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Chris Shiflett finds being a solo artist “challenging”.
The Foo Fighters guitarist released his third solo record, ‘Lost at Sea’ this year, but he admitted it took a lot of time to adjust to being the sole figure in the spotlight.
Asked how it was transitioning from sideman to frontman, he told Classic Rock magazine: “Challenging.
“Guitar playing is my comfort zone.
“But to be the singer and then also have to talk to the crowd, I had to work at that.
“What you realise is that people want to have a good time.
“They’ve hired a sitter, bought tickets, bought a few drinks,maybe bought a t-shirt, they’ve invested in the evening.
“So that’s my job up on stage, to provide them with a good time.
“Once I figured that out, things got a lot better.”
The 52-year-old musician also hosts two podcasts, ‘Walking The Floor’ and ‘Shred With Shifty’ and he admitted he was driven by a desire to always be busy and not waste time.
He said: “To be honest, I’m not good at downtime.
“I have to be playing, learning something new all the time…
“The older I’ve gotten, I’ve been sort of gripped by this feeling of, ‘Damn, I wasted so much time when I was younger!’
“And you never get that back.
“I’m lucky that I’ve been able to do music full-time. And I want to keep doing it.”
When it comes to writing music, Chris is determined not to get too nostalgic.
He said: “I think we’re all overly nostalgic and kind of overly sentimental.
“With songwriting, I’m constantly digging into earlier periods in my life.
“And I find myself pushing back against that because too much nostalgia is a dangerous thing.
“I try to write in the present.
“I have a pretty happy life, but I’m not comfortable with happy-go-lucky, zip-a-dee-doo-dah songs.
“There’s real life stuff that happens over time – friends dying, thoughts of mortality – and some of these songs really sort of speak to that.”
The Foo Fighters guitarist released his third solo record, ‘Lost at Sea’ this year, but he admitted it took a lot of time to adjust to being the sole figure in the spotlight.
Asked how it was transitioning from sideman to frontman, he told Classic Rock magazine: “Challenging.
“Guitar playing is my comfort zone.
“But to be the singer and then also have to talk to the crowd, I had to work at that.
“What you realise is that people want to have a good time.
“They’ve hired a sitter, bought tickets, bought a few drinks,maybe bought a t-shirt, they’ve invested in the evening.
“So that’s my job up on stage, to provide them with a good time.
“Once I figured that out, things got a lot better.”
The 52-year-old musician also hosts two podcasts, ‘Walking The Floor’ and ‘Shred With Shifty’ and he admitted he was driven by a desire to always be busy and not waste time.
He said: “To be honest, I’m not good at downtime.
“I have to be playing, learning something new all the time…
“The older I’ve gotten, I’ve been sort of gripped by this feeling of, ‘Damn, I wasted so much time when I was younger!’
“And you never get that back.
“I’m lucky that I’ve been able to do music full-time. And I want to keep doing it.”
When it comes to writing music, Chris is determined not to get too nostalgic.
He said: “I think we’re all overly nostalgic and kind of overly sentimental.
“With songwriting, I’m constantly digging into earlier periods in my life.
“And I find myself pushing back against that because too much nostalgia is a dangerous thing.
“I try to write in the present.
“I have a pretty happy life, but I’m not comfortable with happy-go-lucky, zip-a-dee-doo-dah songs.
“There’s real life stuff that happens over time – friends dying, thoughts of mortality – and some of these songs really sort of speak to that.”