Editing Nate Mendel

{{Use American English|date=October 2022}}
{{short description|American bassist}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2022}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name              = Nate ‍Mendel
| image             = Nate Mendel 2011-12-05 Adelaide Oval Australia.jpg
| caption           = Mendel with the [[Foo Fighters]] in 2011
| birth_name        = Nathan Gregor Mendel
| birth_date        = {{birth date and age|1968|12|2}}
| birth_place       = [[Richland, Washington]], U.S.
| Death             = 
| genre             = [[Alternative rock]], [[midwest emo]] [[post-grunge]], [[grunge]], [[hardcore punk]], [[punk rock]], [[indie rock]], [[post-hardcore]], [[emo]]
| occupation        = Musician
| instruments       = Bass, guitar, vocals
| years_active      = 1982–present
| label             = 
| current_member_of = [[Foo Fighters]]
| past_member_of    = [[Sunny Day Real Estate]],  [[Juno (band)|Juno]], [[The Fire Theft]], [[Sound City Players]]
| website           = 
}}
'''Nathan ‍Gregor ‍Mendel''' (born December 2, 1968) is an American musician who is the bass guitarist for the rock band [[Foo Fighters]], as well as a former member of [[Sunny Day Real Estate]]. He has also worked with musical acts [[The Jealous Sound]] and [[The Fire Theft]]. He has released one solo album, ''[[If I Kill This Thing We're All Going to Eat for a Week]]'', under the name '''Lieutenant'''. Though not a founding member, he is the longest-serving member of the band after lead vocalist and guitarist [[Dave Grohl]], and has appeared on every album by the group since ''[[The Colour and the Shape]]''.

== Life and career ==
Mendel was born in [[Richland, Washington|Richland]], a mid-sized city in southeast [[Washington (state)|Washington]]. His first instrument was the [[violin]]. At the age of 13, Mendel started to get interested in rock music and joined a band,<ref name=grubbs1 /> a friend who played guitar suggesting he play the bass.<ref name=bass>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bassplayer.com/article/nate-mendel-with-the-foo-fighters/5445|author=Fox, Brian|title=Mendelian Genesis|work=[[Bass Player (magazine)|Bass Player]]|date=August 4, 2011|access-date=August 25, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131219022800/http://www.bassplayer.com/article/nate-mendel-with-the-foo-fighters/5445|archive-date=December 19, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> Mendel stated that "as I picked up that bass I went on a 20-year detour into [[punk rock|punk]]", helped by his town usually having concerts of [[DIY ethic|DIY]] punk bands such as [[Scream (band)|Scream]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Quiet One&nbsp;– Nate Mendel: My Story|journal=Metal Hammer Presents...Foo Fighters|year=2005}}</ref> This led to a "pretty limited musical education", as despite taking some lessons with a bassist from a local band, Mendel mostly taught himself to play, and "it was all hardcore punk rock, like [[Minor Threat]], [[Black Flag (band)|Black Flag]] and [[Bad Brains]]. Instead of studying the bass playing of someone like [[John Entwistle]], which would have given me a foundation of how to play. I just wanted to play a lot of notes fast."<ref name=bass /> His family is [[Jewish]].<ref>Nate Mendel children: Who is his son Noah Mendel?
Ghanafuo.comhttps://ghanafuo.com › nate-mendel-children-who-is-h...26 Mar 2022 — His father is of Ashkenazi Jewish (from Poland and Russia) and his mother is of Japanese descent. Kingsley Abajong.</ref><ref>Welcome To Foo Fighters! Univerzita Hradec Králové https://lide.uhk.cz › fim › zotovvi1 › html › biography Nathan Gregor Mendel is an American musician for the bands Foo Fighters, The ... American and Native American descent and a German Jewish immigrant father.</ref>

Mendel began his musical career in the [[hardcore punk|hardcore]] band Diddly Squat, which only recorded a [[single (music)|7" single]] but did a national tour during the 1988 summer vacation. After Diddly Squat ended, Mendel moved to [[Seattle]], where he spent four months on the [[straight edge]] band Brotherhood. Afterward, he joined the band Christ on a Crutch, which included bandmate Glen Essary and lasted until 1993. In 1992, Mendel and his [[University of Washington]] housemate [[Dan Hoerner]] decided to form a band, and invited drummer [[William Goldsmith]] to form the group that would end up being named [[Sunny Day Real Estate|Sunny Day Real Estate (SDRE)]].<ref name=grubbs1>{{cite book|title=Post: A Look at the Influence of Post-Hardcore-1985-2007|first=Eric|last=Grubbs|publisher=iUniverse|year=2008|isbn=978-0-595-51835-7|pages=71–72}}</ref> Mendel added that SDRE was an attempt to "play more intricate, interesting music".<ref name=bass /> While Mendel toured Europe with Christ on a Crutch, [[Jeremy Enigk]] jammed with the remaining members and eventually became a full-time member of SDRE.<ref>Grubbs (2008), pp.74–76</ref>

