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Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith confirms band is ‘almost done’ with the new album

The album sees guitarist John Frusciante return to the rock band

Maanya Sachdeva
Thursday 14 October 2021 07:22 BST
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Red Hot Chili Peppers perform in 1984

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Red Hot Chili Peppers’ drummer Chad Smith has confirmed the band is “almost done” recording their new album.

The band hopes to release the record – the first with guitarist John Frusciante since Stadium Arcadium in 2006 – before their world tour, which begins in June next year.

Smith told Rolling Stone magazine that the band has been “getting along great” since Frusciante returned in December 2019.

The 59-year-old, who is one of the stars of Netflix’s new drummer documentary Count Me In, said: “John’s been back for a while now, so it feels completely natural... We’re really listening to each other in a new way.”

“He’s so dedicated,” Smith continued. “He’s so into it. He’s working so hard. We’re all working hard, but he’s in there with all the overdubs and the magic that he brings.”

In Frusciante’s decade-long absence, Josh Klinghoffer played with RHCP and recorded two studio albums with the band: I’m With You (2011) and The Getaway (2016). On 19 September, Pearl Jam announced that Klinghoffer had been signed on as the band’s second touring member following keyboard player Kenneth “Boom” Gaspar.

Smith noted that the Covid-related break from performing on-stage was “kind of a blessing” since the band used that time to just “plow through and write”.

“It’s gonna be great when we finally go out next year and have a record to play, and a bunch of other stuff, obviously,” he said.

Frusciante has worked on six RHCP studio albums, including Blood Sugar Sex Magik, Californication, and Mother’s Milk, which were all released between 1989 and 2006.

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However, Smith clarified, the band is not overly concerned about living up to past successes since all their records are “just real good snapshots of where we’re at that time”.

John Frusciante (second from right) stands alongside Red Hot Chili Peppers bandmates Flea, Chad Smith and Anthony Kiedis at the 2007 Brit Awards
John Frusciante (second from right) stands alongside Red Hot Chili Peppers bandmates Flea, Chad Smith and Anthony Kiedis at the 2007 Brit Awards (Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)

He added: “John hasn’t been in our group in 10 years. That’s a long time. So of course it’s going to sound different, but it’s gonna sound like the four of us because we do have this special chemistry together.”

The band’s long-time drummer explained that none of the members had any preconceived notions about what they wanted to write and that they have no control over fans’ reactions to the new album.

“But, yeah, we’re all really happy with the record,” said Smith.

The rock band will begin their 2022 world tour in Spain and perform at stadiums in London, Paris, Dublin, Los Angeles and Chicago. Their final performance will be at Globe Life Field in Arlington on 18 September 2022.

You can find all the information you need to buy tickets for the 2022 shows here.

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