Alain Johannes Mociulski (born May 2, 1962) is a Chilean-American

multi-instrumentalist A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays two or more musical instruments, often but not exclusively at a professional level of proficiency. Also known as woodwind doubler, doubling, the practice allows greater ensemble flexibility and mor ...

and

vocalist Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

, whose primary instruments are

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

and

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

. He is a founding member of several bands, including the

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

group

Eleven Eleven or 11 may refer to: *11 (number) * One of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011 Literature * ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn *''Eleven'', a 1970 collection of short stories by Patricia Highsmith *''Eleven'' ...

, and has been involved with acts such as

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...

band

Queens of the Stone Age Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated as QOTSA or QotSA) is an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1996. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme shortly before he returned to his native Palm Desert, California. ...

Them Crooked Vultures Them Crooked Vultures is an American rock supergroup formed in Los Angeles in 2009 with American musician Josh Homme on lead vocals and guitar, English musician John Paul Jones on bass and keyboards, and American musician Dave Grohl on drums a ...

PJ Harvey Polly Jean Harvey (born 9 October 1969) is an English singer-songwriter. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments. Harvey began her career in 1988 when she joined local band Automat ...

Chris Cornell Christopher John Cornell ( Boyle; July 20, 1964 – May 18, 2017) was an American musician, best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and the primary lyricist for the rock music, rock bands Soundgarden and Audioslave. He also had a ...

Arctic Monkeys Arctic Monkeys are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Sheffield in 2002. They comprise lead singer Alex Turner, drummer Matt Helders, guitarist Jamie Cook and bassist Nick O'Malley. The co-founder and original bassist Andy Nicholson ...

Mark Lanegan Mark William Lanegan (November 25, 1964 – February 22, 2022) was an American singer and songwriter. First becoming prominent as the lead singer for the early grunge band Screaming Trees, he was also known as a member of Queens of the Stone Age ...

and

The Desert Sessions The Desert Sessions are a musical collective series, founded by Josh Homme in 1997. Artists such as Brant Bjork, PJ Harvey, Twiggy Ramirez, Dave Catching, Nick Oliveri, Mark Lanegan, John McBain, Ben Shepherd, Josh Freese, Chris Goss, Al ...

, both as a musician and as a producer. Alain Johannes is nephew of Chilean musician Peter Rock. He was born in

Santiago de Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital city, capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's Chilean Central Valley, central valley and is the center ...

. He was married to

Natasha Shneider Natalia Mikhailovna Schneiderman ( rus, links=yes, Наталья Михайловна Шнайдерман, Natal'ya Mikhaylovna Shnayderman, nɐˈtalʲjə mʲɪˈxajlɐvnə ˈʂnajdʲɪrmən; May 22, 1956 – July 2, 2008), known as Natasha Sh ...

from 1987 until her death in 2008.

Career

In his teen years, Johannes formed the band Chain Reaction (later Anthym) with

Hillel Slovak Hillel Slovak (; April 13, 1962 – June 25, 1988) was an Israeli-American musician, best known as the founding guitarist of the Los Angeles rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, with whom he recorded two albums. His guitar work was rooted in fun ...

, Todd Strassman, and

Jack Irons Jack Steven Irons (born July 18, 1962) is an American drummer. He is the founding drummer of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers until he departed in 1988 and is a former member of Pearl Jam and Eleven. Alongside his work with Red Hot Chili Pep ...

. This band was later renamed

What Is This What Is This (known prior to 1980 as Anthym) was an American rock band that originated in Fairfax High School in Los Angeles, California. Formed by guitarist Hillel Slovak, drummer Jack Irons, vocalist Alain Johannes, and bassist Todd Stra ...

. Todd Strassman was replaced by

Flea Flea, the common name for the order (biology), order Siphonaptera, includes 2,500 species of small flightless insects that live as external parasites of mammals and birds. Fleas live by hematophagy, ingesting the blood of their hosts. Adult f ...

