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 played with the cover band Chevy Metal along with the late Foo Fighter Taylor Hawkins. They played 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

;Guitars
Shiflett 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

;
;Effects
* Strymon 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
;
;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''
*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")

References

External links

Official website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shiflett, Chris
American rock guitarists
American male guitarists
Foo Fighters members
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes members
Living people
1971 births
Grammy Award winners
No Use for a Name members
Viva Death members
Jackson United members