Photo: Getty Images North America
Red hot Chili Peppers' very own Chad Smith pulled off a memorable surprise last week — showing up as a substitute teacher for unsuspecting drum students in a video that's been making the rounds online.
Smith partnered with online drumming platform Drumeo to set up the surprise. The video opens with Smith riding in a car on his way to the music school. It then cuts to a school administrator telling the students that their regular drum teacher wouldn't be in — and that a substitute would be taking over.
What followed was a lesson those students won't soon forget.
One of the standout moments involved a 10-year-old student who told Smith he was into "punk rock." When asked for his favorite bands, the kid rattled off blink-182, Green Day, and Red Hot Chili Peppers — completely unaware he was standing right next to the Chili Peppers' own drummer.
Smith laughed it off and gently corrected the student. "Red Hot Chili Peppers, they're not really punk rock, but okay!" he said, before asking, "Well, do you know I drum with Red Hot Chili Peppers?" — leaving the kid wide-eyed with shock.
The fun didn't stop there. Smith also helped settle a nervous young female student by cracking a self-aware joke: "Ignore the camera, and ignore me, the Hall of Fame drummer sitting next to you."
Throughout the session, Smith jammed alongside the students, handed out tips, and kept the atmosphere loose and fun. When the regular drum teacher eventually appeared, Smith told him, "Keep up the great work."
The surprise visit comes as the Red Hot Chili Peppers remain in the spotlight. A new Netflix documentary, The Rise of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, is set to premiere on Friday, March 20th and will explore the band's early years and the legacy of original guitarist Hillel Slovak, who died in 1988. The band has noted that while members were interviewed for the film out of respect for Slovak, they "had nothing to do with it creatively."