that Would be a fun band.

[Chad Smith]

Yeah.

[Adam Azer]

Was John Bonham? Yeah, I think so. They'd be okay. I'd see them.

[Chad Smith]

And Hendrik.

[Lewis Smith]

Chemistry test for that band.

[Adam Azer]

What'd you say, Louis?

[Lewis Smith]

Would you skip a chemistry test to see that?

[Adam Azer]

I think I would, yeah. I got an A, by the way. Just in case anyone's wondering.

[Chad Smith]

Was it.

[Adam Azer]

Was John Bottom an influence for you, Chad?

[Chad Smith]

Yeah, big time. Led Zeppelin and those English bands, you know, from. From that. Those classic rock bands. Yeah. Yep. I had an older brother and had all those records and I listened to all those. So yeah, for sure. Bonham, Mitch Mitchell from Jimi Hendrix, Keith Moon, Ian Pace from Deep Purple, Bill Ward from Black Sabbath. All those guys had such a great swing and were such great drummers. But for. For rock and roll. Yeah, for sure.

[Lewis Smith]

You were going to go John Bonham or maybe a Neil Peart.

[Chad Smith]

Yeah, you know, but I'm trying to put the right team together. It's like a sports thing, the chemistry.

[Lewis Smith]

You're like taking in chemistry and like booking this band for a tour. Balancing personality.

[Chad Smith]

I'm thinking like I got, you know, they got to work together. Like if you got all like alpha crazy shredders, it's. It's not going to work. There's only, there's only one football.

[Adam Azer]

That's the problem with the lions in fantasy, by the way.

[Lewis Smith]

The.

[Adam Azer]

Too many. Too many mouths to feed. Was there a moment when you were growing up, you heard something on the drums, Someone on the drums. The first time you remember, wow. Being blown away by a drummer and wanting to do that.

[Chad Smith]

I mean, early on you can talk about a whole lot of love. That. That's easy. Like. But even before that, because I grew up in Detroit, so I listened to the radio at night and it was a lot of Motown songs and so. And the drumming on the Motown songs are great. So I. It probably would be one of those, but. But I can't think of a specific like, ah. Like some people have the Ringo Starr on Ed Sullivan with the Beatles and all that. But like. Yeah, it might, it might have been more like. I was trying to figure out a drum solo in. In one of the Black Sabbath songs called Supernot. And it was actually two drum sets they overdub, which they recorded twice and I couldn't figure it out and was pissing me off so bad because it was. It was actually two drums at the same time. And I was trying to. And I was like, oh my God, I can't do that. That's unbelievable. How does he do that?

[Adam Azer]

That's cool.

[Chad Smith]

I didn't know about all the, you know, recording techniques back in. Back when I was like, nine years old. But anyway, yeah, not one specific, but I was always drawn to the drums.

[Adam Azer]

All right, well, if you want to get. We'll wrap up in a little bit, but if your phone's about to die, if you want to get your other phone, totally go for it. Lewis and I can kill some time here.

[Chad Smith]

I know, but. But I don't. I feed back.

[Adam Azer]

Yeah, I can. I can probably take care of that. But I wanted to ask you, basically, you know, you guys obviously started in the 80s and you're still going, how has. How has the Red Hot Chili Peppers music evolved over time? And then I'm going to throw up this picture here for you. You want to look at this?

[Chad Smith]

Yeah.

[Adam Azer]

Just talk about the evolution of your band over time, basically. Crazy picture.

[Chad Smith]

That's a crazy picture. What the hell? God bless the Internet. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We're just old.

[Adam Azer]

But you've changed a lot. Yeah.

[Chad Smith]

I think why we've stayed together for this long, and we have changed, you know, band members, except Flea and I and Anthony have been together for a long time, but John Frusciante is kind of come and gone. He's his third time in the band, and he's a really important part of our group. The chemistry, again, goes back to that, you know, to find the right people to make music. But we just always want to get better and learn how to be better bandmates and are interested in all kinds of different music and art and stuff. And we play from our hearts, and it's authentic, and I think that's what connects with people. And we can kind of play anything and it still sounds like us, which is pretty cool. For good or for bad. We don't always make the greatest records, but, like, it's who we are at that time. It's very honest. And we love to play live, you know, so we love to go out and do our thing on stage. And we're so, like I said before, so grateful that people want to come and see us play. But, yeah, you just. I think any artist needs to keep growing and changing, and that's really important because you just do the same thing over and over, you know, I don't know. I. We don't feel that there's any real value in that. So until somebody doesn't want to do that anymore, then we won't be a band together. But right now it's all, you know, it's all good. So we love it. And why not? What else am I gonna do?

