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Justin Meldal-Johnsen (view source)
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| name = Justin Meldal-Johnsen
| imgname = 2553336004 ca57a32248 o.jpg
| instruments = Bass, Guitar, Synthesizers, Backing Vocals| years = 2008 -2009| tours = [[Lights In The Sky Tour|Lights In The Sky]]-[[Wave Goodbye (tour)|Wave Goodbye]]}}'''Justin Meldal-Johnsen''' (born March 26, 1970 in Eugene, Oregon, USA) , commonly known to fans as '''JMJ''', is a session bassist, producer and songwriter, best known for his work with Beck. He has worked with a number of bands, including Garbage, Macy Gray, [[Tori Amos]], Air, The Mars Volta, Courtney Love, [[Ladytron]], The Foo Fighters, Frank Black and more. On June 5th, 2008, it was announced on [[nin.com]] that Meldal-Johnsen was part of the [[Nine Inch Nails]] live band.
==Biography==
Meldal-Johnsen was born to "hippie" parents who encouraged his love of art and music. The family moved to San Francisco, California, shortly after his birth. At the age of twelve, a family friend gave Meldal-Johnsen an old bass guitar, and with the combined influence of the then-new MTV, he learned to play guitar along to the music videos on the channel. Hel aslo He also played along to his and his parents' music collections, whatever he could get his hands on at the time.
In his high school years, Meldal-Johnsen began to branch out into descovering discovering more "experimental" styles of music. He also joined his first band, which broke up before they even had a chance to play any gigs. He finished high school in 1987 as a straight-A student, and had higher education on the brain.
Upon completing high school, he got a job at Cherokee Recording Studio as a night-time janitor. The pay was paltry, the job was tedious, but it did come with the perk of getting to meet several of his favorite musicians, including Gene Simmons and Lou Reed. It was also there that he met string arranger David Campbell, who offered Meldal-Johnsen a job as his personal assisstantassistant. Meldal-Johnsen left the studio and found himself learning the intricacies of the music industry and beginning to forge his own career in music.
While under Campbell's wing, Meldal-Johnsen met Campbell's son, Beck, who was also an aspiring musician. They became quick friends and spent a lot of time together. Beck introduced Meldal-Johnsen to Tom Waits and American folk music, and showed him how to use a 4-track, which led to them recording some songs together.
Between 1993 and 1995, Meldal-Johnsen began getting his footing as a musician-for-hire, playing in the studio with some artists, and touring with others. He worked with Circle Of Power and The Elastic Purejoy, among his other early session projects. At the end of 1994, he was offered the opportunity to join legendary rock band Medecine. Meldal-Johnsen appeared on the band's 1995 release, ''Her Highness,'' and joined them on a lengthy, grueling US tour. Medicine split in 1996 due to internal conflicts within the band.
Prior to Medicine's split, Meldal-Johnsen began collaborating with bandleader Brad Radner Laner on a project called Electric Company. They recorded ''A Pert Cyclic Omen,'' which was realeased released later in 1995. At the same time, Meldal-Johnsen joined Pet, who were later signed to Tori Amos' label and were allowed to record an album at Amos' home in Ireland in 1996.
In April of the same year, Beck—who himself had established a successful career—called Meldal-Johnsen and asked if he was interested in jamming together. Meldal-Johnsen soon realized it was an audition for Beck's touring band, which would be a full-time commitment. Meldal-Johnsen accepted the offer, and became a regular on Beck's albums and tours. Meldal-Johnsen went on to play on ''Mutations,'' ''Midnight Vultures,'' and ''Sea Change,'' and also became Beck's live music director. Hoffer was also called in from San Francisco to join the band at Meldal-Johnsen's suggestion, and would engineer and co-produce some parts of ''Midnight Vultures.'' Hoffer and Meldal-Johnsen were back as collaborators.
He appeared on the band's second album, ''10,000 Hz Legend.''
When he hasn't been involved in any major jobs, Meldal-Johnsen has worked with several other artists in the studio. He also co-wrote and recorded Macy Gray's 2003 release, ''The Trouble With Being Myself.'' In addition, he's dome done remixes for seeral several artists and scores for a handful of films.
In 2002, Meldal-Johnsen formed Ima Robot, and got a major-label deal in the same year. Their debut album was released in 2003, and the band toured extensively with several bands during that time.
In 2008, Meldal-Johnsen's friend [[Josh Freese]] told him of an available position in Nine Inch Nails following a sudden departure of a recently recruited member. Meldal-Johnsen auditioned before NIN founder [[Trent Reznor]] and was given the position of bassist and multi-instrumentalist. He is currently on tour toured with NIN though 2009.
Meldal-Johnsen currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife and daughter.
==Body of Work==
*Air, ''10,000 Hz Legend''
*Tori Amos, ''Strange Little Girls''
*[[David Bowie]], ''Seven'' (Remix)
'''2002'''
*Mark Eitzel, ''Music For Courage And Confidence''
*Marianne Faithful, ''Kissin' Time''
*[[Ladytron]], ''Light and Magic''
*Linkin Park, ''My December'' (remix)
*Medicine, ''Wet On Wet''
==External Links==
*[http://www.justinmj.com/ Official site]
*[http://member.nin.com/profile/view?user_id=259626 justin_mj] on [[nin.com]]* {{twitter|justinmj|justinmj}} [[Category: The BandFormer Members]]