When he’s on stage, Chris Shiflett has to try and “keep the devil out of my head”.
The 52-year-old musician – who is best known as the guitarist for the Foo Fighters – admits one of the hardest things about performing is not focusing on the one or two members of the audience who might not react the way he hopes they will.
Speaking to Guitarist: “I think most musicians struggle with insecurity on some level.
“It’s funny because musicians are all narcissists. It takes some ego to say, ‘This is my idea, listen to it!
“The hardest thing about performing is not letting the devil get in your head.
“It can be the best f****** crowd and there’s some guy in the back laughing – and that f**** up your whole thing.
“It’s crazy, you know.”
Chris finds it particularly hard when performing his alt-country solo material because it doesn’t get the reaction he’s used to when playing in bands.
He added: “The thing that f**** me the most was in my younger years playing in No Use For A Name, where the barometer for whether it was a good gig was how hard the crowd danced and how wild the pit was.
“It ruined me for the rest of my life because I don’t play music that gets that reaction.
“You just try to keep the dark thoughts out when you’re on stage.”
The Rocker has stopped trying to make too many plans about where to go from here.
