The Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1982, consisting of Anthony Kiedis (vocals), Flea (bass), John Frusciante (guitar), and Chad Smith (drums). Chad Smith has been the drummer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers since 1988, appearing on ten of the band's studio albums and becoming the band's longest-serving drummer in its history. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012.
Let's delve into some intriguing stories involving Chad Smith and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, from haunted mansions to run-ins with KISS.
The Haunted Mansion and Blood Sugar Sex Magik
In 1991, the Red Hot Chili Peppers decided to live together in a premises that would also double as their studio to record Blood Sugar Sex Magic. It was a groundbreaking time for the group, who worked with producer Rick Rubin on the LP that secured their future.
Frontman Anthony Kiedis recalled the experience in a recent conversation with Variety. “We didn’t leave [the house] for weeks on end. Then we get in there and we find out that this place is famous for its spirits and its hauntings and its paranormal activities," the singer admitted. "That wasn’t a big deal to us, whether it was or it wasn’t. Our only thing was, ‘I have to go finish this song.’”
Interestingly, Chad Smith was the only band member who didn't stay overnight at the property, but he insisted it had nothing to do with supernatural fright. “I know it’s been talked about: ‘Chad was scared of the house,’” the drummer noted. “No, I literally had just met my first wife, and I didn’t want to hang out with these fucking dudes after hanging with them all day!”
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Meanwhile, bassist Flea recalled that he’d fully accepted the indefinable vibe in the mansion. “I’m not a medium, but we felt a lot of stuff in that house, and some of it would kind of put your hair on end - things moving, noises, voices,” the bassist said. “I know that there are spirits all around us - the things that give us memories and thoughts and ideas. … There’s this whole invisible world, and when we got into that house, we really immersed ourselves in it.”
“You can’t just put good musicians together and tell them to go do something beautiful," he continued. "You have to have assistance. The spirits have to believe in you, they have to age you, they have to be there for you, they have to guide you, they have to protect you, they have to speak through you. When you surrender to that world and consciously let go and let it speak, beautiful things happen.”
The Chili Peppers new album Unlimited Love will arrive on Apr.
Red Hot Chili Peppers (credits: Wagner Meier, Getty Images)
The KISS Cease and Desist Letter: Matt Cameron's Teenage Infraction
As a longtime KISS fan, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron is finally right with the band after a teenage infraction that landed him a cease-and-desist letter. The musician recently received a "forgiveness" letter and other items from Aucoin Management after his teenage covers band fell in violation of the band's trademark.
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Cameron relayed his experience receiving a cease and desist letter from his '70s idols during a 2024 appearance on SiriusXM's Howard Stern Show.
As he drummer told it, "I was in a neighborhood KISS cover band when I was 13, 14 or something like that. We played our local high school's keggers, and whatnot. And my dad was friends with the head of the stagehand union in San Diego. So, when KISS was playing there - it was during the 'Alive!' tour, so that was '75 - we got to go see KISS do a soundcheck at the San Diego Sports Arena."
According to Cameron, he brought his cover band bandmates with him to the soundcheck while sharing a photo album of their cover band.
"My mom made my costume, and Tim's mom made his costume. We built these rickety plywood platforms in Tim's garage. We made flash pots out of coffee cans and a light socket with a little flash powder inside of it. It was janky, low rent, horrible," he recalls of their production value.
"So anyways, we took this photo album to meet KISS frontman Paul Stanley. We got a photo with him. And so, we were sort of, like, 'Hey man, we're in a KISS cover band. Here's our stupid little photo album.'"
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But the excitement of that moment was doused not long after when they got a cease-and-desist letter from KISS' management, Aucoin Management, since they had decided to name themselves KISS as well unaware as teenagers of the legal conflict.
"Cut to, like, I don't know, four to six months later, we get a cease-and-desist letter from KISS' then-management company Aucoin Management," Cameron shared with Stern. "We were big KISS fans. So, KISS used to put the logo from Aucoin Management on their albums, so we were all excited when we got the letter. 'Whoa, we're getting a letter from Aucoin Management. We've made it.' And it was a cease-and-desist from KISS."
Cameron says the group was forced to comply, and from them on performed under the name KISS (Imitation).
KISS. The band has put their logo from Aucoin Management on their albums
After the story of Matt Cameron's cease and desist letter from KISS circulated, the drummer recently revealed that the period of the band he idolized as a teen serving him legally had come to an end.
Roman Fernandez, the biographer for Bill Aucoin and co-founder of Aucoin Globe Entertainment, reached out to Cameron with a letter dated on May 2. It was a "forgiveness" letter in which the Aucoin representative cleared the infraction from Cameron's record.
