Juan Alderete
Juan Alderete de la Peña has been playing bass for more than 30 years and has become one of the most respected players in the industry.
Alderete and acclaimed guitarist Paul Gilbert met in 1985 and formed groundbreaking metal outfit Racer X. Subsequent albums Street Lethal (1986) and Second Heat 
(1987) showcased the band’s remarkable shred-metal skill, speed and dexterity. Racer X disbanded after a pair of live albums, but reformed more than a decade later for Technical Difficulties (1999) and a successful Japanese tour. Most recently, Racer X performed at the annual National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) show in Anaheim, Calif., in 2009.
After Racer X and before the Mars Volta, Alderete formed and played in several outfits. He formed the Scream, which released two albums, Let it Scream (1991) and Take it to the Next Level (1993) before disbanding. He joined Pet with soundtrack composer Tyler Bates and vocalist Lisa Papineau before forming Big Sir with Papineau in 1999. Big Sir has released three albums; an eponymous 2000 debut, remix collection Now That’s What I Call Big Sir (2001) and, well after Alderete joined the Mars Volta, Und Die Scheiße Ändert Sich Immer (2006). A fourth Big Sir album is scheduled for early 2011 release. Other ’90s-era projects included Distortion Felix (Record and I’m An Athlete, 1999), Dr. Octagon, and 1999 drum-and-bass duo Vato Negro (with Beck/Crowded House drummer Matt Sherrod).
Alderete is best known for his work in the Mars Volta. After returning to college and receiving a degree in English literature, Alderete was invited by Mars Volta guitarist, composer and producer Omar Rodriguez-Lopez in 2003 to play bass on the tour for the band’s debut album of that year, De-Loused in the Comatorium.
After becoming a permanent member of the Mars Volta following the successful yearlong tour, Alderete made his recording debut with the group on second album Frances the Mute (2005). Subsequent albums included live set Scabdates (2005), Amputechture (2006), The Bedlam in Goliath (2008; 2009 Best Hard Rock Performance Grammy award for “Wax Simulacra”), and Octahedron (2009). Alderete also makes frequent studio and onstage contributions to Rodriguez-Lopez’s prolific solo output.
In the meantime, Alderete’s late-’90s drum-and-bass duo, Vato Negro, released debut album Bumpers in 2008 and made its live debut in 2009 at Bass Player magazine’s Bass Player Live! concert. Vato Negro then evolved into a trio with Rodriguez-Lopez and drummer Deantoni Parks (The Mars Volta, Kudu); a lineup that made its live debut in 2010 at Japan’s Fuji Rock Festival, playing to a 20,000-strong audience. A new Vato Negro release is panned for 2011.
Most recently, Alderete reconvened Big Sir for a 2010 Bass Player Live performance. He continues to work on releases and performances by several of his projects, and he continues to scour the Internet in what little free time he has to feed his addiction to stomp boxes.