Originally found at: http://www.illinimedia.com/buzz/spring_2000/20000323/musi1.html

On March 28, the Foo Fighters, along with fellow alternative rockers, The Red Hot Chilli Peppers, will be invading the Champaign-Urbana music scene. Despite feeling the loss of guitarist Pat Smear this past year, with their third full-length release, There Is Nothing Left To Lose, the Foo Fighters continue to make an impact on the music world with their unique blend of catchy guitar-licks and slapstick humor. Recently, buzz caught up with new guitarist Chris Shiflett, and learned a little bit about what being a Foo Fighter is all about.

buzz: We know that you’re the newest addition to the Foo Fighters, Chris, but when exactly did you join, and how did you become a member of the band?

Shiflett: I joined the band near the end of August last year. I was in Los Angeles at the time and a friend told me that the band was advertising for a new guitarist. I was actually on vacation at the time.

buzz: So it was kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing?

Shiflett: Yeah, I was a huge fan of the band so I basically sat in my room and played along to all of their records until I knew all the songs well enough to audition.

buzz: How is the music of the Foo Fighters different from that which you have played in the past?

Shiflett: In all it’s a little more interesting to me, at least at this point in time—not that I didn’t enjoy playing in my former band. It’s just cool due to the use of different keys and open tunings whereas my former band played music that was closer to punk rock.

buzz: Since you said you have been a fan, how do you feel the Foo Fighters have progressed as a band over the past three albums?

Shiflett: I think that the three albums show maturity in Dave’s songwriting ability. It has shown a natural progression.

buzz: Which album is your favorite?

Shiflett: I really like the new one; it’s my favorite right now.

buzz: What do you see as your biggest role in the band?

Shiflett: That remains to be seen. Mostly, I’ve just been playing the songs that they have already written, although this past week we began recording a few tracks at Dave’s house. That has been an amazing experience in itself.

buzz: Since joining the band, are there any experiences which stand out as particularly good or bad?

Shiflett: Nothing really bad has happened since joining the band. I just had to get used to playing in front of big audiences. Down in Australia we did a whole series of shows including the Big Day Festival, which was in front of 40- to 50,000 people. We played two-hour sets and the whole thing was pretty amazing. We also played a series of smaller club shows which were also great. I enjoyed playing those smaller shows the most.

buzz: So, what exactly does the future hold for you and the Foo Fighters at this point?

Shiflett: Right now we are going to concentrate on finishing the current tour and then we’ll turn our attention to recording new material.

buzz: Do the Foo Fighters ever play any cover material or explore different music forms such as playing an acoustic show?

Shiflett: Actually, we covered the Pink Floyd song, “Have A Cigar.” It’s a B-side on an Australian release. Dave played an acoustic version of “Everlong” on “The Howard Stern Show” a while back, and the band also played an acoustic show recently.

buzz: So you guys just busted out the Martin guitars and went at it?

Shiflett: That’s exactly what we did, and the songs all hold up very well acoustically.

buzz: Speaking of equipment, do you have any personal preference in your choice of ax?

Shiflett: I love the Les Paul Custom, but let’s not also forget the Gibson Explorer. It’s a great guitar.

buzz: Humor appears to be a pretty large aspect of the Foo Fighters. Many of their videos such as “Big Me,” which contains the infamous Menthos parody, seem to maintain a sense of fun about them. Also, Dave always seems ready to run off a quip to the media in an almost Beatles-esque fashion. He even handled the so-called “intoxicated moped” incident in Australia without becoming flustered. Could you comment on the band’s use of humor?

Shiflett: Dave is simply one of the funniest people I have ever met. I can’t imagine him not joking and having a good time, and their videos definitely have a sense of humor about them. The whole Australian thing was really kind of silly. I mean he was on a fucking moped on a beach. It wasn’t like he was going crazy and doing donuts on people’s lawns. Dave just took the whole thing with a grain of salt and we moved on.