Thanks to Tania

was the parting with Chris Shiftlett [for the Foo Fighters in 1998] cool?
Dave: Oh, absolutely. I was friends with him actually, a little bit before it all happened. We have a lot of mutual friends.
Matt: We've been in a lot of the same bands together.
Dave: The 3 of us have been in 22 Jacks with our friend Joe Sibb. [Chris] is still a really good friend of ours, he comes to the shows every now and then and he'll come up and play "Feeding the Fire" with us.
Matt: Yeah, Chris is great! You know, the only thing we had a problem with was that it was about a week before a major tour was going on for More Betterness. We were like "Fuck, what're we going to do?" Joe Sibb, actually, this guy we've all been in a band with, called us up and said, "Hey, I know this guy Dave. Try him out." He came out and played a couple songs and that was it: "OK, cool. We're going on tour!" Has the press from the fact that every time his name is mentioned in the press it says, "ex-NUFAN..."
Matt: To tell you the truth, I wouldn't know. Maybe it did, maybe it didn't. There's no way to really tell. Just in interviews, people ask us. Who knows?
Dave: It's definitely not going to hurt to have our name mentioned every time there's Foo Fighters article, but it was only really for those first few moths that that happened
Matt: We haven't talked about it in a long time.
Dave: Once everyone kind of got the idea that we're all still friends, they were really happy for Chris, and I kinda knew him and we were all friends, once that circled around that was the end of it.

Ten Foot Pole
Unleashed (Epitaph)

Just when the Orange County sound starts getting mouldy, a pleasant surprise always seems to pop up. This time it's Ten Foot Pole, proving its versatility. The band's new release made me want to be young and foolish and punk as fuck all over again; it's aggressive and intense with a contemporary mix of old and new hardcore stylings. The token So-Cal sound remains, with its power pop rhythms, but this time there's a dimension of improvisation and interesting instrumental work. Even Excuses and Hey Pete - jumpy, acoustic-tinged tunes - are worthwhile digressions. A welcome addition is the guitar of Chris Shifflet from No Use For a Name and 22 Jacks (a Face to Face side project). He makes Ten Foot Pole's sound more distinctive (too bad he isn't a permanent or, at least, touring member). Perhaps Ten Foot Pole is moving ever so slightly away from its Epitaph compadres. To quote Martha Stewart, "this is a good thing." Oh, and don't worry kids: no animals were maimed or destroyed when shooting the cover photo.
Shelli Carder

May 2, 2000
The Fighters of Foo Choose Their Weapons!
Foo Fighter vocalist/guitarist Dave Grohl and guitarist Chris Schiflett have signed on to endorse our U14D UHF guitar wireless system. Dave has been using our set-up for a while and has decided to have the band officially endorse it. The Foo Fighters are currently touring in support of their latest record, There is Nothing Left to Lose, along with Red Hot Chili Peppers. - Richard