Jade Puget

Jade Puget
Background information
Birth name Jade Errol Puget
Born November 28, 1973 (1973-11-28) (age 38)
Origin Ukiah, California, USA
Genres Alternative rock, punk rock, hardcore punk, EBM, post-hardcore, synthpunk, horror punk, synthpop, electronica
Occupations Musician, Producer
Instruments Guitar, keyboards, synthesizer
Years active 1998–present
Labels Nitro
Adeline
Interscope
DreamWorks
Associated acts AFI
Blaqk Audio
Influence 13
Loose Change
Redemption 87
Website AFireInside.net
BlaqkAudio.com
Notable instruments
Gibson Les Paul Studio
Gibson Les Paul Special
Gibson SG
Modified Marshall Plexi Heads ("Billie Joe" Mod)- Main Amplifier In Studio & Live starting on "Sing The Sorrow"
Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier (Studio Head up to "Sing The Sorrow"- Secondary Studio Head starting "Sing The Sorrow")
w/ Marshall cabinets
Diamond Amplification Nitrox

Jade Errol Puget (born November 28, 1973 in Santa Rosa, California) is an American musician and producer, best known as the guitarist for the alternative rock band AFI (joined in 1998), and the keyboardist/synthesizer operator for the electronic duo Blaqk Audio. Puget is vegetarian and straight edge.

Contents

Career

Before joining AFI on November 2, 1998, Jade Puget played in various bands, including Loose Change and Redemption 87.[1] His first album with AFI was 1999's Black Sails in the Sunset. The first song he wrote for the band was "Malleus Maleficarum".[2] Puget's addition to the band introduced fans to a more melodically acute and dynamic sound that was vastly different from earlier material.[3] It is debatable that Puget had a large part in bringing AFI to the mainstream.

AFI next released the All Hallow's E.P. in October 1999, which featured various elements of horror punk and a sound disparate from much of the band's earlier material. The EP brought the band larger amounts of success with the single "Totalimmortal". The song received some airplay on television programs such as MTV2, and was even covered by The Offspring for use in the film Me, Myself, and Irene.

The year 2000 saw the release of The Art of Drowning. The album brought the band unprecedented amounts of success, selling 88,000 copies by March 2002[4] and spawning the single The Days of the Phoenix, which peaked at number 152 on the UK Singles Chart.[5]

After the success of The Art of Drowning, AFI were signed by the major label DreamWorks Records in 2002. Sing the Sorrow, AFI's major label debut, was released in March 2003. The album yielded three singles that found success on the U.S. Alternative Songs chart: "Girl's Not Grey" (#7), "The Leaving Song Pt. II" (#16), and "Silver and Cold" (#7). The album was certified platinum by the RIAA in 2006.[6]

Decemberunderground, the follow-up to Sing the Sorrow, was released in June 2006. It debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200, selling over 182,000 copies in its first week. December spawned the hit single "Miss Murder," which peaked at #1 on the Alternative Songs chart for five weeks and also reached #24 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album also produced the well-charting singles "Love Like Winter" (#4) and "The Missing Frame" (#17). Decemberunderground sold over 993,000 copies by 2009.[7]

In 2007, Puget and AFI bandmate Davey Havok released the album CexCells as the electronic duo Blaqk Audio. The album reached #18 on the Billboard 200 and featured the single "Stiff Kittens", which peaked at #20 on the Alternative Songs chart.[8]

AFI's most recent album, Crash Love, was released in September of 2009 and debuted at #12 on the Billboard 200.[9] The album produced the two singles: "Medicate", and "Beautiful Thieves", which charted at #7 and #23 on the Alternative Songs Chart, respectively.

Equipment

Puget plays a Gibson Les Paul Studio through Mesa Boogie dual rectifier and modified Marshall plexi amp heads with Marshall cabs. He used several Les Pauls, a Gibson SG, a Fender Telecaster, and Esquire for the recording of Sing the Sorrow. Jade has stated in an interview in Guitar World magazine that he currently uses a Diamond Amplification Nitrox[10] for his live setup and that he used a Gibson Cloud 9 Les Paul for a good deal of the recording of Crash Love. Puget owns 3 Les Paul Studios are mostly used for touring, and a Les Paul Standard that is used for writing. Puget also owns an acoustic guitar (he does not know who made it) with which most of Black Sails in the Sunset and All Hallow's E.P. were written.[11]

Remixing and production

Puget remixed Marilyn Manson's single "Heart-Shaped Glasses (When the Heart Guides the Hand)," released as an international bonus track from the 2007 album Eat Me, Drink Me,[12] and The Cure's song "Freakshow" from their 13th album 4:13 Dream. The remix appears on The Cure's 2008 EP Hypnagogic States. He also recently remixed Tiger Army's "Where the Moss Slowly Grows" off the band's latest album Music From Regions Beyond.[13] The song is only available through purchasing the album on iTunes. He also did some additional production on The Dear & Departed's debut album Something Quite Peculiar.[14] Additionally, he recently remixed Tokio Hotel's UK single "Ready, Set, Go!" from their first English album, Scream.[15] Jade also did some production work for the band Scarlet Grey on their song "Fancy Blood" on the album of the same name.[16] His remix of The Static Age's song "Vertigo" (called "Airplanes") appeared as a bonus track on the band's album "Neon Nights Electric Lives. His remix of Escape the Fate's song Issues, for which he used the name Wolves At The Gate, appears on their Issues Remixes EP.[17]

Personal life

Puget has a half-sister named Alishea, a half-brother named Gibson, and a younger brother named Smith, who is also AFI's tour manager. Gibson appears in the poem in the interlude of "...But Home Is Nowhere" full length album version Sing The Sorrow.

With straight A's throughout his K-12 career, Puget dropped out of school at the age of 17 and continued his education at UC Berkeley, where he received a bachelor's degree in sociology in 1996. After graduating from college, Puget joined AFI.

Puget has various tattoos, including an "18" (which was originally a "13"), a cat jumping through a 9 (a tattoo he shares with Nick 13 of Tiger Army and Davey Havok), and the word "committed" arched across his stomach. On his arms, he has the words "Boys Don't Cry" (an homage to The Cure) and the words "Love Will Tear Us Apart" (a Joy Division tribute). He also has the word "Paprika" on his arm.

In July 2011, Puget and his girlfriend of six years, Marissa Festa became engaged to be married.[18]

Discography

With AFI

With Blaqk Audio

References

  1. ^ AFI | Official Site
  2. ^ I Heard a Voice DVD
  3. ^ http://www.punknews.org/article/18104
  4. ^ "AFI - Burn Unit." Guitar World, March 2002. Page 31.
  5. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Days_of_the_Phoenix
  6. ^ [1]
  7. ^ http://www.billboard.com/#/news/afi-revs-up-the-rock-on-crash-course-1004011825.story
  8. ^ http://www.billboard.com/#/charts/alternative-songs?chartDate=2007-09-01
  9. ^ http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/on-the-charts-barbra-streisand-stuns-paramore-and-mariah-carey-20091007
  10. ^ Diamond Amplification
  11. ^ http://afinewshq.com/the-maelstrom/the-band/gear/
  12. ^ Jade Puget's Remix of 'Heart-Shaped Glasses' Available Now | Shoutmouth
  13. ^ http://www.tigerarmy.com/news.html May 18, 2007
  14. ^ MySpace.com - The Dear & Departed
  15. ^ http://www.tokiohotelamerica.com November 05, 2007
  16. ^ http://www.punknews.org/article/38868
  17. ^ http://www.escapethefate.com
  18. ^ http://www.afinewshq.com/2011/07/jade-engaged-to-girlfriend-marissa.html