Red Hot Chili Peppers released 'Mother's Milk' 30 years ago today. Look back at our 2014 interview with drummer Chad Smith about the album
. Smith had moved to L.A. from Detroit in August of 1988 — and by December he was drumming in the band. It would establish the longest-standing line-up in the Peppers, eventually responsible for 19 million records sold., the album that set the Peppers on a path for MTV stardom, festival headlining and, eventually, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Smith looks back at the moment that changed his life, re-invented his band, and ultimately made the world a little freakier.No.
At the time, there was that big Sunset Strip [scene]: The Guns N’ Roses, Mötley Crüe thing was happening at that time, big-time. So they were like, anti that – the Peppers weren’t about that at all. Nor was I, I just looked that way ’cause I’m from Detroit. So as soon as we start playing, man, that all went out the window.So you were like 26 around this time?
Yeah, I just turned 27 in ’88 by the time I met them in December. Anthony and Flea were 26 — birthdays always within two weeks of us —and John was like, 18. He was brand new — never been in a band, playing in his favorite band, and he was just a ball of energy. I mean, at the time, everything we did was fast and hard and y’know, it was exciting. I didn’t know that much about the band — “Oh, yeah, y’know, the guys with the socks on their dicks and they’re kind of crazy.
As soon as I joined, we went right into writing songs — I think they had a couple songs prior to that. Of course, we did thecover [“Higher Ground”], which was sort of our breakthrough thing on MTV and all that. But it was like get right in there and started writing. I may have done one gig at the Roxy or something — or half a gig on some other band’s equipment — but we just went right into writing and music and it was pretty exciting and fun.
We did a little tour of, like, Florida. Literally, when I joined the band, I had like $20 in my Bank of America checking account. And we did a little 10-day tour and I made $10,000. And I was like, “I’m fuckin’that kind of money, or anything with a “thousand” behind it. I couldn’t believe it — I was like, “This is amazing! Oh my God!” It was incredible, like I hit the lottery, man. It was amazing.I did, yeah.
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