Mondo Generator

Mondo Generator
Background information
Origin	Van Nuys, California, USA
Genres	Alternative metal, punk rock, stoner rock
Years active	1997–present
Labels	Southern Lord, Rekords, Ipecac, Mother Tongue, Suburban Noize
Associated acts	Kyuss, Queens of the Stone Age, The Dwarves, Yellow No. 5, The Spores, The Exies, Winnebago Deal, Moistboyz, Amen, Furious IV, Hy-Test, Extortion
Website	www.mondogenerator.com
Members	Nick Oliveri Ian Flannon Taylor Hoss Mike Pygmie
Past members	See below

Mondo Generator (sometimes known as Nick Oliveri And The Mondo Generator) is an American rock hybrid band founded in 1997 by Nick Oliveri. The name of the band originated when Brant Bjork spray-painted the words on the side of Oliveri's Sunn amplifier. Mondo means "world" in Italian. The Oliveri-penned Kyuss song appearing on the 1992 album Blues for the Red Sun also took its name from this event, and the amplifier itself appears in the artwork for the album.

History

Oliveri/Homme band (2000-2004)

Nick Oliveri (under the moniker Rex Everything) formed Mondo Generator in 1997 and with friends Josh Homme, Brant Bjork, Rob Oswald, Karl Doyle and others, recorded the debut album, Cocaine Rodeo. The album wouldn't be released until 3 years later due to Oliveri and Homme being full-time members of Queens of the Stone Age. The album was released by cult-favorite Southern Lord Records in 2000. There was little support of the album by the way of live shows, and the band gained cult status among the most devoted Queens of the Stone Age fans.

In 2003, the band again emerged with a new album, A Drug Problem That Never Existed. This time, Oliveri hired on more friends for recording duties including Dave Catching, Troy Van Leeuwen, Mark Lanegan, Josh Homme, Brant Bjork, Molly McGuire, and Dwarves frontman Blag Dahlia for co-producing duties. It was released jointly by Mike Patton's label, Ipecac Recordings, and Homme's Rekords Rekords. The live band, which included Oliveri, Catching, Bjork, and McGuire, went on a three-month tour of North America and Europe to support the disc. That summer, the band also played on the second stage of the Lollapalooza festival. Oliveri would do an afternoon set with Mondo Generator, then at night he would play with Queens of the Stone Age, who were appearing on the main stage.

End of Homme era

In early 2004, after Oliveri was fired from Queens of the Stone Age by Homme, he announced that Mondo Generator would become his full-time project. He recorded an acoustic record, Demolition Day, and toured Europe with Brant Bjork and Mark Lanegan Band. He then recorded an EP with Catching, McGuire, and Alfredo Hernández. On July 21, 2004, during the summer tour to promote the disc, Oliveri physically assaulted a sound crew member of the South German night club Canapé (Trossingen) after complaining about his sound through a few songs during the band's set.^[1][2] The other members of the band were furious and left Oliveri behind and returned to the United States.

In 2005, Oliveri once again toured Europe frequently, opening for such bands as Motörhead, and playing alongside and on stage as a member of Dwarves. Oliveri also recruited UK band Winnebago Deal's Ben Perrier and Ben Thomas to join Mondo Generator on tour. They were frequently dubbed "Winnebago Generator" by fans and even themselves. The three-piece entered Dave Grohl's Studio 606 in Los Angeles in December 2005 to begin work on the next Mondo Generator album. Oliveri also hired on several friends from his hometown to record parts of the record, which was co-produced by Nick Raskulinecz and Oliveri.

Recent activities

In July 2006, it was reported that Perrier and Thomas had exited the band under unknown circumstances. Oliveri then renamed his band "Nick Oliveri and the Mondo Generator" and signed to Mother Tongue Records, who released the new album, Dead Planet: SonicSlowMotionTrails in the UK and Europe in September 2006. Current touring members of the band include Ian Taylor on guitar, and Hoss, former drummer who recently rejoined the band after leaving in early 2007 to join The Exies.

