Chad Smith was born in St. Paul, Minnesota on October 25, 1961. But, Smith grew up in Bloomfield Hills , Michigan and attended Andover High School and Lahser High School , graduating from Lahser in 1980. For a time while he was in school, Chad ran away from home. When he returned, his mother forced him to join a boarding school.  He then played in several bands. These bands will include Tilt, Tyrant, Terence and E-Trian. One  band he played for by the name of Toby Redd eventually put out a record and toured with Kansas. In his twenties he moved to California to live with his brother, brad, who was residing their at the time.  “According to Anthony Kiedis' autobiography Scar Tissue, following Smith's first audition for the band, Kiedis told him he was allowed to join the band if he shaved his head, to test Smith's devotion to the band, but mostly because of Kiedis' dislike of Smith's more conformitive Rock & Roll hair style (which Kiedis' likened to a Guns N' Roses look), as it didn't mesh with the band's punk-funk image. Smith came back the next day with his hair still in a bandana, yet was allowed to stay as Kiedis found his obstinancy impressive.” With this, Chad Smith had joined the Red Hot Chili Peppers and history was made. Recently, Chad Smith was voted number one drummer alive in the magazine Doell and Ford.