One 10-year-old kid tells Smith he likes 'punk rock,' and goes on to name his favorite 'punk' bands as 'blink-182, Green Day [and] Red Hot Chili Peppers,' not even realizing he was standing right next to the Chili Peppers drummer. Smith laughs as he responds, 'Red Hot Chili Peppers, they're not really punk rock, but okay!'
That clip, which saw Smith absolutely crushing the drums on the song after hearing it for the first time ever (minus the drum track), has amassed 28 million views since it premiered in 2023. Two years later, Thirty Seconds to Mars drummer Shannon Leto recently paid a visit to the Drumeo studio. Not only was Leto tasked with his own "For the First Time" challenge with the Alter Bridge song "Metalingus," he was also asked to play along to a drumless version of Red Hot Chili Peppers' "By the Way." It was during that latter performance that Chad Smith himself walked into the studio and quietly sat next to Drumeo host Brandon Toews without Leto noticing.