Alain Johannes
Alain Johannes Mociulski is a Chilean-American multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, whose primary instruments are guitar and bass. He is a founding member of several bands, including the alternative rock group Eleven, and has been involved with acts such as hard rock band Queens of the Stone Age, Them Crooked Vultures, PJ Harvey, Chris Cornell, Arctic Monkeys, Mark Lanegan and The Desert Sessions, both as a musician and as a producer.
Alain Johannes is nephew of Chilean nueva ola musician Peter Rock. He was born in Santiago de Chile. He was married to Natasha Shneider from 1987 until her death in 2008.
Career
In his teen years, Johannes formed the band Chain Reaction with Hillel Slovak, Todd Strassman, and Jack Irons.This band was later renamed What Is This. Todd Strassman was replaced by Flea, who was replaced, upon leaving the band, by Chris Hutchinson.
In 1987, Johannes and Natasha Shneider released the album Walk the Moon under the MCA label. Reportedly, Chris Hutchinson and Jack Irons played on some of its tracks.
Eleven was formed in 1990 and released their debut album Awake in a Dream in 1991, which included the pop based singles "Rainbows End" and "All Together". They followed this with regular releases Eleven in 1993, Thunk! in 1995, Avantgardedog in 2000, and Howling Book in 2003.
Johannes was the only other contributor on the 1996 debut album by Jason Falkner, Jason Falkner Presents Author Unknown. He was also a significant contributor to Chris Cornell's 1999 solo album, Euphoria Morning as a guitarist, writer and producer. He also toured as part of Chris Cornell's band in support of this album. He mixed and played on Jack Irons' first solo record, Attention Dimension, released in 2004, and he co-wrote on Danish stoner rock outfit The Royal Highness.
In 2005, he joined Queens of the Stone Age to play guitar as well as bass on Lullabies to Paralyze. He had previously guested on Lullabies' predecessor, Songs for the Deaf, having also co-written the track "Hanging Tree" during one of The Desert Sessions. He would participate in the tour for the album and appears on the live DVD, Over the Years and Through the Woods in the main concert. Johannes once again contributed a main role to Lullabies' follow up, Era Vulgaris, but he opted to concentrate on Eleven with Natasha Shneider, and the pair bowed out of touring before the album's promotion started.
In 2007, Johannes became a part of Brody Dalle's post-Distillers effort, Spinnerette.
In August 2009, he joined Them Crooked Vultures, with Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme and former Led Zeppelin bass player John Paul Jones. Johannes contributed guitar, bass, keyboards, and backing vocals on their 2009–2010 tour, often playing his own solo guitar section during the set.
In late 2008, a song he co-wrote with Shneider, Time for Miracles, was recorded by Adam Lambert and used in the movie 2012.
On October 5, 2010, he released his solo debut album Spark, a tribute to the late Natasha Shneider.
On September 5, 2012, Jimmy Eat World announced that he would be a producer/engineer on their 8th studio album.
In 2013, he became a player in Dave Grohl's Sound City Players project, writing and recording a song for the album, and playing a major role in the live performances.
On November 11, 2014, he released his second solo album, Fragments and Wholes Vol. 1, drawing inspiration from the death of his parents as well as that of Natasha Shneider.
Johannes began working with PJ Harvey in 2014. From 2016 to 2017, Johannes was a part of PJ Harvey's touring ensemble for her world tour in support of her album The Hope Six Demolition Project. He also played on the album itself.
In 2015, he was the producer of K's Choice album The Phantom Cowboy, and Edith Crash's Partir.
In 2016, he composed and performed the soundtrack for the Ubisoft game, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands.
In 2020, the record "Hum" was released on Ipecac Records
Musical equipment
;Guitars and basses- 1962 Fender Jazzmaster - Johannes' main guitar for the majority of his career. He bought his Jazzmaster secondhand in 1978. By happenstance the guitar's neck date is May 2, 1962, his own date of birth. It has been repainted and modified several times through the years, notably equipped with Seymour Duncan humbuckers.
