Chad Smith (born October 25, 1961) is an American musician who has been the drummer of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers since 1988.
Smith's technique is recognized for its use of ghost notes, and his fast right foot.
Smith was born in St. 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.
He started to play drums at age seven and grew up listening mainly to bands such as Rush, the Rolling Stones, Humble Pie, Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, the Who, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, and Kiss.
In January 2020, Smith opened his first art exhibit, stating "The way that I want to interpret my feelings about playing the drums and playing music - I'm trying to put this in a different medium. I love to express myself in any sort of creative way that I can,
and doing this is another way to kind of take chances and take a risk, and I like to do that. I think it's important for any artist to do that- to keep trying new things. It's not your normal medium, you know. It's not like Bob Ross with an afro in front of the thing and painting,” Smith said.
Smith is widely known for his strong resemblance to actor and comedian Will Ferrell, who is almost six years younger, which he has acknowledged by wearing shirts reading "I Am Not Will Ferrell" in live performances. Smith said that the two first met during the premiere of the film The Ladies Man (2000).
He said, "I'm looking at Will and thinking, 'People really think I look like him? I don't fucking look like that. He looks me up and down and says, 'You're very handsome,' and walks away. Totally deadpan. I was like, 'You're funny. You're funny.'" Both Smith and Ferrell have utilized the resemblance for various
While scuba diving on vacation near Wakaya Island on November 12, 1992, following the Red Hot Chili Peppers' tour of Australia, Smith was attacked by an approximately three-meter hammerhead shark. He was diving offshore when the shark began circling him.
Smith attempted to keep still as the shark approached, then fended it off when it attempted to bite him. Afterwards, the shark swam away. The shark removed a "small chunk of skin" from his left arm