For Foo Fighters guitarist Chris Shiflett, storytelling lies at the heart of each of the 10 new tracks on his latest solo album Lost At Sea (now available on CD or vinyl and for online streaming via Blue Élan Records)
Produced in Nashville by singer and songwriter Jaren Johnston, the new record finds Shiflett working alongside musicians like seasoned session player Tom Bukovac and Dierks Bentley guitarist Charlie Worsham, with each bringing a unique perspective to the project.
As part of a collaborative songwriting process, Shiflett teamed up with artists like Cody Jinks and Kendell Marvel, crafting a batch of infectious songs that run the gamut between punk and country, ably bridging the gap between California and Nashville.
During an intimate recent tour stop just outside Chicago in the Sidebar at FitzGerald’s, one which paired him with Pennywise frontman Jim Lindberg ahead of a Foo Fighters appearance at Riot Fest, Shiflett put a solo acoustic spin upon cuts from across his solo catalog in addition to well-curated covers by artists like Buck Owens and Merle Haggard.
“Even if you go back to like The Clash taking Joe Ely on tour and stuff like that, there is that tradition,” explained Shiflett of the sometimes colliding worlds of punk and country backstage at FitzGerald’s prior to the first of two sold out solo sets. “As country music became a bigger and bigger influence on me just in my personal tastes, I became more and more drawn to that style of lyric writing,” said the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, who returns to the road Saturday, October 21 in Long Beach, California. “My West Coast Town record was the first time that I ever really sat down and thought about that a lot and really made that a goal – whereas, in the past, I had just sort of written lyrics just kind of from stream of consciousness. And if it sounded good, and seemed a little poetic and vague, that’s kind of what I was going for,” said Shiflett. “Now, I kind of go for the opposite.”
Doubling down on the storytelling, Shiflett takes an in depth look at guitar solos in the new vodcast “Shred With Shifty,” a series which finds him in conversation with legendary guitarists like Alex Lifeson (Rush) and Nile Rodgers (Chic).
I spoke with Chris Shiflett about the collaborative process behind the new album Lost At Sea, the importance of storytelling, the new vodcast and continually working outside his comfort zone. A transcript of our conversation, lightly edited for length and clarity, follows below.
Jim Ryan: What was it like working with Jaren on the new album?
Chris Shiflett: I’m a fan of his music. Not only Cadillac Three but he writes a lot of songs for other folks too.
I had been writing a bunch and had this idea about recording a bunch of songs with a bunch of different producers. But I went up to Nashville and did a couple with Jaren. And he threw together the musicians – some of them I knew, some of them I didn’t. But I just loved it. When I got it back and when I got the rough mix of what we had done, there was just something about it. It was “Black Top White Lines” and “Dead and Gone” from the album.
There was a spark to it. It pointed into some slightly new direction for me that I wanted to chase down. So, I called him back and said, “I know we weren’t planning on making a record… But let’s make a record.” And then it got really fun. Because then we started throwing songs back and forth. We wrote a couple of tunes. I’d be demoing songs – stuff I’d written with other people, stuff I’d written myself – and I’d just send him ideas. Little by little, over the course of about a year and a few trips out to Nashville, we got the whole thing done.
He’s a great producer. And, like I say, I’m a fan of his work. So, it always feels good when you’re working with somebody whose opinion you trust. Because you get lost in it. You don’t know what’s up or down when you’re making a record.
Ryan: I’ve heard you say Jaren kind of pushed you out of your comfort zone a bit. How important is it, even this far in, to find ways of doing that?
Shiflett: I think you have to continually find ways to stay inspired. It’s not really something I struggle with. I think, for me, I figured out a long time ago that the more you write and the more you play and the more you do, it just keeps those muscles going.
But it’s always fun to play with new people in a new situation. It sounds a little different and just has a spark to it that’s not something I’ve heard come back through those speakers before.
Ryan: You mentioned the roster that Jaren put together for these sessions. I was looking at that list and Tom Bukovac jumped out at me. I’m fascinated by session guys like that that can do just about anything. What did he bring to the new record?
Shiflett: He’s great. I knew him prior to working on it. We had hung a couple of times and I love his guitar playing. So, it was great. He’s a good hang.
When I’m in those situations, I don’t really nitpick what everybody else in the room is doing. And I’m not sure how much that goes on – I’m not in that world full time. So, I don’t know when they’re playing on sessions normally, how much it’s mapped out or what kind of freedom they get. But I like to give everybody a lot of leeway in the room and not get too involved in what everybody is doing – because that’s where you get the good collaboration. That’s where people just start throwing in things that they want to do and you’re like, “Oh wow. I never would have played that. And now that’s the hook of the song.” That kind of stuff.
Ryan: One of my favorite elements of the country tradition, going all the way back to the Louvin Brothers or Johnny Cash is the storytelling. And that’s certainly there in the songwriting on Lost At Sea. Was that important to you coming in to this project?
Shiflett: Yeah. As country music became a bigger and bigger influence on me just in my personal tastes, I became more and more drawn to that style of lyric writing. My West Coast Town record was the first time that I ever really sat down and thought about that a lot and really made that a goal – whereas, in the past, I had just sort of written lyrics just kind of from stream of consciousness. And if it sounded good, and seemed a little poetic and vague, that’s kind of what I was going for. Now, I kind of go for the opposite.
