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Monday, February 20, 2017

NEWS: Foo Fighters star to release country album...

WELL, everyone’s going country… First we learn that Bad Religion’s Greg Graffin is heading down the county road and now the Foo Fighters Chis Shiflett is preparing to release one too.


‘West Coast Town’ will be released on 14th April on SideOneDummy Records.

Here’s the blurb:
Although he's known worldwide as the Foo Fighters’ lead guitarist, Chris’ solo country work has also made him a hit in the Alt Country scene, where his signature vocals and killer guitar work serve up a heady brew of raw barroom honky tonk, hi-octane rockabilly, and here-and-now Americana.


Chris interviewed Grammy Award-winning producer Dave Cobb for his weekly podcast at Nashville’s historic RCA Studio A (shortly after Cobb moved his recording operations into the iconic room). There, amidst vintage gear and the ghosts of country music's finest, Cobb and Shiflett formed a genuine friendship. “When I left the studio," Chris remembers,  "I thought, I have to make a record with that dude. I was already a big fan of the records Cobb produces, and his setup was just so amazing.”

West Coast Town is a product of that creative partnership. Working with Dave Cobb and Grammy Award-winning engineer/mixer Matt Ross-Spang, Chris recorded his latest album at RCA Studio A over a three-week period, during the Summer of 2016. With every song captured in just two or three takes, this album often sounds more like the work of a live band than a studio creation.

Joining Chris Shiflett (on electric guitar) and Dave Cobb (on acoustic guitar and percussion) are an A-List collection of studio musicians, including Robby Turner (Waylon Jennings, Chris Stapleton) on pedal steel, Chris Powell (Brent Cobb, Jamey Johnson) on drums and percussion, Adam Gardner (Southern Family) on bass and Michael Webb (Southern Family) on keyboards.

Rolling Stone premiered West Coast Town's title track this week and have been impressed by previews of the album. They acknowledge what working with Dave Cobb in his legendary studio has added to the mix “...Working in such a historic setting with one of the genre's most forward-leaning producers clearly rubbed off on Shiflett, as West Coast Town authentically straddles the line between vintage country cool and the boundary-blurring spirit of modern Americana.”

West Coast Town is Chris’ third solo album: an autobiographical, ten track release that finds him pulling triple-duty as singer, songwriter and bandleader. It follows 2010’s Chris Shiflett and The Dead Peasants and 2013’s classic collection of honky-tonk covers, All Hat and No Cattle.


Chris Shiflett comments “Getting out of town and working in Nashville with Cobb was the best thing I could have done and was one of my favourite recording experiences of my life. I spent a few months woodshedding my songs and got them as far as I could take them but Dave took them even further, and his crew of musicians were a joy to work with. I can’t wait to take these tunes out on the road and play them live.”


WEST COAST TOWN TRACK LIST

1. Sticks & Stones (Chris Shiflett)
2. West Coast Town (Chris Shiflett)
3. Goodnight Little Rock (Chris Shiflett)
4. Room 102 (Chris Shiflett, Brian Whelan)
5. The Girl’s Already Gone (Chris Shiflett)
6. Blow Out The Candles (Chris Shiflett, Brian Whelan)
7. I’m Still Drunk (Chris Shiflett)
8. Cherry (Chris Shiflett)
9. Tonight’s Not Over (Chris Shiflett, Brian Whelan)
10. Still Better Days (Chris Shiflett, Brian Whelan)

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