Just before Sunny Day Real Estate disbanded in 1995, Mendel and Goldsmith were invited by [[Dave Grohl]] to join his band, the [[Foo Fighters]], during the week of Halloween in late October 1994. He has remained a bandmember ever since, being one of the only original members in the Foo Fighters' current lineup along with Grohl and former [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]] live guitarist [[Pat Smear]].<ref name=back>{{cite video|author=[[James Moll|Moll, James]] (director)|title=[[Back and Forth (Documentary)|Back and Forth]]|year=2011|medium=documentary|publisher=RCA}}</ref> Although Sunny Day Real Estate reunited for two more albums (''[[How It Feels to Be Something On]]'' and ''[[The Rising Tide (Sunny Day Real Estate album)|The Rising Tide]]''), he stayed with the Foo Fighters, in Sunny Day Real Estate, he was replaced by Jeff Palmer, and Palmer was replaced by Joe Skyward, when Skyward left the band, [[Jeremy Enigk]] (lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and keyboardist) moved to the bass. After Sunny Day Real Estate 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.<ref name=bass /> In 2001, he played with [[Juno (band)|Juno]].

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]].

In June 2009, it was confirmed that [[Sunny Day Real Estate]] plans to reunite again, with Mendel back in the fold.<ref>[http://www.earcandybeat.com/?q=node/61]  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090625000108/http://www.earcandybeat.com/?q=node%2F61|date=June 25, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Leor |url=http://perfectlines.wordpress.com/2009/03/17/sunny-day-real-estate-reunion-in-2009/ |title=Sunny Day Real Estate Reunion in 2009? &#124; Perfect Lines |publisher=Perfectlines.wordpress.com |date=March 17, 2009 |access-date=July 18, 2011}}</ref> The band toured in 2009, confirming a new album in the works.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.subpop.com/tours/sunny_day_real_estate/ |title=Sub Pop Records |publisher=Subpop.com |access-date=July 18, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110822183702/http://www.subpop.com/tours/sunny_day_real_estate |archive-date=August 22, 2011 }}</ref> However, recording sessions proved to be unproductive and by 2013, the group had broken up once again.

== Technique ==
[[File:Foo Fighters - Grohl and Mendel.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Mendel (right) and [[Dave Grohl]] with the [[Foo Fighters]] in 2008]]
Mendel at first considered the bass a melodic instrument, and thus liked to input more personality in his bass parts. ''[[Bass Player (magazine)|Bass Player]]'' described Mendel's style in [[Sunny Day Real Estate]] as "heavy-handed and fleet-footed, rooted in punk rock but prone to melodic flights that encircled the band's airy arrangements", and Mendel added that in his first years of the Foo Fighters he tried "to make these songs as complicated as I could and put as much bass on there as possible". He eventually changed his priorities to the more traditional bass style where the instrument acts as "the bridge between the melodic element and the percussion", saying that he "alter[ed] the way I play bass so it works in this band, so I can support Dave's songs as best as possible." The priorities he learned to take with his playing was to "play tight and lock better with the drums"<ref name=bass /><ref name=fender /> adding that when Grohl and drummer [[Taylor Hawkins]] decide to redo the drum tracks, at times Mendel would have to remake his whole basslines.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Honor Roll|journal=[[Bass Player (magazine)|Bass Player]]|first=Marco|last=Passarelli|date=February 2006}}</ref>

Mendel is known to use a [[Guitar pick|pick]] almost exclusively. His preferred style was [[alternate picking]], but on the fifth Foo Fighters album, ''[[In Your Honor]]'', he started to employ [[downpicking]] because "with this kind of music, you need the consistency and percussive sound you get from playing with downstrokes." For the acoustic shows, Mendel played [[Fingerstyle guitar|fingerstyle]].<ref name=bass />

== Equipment ==
Mendel's main set-up consists of [[Fender Precision Bass]]es with [[GHS (strings)|GHS]] strings, played through [[Ashdown Engineering|Ashdown]] amplifiers.<ref name=bass /> Mendel described the Precision as "iconic" in both its looks and its sound. The bassist's preferred P-Bass is his first, a 1971 model sold to him by the lead singer of Christ on a Crutch which Mendel adapted to be easier to play.<ref name=fender>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0eqlNKBFs8 Foo Fighters Nate Mendel on the Fender Precision Bass]</ref> Mendel also plays [[Lakland]] basses, particularly the [[Bob Glaub]] Signature, one of which was employed on the Foo Fighters' seventh album, ''[[Wasting Light]]''. He uses a [[Distortion (music)|Fulltone Bassdrive]] pedal, though Mendel downsized the usage of [[effects pedal]]s as the Foo Fighters rose its number of musicians – "Now that we have three guitar players, there's a lot of distortion going on, so I try to keep it clean and stay in line with the [[kick drum]]. That way, I know that even if we're playing a big echoey venue, at least the bass will come across with some bite and precision."<ref name=bass /> In 2012, Mendel received his own signature [[Fender Nate Mendel Precision Bass]], which has become popular globally due to it being a very well built, simply modified vintage style Precision Bass.

