Eagles of Death Metal

Formed in 1998 by Jesse Hughes and Josh Homme, the Eagles of Death Metal started out as a side project. Their first appearance came on The Desert Sessions Volumes 3 & 4; the band then consisted of Jesse Hughes, Loo Balls, Josh Homme, Craig Armstrong and T. Fresh. They recorded three songs for the album: The Gosso King Of Crater Lake, Hogleg and You Keep On Talkin'.

It wasn't until 2004 that the band saw its first release under the Eagles of Death Metal Banner. Until that point, Homme had been busy with his band Queens of the Stone Age but he finally made time and he and Hughes got to it and recorded the album. Peace Love Death Metal was released March 23, 2004. It was heavily favored by advertising, with several songs finding their ways into commercials, movie trailers, and other promotional materials.

During the recording of their second album, Death By Sexy, Hughes fell into severe depression due to divorce and other personal problems. Homme took charge and drove his best friend to rehab. Hughes credits Homme with saving his life. Death By Sexy dropped on April 11, 2006 and the band launched into touring.

For the first half of 2006 they toured in support of The Strokes and headlined their own U.S. tour with openers The Giraffes followed by dates opening for Peaches and performed with Joan Jett. In the fall of the same year, Eagles of Death Metal received a fateful call from Guns 'N' Roses, asking them to open for the band. It would turn disastrous at the first show, with the crowd not receiving them at all. G'N'R front man Axl Rose stirred the pot and fired the band on the spot, to the surprise of his own band. The Eagles took it in stride, releasing the following statement:

"At first, the audience refused to welcome us to the jungle, but by the time we took our final bow, it had become paradise city. Although Axl tried to November rain on our parade, no sweet child o' mine can derail the EODM night train. We say live and let die."

The bands traded a few more jabs but Eagles was paid in full although they did not continue to tour with Guns 'N' Roses. Jesse took it all in fun, even having "Pigeons of Sh*t Metal" (the name given to the band by Axl Rose) on his forearm two years later.

More touring, across the US, Europe, and Canada followed. Somewhere among the traveling, the band found time to write and record their third album, Heart On. It was released October 28, 2008.

As for the future of Eagles of Death Metal, it remains wide open and wonderful.

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Founding Members For Life
Jesse Hughes aka "The Devil" / Boots Electric" (vocals, guitar, percussion)
Josh Homme aka "Carlo Von Sexron" / "Baby Duck" (drums, percussion, guitar, bass, keys, vocals)

Current Touring Members
Dave Catching aka "Darlin' Dave" / "Davey Jo" (guitar)
Brian O'Connor aka "Big Hands" / "B.O.C." (bass, vocals)
Joey Castillo aka "The Sexy-Mexy" (drums)

Other Contributors
Gene Trautmann aka "Teen Dream"
Jack Black aka "Blackjack"
Claude Coleman aka "Sugardick"
Samantha Maloney aka "Hot Damn Sweet Sam"
Dave Grohl aka "Diablo
Wendy Rae Fowler aka "Wendy Ramone" / "Wendy Ray Moan"
Brody Dalle aka "Queen Bee"
Kat Von D
Taylor Hawkins
Nick Oliveri
Tim Vanhamel
Mark Lanegan
Dean Fertita
Pete Canavan
Matt McGrath
Troy Van Leeuwen
Liam Lynch
Stefan Olsdal
Rat Scabies