Foo Fighters Are 'Going Back to Basics' on New Record Says Chris Shiflett

.

Chris Shiflett is best known for being the lead guitarist in Foo Fighters, arguably one of the world's biggest rock bands. Lately, he has been focusing on his country/hillbilly project, Chris Shiflett and the Dead Peasants.

Their debut album came out July 12 and this summer, he will be touring the Dead Peasants record before starting work on the new Foos LP. Spinner talks to him about his day job and side project...

What can we expect from the new Foo Fighters record?

It's a little too early to know exactly. We've just been learning songs and making some demos. Pretty much everything we've learned so far has been pretty upbeat and rocking and I think it sounds pretty good. I've read that Dave (Grohl) said It's gonna be the heaviest Foo Fighters record ever and I think it'll definitely be a lot more rocking than the last couple. Butch Vig (who produced Nirvana's 'Nevermind') is gonna produce the record. Dave built a studio at his house and we'll be recording it there. I believe the tracking room is in fact his garage! I should probably sell it as going back to basics. The truth is it's gonna be a world class studio. We'll have a bunch of good gear. But we'll definitely be going back to basics.

How did you get into the country/hillbilly scene?

As a musician, I listened to all kinds of different stuff and always have. It can be misleading when you're associated with a certain kind of music. But this particular record had its origins in this gig I did a couple years ago with a few friends for a festival in Southern California (Hootenanny). I guess I just enjoyed it a lot. It was so different to anything I'd done musically that it was a breath of fresh air. I think I needed that because I wasn't very inspired musically and it set me down a path and got me writing some songs and here we are!

How does it feel to go from playing arenas with one of the biggest bands in the world to then starting out in a relatively unknown band?

I've been touring a lot and we're in the middle of that now. We play little bars and I think for the most part it's curious Foo Fighters fans who come and check it out. I really feel like it is starting over because it's musically a different thing to what they're used to hearing me play. People don't know the songs because the record just came out so you really have to win the crowd over. You have to remember that nine times out of 10, even if you're playing to three people, people still came out to the show and bought a ticket and they're rooting for you.

How easy is it to juggle all of your projects?

We all have kids and families and your life gets busier as you get older and it gets a little more difficult to juggle. But Foo Fighters have been on a break until recently, so my primary focus was the Dead Peasants record. I tend to focus on one thing at a time, but there is an element of juggling. But I like playing and I feel like I'm lucky that I get to do this for a living. And as long as I have an outlet to make records and play in bands, whether it's at the level of Foo Fighters or at the level of Dead Peasants, I just wanna take advantage of that.

What comes more naturally to you: rock or hillbilly?

I've grown up listening to rock, heavy metal and punk, and those were always the type of bands I played in, so playing loud distorted guitars will always be the most comfortable thing to me. But as I get older, I find that my tastes keep changing, and things that appealed to me 20 years ago don't necessarily appeal to me much anymore. Dead Peasants is just a different sound to anything else that I've done. It's fun and inspiring and I think you need that as a musician. It makes me feel that nervous energy and excitement that I felt at my ninth grade talent show. It's hard to find that the older you get and the longer you do something. I find myself looking for those things that give me that thrill. It's the thrill of the unknown.