[Adam Azer]

You start. How about start a foundation? You know, something like that?

[Chad Smith]

Yeah, well, exactly. I got. I could that and like, you know, I'm a dad and I got other things going on. Your priorities shift a little bit. But I probably love music more than I did starting out, you know, I just. I'm just a student and I want to learn and get better. And I'm fortunate. I get to play with other people too and make records with other people and do shows and stuff. And I just love it. Man, I'm the luckiest guy in the world to be able to find my passion at an early age and be able to do it for a living. And it's taking me places I never dreamed of. It's amazing.

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[Chad Smith]

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[Adam Azer]

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[Chad Smith]

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[Adam Azer]

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[Chad Smith]

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[Adam Azer]

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[Chad Smith]

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[Adam Azer]

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[Chad Smith]

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[Adam Azer]

Code TIKI for 20% [e-mail] Are there any songs that the record label maybe or somebody pushed you to release as a single that you thought was a bad idea.

[Chad Smith]

You.

[Adam Azer]

Maybe the band pushed back on it, ended up being a huge hit. Anything that surprised you in terms of becoming a huge hit? Something like that?

[Chad Smith]

No, we're always right.

[Adam Azer]

That's what I figured. I just had to ask.

[Chad Smith]

No, no. You know, you want them to be. They want to be involved. You kind of want them to be involved so they get, you know, behind it everything. But they. But Warner Brothers we've been with since 1991, they've always been very hands off, you know, whatever you guys want to do. They have their opinions, you know, but. And we listen to them. But ultimately it comes down to what we want, what we're into. But, yeah, I mean, like a long time ago, a song like under the Bridge almost didn't make the album. Because back then, we. We were kind of all fast and hard. Didn't really play slower songs or softer or whatever. And we had. For that record, we had three kind of more mellow songs. I Could have Lied and a song called Soul to Squeeze and under the Bridge. And we don't want to put them all on there. We're like, you know, we don't want. People think that Chili Peppers are going soft here, so we had to, like, leave one of them off. And at the time, the president of the record company, Mo Austin, came and listened to under the Bridge, and he was like, that's a good song. I think you should put that one on. We were like, okay. We didn't think it was going to be like, this big hits, one of our most popular songs. But, like, Mo Austin knows a thing or two about. About. About music. We were like, okay.

[Adam Azer]

I thought I saw something about Anthony saying that it was originally just a poem that he had written. And someone was like, oh, what is this? And he said, oh, it's just a poem. And then I thought it was Rick Rubin, but maybe you guys weren't working with him at that point and said, no, you should make this into a song. Does that sound familiar?

[Chad Smith]

Yeah, that's right. Yeah, you're right. It was Rick. Because the way we'd written music up until that point, the music always came first. And then Anthony would listen to it and come up with his thing. And on that record, he was starting to sing more. And, yeah, he'd just written this poem about how lonely he was in Los Angeles and everything. And he was with Rick, and they were talking about songs for the record. And I think he saw the back of his notebook, and he was like, what's that? Like, oh, it's just a poem for me. It's not a thing for the band. What is it? Rick being Rick, who's like, very in tune, and he's like, nah. I said, no, it's not for the. And so he. He had a melody and he sang it in his own way. And Rick's like, you should take that to the band. And he was like. And I think John came over and John made the chords behind it. And next thing you know. There you go.

[Adam Azer]

Yeah, that's awesome. And they were like, chad, you don't have to do anything for the first minute of the song. Just gotta chill there.

[Chad Smith]

Place a little click side snare. Yeah, no, but like the really good, like, Stairway to have the good songs. The drums wait and then they come in and it brings to the next level, you know? Yeah. Just trying to do what's right. Be musical. Yeah, but we were. We didn't think, like, we thought that's a cool song. We didn't think any. Like, oh, that's going to be a big, you know, next thing you know, all the housewives are singing it.

