PHOTO CREDIT: Brantley Gutierrez
When Dave Cobb gives you a bit of advice, it’s best to take heed and listen. The Grammy-Award-winning producer has worked with many of the biggest names in music today, including Chris Stapleton, Brandi Carlile and John Prine. Foo Fighters lead guitarist Chris Shiflett can attest to Cobb’s wisdom after working on his 2017 country-leaning solo album debut, West Coast Town.
So, when they reunited to work on what would become Shiflett’s sophomore album, Hard Lessons, the guitarist didn’t doubt Cobb’s advice to crank up the volume and go in a different direction.
“He said, ‘You should be playing a Les Paul through a Marshall on this record, cranked up loud rock and roll guitar. That’s what you are, you’re a rock and roll guitar player, so let’s do that,’” recalls Shiflett of Cobb’s advice. “That kind of became the rallying cry for the record.”
As a result, the album has more of a rock ’n’ roll feel compared to its predecessor. “I never think of the records I make as being straight up-country records or anything, but this one certainly leans a lot more rock and roll,” Shiflett says. “It definitely has more loud crunchy guitars and that sort of thing. I like making records that are fun to go out and play live.”
Getting to work with Cobb and many of the same musicians for a second time gave Shiflett a boost of confidence, which led to a dynamic and lively sound on the album.
“It was comfortable playing with everybody that I was working with out there,” he says. “If you’re comfortable in the studio, then confidence follows.”
Shiflett wrote most of the album’s songs during breaks in a recent Foo Fighters tour. He said his songwriting process is different with every song. “Sometimes a line just kind of pops into your head, and sometimes it’s aligned with a melody, and then I grab a guitar and sit down and try to flesh it out a little bit,” he says. “I wind up recording little bits and pieces of solid ideas on my phone a lot and then kind of going back later, and rummaging through them, and seeing what kind of makes your ear buzz and hits you in the gut a little bit.”
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There are also times when he’s scribbling lyrics in the hotel room, which later turn into songs. “It’s kind of always evolving,” he says.
One of his favorite moments in creating the album was writing “The One You Go Home To” with singer-songwriter Elizabeth Cook. “I was just stoked that we actually pulled that off,” says Shiflett. “I’d asked her a while before I made the record if she would sing a duet with me, and she said yeah. Then when I got out there to make the record, me, Elizabeth, and my friend Aaron [Raitiere] got together and wrote the song, and then when we tracked it we actually sang live together on the same mic, which was fun and kind of an old school thing to do.”
Shiflett is excited to play the album live. Trading the rock arenas for smaller intimate venues, is nothing new for him. Before joining the Foo Fighters on 2002’s One by One, he spent much of his time playing smaller venues. His music career started in the punk rock scene, with him playing with bands such as Lost Kittenz, No Use for a Name and Me First and The Gimme Gimmes.
“It’s never really something I got away from because through all the years I’ve always done little bands, and projects, and tours, and things on the side, and it’s always been in little bars, and little clubs, and that sort of thing,” he says. “It’s what I’ve spent so much of my musical life when I was younger playing in little bars and stuff. So, it’s a comfortable environment.”
With the ability to jump between one of the biggest rock bands in the world and his own projects, Shiflett feels very fortunate.
“I’m really lucky that I get to do all kinds of things,” he says. “I get to work on various music things big and small and everything in between. All I ever wanted was to be a working musician. I don’t take it lightly that that’s what I get to do. It’s a wonderful life, and I dig it.”
Chris Shiflett plays The Back Room @ Colectivo on Tuesday, Sept. 3, at 8 p.m.
