The Foo Fighters once again have gone to the ranks of punk bands to find
a second guitarist.
Former No Use for a Name and 22 Jacks guitarist Chris Shiflett, 28, will
tour with the rock group fronted by ex-Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl,
according to a press release from the band's publicity firm.
"I'm incredibly happy," Shiflett said in the statement. "The itinerary
looks crazy but I'm excited to be that busy. I can't think of any other
band on earth I'd rather be in."
Shiflett is scheduled to make his live debut with the Foo Fighters on
Sept. 10 at the Gravity Games in Providence, R.I. The band will tour the
U.S. in early 2000, and Europe sometime before that, according to a Foo
Fighters spokesperson.
"We held open auditions for 35 people," Grohl said in the statement.
"Chris was the best guitarist and best singer out of the whole lot. Plus
he seemed so genuinely excited and fit in with the rest of us so well.
Hopefully, he'll be able to withstand our rigorous hazing processes and
earn his promotion to full-time bandmember."
The Foo Fighters bowed out of the Woodstock '99 festival in July, citing
both the need to mix their upcoming third album and the defection of
guitarist Franz Stahl. Stahl, an ex-member of Washington, D.C., punk
band Scream, in which Grohl also briefly played, joined the band after
original guitarist Pat Smear quit in September 1997. Smear, too, had
played with Grohl before, in Nirvana.
Grohl formed the Foo Fighters in 1995, following the 1994 suicide of
Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain.
Shiflett will not appear on the band's third album, There Is Nothing
Left to Lose (Nov. 2), which was recorded before he joined the group.
Grohl played all the guitars on the 11-track album, as he did on the Foo
Fighters' self-titled 1995 debut, a spokesperson for the group said.
A single, "Learn to Fly," is scheduled to be released Sept. 20.
Grohl and bandmates Nate Mendel (bass) and Taylor Hawkins (drums) recorded
the album at Grohl's Virginia home earlier this year with producer Adam
Kasper (Soundgarden). The band's previous album, The Colour and the
Shape (1996), was produced by Pixies producer Gil Norton and featured
the radio hits "Everlong" (RealAudio
excerpt) and "My Hero" (RealAudio
excerpt).
Guitar hasn't been the Foo Fighters' only trouble spot. William Goldsmith,
the group's original drummer, quit in February 1997 to play with a
re-formed Sunny Day Real Estate. Former Alanis Morissette drummer Hawkins
replaced him.
The track listing for There Is Nothing Left to Lose: "Breakout,"
"Generator," "Next Year," "Learn to Fly," "Gimme Stiches," "Next Year,"
"Headwires," "Ain't It the Life," "M.I.A.," "Aurora" and "Live-In Skin."
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