Foreward from Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith

On my first tour of Europe in the cold ass winter of 1990, we headed off to England. I was so excited to be in a country that spawned so many of my musical idols: Sabbath, Zeppelin, The Who, Deep Purple, Queen, etc. This is the music I grew up on and I couldn’t believe I was over here in their backyards. Needless to say I was a little green and, being the ‘new guy’, I was on my own a lot. I remember meeting Tony, this big cuddly bear, and he came up to me at his first photo shoot with us for Kerrang, I think, and asked me where the “loo” was and I couldn’t understand a fucking word he said, except for maybe that one. And I didn’t know anybody named Lou. Mind you I hadn’t been in England too long and his accent, being a northern one, was as thick as a brick. “Funniest guy yet,” I thought. Anyway, from that day forward, he has shot us on every one of our tours all over the world. Every one. All of them... Jesus, stay home once in a while!

Most photographers are only allowed to shoot the first three songs of a show. We love Tony and his work so much that he is the only guy we give complete access to for an entire show. That’s how much we trust him.

But you’ll be able to see that trust going through this book. His images make you feel like you’re there. Like any true artist, and much like our band, he keeps searching and trying to learn more about his craft. He has grown with us. I think you will see that growth here as well. He has captured the essence of our band on film.