Christopher Aubrey Shiflett ( SHIF-lit; born May 6, 1971) is an American musician. He is the lead guitarist for the rock band Foo Fighters, which he joined in 1999 following the release of the band's third album There Is Nothing Left to Lose (1999). Shiflett was also previously a member of the punk rock bands No Use for a Name (1995–1999) and Me First and the Gimme Gimmes (1995–2019).
Though primarily a lead guitarist and backing vocalist, Shiflett has also fronted bands such as Jackson United and Chris Shiflett & the Dead Peasants. He has also made several solo albums; his third, Lost at Sea, was released in October 2023. In 2021, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Foo Fighters.
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Early life
Shiflett was born in Santa Barbara, California. He has two older brothers, Mike, and Scott, who also became a musician – best known as the bassist of the punk rock band Face to Face. 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., having discovered the club while reading John Lydon's autobiography in the early 1990s.
Career
Shiflett began his music career in a 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. In 1999, when a friend told him that Guns N' Roses were auditioning for a guitarist, Shiflett asked the friend to get him an audition instead with the Foo Fighters, who after recording There Is Nothing Left to Lose as a trio held open auditions to hire another guitarist. Offered the job, and seeing an opportunity that he knew he could not pass up, he quickly parted ways with No Use for a Name to join Foo Fighters. His departure was abrupt, as his former band was about to head out on tour in support of their album More Betterness!.
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 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 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 the Rolling Stones.
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 with 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 West Coast Town, the first album to bear solely his name, which was a collection of original honky tonk tracks. A short North American tour accompanied 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. His third solo album, Lost At Sea, was released on October 20, 2023. The album's announcement came with a run of solo dates through the UK and Ireland, which were completed in March 2023.
From October 2013 to December 2022, Shiflett hosted the weekly podcast Walking the Floor with Chris Shiflett. 215 episodes of the show were produced in total. In June 2023, Shiflett announced a new guitar-based podcast entitled Shred with Shifty.
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.
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
JHS Muffuletta Fuzz
Discography
Solo
2010: Chris Shiflett & the Dead Peasants (with The Dead Peasants)
2013: All Hat and No Cattle (with The Dead Peasants)
2017: West Coast Town
2019: Hard Lessons
2023: Lost at Sea
No Use for a Name
1997: Making Friends
1999: More Betterness!
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
1997: Have a Ball
1999: 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
2023: But Here We Are
2026: Your Favorite Toy
Jackson United
2004: Western Ballads
2008: Harmony and Dissidence
Guest appearances
1994: Lagwagon — Trashed (Guitar Solo on “Bye for Now”)
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 "Untitled 21")
2001: Sugarcult - "Bouncing off the Walls" (guitar solo)
2006: Viva Death – One Percent Panic
2007: Jesse Malin – Glitter In The Gutter (additional guitar on "Prisoners Of Paradise")
2023: Appeared as a secret act on the Pyramid stage at Glastonbury festival in the UK