[Adam Azer]

What. You said you love playing live. What goes into a concert set list? Do you have certain rules? Like, we got to play these three songs? Like, take me through making a set list.

[Chad Smith]

Well, every set list easily always has to be in it. So there's another 17 that we have to come up with. But yeah, we. Anthony writes the set list. Usually when we all kind of. We get to the gig and everybody's doing their thing, whatever they got to do, and he. He kind of writes them out. And there's probably. If we play like 18 songs, there's probably 10 that we. I don't say we need to do, but are like the popular songs that people want to hear that we're very fortunate that people. Like, There's Snow and Scar Tissue and Under the Bridge and Give It Away in Danny California and Can't Stop and, you know, songs like that, that usually they're. They'll. They'll be in the set and then we have like another eight that we can kind of move around and, and, and. And swap out different. Different ones, you know, some deeper cuts. Or Suck My Kiss instead of around the World, or we kind of have slots for, like, the vibe of the songs. Like, let's put this one here. Let's put this one here. Make it different. So for us, we, we don't. We're not playing the same set every night. You know, we're. We can't do that. You gotta. We. We Jam too much for that. So it's important to keep it fresh for us. But Anthony's. Anthony's the one. And depending on his voice and, you know, a lot of things or what we played there last time, stuff like that. There's stuff that goes into it.

[Adam Azer]

Yeah, you talked about, you know, playing under the bridge and just kind of chilling for a little bit before you come in. But then there's Give It Away, which is the exact opposite. So what is that like to. To open Give It Away in front of a packed house and everyone's loving it, you know, that must be a fun. A fun feeling for you. Does it ever get old?

[Chad Smith]

No, because people love that song. They really do. And then, you know, is that the energy is just so great. Yeah. I mean, I probably played that song maybe every concert we've done since 1991. That's a long time. Sometimes we'll give it a night off, and then they're all, why don't you play Give It Away, my favorite song? Yeah, you get a couple of those. You can't keep everybody happy all the time, but nice. The energy of it, you know? And, yeah, I'm just playing, and usually I'm just looking out and just seeing people, like, having a good time and nothing better than that.

[Lewis Smith]

I will say, as a person who's attended quite a few Joey Pepper shows, Washington, Chad, like, really enjoy playing. Give It Away is definitely up there as one of his favorites. And he. I don't feel like he ever says he has a favorite song, but it's. It is definitely Can't Stop when it's got, like, the. The slow build and then he just smacks his drum. And every single time, you'll see him. You'll see him stand up as John just kind of shreds his guitar lead into the rest of the song. And he says, like, standing on top of his throne, looking out of the crowd, and I. I feel like watching you. That is 100. Your favorite song. You would love that moment every time you play.

[Chad Smith]

Well, you know, it's one of those songs. It's interesting. Can't Stop is kind of taking a. Well, that. That. To your point, Adam, that was a song the record company was like. I think it was the third single from that record. And they were like, ah, you know, it's okay. You know, we were like, no, we want to make a. This cool video that we made for it. And. And I think we had to kind of, like, convince him. Like, no, no, this is. This. This is. We really want to do this. And they. And they did, but it wasn't like a big hit back when it came out. But it's kind of grown like into like this. It's a sports song. Like. Like when the Rams come out for the kickoff. It's like da da da da da da. Like it's taking on this kind of life. So the intro thing. Yeah. Is. It's a good build up and it's a. Yeah, it's a good release and people go nuts and it's great. I mean, just the people like our songs that we make in the garage or Little, Little Room, the four of us, just for us that we like. We're not making it for anyone else, we're just doing it for us. Sounds kind of selfish, but, like, if we like them, well, then maybe somebody else will. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. That's okay. But, like, it's just, it's. It's amazing when music is so universal and connects with so many people all over the world. And I get to be part of that. And it's. It's. It's. It's awesome.

[Adam Azer]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but that's what Can't Stop is about. Right? I know sometimes the lyrics are a little tough with Anthony because he's just on another level, but I feel like it's about sharing music and this energy, if I'm not mistaken.

[Chad Smith]

I think you're right. I can't speak for him. And what he writes about, to your point, often it's esoteric. And it's one of the great things about what he does. It's not like, I love you, baby, baby, and get in my car. And like, it's not so literal, you know, so you get to. As a listener, it can mean something completely different to you than it does to me. But yes, the way that he talks. I think you're right. I think you're right. It's about the connecting of music and people. Yeah.

