Chris Shiflett turned down a Guns N’ Roses audition in favour of Foo Fighters
For a band that had changed the world of rock in a few short years, Foo Fighters were in shambles in the early 2000s. Coming out of the era of There Is Nothing Left to Lose, the band had been relegated to a trio after guitarist Pat Smear quit and recent guitarist Franz Stahl was fired. While the band managed to finish their third record, it wouldn’t be easy getting a new guitarist on board.
Though Taylor Hawkins was convinced that the band should go the way of The Police and become a trio, Grohl believed there needed to be an extra member, telling Back and Forth, “Musically, we needed more”.
Hawkins also remembered the ongoing argument for most of the band’s output: “It comes back to the balance of drums and guitar,” he said. “We argue about it every time we make a record. I want the drums to be louder, but Dave’s like, ‘It’s a Foo Fighters record, the guitars are really loud.’”
While the band was figuring out their situation, Chris Shiflett still made a name for himself in the underground punk scene. Although he was a few years younger than the rest of the band, Shiflett’s upbringing wasn’t too far removed from what Grohl had done in his days with Scream, working in bands like No Use for a Name and Me First and the Gimme Gimmes.
However, Shiflett’s luck could have been different if he had accepted the original offer from his agent. When talking about getting the gig, Shiflett recalled, “I got a call from my agent saying, ‘I think I can get you an audition with Guns N’ Roses’. And I was like, ‘I don’t think I really wanna do that. But I heard that Foo Fighters’ guitar player quit. Can you see if you can get me an audition?’”.
Once auditions started, Grohl found himself in a very different position than he imagined, saying, “We were at Guitar Center, and there was a line of guitar players ready to audition, and I was terrified.”
Then again, Grohl had fond memories of the subpar auditions before Shiftlett, saying, “There was one kid who was so nervous. He immediately wanted us to sign some shit. And we went to play, he went over to his guitar case, and it was locked. He had a new guitar in a locked guitar case and didn’t have a key.”
Immediately clicking with Shiflett, the band quickly began work on their next touring cycle, with Shiflett giving the band a certain amount of muscle. As time went on, though, Shiflett was hesitant about Pat Smear coming back during the Wasting Light years, recalling, “There would be times where Pat almost came back. I was just like, ‘What the fuck? I just got here.’ As far as I was concerned, Pat was just someone who wanted my job.”
It didn’t take long for the rest of the band to settle in, with Smear returning to provide lead guitar for the band alongside Shiftlett. As far as Grohl is concerned, this is the way that the band’s guitar sound should always be, recalling, “I sort of play the rhythm right up the middle, and Chris has this very precise way of playing. But Pat can put on a guitar and make it go ‘WOOOOSH’.”
