In Chris Shiflett’s fetching 2022 single “Long, Long Year,” a loping, lonesome country-rocking number with echoes of The Band, he lays into a chorus with a mantra-like simplicity: “It’s been a long, long year / Ain’t it?” Rinse, repeat the refrain. The phrase speaks for itself, and for the time-twisted and sad-sacking era that the pandemic has made. But life and live music go on.
Shiflett’s story is well-known in these parts, Santa Barbara being the home turf and stomping grounds for the man who would become a critical member of the Foo Fighters, starting back in 1999. That cornerstone of the alt-rock scene, inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame last year, suffered a blow this year with the passing of drummer Taylor Hawkins. Meanwhile, Shiflett’s solo artist life continues its upward trajectory.
Shiflett lives in Los Angeles with his family these days, while keeping a place in the old hometown, where he will serve as master of rocking ceremonies at SOhO for the “Hometown Holiday Hoedown” on Thursday, December 15. Joining Shiflett and the band will be another local-gone-global legend, Nerf Herder, along with Logan Livermore.