New Chilli Peppers due inMarch

Tue 19th Oct, 2010 in International News

Despite playing on the new Chickenfoot record, beside Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony and Joe Satriani, drummer Chad Smith has confirmed to that he won’t be able to tour with the supergroup due to scheduling conflicts with his other band – the Red Hot Chilli Peppers.

Smith and the Chilli Willies haven’t released an album since 2006’s Stadium Arcadium and parted ways with guitarist John Frusciante last last year but they’re currently working on their 10th studio record, with Frusciante’s replacement Josh Klinghoffer.

Smith confirmed that the group has several festival appearances booked for the next American summer, so they’re aiming to “deliver the album in March…We probably have three to four more weeks left for cutting basic tracks. Then we’ll start doing overdubs — guitars, vocals, all the other things that go on a record. After that, there might be a couple of things to do in January. Or we could start mixing — and as you know, that can take some time. I’m just projecting and guessing, but we’re definitely hoping to have it out by next summer. It’s been a long time in coming.”

“Things are good. Very good,” he boasted in an interview with MusicRadar, “We’ve cut a bunch of songs, so we’re probably halfway through the record. I think we’ve tracked about 20 songs already, and there’s a few more left to do. Then we’ll whittle them down to make the best record. We always cut a lot of songs and see which ones rise and which ones fall – that’s just how we like to work. But the new one won’t be a double album like Stadium Arcadium, I can tell you that.”

Asked how Klinghoffer was fitting in to the band’s sound, Chad explained that “Things are a bit different. You know, he’s a different guy. But he’s doing great. He’s got a terrific sound, he’s very musical, he’s full of ideas – we’re enjoying working with him. Things are coming along pretty easily, so that’s always a good sign. I’ve been playing with him for over a year now, so it’s feeling very natural. What I’m really liking about Josh is how multi-talented he is. He plays guitar, bass, piano, drums, he sings…We’ve been very fortunate to have him come into our fold and help inspire us to try some new things.”

Chickenfoot guitarist Joe Satriani also recently spoke to MusicRadar saying that he’d like to get “somebody really outrageous like Tommy Lee ” to replace Smith in the touring band. If Lee isn’t available Satriani suggested he would turn to Paul McCartney’s drummer Abe Laboriel Jr or Led Zeppelin stand in and tribute act Jason Bonham.”