Photo: Press
Foo Fighters are set to perform three massive stadium dates next year, and tickets are on sale here. In light of their massive return, we ask what makes the lead guitarist tick musically during his fleeting down time.
The answer? His solo album West Coast Town – named after a song on the album that recalls his childhood growing up in Santa Barbara surrounded by Mariachi parties – and a record emerging from his deep pool of knowledge about alt-country music. Make no mistake, he’s not one to draw on the sort of mainstream pop country that he describes as “the last punching bag left in music.” These are the only sounds from “the underbelly” that he’s gravitated towards in recent years.
Chris speaks with passion when reeling off names such as master songwriter Peter Case, Old 97s, Southern Colt and the seminal figure of the Bakersfield Sound, Buck Owens.
He also credits “more obvious stuff” such as Johnny Cash, Patsy Kline, early Stones and Hank Williams as formative influences; plus the punk rock scene in LA and the roots music that inspired it. “I was always drawn to anything retro,” he says referring to his late teens.
Country wasn’t Shiflett’s first love - his family, though into music, were never hoedowners. It was when he was with the band No Use For A Name that he had a bit of a wake up call to the country history of LA. “When I went to Palomino to see NOFX, I didn’t realise it was an old honky tonk,” he says, “and when I went to The Foothill to see Jawbreaker I just thought it's some dumpy old bar, I didn't know the history of the place.” Founded in 1944, the Foothill was one of the last real honky-tonks in Southern California and closed its doors in 2000.
Apart from the above mentioned, Shiflett rates newer stars of the scene, such as “Chris Stapleton, Jason Isbell, Lucinda Williams.” They’re artists that exude as much character as the originals, and his own solo album – his third as Chris Shiflett & The Dead Paupers - also retains a classic feel, largely down to the way it was made.
“I had some time off last summer,” he says. “My wife was taking my kids out of town to visit her sister so I spend three weeks making the record which was heaven. I was in Nashville and never spent that much time out there. It allowed me to be totally 100 percent in my record, that's all I did.”
Working with David Cobb, a producer that has worked out of Tennessee creating records for Isbell, Stapleton and Sturgill Simpson, was a far more laid-back experience than he was used to with the Foos. “Normally you get into the studio, jam as much as we can, and it’s like ‘go, go, go, go’,” he laughs. “He (David Cobb) is like, ’yeah let’s start at 1pm’. Then you get in there and fuck around for a couple of hours, drink coffee, eat. Then we start working get one song in the can then he'd by like, ‘lets go to the shop and look at guitars!’ I was thinking ‘we gotta get shit done, we only have three weeks!”
He now recognizes his paranoia about not finishing was completely unfounded: “I swear to God, we worked until the last day, 2pm in the last day. He's got a pace that he works at, and he knows what he's doing. I want to go and make another record with him, having gone through that record, i'll be like ahh man let’s chill.”
Recording everything live with the four musicians in the room together, not using a click, and having very few overdubs was essential in making the record feel vintage, Chris asserts. And it works. West Cost Town is a loose-sounding thrill of a record that conjures up images of blue collar lives and nights in the honky tonks. But Chris claims it's a very introspective piece: the lyrical narrative offers insight into Shiflett’s childhood. The lead single and title track, for example, is an ode to his hometown inspired by a David Allen Coe song which approached the same subject from a different angle.
“I'm describing my childhood. I grew up in the house in the street cited. The house next door was the low riders club that lived there called the Brown Sensations. Every weekend they would have these Mariachi parties. They used to drive me fucking nuts. I’d have my window open in the summertime and hear all that shit going on,” he laughs. Chris has much more appreciation for Santa Barbara now he’s got three kids - he begrudgingly still lives in LA.
Aside from writing music, playing with the Foo Fighters and being a father, Shiflett has his own podcast where he interviews other musicians, and started it with the idea of interviewing people from Bakersfield sound specifically, of which his aforemeniton favourite Buck Owens was a huge part as was Merele Haggard who he interviewed recently.
He enjoys learning about other people's approach to writing, but finds that everyone's unique and that most great songs are a process of trial and error. "I always ask people about their songwriting craft. Everybody has a different answer, no body can articulate what they do. It's trial and error to try and write a song. You can't really even explain it. What works for me isn't going to work for you."
What political stance does he have? “I’m left of my leftwing friends. I know my political views and they’re way out of mainstream.” To what extent? Does he believe 9/11 an inside job? “I don't necessarily believe that. But there is some wacky shit that can't be explained. I don't come from a conspiratorial view point.”
What viewpoints does he admire? “Billy Bragg is the great beacon of light,” he says of one of the main inspirations when it comes to performing his solo stuff. But Shiflett’s currently disillusioned by the lack of left-wing politics in rock. “I remember during the Bush years I would post my left wing political stuff and I remember being surprised at how negative people were towards it. I thought we’re rock’n’roll and for the cause.”
So what is the overriding trend in rock politically? “I’m noticing more and more of a swing towards libertarianism, and it’s weird […] I don’t know if the definition over here is the same as over in the States but we think of them as Republicans who like to smoke pot. [The ideology is] no regulation on anything, because, ‘we' don't want the government to keep us down man.’”
On his next solo album he hopes to move away from talking about the past and channel his politic: “I I remember saying to this guy Peter Case, who is a great songwriter that I always write about my late teens into late 20s. He was like, ‘what the fuck, you live in the most chaotic, interesting time ever in the history of man, how can u not write about shit that's happening now?’. And he's got a point.”
But the release of a second album is likely to have to wait some time as Foo Fighters are currently in the midst of a huge album cycle. But he does get breaks - Dave usually announces a big hiatus before the emails start creeping back in with his ideas for songs. "After a little while he gets restless and wants to get back together.”
So how did he join the band? Was it a mutual love of underground punk?
“When I auditioned for the band I didn't know him at all. The thing that was the deciding factor was that my band (Rat Pack) when I was a kid opened up for his band (Scream). Maybe, it wasn’t exactly a shared love of underground music but it was implied.”
His love of the underground is evidently enduring - as well as blasting tens of thousands of people with Grohl, Nate Mendel and co. as part of the Foos’ colossal, face melting sound, he’s still humbled to play small venues in support of his solo record. “I got to play 100 Club supporting the lead singer from Jet’s new project. I was so stoked to get on that,“he says. The next day he plays Water Rats to only 100 people and has the sweaty midsummer room hooked, and he looks as alive as ever.
It’s this boundless enthusiasm for music that shows he’s certainly not one who does what he does for any other reason than passion. The self-confessed music snob teenager has become a charming, down to earth personality, with just enough insecurity about him to remain on top of what he’s doing at all times. We look forward to seeing him on stage again very soon and digging through those awesome songwriter recommendations, that come from a genuine place.
Chris Shiflett's solo album is out now here
Foo Fighters tour dates
19 June Manchester Etihad Stadium - Tickets
22 June London Stadium - Tickets
23 June London Stadium - Titckets
