Red Hot Chili Peppers have paid tribute to late Brad and Satchel singer Shawn Smith, making an Instagram post showing guitarist Josh Klinghoffer announcing the death by wearing a Satchel shirt in honor of Smith. Smith died on April 5th at the age of 53, the same day as Kurt Cobain and Layne Staley.
Greg Prato interviewed Shawn Smith a couple of years ago on Songfacts.
Prato asked, “Looking back at the recording of those first Brad albums, what stands out as far as what was going on in your life at the time or just like band relations? What do you remember looking back on those two albums?”
Smith responded, “Well, the first one was just pure freedom. Stone was just writing – he was super happy that he’d just succeeded. So after the first Lollapalooza and Pearl Jam they did it. Whatever he’d been trying to do with his other bands, he did it. He was really happy and none of the turmoil that came later had happened yet.
He just was really happy and we had really good Turkish hash. [Laughing] So the first album was just amazing. And he was producing, so we were just having a good time, he and Regan and I.
We’d brought in this bass player, Jeremy [Toback], who was from LA, and he was really straight and he didn’t like cussing and stuff, so we teased the hell out of him – it was just fun.
It can’t be repeated. It was one of those times when nobody had kids, nobody had any responsibilities at all. It was just great.
Interiors, I was more uptight the whole time. The thing about the first record, also, is we weren’t on a label, so there were no A&R people, there was no one telling us anything. We were just having fun. By the second record, we were on Epic and there was an A&R person that Stone was always talking to, and there was a producer, who was great, I loved him [Nick DiDia co-produced with the band]. But for me, I like to be in charge, and I like to create. When you have a producer, he’s kind of running the show and a lot of times I’m just sitting on the couch. It wasn’t super fun. But the end result I loved.”
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