When Dave Grohl told you that with the new album he wanted to make a Foo Fighters record that got people dancing, what did you think?
Well it's not like we sit down and Dave goes: "I wanna make a dance record." I would love to pretend everything's this big, planned-out thing, but it's not. It's more like he said: "I've been listening to a lot of [Bowie's album] Let's Dance, and the feel of that record oozes into what we do."

Was the house in which you recorded the Medicine At Midnight album really haunted?
I'm not a big believer in ghost stories, but I will say we recorded it in a spooky old fucked-up house in the Valley, for sure. You'd be walking down a dark pathway at night and it would be like: "What the fuck is that?"

You were in a band called Lost Kittenz in the late eighties. What were they like?
Oh, exactly what it sounded like. We were trying to be Faster Pussycat. I grew up in Santa Barbara, and Hanoi Rocks were one of my favourite bands. I'd visit LA when I was a kid, and it was when Guns N' Roses and Jetboy was bubbling up. That was the moment I went: "Fuck yeah, this shit is for me!"

Is it true that you turned down an audition for Guns N' Roses before joining the Foo Fighters?
That story has been so misunderstood. In 1999, a buddy of mine said to me: "I think I could get you an audition with Guns N' Roses, cos I hear they're auditioning guitar players." And I said: "I heard the Foo Fighters' guitar player just quit. See if you can get me an audition with them." That was when Guns was Axl and a bunch of other people. Believe me, if it was 1987 I would have gone: "Hey guys, I'm over here! Come get me!"

Were you intimidated when you joined the Foos?
Oh, hugely. I was so nervous going into that audition, because I love them so much and I wanted the gig so bad. When I joined, I'd have to tell myself: "Stop staring at Dave on stage." I spent the first few years constantly worried about getting fired. That's what happens when you join a band who are on their third guitar player in three records. Like: "Something keeps going fucking wrong with this position here." Pat Smear jokingly said to me the other day: "Dude, you're still the new guy." And I've been here for twenty-one years!

You've got a great country music podcast,Walking The Floor. When did you get properly into country?
The singer in [Shiflett's pre-Foos band] No Use For A Name was really into Uncle Tupelo and Whiskeytown, and he turned me on to that alt.country thing. It struck a chord, and I just dived into classic country. It's so deep you can go off on that forever.

Qs: Dave Everley     Pic: Danny Clinch