“Kinda weird”: the long-running prank war between Foo Fighters and Red Hot Chili Peppers
What do Foo Fighters and Red Hot Chili Peppers have in common? Aside from being two key rock acts of the 1990s, both outfits share a common love of practical jokes and hijinks in all their forms. While there are clear musical differences between the Dave Grohl-led outfit and that of his funky peers, comedy has often been a part of their package.
At the end of the 1990s, both were at the peak of their powers. It made a lot of sense that they, who also shared similar personal viewpoints and emerged from the same punk context, should commit to an extensive tour together. From the contemporary perspective, it serves as another reminder that our favourite prominent bands seldom embark on runs together anymore.
As you might imagine, both acts tore it up on stage and off it on the road, which Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith recalled when speaking to The First Time, the video series by Rolling Stone in 2017. He explained how the two toured a lot around the turn of the millennium, including an extensive American tour in 1999. During this time, they became great friends, and he and his opposite number, Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, became particularly close to the point that the latter became godfather to one of his children.
This friendship gave way to many inventive pranks. Brilliantly, Smith would rig things above Hawkins, ready to get him good in front of thousands of fans. On one occasion, he placed thousands of M&Ms above Hawkins and pulled the strings to send them crashing down on him when Foo Fighters finished a song. “I thought that was funny,” he said, maintaining that it was all in jest and “no knives or anything” were used.
Of course, Smith couldn’t act with impunity for long. Brilliantly, Foo Fighters took their time and waited patiently for revenge. The tour was three months long, but at the back of his mind, Smith knew that danger was round the corner. “They were smart about it,” he recalled. “Before the last show, and we’re playing, and it was funny because we were filming for a live DVD, so it’s on film, and I’m playing one of our songs towards the end, and down comes ping pong balls and glitter, I think it was, which was kinda weird. It was OK but kinda weird.”
Smith knew this was retribution and saw Grohl and Hawkins on the side of the stage in hysterics. Yet, it wasn’t over. He felt another sensation on his skin, which was like snakes wriggling on him. It was hundreds of pounds of pasta raining down. They got him good, and in retaliation, he tackled Grohl after the show.
It wasn’t just Foo Fighters, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and their fans who witnessed this long-running prank war; other bands did, too. One of these was another of the era’s most popular bands, Californian pop-punk trio Blink-182, also known for their love of comedy. At KROQ’s Weenie Roast in 2016, he revealed a more gross prank that occurred when the three bands were on tour in Australia.
“Do you remember, when we were in Australia, Chad Smith would pee in Taylor Hawkins’ fan? It’s the worst practical joke ever,” Barker recalled. Allegedly, when the Foo Fighters man played, Smith’s urine sprayed in his face.
