A native of southern California, guitarist
Chris Shiflett has established himself as a prominent sideman in the alt/punk world.
Shiflett began his career as a member of the Santa Barbara glam-punk outfit Lost Kittenz, which featured
Steve Sherlock (who would go on to form
Nerf Herder) and
Marko DeSantis (of
Sugarcult fame). In 1995,
Shiflett joined
No Use for a Name, playing guitar as a part of their rotating lineup up until 1999’s
More Betterness!. Around the same time,
Shiflett was also recruited by
Swingin’ Utters singer
Spike Slawson to play guitar for the punk super group and cover band extraordinaire
Me First & the Gimme Gimmes. In 1999,
Shiflett left
No Use for a Name to take over guitar duties for the
Foo Fighters, replacing short-lived guitarist
Franz Stahl (who had previously replaced
the Germs’
Pat Smear). He made his album debut with the band on 2002’s One by One, and continues to play with them. Looking for an outlet for his own songwriting,
Shiflett has also created a number of side projects. In 2003, he formed the punk band
Jackson United with his brother,
Scott Shiflett, and
Pete Parada (both of
Face to Face). After recording two albums with
Jackson United,
Shiflett decided to explore some of his other influences. In 2010, he released his first album under his own name, the country-influenced
Chris Shiflett & the Dead Peasants on le Coq Napoleon.
–
Gregory Heaney, Rovi