On March 21, 2007, they were added to Ozzfest 2007 as one of the non-rotating acts on the Second Stage. Their invite and subsequent tour with Ozzfest was thought by many to be a direct slap at Homme, who rejected offers for Queens of the Stone Age to tour in the 2007 line-up. The rejection sparked a war of words between Sharon Osbourne and Homme, and shortly after, Mondo Generator accepted QOTSA's slot. Ozzfest began on July 12, and on July 26, Oliveri released a statement announcing that the band had left the tour due to things "out of [his] control". It was announced on July 28 that their spot would be filled by DevilDriver. After which Mondo Generator went on a U.S. supporting Turbonegro.

Suburban Noize Records released "Dead Planet" in the United States on July 17, 2007.^[3]

On September 25, 2007, Courtesy of Suburban Noize Records, Mondo Generator was the featured band on Poison Tree Records Compilation called Road To Nowhere.

October 2008, After a long two-month break, Nick and drummer David "Hoss" Wright began the recording of a new Mondo Generator record with long time friend, J. Bradley Cook as engineer and co-producer. In a July 2009 Myspace blog, Oliveri announced that the next Mondo Generator record would be titled "Shooter's Bible," but removed the post a day later.

In 2010, Nick Oliveri has appeared as a singer on the track "Chains and Shackles" from guitarist Slash's self-titled solo album. The track was released as a bonus track on the Australian edition of the album.

On April 6, 2010, it was announced their fourth full length album would be entitled Time to Destroy with a release date slated for July/August. The first single, "Dog Food" will be released May 21, 2010, and features Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters, Nirvana, Them Crooked Vultures), Happy Tom (Turbonegro), and The Fresh Prince of Darkness (The Dwarves). The band will begin a world tour in Australia in May, hitting Europe in June and July, and the United States in August.^[4]

In March 2011, Oliveri stated that the band had recently recorded yet another album at his former band mate Josh Homme's studio: "I just did a new record called Hell Comes To Your Heart. So far, I'm talking to a couple of small labels to put it out, and I might just put it out myself with some distribution. So it's one of those things I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to get it out there. It will be out soon. [...] It's definitely the best one yet, I really feel good about it."^[5]

In April 2012, Oliveri announced in an interview and on his Facebook page that his forthcoming release, Hell Comes to Your Heart, had recently been completed. Notable contributors to the album are CJ Ramone, Josh Homme, Blag Dahlia, and John Garcia. The album was released on iTunes and cdbaby.com for download on May 22, 2012. The cd version was released via Mondo Media and Cobraside Distribution on July 3, 2012. Colored vinyl versions are expected shortly after. The track "The Last Train" features Josh Homme on lead guitar and John Garcia on vocals. This track was recorded shortly before Homme filed suit against Garcia and Kyuss Lives, and is possibly the last track that both will appear on together due to the suit.

In September 2013 is was announced that Oliveri and Hoss would join the new touring lineup of Moistboyz.

Members

Current lineup

• Nick Oliveri - lead vocals, bass (1997–present)
• Ian Flannon Taylor - guitar, backing vocals (2007–present)
• Hoss - drums, percussion (2007–present)
• Mike Pygmie - lead guitar (2012–present)

Former members

Discography

Studio albums

• Cocaine Rodeo (2000)
• A Drug Problem That Never Existed (2003)
• Dead Planet (2007)
• Hell Comes To Your Heart (2012)

EPs

• III the EP (2004)
• Australian Tour EP (2008)
• Dog Food EP (2010)
• Hell Comes To Your Heart EP (2011)

Singles

• Split (7" single w/ Jack Saints) (1997)
• I Never Sleep (7" single) (2006)
• Split (7" single w/ The Chuck Norris Experiment) (2013)

DVDs

• Use Once And Destroy Me

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mondo Generator.

• Mondo Generator official homepage
• Mondo Generator official Myspace
• Mondo Generator article for Billboard.com (by writer Greg Prato)