, who was replaced, upon leaving the band, by Chris Hutchinson. In 1987, Johannes and

formed the band Walk the Moon, which released one self-titled album on

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc. established in 1972, though MCA had released recordings under that name in the UK from the 1960s. The label achieved success in the 1970s through the 1980s, often by acquiring other ...

. 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 (born June 2, 1968) is an American songwriter, musician, and guitarist who was a member of the bands Jellyfish, the Three O'Clock, and the Grays. Since 1996, he has released six solo albums, starting with '' Presents Author Unknown ...

, ''Jason Falkner Presents Author Unknown''. He was also a significant contributor to

's 1999 solo album, ''

Euphoria Morning ''Euphoria Mourning'' (originally titled ''Euphoria Morning'') is the first solo studio album by American musician Chris Cornell. It was released through A&M Records on September 21, 1999, and Cornell embarked on a tour in support of the album in ...

'' as a guitarist, writer and producer. He also toured as part of Chris Cornell's band in support of this album alongside Natasha Shneider, Greg Upchurh and Rick Markmann, who also comprised Eleven's line-up at the time. He mixed and played on

' first solo record, '' Attention Dimension'', released in 2004, and he co-wrote on Danish

stoner rock Stoner rock, also known as stoner metal or stoner doom, is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of doom metal with psychedelic rock and acid rock. The genre emerged during the early 1990s and was pioneered foremost by Kyuss and Sl ...

outfit The Royal Highness.
In 2005, he joined

to play Electric guitar, guitar as well as

on ''

Lullabies to Paralyze ''Lullabies to Paralyze'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band Queens of the Stone Age, released on March 22, 2005. The album debuted at #5 on the ''Billboard'' 200, and sold 97,000 copies in America during its first week of release ...

''. He had previously guested on ''Lullabies predecessor, ''

Songs for the Deaf ''Songs for the Deaf'' is the third studio album by the American rock band Queens of the Stone Age, released on August 27, 2002, by Interscope Records. It features guest musicians including Dave Grohl on drums, and was the last Queens of the Ston ...

'', having also co-written the track "Hanging Tree" during one of

. 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 Brody Dalle (born Bree Joanna Alice Robinson; 1 January 1979) is an Australia, Australian singer, songwriter, and musician. She began playing music at the age of 13 and moved to Los Angeles at the age of 18, where she founded the punk rock ban ...

's post- Distillers effort,

Spinnerette Spinnerette was an alternative rock band formed in 2007. The band was a vehicle for the solo career of Brody Dalle following the breakup of her previous band, The Distillers, in 2006. The band featured Tony Bevilacqua (also from The Distiller ...

. In August 2009, he joined

, with

Foo Fighters The Foo Fighters are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Initially founded as a one-man project by former Nirvana (band), Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, the band comprises vocalist/guitarist Grohl, bassist Nate Mendel, gu ...

frontman

Dave Grohl David Eric Grohl (; born January 14, 1969) is an American musician. He founded the rock band Foo Fighters, of which he is the lead singer, guitarist, principal songwriter, and only consistent member. From 1990 to 1994, he was the drummer of th ...

frontman

Josh Homme Joshua Michael Homme ( ; born May 17, 1973) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He is best known as the founder and only continuous member of the rock band Queens of the Stone Age, which he for ...

and former

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...

bass player

John Paul Jones John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 – July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-born naval officer who served in the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War. Often referred to as the "Father of the American Navy", Jones is regard ...

. 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 "Time for Miracles" is a song recorded by American singer Adam Lambert, released on October 16, 2009. Although it was Lambert's first release since finishing as runner-up in the eighth season of ''American Idol'', it was not his official debut s ...

, was recorded by

Adam Lambert Adam Mitchel Lambert (born January 29, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter and actor. He is known for his dynamic vocal performances that combine his theatrical training with modern and classic genres. Lambert rose to fame in 2009 after ...

and used in the movie

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

. 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 The Sound City Players were a supergroup formed by ex-Nirvana drummer and Foo Fighters guitarist and lead-singer Dave Grohl. In addition to Grohl, members included ex-Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic, Stone Sour's and Slipknot's Corey Taylor, ...

