Red Hot Chili Peppers new album update

The Red Hot Chili Peppers' new album has been in the works since October, and the band will hit the studio with producer Rick Rubin in a few weeks, drummer Chad Smith says.

Smith tells MusicRadar.com that there are about 20 songs in the running to make the Red Hot Chili Peppers' new album. The band plans to do pre-production for a few months and start recording tracks in July.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers' new album will be the first with guitarist Josh Klinghoffer, who replaced his friend John Frusciante in the band last year. Klinghoffer has played with Beck, Gnarls Barkley, Butthole Surfers and other alternative acts over the past decade, and he toured with RHCP on part of their 2007 Stadium Arcadium tour.

In anticipation of the Red Hot Chili Peppers' new album, check out the band's current lineup playing Neil Young's "A Man Needs a Maid":