Chris Shiflett

Christopher Aubrey Shiflett (born May 6, 1971) is an American musician. He is most recognizable as lead guitarist for the American rock band Foo Fighters. He was previously a member of the punk rock bands No Use for a Name (1995–1999) and Me First and the Gimme Gimmes (1995–2019). He joined the Foo Fighters in 1999 following the release of their third album There Is Nothing Left to Lose, and performed with the Foo Fighters and the Gimmes, as well as several other side projects, simultaneously. He also hosts a podcast titled Walking the Floor and has released two solo albums, the most recent in 2019.

He is the younger brother of musician, Scott Shiflett, who has been the bassist in the punk rock band Face to Face since 1995.

Early life

Shiflett was born in Santa Barbara, California. When Shiflett was 11, he started learning how to play the guitar. A promising young soccer player, Shiflett played with the American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) from 1982—1984 under legendary coach Noemi Vazquez. Pressed to make a choice on his career, Shiflett joined his first band by the time he reached the age of 14. Shiflett is a supporter of Arsenal F.C.

Career

Shiflett began his music career in another band called Lost Kittenz with current members of Sugarcult. He later moved on to be the resident lead guitarist for the San Francisco Bay Area punk rock band No Use for a Name. When a friend announced that Guns N' Roses were auditioning for a guitarist, Shiflett asked his friend to instead get him an audition for the Foo Fighters, who after recording There Is Nothing Left to Lose as a trio held open auditions to hire another guitarist. Seeing an opportunity that he knew he could not pass up, he quickly parted ways with No Use for a Name to audition. His departure was abrupt, as his former band were just about to head out on tour in support of their album More Betterness!. He was replaced by Dave Nassie, who had previously contributed to Suicidal Tendencies' lead singer "Cyco" Mike Muir's solo projects.

Dave Grohl said part of his motivation to hire Shiflett was that he had a history in the underground punk scene, including opening for Grohl's former band Scream as bassist of the group Rat Pack. After being hired, Shiflett played on the tour for There Is Nothing Left to Lose, and all subsequent studio albums starting with One by One. Shiflett has noted several times that one of his favorite songs that he plays with the Foo Fighters is "All My Life" from their fourth studio album One by One. He has said that he was afraid of being fired even before he started to play with the band, as previous guitarist Pat Smear had asked to return. Smear eventually did rejoin the band as a touring rhythm guitarist in 2005, and finally as a full-fledged fifth member in 2010.

Side projects and cover bands

In addition to his full time duties with the Foo Fighters, Shiflett also plays in his own side-project, Jackson United, as well as Viva Death with his brother, Scott. For numerous projects, Shiflett performed under the name Jake Jackson. He sometimes plays with the cover band Chevy Metal with fellow Foo Fighter Taylor Hawkins. They play songs from classic rock bands such as Black Sabbath, Queen, ZZ Top, and Rolling Stones.

Shiflett has a tattoo on the inside of his bottom lip with the words "Gimme Gimme", ostensibly as a tribute to his efforts with the cover band Me First and the Gimme Gimmes.

In 2009, Shiflett played in a band called The Real McCoy, which was founded by Andy McCoy, the guitarist of the former Finnish rock band Hanoi Rocks. The band split up after only three gigs.In 2010 Shiflett created a new country-oriented side project, Chris Shiflett & the Dead Peasants, releasing a self-titled album in July. In 2011, Shiflett performed at the 2011 Wisconsin protests in Madison. He also performed at the Anti War rally for the A.N.S.W.E.R coalition (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism). Shiflett performed at the opening rally at the one and a half mile march from Hollywood and Vine to Hollywood and Highland March 19, 2011.

In 2013, Shiflett announced he would be releasing a new album from his country project, Chris Shiflett & The Dead Peasants, called All Hat And No Cattle. The album of honky-tonk covers and original tracks came out on July 30, 2013 via SideOneDummy Records.

