Chad Smith, the Grammy award-winning drummer and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, was born in Minnesota. His parents are also graduates from the University of Minnesota. Now he's coming full circle in launching a scholarship at the university's music school.

"I love performing in the Twin Cities. I think we played the Minnesota Yacht Club Festival last year, and it's a special place for me," Smith said. "I was born in the Twin Cities, lived in Bloomington for three years, so I don't remember that much. Although, the old baseball stadium was like, you could hear, 'Harmon Killebrew!'"

The Chad Smith Foundation is launching its first-ever scholarship at the U's School of Music. The scholarship honors his parents, who instilled a lifelong love of learning and the arts in their family.

"My mother graduated first and then my dad on the GI Bill way back when, so, yeah, there's a great connection there. My mother spent a lot of time there. Her mother, obviously my grandmother, lived there till she was well into her 80s. So we would go visit often, spend Christmas there. And we had a lot of good friends," Smith said. "My godfather was a public bus driver, Mr. Dave McGraw, nice Irish guy. So we had a lot of great connections."

Smith is well-known for his charity work, especially with young musicians.

"I wouldn't be here today doing what I'm doing if it wasn't for music education. And, you know, I grew up mostly in outside of Detroit and in the public schools in Detroit, my public school, my high school, had marching band, concert band, a symphonic band, if you were that level," he said. "A jazz band, and even a music theory class, all in high school, which I'm sure you probably know, the first thing that gets cut out is music and art."

Smith said the benefits of art and music for young people is a "win-win for everybody," and his exposure as a teenager saved his life.

"I'd be in jail or dead," he said.

Smith said the goal of his scholarship is to help those in need of financial aid who are "inspired and passionate about music."

"You know what else we want to do? We want to find kids that are students that want to maybe be teachers, and we want to incentivize them through — whether it's equipment or financially and/or being able to work with kids — get credit at the school," he said. "I'm putting the word out there, anybody contact Chad Smith Foundation and we would love to have you want to be a teacher. That would be fantastic."

The fundraising luncheon will also feature a "halftime performance" from Smith.

"It's alumni homecoming weekend, but alumni are going to be there, which is great. We want to get them involved and excited about the foundation, of course. And then, yeah, the halftime show at the game," he said. "So the band is going to play, do a Chili Peppers halftime. Maybe I'm letting the cat out of the bag, really! There's a medley of Chili Pepper songs, which the marching band's going to do, and I'm going to play and it's going to be super cool. I'm very excited."

Click here to get tickets for the fundraising luncheon, and click here to learn more about the U's Curtis & Joan Smith Scholarship.