Chad Smith Steps in as Paul McCartney’s Drummer for SNL Performance

Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith is set to perform with Paul McCartney on Saturday Night Live tonight. He fills a gap that rarely opens up, taking the stool for Abe Laboriel Jr., who has held the drum seat for McCartney since October 2001. Laboriel’s absence has not been explained. He is believed to have never missed a performance with McCartney in that entire span.

Smith is no stranger to McCartney’s world. Last year, McCartney made a surprise appearance during Smith’s covers set with producer Andrew Watt at the tiny Stephen Talkhouse in the Hamptons. “It’s a real once-in-a-lifetime thing,” Smith told Q104.3 later. In 2020, he and Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme recorded a version of McCartney’s “Lavatory Lil” for McCartney III Imagined.

Watt links much of this. He produced McCartney’s first album in six years, The Boys of Dungeon Lane, due May 29. He also helmed the forthcoming Rolling Stones album Foreign Tongues, which features Smith. Earlier this week, Smith was at New York’s Gramercy Theatre with Pearl Jam’s Stone Gossard catching U.K. rock trio Tigercub, who are signed to Gossard’s Loosegroove label.

The booking opens a series of questions. A one off or a sign of something longer? Is Laboriel’s spot secure? And could Smith and tonight’s host Will Ferrell resurrect their long running lookalike gag? Nothing is confirmed. But Smith behind McCartney on live television isn’t routine. It’s the kind of lineup anomaly that makes you watch closely.