- MotorAve BelAire #1 - Johannes walked into luthier Mark Fuqua's shop one day to have an old Maton repaired and spotted the prototype of what would become the BelAire, fitted with Gretsch Filtertron pickups and a Bigsby. He bought it straight away. Bandmate Josh Homme ordered one for himself and has since made them his most used guitars.
- 1968 Gibson SG
- Gibson Les Paul Florentine Prototype - Likely a Gibson prototype of the mid-90s' semi-hollow Florentine Les Pauls, Johannes' guitar features unique characteristics not found on later production models, such as a Florentine cutaway and an ES 175 style bridge in addition to its distinctive F-holes.
- Cigar box guitar - Johannes' luthier friend Matty Baratto has built numerous four- and eight-string cigar box guitars since the early 2000s, many of which have gone through Johannes to friends like Josh Homme, Dave Grohl, Brody Dalle, PJ Harvey, and John Paul Jones. Paul McCartney used one in the song "Cut Me Some Slack" with the former members of Nirvana. Johannes' guitars are wired with LR Baggs mandolin pickups.
- Yamaha SA-70 bass custom - Co-opted with Queens bandmate Troy Van Leeuwen for songs in C tuning on the Lullabies to Paralyze tour.
- Epiphone Jack Casady bass - Used for songs in E tuning on the Lullabies to Paralyze tour.
- Airline bass
- Rogue VB-100 bass
- MXR CAE Boost/Overdrive
- Voodoo Lab Pedal Power Plus
- Electro-Harmonix Holy Grail Plus
- Electro-Harmonix POG 2
- Moog Mooger Fooger Low Pass Filter
- Moog Mooger Fooger Analog Delay
- Ernie Ball VP Jr
- Dunlop MC-404 CAE Wah
- MXR ten Band EQ
- GreedTone Overdrive
- ZinkyTrue Grit Overdrive
- Fulltone Ultimate Octave
- Voodoo Lab pedal switcher
- Radial J48 Active Direct Box
- Fender Super Reverb
- Fender Twin Reverb
- Line 6 Flextone amplifiers
Selected discography
Band or artist | Album | Year | Credits |
Addie Brik | Wattsland | 1984 | Vocals, guitar, production |
What Is This | Squeezed | 1984 | Vocals, guitar |
What Is This | What Is This | 1985 | Vocals, guitar |
What Is This | 3 Out of 5 Live | 1985 | Vocals, guitar |
Thelonious Monster | Baby, You're Bummin' My Life Out in a Supreme Fashion | 1986 | Flute, saxophone |
Walk the Moon | Walk the Moon | 1987 | Vocals, guitar, saxophone, programming, percussion, e-bow |
Eleven | Awake In A Dream | 1991 | Guitar |
Sun 60 | Only | 1993 | Guitar |
Melissa Ferrick | Massive Blur | 1993 | Guitar |
Eleven | Eleven | 1993 | Guitar, vocals |
Eleven | Thunk | 1995 | Guitar, percussion, horn, sitar |
Jason Falkner | Presents Author Unknown | 1996 | Guitar |
Gouds Thumb | Gouds Thumb | 1996 | Guitar |
Dalbello | Whore | 1996 | Guitar |
Chris Cornell | Euphoria Morning | 1999 | Guitar, bass, backing vocals, theremin, mandolin, clarinet, tabla, production, mixing |
Queens of the Stone Age | Rated R | 2000 | Mixing |
Eleven | Avantgardedog | 2000 | Guitar, vocals, producer, engineer |
No Doubt | Return of Saturn | 2000 | Recording |
The Desert Sessions | Volume 7 & 8 | 2001 | Guitar, fiddle, harmonium, saxophone, vocals, clavinet, udu, mixing |
Live | V | 2001 | Sitar, production |
No Doubt | Rock Steady | 2002 | Additional engineer |
Queens of the Stone Age | Songs for the Deaf | 2002 | Organ, piano, guitar, theremin, lap steel guitar |
UNKLE | Never, Never, Land | 2003 | Remixing |
