Show Notes
This time on Shred With Shifty, Chris Shiflett steps out on his own. Shiflett starts up with a video montage of fan-submitted solo takes on leads from Charlie Starr, Rivers Cuomo, Mike McCready, and others. Some are more faithful than others, and Shifty celebrates the originality. “Learn it kinda, and then put your own twist on it,” he encourages. Next, he’s cued up clips from his sit-downs with Paisley, Starr, McCready, and one of his favorite guitarists, Jawbreaker’s Blake Schwarzenbach.
Then it’s time for a round of questions from the listeners. Fans probe Shifty about anything and everything: his favorite Van Halen deep cut, whether he still woodsheds scales, his opinion on modelers, and what makes him nervous during his biggest shows. When someone asks the secret to band-life longevity, Shiflett answers earnestly. “I always say the trick to being in a band isn’t always necessarily how you play whatever instrument it is,” he explains. “It’s how well can you sit in tight quarters with a bunch of other people and not annoy the fuck out of them.”
Later, he talks about why cowboy chords are actually his go-to “guitar-store lick,” and has a hilarious miscommunication with a listener asking if they should “top-wrap” their Les Paul. “What the fuck is top-wrapping a Les Paul?” Shifty responds incredulously. “I’m just gonna say no. Leave your Les Paul how it is.”
Be sure to stick around to hear about Shiflett’s worst onstage guitar-tone debacle. Hint: it happened during a late-night television performance with the Foos.
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Producer: Jason Shadrick Executive Producers: Brady Sadler and Jake Brennan for Double Elvis Engineering support by Matt Tahaney and Matt Beaudion Video Editors: Dan Destefano and Addison Sauvan
Special thanks to Chris Peterson, Greg Nacron, and the entire Volume.com crew.
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