Wearing highly amplified red plaid pants and shirt, along with a stylish black fitted jacket and his trademark backwards-turned baseball cap, Chad Smith looks taller than usual as he strides purposefully into the upper pool area of the Sunset Marquis in West Hollywood, California.

It’s a cool, crisp early evening in April, but in just a couple of days Smith and the rest of the Red Hot Chili Peppers will brave pummeling temperatures and near-sandstorm conditions when they play the first of two Coachella gigs. Tonight is something of a work night for the acclaimed drummer – he’s launching his MusicRadar podcast series, In Conversation – but it’s a kick-back-and-chill night, too, and Smith is looking forward to bonding with a fellow musician he’s rubbed shoulders with briefly on tour stops but one he’s known longer, like most of the world, as an ardent admirer.

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