Will Ferrell and Chad Smith’s Drum Battle Is Finally Happening
Remember that drum battle proposed back in February? The one that would have pitted the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Chad Smith against 'Anchorman' star Will Ferrell? It's finally happening.
The epic contest will take place on 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon' on May 22. Fallon broke the news on his program last night, saying that it will "settle who's the better drummer once and for all."
The two jokingly locked horns a few months back, when Ferrell admitted during a Reddit AMA that he and Smith were the same person. “It has been acknowledged many times that myself and Chad Smith, drummer for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, share a resemblance to each other,” he said. “A lot of people think that it’s me playing for the Red Hot Chili Peppers. But that would be an insult to Chad Smith. The truth of the matter is there is no Will Ferrell. Only Chad Smith.”
The Peppers drummer responded with a playful jab. “Stop impersonating me,” he said in a video. “Drum battle, me and you. I’ve seen your skills, you don’t got ‘em. Let’s go. Golden cowbell — winner.”
A week after that, Ferrell accepted the challenge, throwing a charity into the mix. “I saw your video, and I graciously accept your invitation to a drum battle,” Ferrell said. “If we can raise $300,000 for Cancer for College I will face off with you in the greatest drum vs. cowbell showdown the world has ever seen. We can do it onstage at a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert or in front of a mutually convenient public library. Your call.”
So it all goes down next week. And the guys -- like sweat-soaked boxers at the gym -- are already hurling words at each other. "Unless Will's been practicing or is secretly a crazy, wild drummer, I think it'll be evident right off the bat who the real Chad Smith is," Smith told Rolling Stone in a new interview. "I'm ready to take him down."
"I have not been practicing," Ferrell replied. "There's no amount of practice that would help me become a good drummer." We don't know about that. Judging from Ferrell's well-documented cowbell skills, we'd bit a tad worried if we were Smith.