Every iconic guitarist draws inspiration from the greats that came before. Many of the best guitarists of our generation cite previous works from the likes of Slash, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Steve Cropper, and more as some of their favourite industry players. For Foo Fighters’ Chris Shiflett, becoming a great guitarist was a more holistic experience, one which was driven by emotion and simplicity.
In the early 2000s, Foo Fighters were in a tough position. They had recently lost two guitarists because Pat Smear quit, and Franz Stahl, was fired. Naturally, frontman Dave Grohl sought out to recruit the position via a series of auditions. At the time, Shiflett had already made a name for himself in the underground scene, working in a number of bands like the Gimme Gimmes.
After a number of subpar auditions, the band immediately clicked with Shiflett, and together they began working on their next touring cycle. Shiflett’s contributions to the band have been widely praised for his incredibly dynamic guitar playing, adding a significant amount of muscle to the band’s sound. Before becoming a professional, however, Shiflett’s musical inspirations were largely driven by discovering the greats.
When he first started playing the guitar, Shiflett admits wanting to play Ozzy Osbourne songs but credits his guitar teacher for knowing precisely what to switch him onto: “[My teacher] made me get a Beatles songbook for beginners, which I still have to this day,” he says. “I found it not so long ago in a box of old stuff.”
However, despite having a great teacher, Shiflett admits he wasn’t exactly the best student. “I was a terrible guitar student, though,” he said. “It wasn’t until I started playing in bands in high school that I made any real progression and got better. The scales and loop chords my teacher showed me definitely helped; I’m thankful that he forced me to learn them because they’ve become the foundation of everything that I do.”
The Beatles’ catalogue makes for some excellent beginner songs for guitarists. Most of their tracks follow an easy chord progression: ‘Hey Jude’ mostly consists of D, C, and G chords with an equally as simple accompanying melody. However, even though The Beatles classic gave Shiflett his first exposure to guitar playing, it wasn’t the first song that inspired him to become a musician.
In fact, the first track that inspired Shiflett to take music seriously as a potential profession was the Kiss hit ‘Shock Me’. “I was such a big fan of that band before I even played music,” he says. “I was obsessed with them, particularly Ace Frehley; having idolised him, it’s no coincidence that when I decided to pick up an instrument, I chose the guitar.”
He added: “I was a little kid when Scott brought some of their records home, and I just loved everything about it: the music, the look, the craziness and mythology, the fire-breathing and blood… the whole thing was overwhelming.”
