Will Ferrell vs Chad Smith Drum Off: The Results Are In!

Posted 23 May 2014 in Music, News

A few days back we told you about an epic drum battle that would be taking place between Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith and comedian extraordinaire Will Ferrell.  As promised the battle of Will Ferrell vs Chad Smith happened and Jimmy Fallon was there to film it all and do the officiating.  Lets take a look to see how things unfolded.

SmithvsFerrell

Before the drum off started Fallon interviewed both Ferrell and Smith side by side at the same time.  This should once and for all put an end to the rumors that the RHCP drummer and the comedian are actually the same person.  Even tho it was actually difficult to tell the two apart we can now confirm that indeed these are two separate individuals.  All kidding aside it was a cool thing to watch.

After the interview it was time for the two contestants to throw down and show off their best beats, fills and rhythms.  Two identical drum kits were rolled onto the stage.  As the competition was getting ready to start the drummers couldn’t control their excitement and began lobbing verbal jabs at one another.  Ferrell was first to go and he started with a standard beat that most first time drummers can play.  Smith’s response was as you would expect….FIRE.  Regardless of if you like the Peppers or not this guy is a beast behind the skins.

Ferrell Smith

Ferrell launched into his next round of beats after belittling Chad’s playing.  The second round of sounds from Will’s drums were a bit of a step up from his first effort but still left a little to be desired.  When it was time for Chad to respond he once again laid down the funk, brought the thunder and made it look quite easy.  This isn’t really a surprise considering he has been a professional drummer for quite a long time now.

As you watch the competition it really is kinda funny how much they look like each other.  This was made even more prominent based on the fact that they were dressed in matching LA Dodgers baseball hats, Kiss Destroyer shirts and jeans.  You really do need to look twice to figure out who is who…that is until they start playing.

The next round of the drum off was more of the same.  Ferrell laying down some simple beats (probably played by Questlove from the Roots) and Smith returning fire with some monster funk.  At one point Smith was playing one handed and bouncing his sticks off the drums and the floor.

RHCPvsFerrellReilly

But it wasn’t until the final round of the battle that things got serious!  Ferrell got ready to launch into his final beat when he dropped one of his sticks.  Don’t worry…he had a plan.  He let the crowd know that it wasn’t a problem and as he bent down to retrieve what we assumed was his second drum stick he emerged holding only one…in the other hand…you guessed it a COWBELL because you know…WE NEED MORE COWBELL!  To the delight of the crowd the rest of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Flea, Anthony Kiedis and Josh Klinghoffer emerged from backstage to join Ferrell and Smith in their own version of Don’t Fear The Reaper (featuring Will on cowbell of course).

All in all it was clear that Chad Smith was the better drummer which should come as no surprise to anyone.  Great fun was had by all and they did it to benefit some great charities.

You can catch RHCP on tour and maybe if we are lucky we’ll get a few special guest appearances from Will Ferrell.  Take a look at the interview and drum off below.

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Dave has been eating, living, and breathing music since before he could talk. This makes Dave perfect for his role here at Guitar News Daily.

1 Comment

  1. […] By now I’m sure you’ve heard all about and probably even seen video of the drum off that was held on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon.  If you didn’t see it make sure you check it out here. […]



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