Bass and pedal master Juan Alderete talks tone, injury recovery, and his new role holding it down for Marilyn Manson.
Alderete rocking with Manson
Juan Alderete is a master of versatility. From the progressive rock of the Mars Volta to the alternative hip-hop of Deltron 3030 and Dr. Octagon to backing up singer/songwriter Emily Saliers (Indigo Girls) and blasting out high-octane punk-rock shows with actress Juliette Lewis, Alderete has performed in just about every genre of popular music over his 30-plus-year career. But it hasn’t always been that way. Alderete cut his teeth as a “band” guy, first in ’80s shred-metal act Racer X and then the Scream, a blues-rock outfit that included one-time Mötley Crüe singer John Corabi. “It was always my own band, so it was basically my rules — meaning how I approached playing bass and songwriting,” he recalls. “When those two bands ended, really, the only way to do shit was to play for other people. It was a lot of figuring out how to get work.”
Clearly, he’s figured it out, as his ethos has led him to some unique gigs, most recently a