“With all the powers (not) granted to me, I hereby officially declare the cease and desist letter from Aucoin Management null and void - though maybe double-check with Doc just in case,” remarked Fernandez, referencing KISS' longtime manager Doc McGhee.
Cameron posted the letter on his socials, as well as the Aucoin Management business card and some merch and flyers, noting, "CASE CLOSED. Thank you so much Roman Fernandez for this incredibly thoughtful gift."
We would assume that Cameron has learned his lesson and won't be relaunching his KISS covers band using the band's name again. That said, he'll stand alongside his onetime idols in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for a second time later this year.
After being inducted into the Rock Hall with Pearl Jam in 2017, he'll also go in with Soundgarden later this year.
The History of Red Hot Chili Peppers
Chad Smith (credits: D. H.)
Chad Smith's Musical Journey and Side Projects
Chad Smith has played with the Chili Peppers since 1988, appearing on ten of the band's studio albums and becoming the band's longest-serving drummer in its history.
Smith is also the drummer of the hard rock supergroup Chickenfoot, formed in 2008, and of the all-instrumental outfit Chad Smith's Bombastic Meatbats, formed in 2007. Smith has recorded with various artists including Glenn Hughes, Johnny Cash, John Fogerty, Jennifer Nettles, Kid Rock, Jake Bugg, the Avett Brothers, Joe Satriani, Post Malone, Eddie Vedder, Brandi Carlile, Lana Del Rey, Halsey, The Chicks, Dua Lipa, Charli XCX, Hardy and Lady Gaga.
Smith joined Sammy Hagar in the studio to work on music for what would become Hagar's sixteenth studio album. In 2013, Smith joined jazz musician Jon Batiste and bassist/producer Bill Laswell to create a unique musical group to score a film that had yet to be written and would never be made.
On May 28, 2018, Smith along with co-host and Yahoo Entertainment music editor Lyndsey Parker, began their own music radio talk show on SiriusXM titled VOLUME West which airs every Monday. Smith performs drums on the Post Malone song "Take What You Want" from his third album Hollywood's Bleeding.
That collaboration with Post Malone led to the creation of Osbourne's 2020 album, Ordinary Man, which Smith co-wrote along with Guns N' Roses bassist Duff McKagan and producer Andrew Watt. Smith performs drums on Ozzy Osbourne's 2022 album, Patient Number 9.
Smith performs on seven of the songs and also co-wrote five songs on Iggy Pop's 2022 album, Every Loser. Smith (along with former Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer performs on a majority of the songs on the 2025 album, Who Believes in Angels? by Elton John and Brandi Carlile.
Smith released an app in March 2012, which is a free mobile application for iPhone, iPad, and Android devices and features his "Drummer GPS". The GPS section of the app spotlights drummers Smith has been influenced by and those he regards as some of the best modern drummers.
On July 5, 2025, Smith performed at Back to the Beginning, an all-day concert held in Birmingham as a final farewell show for Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath. Smith performed in Tom Morello's All Stars supergroup which included Morello, Steven Tyler, Sammy Hagar, Nuno Bettencourt and other musicians.
Philanthropy and Advocacy
In April 2013, Smith was asked by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), to represent the music community by going to Washington, D.C. as a lobbyist in support of music education in US public schools.
In 2014, Smith joined Bystander Revolution a group that speaks out against bullying in schools and tries to find solutions. On May 21, 2014, Smith appeared along with other celebrities in Washington, D.C. at a White House talent show held by Michelle Obama which was organized to raise awareness for Turnaround Arts, a program enacted under the guidance of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities (PCAH) to increase performance and achievement at some of the lowest-ranked schools in the country through arts education.
On August 19, 2025, Smith announced that he was starting the "Chad Smith Foundation" music school which will provide scholarships, music equipment and music education to kids.
Personal Life and Other Ventures
Smith was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, the third child of Joan and Curtis Smith. He spent most of his childhood in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, where he graduated from Lahser High School in 1980.
In 2004, Smith married his second wife, architect Nancy Mack, with whom he has three sons. Like some of his bandmates in the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Smith has struggled with substance abuse.
Smith is widely known for his strong facial resemblance to actor and comedian Will Ferrell, which he has acknowledged by wearing shirts reading "I Am Not Will Ferrell" in live performances.
In the January 2025 Peacock documentary SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night, the entire third episode was devoted to the Saturday Night Live "More Cowbell" skit. Ferrell wrote the skit for a 2000 episode of the show and portrayed the character of Gene Frenkle.
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