Chris Shiflett
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Chris Shiflett | |
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![]() Shiflett performing with Foo Fighters in 2017 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Christopher Aubrey Shiflett |
Born | May 6, 1971 |
Origin | Santa Barbara, California,[1] United States |
Genres | Alternative rock, punk rock, post-grunge, country rock |
Occupation(s) | Musician, singer, songwriter |
Instrument | Guitar |
Years active | 1982–present |
Labels | RCA |
Christopher Aubrey Shiflett (born May 6, 1971) is best known as the lead guitarist for the rock band Foo Fighters since June 1999, and the punk rock band No Use for a Name, as well as the punk rock cover band Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. He is the younger brother of musician Scott Shiflett.
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 AYSO under legendary SB coach Noemi Vazquez from 1982–84. Pressed to make a choice on his career, Shiflett joined his first band by the time he reached the age of 14.
Career
Shiflett was 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. 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. Shiflett has declared that he was afraid of being fired even before he started to play with the band, as previous guitarist Pat Smear had declared interest to rejoin (Smear eventually got back with the band as a touring rhythm guitarist in 2005, rejoining as a full-fledged fifth member in 2010).[2]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e8/Foo_Fighters_2007.jpg/220px-Foo_Fighters_2007.jpg)
Seeing an opportunity that he knew he could not pass up, he quickly parted ways with his former band to audition. His departure was abrupt, as No Use for a Name were just about to head out on tour in support of their then-recent album More Betterness!. He was replaced by Dave Nassie, who had previously contributed to Suicidal Tendencies' lead singer "Cyco" Mike Muir's solo projects. Shiflett began his music career in another band called Lost Kittenz with current members of Sugarcult. He also currently plays in the punk rock cover band Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, 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 is also a sometime member of cover band Chevy Metal with Foo Fighter Taylor Hawkins. They play songs from classic rock bands such as Black Sabbath, Queen, ZZ Top, and Rolling Stones.
Shiflett, after being in cover band Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, has a tattoo on the inside of his bottom lip with the words "Gimme Gimme".
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.[3]
In 2010 Shiflett created a new country-oriented side project, Chris Shiflett & the Dead Peasants, releasing a self-titled album in July.[4] 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.[citation needed]
Since October 2013, Shiflett has hosted Walking The Floor, a weekly podcast features interviews with legendary and current country musicians. As of May 14th 2018, there have been 115 episodes of Walking the Floor.
- 1. Red Simpson
- 2. John Doe
- 3. Nick Arson
- 4. Robert Garcia
- 5. Joe Saunders
- 6–7. Dwight Yoakam
- 8. Tommy Hays
- 9–10. Peter Case
- 11. Jonny Wickersham
- 12. Steve Earle
- 13. Thomas Frank
- 14. Matt Skiba
- 15. Redd Volkaert
- 16. Kenny Vaughn
- 17. Sami Yaffa
- 18. Sam Jones
- 19. Kevin Smith
- 20. Keith Gattis
- 21. Conner Coffin
- 22. Robbie Fulks
- 23–24. Brad Paisley
- 25. Bloodshot Records
- 26. Jack McCoy
- 27. Brian Whelan
- 28. Sturgill Simpson
- 29. Mike Ness
- 30. Merle Haggard
- 31. Patterson Hood
- 32. Jim Lauderdale
- 33. Dale Watson
- 34. Dicky Barrett
- 35. Rhett Miller
- 36. Steve McDonald of Redd Kross
- 37. Jack Grisham
- 38. Steve Caballero
- 39. Spike Slawson
- 40. Merle Haggard Tribute
- 41. Eli Reed
- 42. Andrew Stockdale
- 43. Dierks Bentley
- 44. Sam Palladio
- 45. Kip Moore
- 46. John Doe
- 47. Sara Watkins
- 48. Jason Isbell
- 49. Ryan Bingham
- 50. Sarah Jarosz
- 51. Old Dominion
- 52. Wheeler Walker Jr.
- 53. Jack Ingram
- 54. Cody Jinks
- 55. Dave Cobb
- 56. Whitey Morgan
- 57. Michaela Anne
- 58. Buddy Miller
- 59. Amanda Shires
- 60. Freddie Roach
- 61. Thomas Frank
- 62. John Moreland
- 63. Robert Ellis
- 64. Lydia Loveless
- 65. BJ Barham
- 66. Taylor Goldsmith
- 67. Mickey Raphael
- 68. Slim Jim Phantom
- 69. Tim Easton
- 70. Courtney Marie Andrews
- 71. Aaron Lee Tasjan
- 72. Andrew Leahey
- 73. Lucinda Williams
- 74. Tucker Beathard
- 75. Davey & Jade from AFI and Blaqk Audio
- 76. Marty Stuart
- 77. Bob Mould
- 78. Rodney Crowell
- 79. Paul Cauthen
- 80. Imelda May
- 81. Sam Outlaw
- 82. Jaime Wyatt
- 83. Joe Sib
- 84. Jade Jackson
- 85. Sunny Sweeney
- 86. Jim Breuer
- 87. Dave Hause
- 88. Robbie Robertson
- 89. Justin Townes Earle
- 90. Rod Melancon
- 91. Butch Walker
- 92. Sheryl Crow
- 93. Lukas Nelson
- 94. Paul Kelly
- 95. Steve Earle
- 96. Tyler Childers
- 97. Chris Stapleton
- 98. Lindi Ortega
- 99. Anderson East
- 100. Ray Benson
- 101. Pokey LaFarge
- 102. Lillie Mae
- 103. Elizabeth Cook
- 104. Lee Ann Womack
Shiflett is a dedicated Football (Soccer) fan, and supports Arsenal. He has appeared on BBC's Football Focus, to talk about his predictions regarding Premier League games.
Equipment
- Guitars
Shiflett uses various Gibsons[6][7] and Gretschs,[8] 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
- Fender Stratocaster
- Duesenberg Fullerton TV
- Martin Acoustic guitar
- Effects
- Strymon Timeline[9]
- 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
- Amplifiers
- Handwired 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
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
Guest appearance
- 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")
References
- ^ "Chris Shiflett (I)". IMDb.com. Retrieved 2016-05-06. [unreliable source?]
- ^ Moll, James (2011). Back and Forth.
- ^ "The Real McCoy hajosi | Yle Uutiset". Yle.fi. Archived from the original on 2012-03-14. Retrieved 2016-05-06.
{{cite web}}
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- ^ "Home".
- ^ "Gibson Les Paul | Musician's Friend". Musiciansfriend.com. 2014-07-10. Retrieved 2016-05-06.
- ^ "How to Capture Chris Shiflett's Foo Fighters Guitar Tone". Gibson.com. 2008-10-28. Retrieved 2016-05-06.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on July 3, 2007. Retrieved February 27, 2008.
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