April 2017 saw Shiflett release his first solo album West Coast Town, a collection of original honky tonk tracks, accompanied by a short USA tour to promote the release.A second solo album Hard Lessons was released on June 14, 2019. As with the first album Hard Lessons was produced by Dave Cobb.Since October 2013, Shiflett has hosted the weekly podcast Walking The Floor with Chris Shiflett. As of August 2020, there have been over 170 episodes of Walking the Floor.

Equipment

GuitarsShiflett uses various Gibsons and Gretschs, but over the past few years has been using mostly Fender Telecasters, Fender Telecaster Deluxes, and Fender Telecaster Thinlines. Shiflett also assembled some Telecaster Deluxes and Telecaster Thinlines out of Warmoth guitar parts with his tech. On the headstock of the Warmoth Telecasters, Shiflett's nickname "Shifty" replaces the Fender logo that would appear on a Telecaster created by Fender. He also has a signature Fender Telecaster Deluxe based on the Warmoth Telecasters, that is now his main guitar.

Gretsch Brian Setzer Black Phoenix

Gretsch ’59 Nashville reissue

Gibson ES-135

Gibson ES-347

Gibson ES-335

Gibson SG Custom

Gibson Les Paul Traditional (Heritage Cherry Sunburst)

Gibson Les Paul Custom

Gibson Les Paul Goldtop

Gibson Les Paul Junior

Gibson Les Paul Standard

Gibson Firebird

Gibson Flying V

Gibson Explorer

Fender Chris Shiflett Telecaster Deluxe

Fender Telecaster

Fender Blacktop Telecaster

Fender Telecaster Deluxe

Duesenberg Fullerton TV

Martin Acoustic guitar

EffectsStrymon Timeline

EHX Micro POG

BOSS TU-3 Chromatic Tuner / Power Supply

Dunlop DVP1 Volume pedal

Whirlwind A/B Selector

Line 6 M13 Stompbox Modeler (Wasting Light Tour)

Boss DS-1 Distortion

ProCo Rat Pedal

Line 6 DL4 Delay Modeler

Voodoo Labs Amp Selector

LIne 6 MM4 Modulation Modeler

Menatone Red Snapper

Electro-Harmonix Holy Grail Pedal

Fulltone Fulldrive 2 MOSFET

Vox Input Selector/Jumper Switch

Heptode Virtuoso Phase Shifter

AmplifiersHandwired Vox AC30

Fender Bassman

Fender Super Reverb

Friedman BE-100

Mesa/Boogie Road King

Discography

No Use for a Name

1997: Making Friends

1999: More Betterness!

Me First and the Gimme Gimmes

1997: Have a Ball

1998: Are a Drag

2001: Blow in the Wind

2001: Turn Japanese

2003: Take a Break

2004: Ruin Jonny's Bar Mitzvah

2006: Love Their Country

2008: Have Another Ball

2011: Go Down Under

2011: Sing in Japanese

2014: Are We Not Men? We Are Diva!

Foo Fighters

2002: One by One

2005: In Your Honor

2007: Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace

2011: Wasting Light

2014: Sonic Highways

2015: Saint Cecilia (EP)

2017: Concrete and Gold

2021: Medicine at Midnight

Jackson United

2004: Western Ballads

2008: Harmony and Dissidence

Chris Shiflett & the Dead Peasants

2010: Chris Shiflett & the Dead Peasants

2013: All Hat and No Cattle

Chris Shiflett solo

2017: West Coast Town

2019: Hard Lessons

Guest appearance

1997: Ten Foot Pole – Unleashed (additional guitar on "Denial", "What You Want" and "Pride and Shame")

1998: Swingin' Utters – Five Lessons Learned (lead guitar on "I Need Feedback" and "United 21")

2006: Viva Death – One Percent Panic

2007: Jesse Malin – Glitter In The Gutter (additional guitar on "Prisoners Of Paradise")

External links

Official website