Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith has raised over $80,000 (£55,000) for the Little Kids Rock charity by jamming onstage with young fans.
The Family Jam event, which helps provide music education to young students, was held at Facebook HQ in honour of former Facebook head chef Joseph Desimone, who died in 2013 in a motorbike accident. Smith received the ‘Livin’ the Dream’ award.
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Speaking to Rolling Stone, Smith said: “It’s so important to keep music education alive in our schools, and to dedicate resources to giving back to the next generation of music makers.” He continued: “I’m committed to doing everything I can to support this effort, and Saturday’s event at Facebook was an absolute blast. Who knows — maybe some of the kids we jammed with will be the next Red Hot Chili Peppers!”
You can watch the video, which shows highlights including the moment Smith joined kids drumming along to Chili Peppers hit ‘Can’t Stop’, below.
Smith’s drum battle against Will Ferrell on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon last year also helped benefit Little Kids Rock as well as Cancer for College, an organization that helps cancer patients obtain university scholarships. The light-hearted event took place on US TV show The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.
The pair dressed identically in jeans and Kiss T-shirts for the occasion, highlighting how similar they look. It was Ferrell making light of the uncanny similarity during a Reddit Ask Me Anything that led the Red Hot Chili Peppers man to challenge him to a duel.
The competition was played along “traditional drum off rules” – they each got four solos and, in Fallon’s words, “whoever whacks, smacks and slaps the skins best wins.” After one of his rounds, Ferrell said to Smith, “That was cute. Do you play for the Lukewarm Chili Peppers?”
Ferrell was declared winner after bringing out a cowbell and playing along to the song ‘Don’t Fear The Reaper’, originally by Blue Oyster Cult. At that moment, Smith’s band put in a surprise appearance.