And that took a minute to get comfortable with. Songwriting is such a weird thing – at least for me. It’s not something that I ever have a clear map of or even understanding of how it works. You just plug away until you hit something that resonates with you, you know?
Ryan: Any favorite storytelling lyricists that resonate?
Shiflett: Ah, Bruce Springsteen. I mean, come on. He’s like the king. Who else… I always love Blake from Jawbreaker’s lyrics. There’s definitely stories in there even if it’s not that country style.
But I think that’s what’s drawn me to Merle Haggard and Buck and all of these cats over the years.
Ryan: Those two in particular are interesting to bring up. You’ve said there’s also a punkier element to some of these songs – a Clash influence. And both of those guys had that – in spirit, certainly, if not “sound…”
Shiflett: Well, that’s why I think so many punk rock people eventually gravitate to country music. Even if you go back to like The Clash taking Joe Ely on tour and stuff like that, there is that tradition.
Ryan: You mentioned “Black Top White Lines.” Certainly there’s a story there. There’s also the driving element which always pairs well with rock and roll. How did you come to that story?
Shiflett: It was me and John Osborne from Brothers Osborne and Jaren. And we were writing over Zoom. Originally, it was just going to be me and Jaren and at the last minute, he goes, “Hey, do you mind if John jumps in here?” I was like, “Are you kidding? Yeah, great. Of course!” Jaren had the riff. He brought that in. And we were kind of like, “Yeah, let’s write that. That’s solid.”
I don’t even really remember how we got into the lyrical theme. But it definitely was like trying to take that kind of old school murder ballad idea and then kind of flip it on its head a little bit. Because, usually, in those old country songs, it’s like, “I caught my lady cheating on me and I shot her in the back!” That kind of stuff. So, we tried to turn that around.
Ryan: How about “Damage Control” – there’s some pretty gnarly guitar playing on that track. How did that one come about?
Shiflett: That’s the only old song on the record. That’s an older one. And that came out of a conversation once we had about seven songs done where we were sort of going, “What else do we need vibe wise?” I was sending Jaren demos going, “What about this? What about that?” And he was coming at it from that viewpoint of, “Well, we’ve got these seven. What do we need to round out the record?” And he just in passing said something like, “It would be cool if there was something that felt like The Clash…” And I went, “Well, wait a minute. I have an old idea that’s kind of Clashy…” I sent it to him and we recorded it.
Of course, when we got in there and did it, with Charlie in particular, his guitar playing on it really took it somewhere different. Because he’s doing all of that acoustic, picky stuff – and I’m doing those stabs. But the acoustic, to me, has sort of become the hook of the song, I think.
But guitar playing-wise, it’s funny. We were working on that in, it must have been the summer of 2021. Because I remember Jaren was tweaking stuff and said, “Oh, can you record the first part of the guitar solo on an acoustic guitar?” And I was like, “Well, I’m up in Santa Barbara quarantining. I’ve got COVID. I don’t have a good guitar, I don’t have a mic and I don’t have anywhere to record it. And I can’t be around anybody right now.” He was like, “Do you have any guitar?” I was like, “Well, I’ve got this little toy one that’s just sitting in my house up here.”
So, I just literally recorded the guitar solo, that acoustic part for the guitar solo, on my iPhone and sent it to him. And that’s the one that we used.
Ryan: I know the songwriting process was collaborative this time around with people like Cody and Kendell. What does that do for you in terms of the songwriting?
Shiflett: I really enjoy doing co-writes with people. I think it’s really fun. It’s different than when you’re writing something by yourself, you know?
You kind of get different results. Because, on one hand, it becomes a little less personal to you. Because you’re drawing from multiple people’s sort of life experience. So, things always kind of go in some different directions. It’s not your story anymore – it’s part of your story.
Just like with the musicians, it always takes your idea somewhere that you didn’t expect.
Ryan: With the “Shred With Shifty” vodcast, obviously you’re familiar with these people that you’re talking to – you’re familiar with the players and with the songs. But has there been a moment in there that surprised you at all? Where, even as a fan, you went, “Wow, I didn’t know that!”
Shiflett: Oh all of them. It’s hard to even pick one.
The funny thing is that the mission statement was, “Go to the source.” As guitar players, we all watch a lot of YouTube. There’s a whole subculture of people on there explaining how to play Eddie Van Halen licks and stuff… But they’re all like a little wrong. I mean, they’re all great! But it’s not really what the guy played. And that is sort of the joke of this whole show is that you go to the source and the source doesn’t know how they played it! Nobody remembers how they did what they did! (laughing) Which shouldn’t surprise me. I mean, I make records. And I couldn’t exactly explain to you something I played on a Foo Fighters record 20 years ago. Because it evolves over time. You probably only did it that way that one time. And then you had to play it live and you’re covering multiple parts – so it all just kind of changes.
And, with guitar playing, you shouldn’t stress too hard about making it exactly like your hero. Just take the influence and make it your own thing, you know?
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