[Adam Azer]

We're going to get some rapid fire questions and let Chad go and remind you how to play fantasy football against them. But I just want to say my personal favorite Chili Peppers album is Stadium Arcadium. And for those of you who also love that album, you can go on YouTube and there's basically an explanation of every song on the album. And it's Chad and John, I think, in one setting, and Anthony and Flea in another setting. And I don't know if you want to just kind of like, that was really cool for a fan to be able to hear insights on every song. And a lot of it is Anthony saying what the song is about. But I wish artists would do that more, Chad, you know, and. And let the audience kind of in on the process more because it connects us more. So I encourage everyone to look at that. But I mean, what do you remember about that? And that. That was really fun. Fun for me and for all the fans. I think to experience.

[Chad Smith]

That record has like 28 songs. That's a lot. We were. We were in a. We were rolling, man. We obviously, you know, and there were. There's other ones that never came out, but we love those. So I think. I think I know. Yeah, I know what you're talking about. We're like on the couch in John's house and when he's talking about, oh, I was listening to this Wu Tang Clown record all weekend long, and it had the da dun dun ga, da dun dun ga. And I brought it in. And then you started playing this. Yeah, yeah, those are. I mean, yeah, you're right. It's a little insight for fans and stuff. I'm a little leery about, like, again, dictating when the artist tells you what it is, because I think it takes some of the mystery out of it and people can again, get to connect however they want. That also happens when you make videos. You're kind of like telling them, this is our visual idea, what goes with the song. So that's. That's tricky. Sometimes we make great videos, other times we haven't. But that's just how it goes. But, yeah, Stadium Arcadium was. Was a. You know, there's just. We had so much music and we were playing at a pretty high level. I. I think that the John been back and the good John, if he. Our guitarist John, if he had been holding back on the last two records at all. He was like. I remember him saying, like, on this stadium Arcadium record, I'm gonna get mine. I mean, there's good. I think there's guitar solos in every song.

[Adam Azer]

Yeah.

[Chad Smith]

And. And ripping. Not melodic ones, like ripping. And he's like, I'm getting mine. And it was. And he obviously, you know, he's unbelievable. And so it had that energy and it was really fun. I remember in the middle of the record, my first. My son was. Was born. We took the weekend off in 2005 and did that. And then right after we finished that record, I went and made the Dixie Chicks album. Rick Rubin was also producing that record and went and made that record, which was really great. And Then the Grammys came around and it was like, I think I played on, like, nine songs. I won, like, nine Grammys.

[Adam Azer]

Wow, that's awesome.

[Chad Smith]

Yeah. And, like, we're both up for, like, album of the year. And I'm like, sorry, guys. I'm like, I didn't write those songs. You know, I just played on the record and they're like, Dixie Chicks. No, they're all good. All good, all worked out. But the fun, like, of my life just doing those records and. And, yeah, great.

[Lewis Smith]

Chad, I've never heard you say that about John and Stadium Arcadium, but you, like, 100% feel it, like, turn it again. I tell you all the time, it's my favorite song. And you can just hear, like, John, like, two minutes left in the song just absolutely gets completely carried away. Like, I like to think that John starts playing and then you're sitting there, like, shocked, looking at Flea. Like, why is he still going? Anthony's already, like, in his car on the way home and he just keeps going and going.

[Chad Smith]

I think that song has. And. Which is a deep cut. I think it. I think it has one of the longest solos in Chili Pepper history.

[Adam Azer]

Well, yeah, yeah. The album starts with Danny California, where he just shreds a solo at the end of that. Pretty nasty.

[Chad Smith]

Yeah, he's got no. I mean, he's an incredible, like, just a musician all around. Unbelievable. Probably the best musician I've ever been lucky to. To play with. He's just on another level. And. Yeah, yeah, he's just.

[Adam Azer]

Go ahead, Louis.

[Lewis Smith]

I know you're going to talk. You're going to jump into your rapid fire, but while we're still talking about Peppers and tying into fantasy, I know there's people watching and that'll. Listen, we need your help. We need good Red Hot Chili Pepper fancy football names. Yes. We need some team names right now. I feel like the top contender is under the Teddy Bridgewater.

