This week I’m talking with Scott Shiflett from the punk rock band Face to Face.

I find punk rockers are an interesting bunch.

Why?

Because I’m a huge fan of the DIY approach to life.

Punkers are famously headstrong and often go after what they want without waiting for an invitation by what has become known as a gate-keeper. Face to Face got started in the early 90s. Scott Shiflett, a freaking madman, joined them as their new bassist 95. Here’s something a lot of people might not know about him. He’s one hell of a good guitar player too and one of my favorite musicians, because he’s a real musician and not one of those knuckleheads playing a laptop.

If you’d like to see what an actual musician looks like then check out his videos on instagram.

In the mean time meet Scott…

Q: What is your favorite sandwich and who makes the best one?

S.S. I don’t have a favorite sandwich

Q: What is your favorite meal your mom makes?

S.S. Pancakes, Spaghetti, maybe the chocolate cream cheese muffins she would make (at my request for many years)

Q: How did you meet your best friend?

S.S. My wife introduced us, He was an engineer at a studio she worked for, Finally had a professional reason to meet this guy i’d been hearing about. (that reason was a remix for Mortal Combat: Annihilation) we’ve been best mates ever since

Q: When or how did you find what you wanted to do?

S.S. I’ve wanted to play music for as long as i can remember, my older brother got going with drums then switched to guitar (paving a way for the rest of us). Mom sprung for lessons but we were really “self taught” having cut our homemade chops on early Sabbath, Purple, Zeppelin (etc) records on our own

Q: How did you pursue it?

5: Mom finally agreed to buy me a bass (i figured one brother was already on guitar, had to take up a different position if we were ever going to get that band together..)

Q: Did you have a mentor/mentors in pursuing it. Who where they and what did they do for you:

S.S. My older brother Mike was the biggest influence by far. My guitar/bass teacher was a nice guy to bounce ideas around with but Mike was far more impacting in terms of influence and style.. our tastes were mostly hard rock, classic rock, heavy metal and a bit of punk (not counting the influence of our parents tastes) we were guitar playing kids..

Q: What do you dream of doing or are you doing it? If so then what is the goal?

S.S. I do my favorite thing to a large extent though I sometimes wonder what i’d do if I didn’t have such an overriding compulsion to do what I do..   the goal? a painless death i suppose.

Q: What would your 15-year-old self say to you now:

S.S. “Not bad, I could do better”

      (15 yr old Scott Shiflett)

Q: If life were a person what would you say:

S.S. Thank you

Q:  If you were in charge of the world and you have no restrictions, real or imagined, what is the one thing you would give it:

S.S. Balance, equilibrium and a peaceful resolution

Q: Has morality disintegrated to the point that we now need Yelp for people:

S.S. Maybe, maybe not.. it could always be worse

Q: How is society getting things right:

S.S. North, South, East & West grid is a fine idea..

Q:  What do people need in order to see each other as equals:

S.S. Compassion

Q: Do we still need religion:

No

Q: Do you have hope for the future:

S.S. The future will be fine regardless of us.. sure we’ve messed things up “locally” but geologic time is vast enough to render our misgivings inconsequential

Q: Hot topic of the week: This is an open discussion. Could be Gay marriage or Confederate flag, Donald Trump, for example.  

S.S. The North American Equestrian Association is making a profound ruling..  one would presume

Q: What are three things that work for you: For Example, I can’t find a good razor. Because of an excessive requirement for massive profits I find that many products don’t live up their advertising. What works for you:

S.S. The fine musical instruments of Fender Guitars, that’s Fender Guitars for all your fine shopping needs

Do Americans have the right to complain about immigration:

S.S. First you’d have to define rights but I suppose anyone can comment on anything they like and it’s up to the listener to follow their own intellectual and moral compass

2: If our value system is based on scarcity then what of a human life, now that the population is in the billions:

S.S. In a poetic way that pretty much says it all.

3: Would life be easier if racism were accurate: (This is a question to get you thinking about racism. Often ideas of race are talked about as an absolute truth.)

S.S. History has taught us to fear the ways of others because they could be your downfall, denigrating and profiling others is usually a pretext to enforcing class inequity on minority populations.

4: What would you like to see written about you on your gravestone:

Here Lies Scott Shiflett

          “also-ran”

(kidding, I’m gonna be cremated or eaten by wolves)

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