“Guitar playing is alive and well” Foo Fighters’ Chris Shiflett on why he thinks guitar is having a “renaissance”
“There are so many great players out there, and a lot of them aren’t in rock music.”
Image: Frazer Harrison / Getty Images
Foo Fighters guitarist Chris Shiflett has argued he believes that guitar is having a “renaissance”, despite the seemingly perpetual conversation about the death of guitar and rock music.
Shiflett is not only ready to hit the road with the Foos following the release of their latest album But Here We Are (which landed not long before a stellar Glastonbury set under the pseudonym of The Churnups back in June), but will also soon be performing some shows ahead of his solo album, Lost At Sea, which lands on 20 October.
Speaking to us at Guitar.com, Shiflett discussed a plethora of his current musical endeavours, including his popular podcast – Shred With Shifty. In each episode, he interviews a well-respected guitar hero and asks them to play through one of their most important solos or licks with him, where they also share tales of their lives and careers so far.
Discussing the podcast with us, he explained why the skill sets and life experiences shared during each show pulls apart the false equivalence that guitar music is rock music, and why guitar is not going anywhere.
“I think most guitar players, most musicians, are just big music fans,” Shiflett says. “I think if there’s a through line it’s that, regardless of what genre people are known for, they tend to love a lot of stuff, and that shows up in their guitar playing. One of the driving motivations with this thing is to not be locked down into any one genre or another.
“There’s just so much out there,” he states. “I think guitar playing is in a bit of a renaissance. You’ve heard for a long time that guitar music is dead. I think that that’s totally wrong.
“Rock ‘n’ roll, as we’ve known it for a long time, might be becoming more and more of a niche genre. But guitar playing is alive and well. There are so many great players out there, and a lot of them aren’t in rock music.”
You can check out the most recent episode of Shiflett’s podcast below:
To view all upcoming Foo Fighter tour dates, visit the band’s website. You can also keep up to date with Chris Shiflett’s solo music and latest live show announcements on his official site too.