[Adam Azer]

Okay.

[Lewis Smith]

That's a good level. Send them to Chad Smith Foundations comment on here or the podcast. But we need some more Red Hot Chili Peppers themed fancy football team names.

[Adam Azer]

Well, I tell you what, you got Tyree Kill.

[Chad Smith]

Who's.

[Adam Azer]

Who's the Cheetah? Right. We could just go with Slow Cheetah for that because he doesn't. He's got an injury right now. But I'm going to get. I'm going to get on that as soon as possible. So let's do the Rapid Fire to end things here. And then again, we'll promote the charity will promote how to play Fantasy football against Chad. But I'm going to ask you guys both this rapid fire segment on Chad. You can answer. And then, Louis, I want you to answer the same questions, either, you know, from just from a fan perspective or you've been to so many of their shows. So I'll ask him, for example, favorite song to play live. And then you tell me after he goes, you tell me your favorite song to hear live. But, Chad, that's the first rapid fire question. Your favorite song to play live.

[Chad Smith]

Wet Sand.

[Lewis Smith]

I was gonna say wet Sand. Cause you played it at Soldier Field last time. I felt like that was the only other. Only time I've ever heard it. But I will say, hard to concentrate. That came out right after I started dating my now wife. And that was kind of our song. And he played it in Milwaukee.

[Adam Azer]

All right, excellent. How about, what song does the crowd get into the most.

[Chad Smith]

Higher ground?

[Lewis Smith]

And I'll say, can't Stop, because that's a good trio of John shredding, Chad standing up on his throne, and Flea doing a handstand with his skirt coming down over his face walking across the stage.

[Adam Azer]

Favorite venue, Chad.

[Chad Smith]

River Plate in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

[Lewis Smith]

My favorite concert was at Soldier Field.

[Adam Azer]

I've seen the YouTube clips of red Hot Chili Peppers at Slain Castle, and that looked incredible. Can you talk about that real quick?

[Chad Smith]

Also amazing. Yeah. I mean, the Irish just. They go for it. Yeah, that was. That was. You know, it's interesting because you do, obviously, a lot of performances, and when you film something and record it, you know, all the crew and the money and the thing, and there's a little extra pressure, you know, and sometimes we do pretty good often. And everything's filmed now. But back then, it was a long time ago. It wasn't. So it was kind of. I know we were a little nervous, but it didn't last long because the crowd was just so into it, man. They were just, like, loving it. And we had a good time and we started playing well, and that was all great. But, yeah, a lot of people do come up to me and, like, I watched Slain Castle 16 times.

[Adam Azer]

It's amazing.

[Chad Smith]

You know, they really love it. Yeah, it's a good. It is. It's a good. And it's. You know, we got. It's before Stadium, Arcadia, but there's. There's lots of good songs on that. Yeah.

[Adam Azer]

All right. Favorite band to tour with.

[Chad Smith]

For me, it was the Foo Fighters, I swear to God. Because Taylor was my buddy. I love Dave, too, and the other guys in the band. But. But I spent more time in their dressing room than my own dressing room.

[Lewis Smith]

I don't have an answer. Adam, I appreciate you letting me join in on this rapid fire, but my. I. I just want to also hear his answers.

[Adam Azer]

Okay, fair enough. Top three Red Hot Chili Pepper songs.

[Chad Smith]

Top three for me, I would say. Oh, man. Come on. Okay. You're not going to probably even know this one. For your eyes only. The B side on the. On the B sides of something. Then I'm gonna say porcelain. And then I'm gonna say.

[Adam Azer]

You just say easily.

[Chad Smith]

Can't stop.

[Lewis Smith]

I actually do want to say three, because I.

[Chad Smith]

This is my favorite topic. That's for you.

[Lewis Smith]

For lesser known songs off different albums. Minor thing, by the way, Torture Me on Stadium Arcadium, I feel like is the most impressive song that I've ever heard Chad play on an album. I don't get how he makes all those sounds at the same time. And then my favorite as little kid, it would be the song I'd request to the big organ pianist on my birthday. I like dirt.

[Adam Azer]

I would say. Yeah, I'll just go chalky here. For me, it's under the bridge. It's other side. And it's probably scar tissue, which. Scott. Is that so lame, Chad? I'm sorry, Is that lame to choose those three?