Matt Costa | Matt Costa | 2003 | Mastering |
The Desert Sessions | Volume 9 & 10 | 2003 | Guitar, bass, flute, vocals, mandolin, e-bow, keyboard |
Mondo Generator | A Drug Problem That Never Existed | 2003 | Engineer, mixing, mastering |
Eleven | Howling Book | 2003 | Guitar, vocals |
Mark Lanegan Band | Bubblegum | 2004 | Guitar, bass, drums, organ, keyboards, vocals, mixing, production |
Sugarcult | Palm Trees and Power Lines | 2004 | Additional guitar |
Jack Irons | Attention Dimension | 2004 | Banjo, flute, guitar, saxophone, vocals, sarod, engineer, mixing, marxophone, santoor |
Janubia | Mother Tongue | 2004 | Mixing, mastering, additional instrumentation |
Masters of Reality | Give Us Barabbas | 2004 | Editing |
Eagles of Death Metal | Peace Love Death Metal | 2004 | Piano, vocals, engineering, mastering, mixing |
Queens of the Stone Age | Lullabies to Paralyze | 2005 | Bass, guitar, flute, marxophone |
Queens of the Stone Age | Over the Years and Through the Woods | 2005 | Bass, guitar, backing vocals |
Millionaire | Paradisiac | 2005 | Mixing, recording |
Eagles of Death Metal | Death by Sexy | 2006 | Mixing |
Wires on Fire | Wires on Fire | 2006 | Saxophone, mixing, mastering, engineering |
Queens of the Stone Age | Era Vulgaris | 2007 | Bass, guitar, fiddle, marxophone, mixing |
Silverchair | Young Modern | 2007 | Slide guitar |
Hilary Duff | Dignity | 2007 | Mixing |
Puscifer | V is for Vagina | 2007 | Guitar |
Spinnerette | Ghetto Love EP | 2008 | Bass |
Eagles of Death Metal | Heart On | 2008 | Horn, engineer |
The Gutter Twins | Saturnalia | 2008 | Recording |
Kelly Clarkson | All I Ever Wanted | 2009 | Guitar |
Nosfell | Nosfell | 2009 | Producing, mixing, guitar, marxophone, bass, cigfiddle |
Spinnerette | Spinnerette | 2009 | Production, mixing, engineer, bass, guitar, cigfiddle |
Arctic Monkeys | Humbug | 2009 | Engineering |
Them Crooked Vultures | Them Crooked Vultures | 2009 | Recording, backing vocals |
Alain Johannes | Spark | 2010 | Recording, producing, mixing, guitars, vocals, bass |
Manna | Shackles | 2011 | Producer |
Mark Lanegan | Blues Funeral | 2012 | Producing, engineering, mixing, guitar, bass, keyboards, percussion, backing vocals |
Sound City | Reel to Real | 2013 | Bass, vocals on "Your Wife is Calling"; guitar on "Centipede"; vocals, guitars on "A Trick With No Sleeve" |
Loading Data | Double Disco Animal Style | 2013 | Producer, backing vocals, drums, keyboards, bass, guitars |
Jimmy Eat World | Damage | 2013 | Producer |
Brody Dalle | Diploid Love | 2014 | Co-producer, guitars, bass, piano, trumpet, mellotron, slide guitars |
Alain Johannes | Fragments & Wholes, Vol. 1 | 2014 | Recording, producing, mixing, guitars, vocals, bass |
K's Choice | The Phantom Cowboy | 2015 | Producer |
Kazuya Yoshii | "Chōzetsu Dynamic!" | 2015 | Guitar |
Edith Crash | Partir | 2015 | Producer |
Kensico | White Sage | 2015 | Guitars, e-bow, cigar box, percussions, recording |
PJ Harvey | The Hope Six Demolition Project | 2016 | Guitar, handclapping, keyboards, percussion, saxophone, vocals |
Alain Johannes | Ghost Recon Wildlands OST | 2016 | itaru |
Mark Lanegan Band | Gargoyle | 2017 | Producer, co-writer, keyboards, guitar, bass, mellotron, synthesizer, percussion, e-bow, vocals |
Garry Pitcairn | The Gospel | 2019 | Mixing, mastering |