Nate Mendel

Nate Mendel
Nate Mendel of the Foo Fighters
Background information
Birth name	Nathan Gregor Mendel
Born	December 2, 1968 (1968-12-02) (age 42)
Origin	Richland, Washington
Genres	Alternative rock, post-grunge, post-hardcore, indie rock, hardcore punk, punk rock, indie rock
Occupations	Musician, bassist
Instruments	Bass
Associated acts	Foo Fighters, Sunny Day Real Estate, Juno, The Fire Theft, The Jealous Sound
Notable instruments
Fender Precision Bass

Nathan Gregor "Nate" Mendel (born December 2, 1968 in Richland, Washington) is an American bassist for the bands Foo Fighters, The Jealous Sound, Sunny Day Real Estate, and The Fire Theft.

Biography

He began his musical career in the punk band Diddly Squat, then played in the fairly popular punk bands Christ on a Crutch, Brotherhood (Seattle Straight edge), Galleons Lap. He was a member of Sunny Day Real Estate and Juno before joining the Foo Fighters in 1995 (after Sunny Day Real Estate had disbanded). Although Sunny Day Real Estate reunited for two more albums (How It Feels to Be Something On and The Rising Tide), he stayed with the Foo Fighters. After SDRE disbanded once more, he joined with other Sunny Day Real Estate members Jeremy Enigk and William Goldsmith to form The Fire Theft, who released a self-titled album in 2003.

He scored a role in the indie movie Our Burden Is Light, in which he also played a minor role as the main female character's best friend's boyfriend and bassist. In the movie, Mendel plays in a band named Bleeder, consisting of himself, Jessica Ballard, and Taylor Hawkins.

Nate Mendel joined the Foo Fighters as the bassist, alongside former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. The band has since released eight studio albums and one live album, Mendel continues to play alongside Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Chris Shiflett, and Pat Smear, who rejoined the band in 2007. Mendel, Grohl and Pat Smear are the original members in the Foo Fighters current line-up.

In June 2009, it was confirmed that Sunny Day Real Estate plans to reunite again, with Mendel back in the fold.^[1][2] The band toured in 2009, confirming a new album in the works..^[3]

Personal life

Nate has one son, Noah, with his former girlfriend. Nate attended Hanford Jr./Sr. High School in Richland, WA. He was an avid skateboarder as well as BMX racer in the Washington St. Region. He also regularly contributes to the official Foo Fighters blog.

Technique

Nate is known to use a pick almost exclusively, however on the "Long Road to Ruin" video he is seen finger-picking, as well as during "Marigold" on the Skin and Bones live release.

Nate is rarely, if ever, seen singing. However he sang backup with Chris Shiflett on Monkey Wrench at the Tabernacle in Atlanta, Georgia in 2000 while supporting There Is Nothing Left To Lose. He and Shiflett sang the outro backing vocals ("fall in, fall out").^[4]

Equipment

Mendel's main set-up consists of Fender Precision Basses played through Ashdown ABM—and more recently, Classic-Series Bass Amplifiers. He also often uses Lakland Bob Glaub Signature Precision Basses while touring.

He is seen playing the Lakland Bass in the video for "The Pretender". He used a Gibson Ripper bass in the "Best of You" video and in the "Long Road to Ruin" video he is seen playing a Red Fender Jazz Bass with a black pickguard. He also uses a white and pearloid red Fender Jazz Bass in the "Monkey Wrench" video.

His pedalboard is very simple and consists of a Fulltone Bassdrive, Boss GEB-7 Graphic Equalizer, and Boss TU-2 Tuner.

Nate on occasion also plays Gibson Thunderbird Basses.

Nate uses JHAudio JH16 In Ear Monitors.

Connection to AIDS denialist movement

In January 2000, Nate Mendel organized a sold-out concert in Los Angeles to benefit Alive & Well AIDS Alternatives, a group which denies that HIV is the cause of AIDS. At the concert, the group's founder, Christine Maggiore, gave a speech attributing AIDS to drug use, stress, and medications, and implying that people should not be tested for HIV, nor should they take antiretroviral treatment if HIV-positive.^[5]

Responding to coverage of the Alive & Well benefit in Mother Jones magazine, Mendel wrote that "...popular ideas about AIDS are based on a hypothesis that does not stand up to scientific scrutiny." He further condemned HIV tests for what he felt was their inaccuracy and HIV medication for its "unproven efficacy and proven toxicity."^[6] None of these statements reflects current mainstream scientific theories.^[7] The Foo Fighters no longer list Alive & Well as a supported charity on their website as of 2008.^{[8][dead link]}

Notes

1. ^ [1]^{[dead link]}
2. ^ by Leor (2009-03-17). "Sunny Day Real Estate Reunion in 2009? | Perfect Lines". Perfectlines.wordpress.com. http://perfectlines.wordpress.com/2009/03/17/sunny-day-real-estate-reunion-in-2009/. Retrieved 2011-07-18. 
3. ^ "Sub Pop Records". Subpop.com. http://www.subpop.com/tours/sunny_day_real_estate/. Retrieved 2011-07-18. 
4. ^ "‪Foo Fighters Monkey Wrench Live‬‏". YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrhwHXr9-50. Retrieved 2011-07-18. 
5. ^ "Foo Fighters, HIV Deniers", Mother Jones magazine. Published 25 February 2000; Accessed 20 October 2006.
6. ^ Letters to the Editor, Mother Jones magazine, 10 March 2000. Accessed 20 October 2006.
7. ^ Smith TC, Novella SP (2007). "HIV denial in the Internet era". Plos Med 4 (8): e256. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.0040256. PMC 1949841. PMID 17713982. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=1949841. 
8. ^ Charities supported by the Foo Fighters Accessed 25 April 2008.^{[dead link]}

Persondata
Name	Mendel, Nate
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	2 December 1968
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death