Chad Smith visits Guildford’s Academy of Contemporary Music

Chad Smith performing at the ACM in Guildford

Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith made a surprise visit to Guildford’s Academy of Contemporary Music on November 21st, 2011.

Chad Smith made his first visit in four years to a faculty which has a room named after him and was called by the man himself a “great place to learn and get into a band”.

Even staff did not know about the 50-year-old’s visit until Monday morning, but news spread quickly and hundreds of ACM students went to watch him perform and ask for autographs.

Monday 21st November will be remembered by many as the day that Chad Smith swung by ACM for an impromptu visit!

The Academy of Contemporary Music students and staff poured into the Rodboro Building to catch a glimpse of one quarter of The Red Hot Chili Peppers.

During his three hour stay, Chad shared some of his near 40 years drumming experience teaching ACM’s students calypso rhythms and the history of shuffle beats from the great Blues drummer Earl Palmer. Speaking his drumming influences Chad emphasised the importance of appreciating a wide variety of music beyond just rock and metal;

“I wish at a younger age I’d been more well-rounded – listened to other music…it might not be the kind of stuff you listen to on your iPod, but it’s great for drumming….be open to all different kinds of good music.”

Chad Smith Jams with students at the Academy of Contemporary Music

Chad went on to to share his thoughts on ACM and why it’s so different to so many of the other music schools;

“This school [ACM] is really something rather special because there’s not a lot of these kinds of environments…this is your chance and you’re here because you love music and to get better at your craft.”

Between his class room antics and teaching, Chad met hundreds of ACM students, posing for photographs, signing all manner of items and taking time to meet and greet each one. Chad then moved onto the Roger Taylor Zildjian Drum Studio where he took some time out to absorb some of the Queen memorabilia and reminisce of his time on tour and his previous visit to ACM.

Chad rounded off his visit with an LPP lesson that none of the ACM students will forget in a hurry by accompanying them in several renditions of AC/DC’s ‘Back in Black’.

ACM’s operations manager James Connell said, “He comes and visits when he’s in town,” Mr Connell said. “He had a tour of the building, talked to the students and performed with them. It was only meant to be a flying visit but he ended up staying a couple of hours.

“It’s amazing, we only heard about it this morning but we put the word out on Twitter and Facebook and we had a few hundred students come in who were not due in today.”