[Chad Smith]

No, no. Those are popular songs, and they connect, and I get it. They're good. I'm good with that.

[Adam Azer]

I also, you know, it's not one. It's not one of my three favorites, but I want to give a shout out to the song Peace and Love on your newest album, your latest album, Return of the Dream Canteen. I love that song, and I really love that album, Chad.

[Chad Smith]

Oh, thank you. And you know what? You know, it's a jam. Eddie is a jam.

[Adam Azer]

Oh, yeah, yeah. Awesome.

[Chad Smith]

You know, that's another long guitar solo one.

[Adam Azer]

I hope that you, you know, take this as a compliment. When I heard Eddie a couple of years ago, I heard it on Sirius and I was like, damn. I. How did I miss this Chili Pepper song? Because it sounded like. Like it would have been on, by the way, or. Or something like one of the Stadium Arcadium or something. And then I didn't really. I didn't realize there was a new album out. And it just. I love that. That album, Return of the Dream Canteen, it takes you back to different eras of the Chili Peppers, in my opinion. Is that what you guys were going for?

[Chad Smith]

No, but I'm glad that that. That's how you. You. That affected you. Seriously. No, it Was all recorded at the same time, both those records. And we just had, you know, again, we, because of COVID or whatever, John just come back in the band. We just had all this material. So we, we just record all the songs. And because of COVID we had time to finish them all actually, instead of ones that we didn't think were going to make the album sometimes don't get finished. So we finished them all. So we're like, we got two albums, double albums. Let's put it out. Eddie came kind of late, but it was in the writing process, obviously inspired by, you know, the death. The unfortunate death of Eddie Van Halen. So. But yeah, that's got all the classic Chili Pepper stuff in it. You know, the arpeggiated riff on the guitar and the jamming and like Anthony's vocal. Yeah. I mean, I knew when we record I'm like, oh, this is a really good song. And I actually lobbied for it to go on the. On the first, on the first record. And because we all kind of vote on the songs, we were very democratic in our, in our way. And often we like nine of them, we all agree on. And it's the last three or four that like, oh, no. And it's so great. You know, this has to be on the album. I mean, come on, we'll text each other, you know, dude, you gotta vote for that one.

[Adam Azer]

You need lobbyists.

[Chad Smith]

Yeah, you were right. Yeah, there's some, there's, there's like, well, I'll give two votes to that one. Take my other vote for that. But we, we just. Now it's just all whatever's happening at the time. There's no preconceived, oh, let's try to write something like this or from that era. It just, it just comes out the way it comes out.

[Adam Azer]

Louis, let's talk one last time about this fantasy football challenge. Actually, I saw the tweet and it looks like there might be. Are there more than. All right, how many leagues we talking about here?

[Lewis Smith]

I was going to let you know, we opened it up to eight, so we're doing four on the hour each of the two nights.

[Adam Azer]

Okay, so the times I gave were wrong. Earlier. 4, 5, 6 and 7pm Eastern on Pacific. Pacific. 4, 5, 6, 7pm Pacific. On September 2 and September 3, eight opportunities to play in a 14 team league to lose to Chad Smith in fantasy football. And it's going to be really fun. And Chad, thank you so much for coming on. I'm going to retweet this, so if you guys want to follow either Chads foundation or if you're following me, I'll retweet it. But follow ads foundation. Thanks for coming on. Good luck to you in everything you're doing here with this charity. Music was a very important thing for me growing up. It was the most rewarding thing for me when I started playing music and opened up a lot of new things for me. And other than that one night with that chemistry test, I just have a lot of great music memories. But this was, this was among them. This was really fun. Thanks so much for being here, man.

[Chad Smith]

Yeah, man. Thank you. Adam. Hey, you're the best and good luck, but you know you're gonna lose. Lewis.

[Adam Azer]

Thanks for putting this all together, dude.

[Lewis Smith]

Thanks for having us. This is awesome. Good luck in the league. Hope you finish second. Good luck with your tennis career. You got, we got two supporters over here.

[Adam Azer]

That is Korea, right? All right, that's Chad Smith and Lewis Smith. Chadsmithfoundation.org @chads foundation on x and we will talk to you tomorrow on fantasy football Today.

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