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

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 ''The Hope Six Demolition Project'' is the ninth studio album by the English singer-songwriter and musician PJ Harvey, released on 15 April 2016 on Island Records. It followed her acclaimed Mercury Prize-winning album ''Let England Shake'', releas ...

''. He also played on the album itself. In 2015, he was the producer of

K's Choice K's Choice is a Belgian rock band from Antwerp, formed in 1994. The band's core members are brothers Sam (lead vocals, guitar) and Gert Bettens (guitar, keyboard, vocals). Since 2014, the Bettenses have been joined by Bart van Lierde (bass), To ...

album '' The Phantom Cowboy'', and Edith Crash's '' Partir''. In 2016, he composed and performed the soundtrack for the

Ubisoft Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include '' Anno'', '' Assassin's Creed'', ' ...

game, ''

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands ''Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands'' is a Third-person shooter, third-person tactical shooter video game developed by Ubisoft Paris and Ubisoft Milan, and published by Ubisoft. It was released worldwide on March 7, 2017, for Microsoft Windows, ...

''. In 2020, his third solo record ''Hum'' was released on

Ipecac Records Ipecac Recordings is an independent record label based in California. It was founded on April 1, 1999, by Greg Werckman (ex-label manager of Alternative Tentacles, ex-lead singer of DUH (band), DUH, ex-employee of Mercury Records) and Mike Patton ...

to favorable critical reviews On September 3, 2022,

reunited for a performance at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

in honour of

' late drummer

Taylor Hawkins Oliver Taylor Hawkins (February 17, 1972 – March 25, 2022) was an American musician who was the drummer and a vocalist of the rock band Foo Fighters, sharing vocals with Dave Grohl. He joined the band in 1997, and remained the band's drummer ...

and again on September 27, 2022 at the

Kia Forum The Kia Forum, also known as Los Angeles Forum and formerly Great Western Forum, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Inglewood, California, United States, adjacent to Los Angeles. Located on West Manchester Boulevard, with Pincay Drive to th ...

for the second tribute show. In May 2024, Alain was playing with Masters of Reality. He was also their support act, solo on stage with his 'cigar box' guitar. Johannes also toured across Europe with a selected band from countries he played in forming his backing band, allowing him to play Eleven and Desert Sessions songs in his sets. In the UK leg for example, Alain's backing band were Earl of Hell, who also opened for him on the tour. Along with past collaborator

Chris Goss Chris Goss is an American record producer and musician. Best known for producing records for Kyuss and Queens of the Stone Age, he is regarded as an important figure in the development of stoner rock and desert rock genres. Goss is also the ...

, Alain contributed the Jethro Tull song " Aqualung" from the 1971 album '' Aqualung'' to the tribute album ''Aqualung (Redux)'' released through Magnetic Eye Records in December 2024. The song followed the original arrangement but was done in the

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

format using voices performing the instrumentation along with various electronic percussion noises. It was favorably reviewed as being like a "nightmare" scored with

surrealist music Surrealist music is music which uses unexpected juxtapositions and other surrealist techniques. Discussing Theodor W. Adorno, Max Paddison defines surrealist music as that which "juxtaposes its historically devalued fragments in a montage-like ...

Selected discography

Throughout his career Johannes has worked with a wide range of artists and bands in various genres as a musician, record engineer and producer.

References

External links

Johannes' MySpace pageIn-depth retrospective interview on Jekyll and Hyde, 106FM Jerusalem
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johannes, Alain 1962 births Living people American rock guitarists American male guitarists American alternative rock musicians American people of Chilean descent Queens of the Stone Age members Spinnerette members What Is This? members Fairfax High School (Los Angeles) alumni Musicians from Santiago, Chile Ipecac Recordings artists 20th-century American guitarists Them Crooked Vultures members Eleven (band) members