Monday, July 01, 2002

You might think that Foo Fighters guitarist Chris Shiflett would be the authority on how to get signed. The 31-year-old Santa Barbara native played in well-known punk bands like 22 Jacks and No Use For A Name before auditioning for and joining the Foo Fighters in 1999. In fact, Shiflett has never been signed, and, as he prepares to record and begin shopping his own album to labels for a deal, Shiflett told StarPolish what he thinks is the best way to go about it.

The funny thing about how I got signed is -- I've never gotten signed! I've always joined bands that already had record deals. When I started playing with No Use For A Name, they had just released their second Fat Wreck Chords release, Leche Con Carne, and I immediately went on tour to support it. It was basically the same story though on a larger scale -- when I joined the Foo Fighters. They had just recorded There Is Nothing Left To Lose as a three-piece, and then auditioned guitar players when they were getting ready to hit the road. I should probably be writing an article on "How to Audition for a Rock Band."

The interesting thing is that now I'm getting ready to go through the process of trying to get a record deal for myself. I'm in the middle of recording an album at the moment with my brother Scott Shiflett (face to face) and our friend Pete Parada (also in face to face). I decided I wanted to make a record with a bunch of song ideas I had and I finally got it together to book some studio time and get it going. After all these years of playing other peoples material in different bands, I was pretty insecure about my own ideas. I don't know if they're any good or not, but I do feel like we're making something of which Ill be proud, and with which I'll be happy. It's been really fun to just make a record without any expectations.

Basically, my plan is to work on it throughout the summer when I have time off from the Foo's and, when it's done, we'll try to find a good home for it. Whether that's a major label or an indie (or selling it off my Web site), who knows, but I'm not really worrying about that at the moment. I thought about recording a demo and trying to get a record deal but it just seemed like such a long process. I'm in a lucky position where I can afford to pay for the studio time myself, so we're just winging it. I guess my advice to anyone out there trying to get signed would be that once you make a demo you're happy with, just send it out to every label you possibly can and don't be afraid to repeat the process over and over. It usually doesn't happen on the first try, so be persistent. Also, try to be as knowledgeable about the music industry as you can. Ask lots of questions and pick up a copy of Donald Passman's book, All You Need to Know About the Music Business. Remember, this business is every bit as slimy as stereotypes imply, so watch your back!