== Personal life ==
[[File:Nate Mendel 2009.jpg|upright|thumb|Mendel in 2009]]
=== Family ===
Mendel met Kate Jackson, co-founder of independent [[public relations]] firm Grandstand Media, in 2009 while she was director of marketing and publicity at [[Sub Pop Records]] and Mendel was touring as part of a reunion of the original lineup of Sub Pop recording artists [[Sunny Day Real Estate]]. They were married on October 11, 2014, accompanied by close friends and family including Mendel's [[Foo Fighters]] bandmates.<ref>[https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6312263/foo-fighters-nate-mendel-wedding-kate-jackson "Foo Fighters' Nate Mendel Marries Longtime Girlfriend Kate Jackson"] Published November 10, 2014; Accessed December 8, 2020.</ref> On July 19, 2018, Mendel took a one-show leave of absence from the Foo Fighters' Concrete & Gold tour, with [[Jane's Addiction]] bassist [[Chris Chaney]] filling in for him for one night at the [[PPG Paints Arena]] in [[Pittsburgh]], as he chose to be with Jackson as she gave birth to the couple's twin girls.<ref>[https://www.nme.com/news/music/foo-fighters-nate-mendel-replaced-by-chris-chaney-2367479 "Watch Jane's Addiction's Chris Chaney fill in for Foo Fighters bassist Nate Mendel at recent concert"]</ref>

=== HIV/AIDS denialism ===
Mendel has expressed [[fringe science|fringe]] views on [[HIV/AIDS|HIV & AIDS]]. In January 2000, he organized a sold-out concert in Los Angeles to benefit [[Alive & Well AIDS Alternatives]], an [[HIV/AIDS denialism]] group.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2000/02/foo-fighters-hiv-deniers/ |date=February 25, 2000 |title=Foo Fighters, HIV Deniers |last=Talvi |first=Silja |website=Mother Jones}}</ref> In April 2000, [[MTV News]] reported that "The Foo Fighters have gone on record advocating Alive & Well, an alternative AIDS information group that questions the link between HIV and AIDS."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Odiaga |title=Foo Fighters Question Link Between HIV, AIDS |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1429021/foo-fighters-question-link-between-hiv-aids/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150502192247/http://www.mtv.com/news/1429021/foo-fighters-question-link-between-hiv-aids/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 2, 2015 |agency=MTV News |date=April 4, 2000}}</ref> The [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention|Centers for Disease Control]] describe AIDS as the "most severe stage of HIV."<ref>{{cite web |title=AIDS and Opportunistic Infections |url=https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/basics/livingwithhiv/opportunisticinfections.html |website=Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |date=March 30, 2022 |access-date=August 30, 2022}}</ref> [[Sandra Thurman]], then director of the [[Office of National AIDS Policy]] commented:<blockquote>For the Foo Fighters to be promoting this is extraordinarily irresponsible behavior. There is no doubt about the link between HIV and AIDS in the respected scientific community and it's quite unfortunate that a band reads one book and then adopts this theory. To say [that HIV does not cause AIDS] is akin to saying the world is flat.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Denizet-Lewis |first=Benoit |date=July 2000 |title=Cause Celeb |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AlN-17xfY88C&pg=PA52 |magazine=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]] |volume=16 |issue=7 |page=52}}</ref></blockquote> Responding to coverage of the Alive & Well benefit in ''[[Mother Jones (magazine)|Mother Jones]]'' magazine, Mendel wrote, "I am not a medical professional, and I am relatively new to these questions, but I am convinced that those who have tested HIV positive and those sick with AIDS are being done a disservice by not having all the information available to them."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.motherjones.com/commentary/letters/2000/03/foo_letters.html |date= March 10, 2000 |title=Foo Fighter Fires Back |last=Mendel |first=Nate |department=Letters to the Editor |website=Mother Jones |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050909163759/https://www.motherjones.com/commentary/letters/2000/03/foo_letters.html |archive-date=September 9, 2005 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Links and references to Alive & Well were removed from the band's website by March 2003.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.foofighters.com/aliveandwell/index.shtml |year=2000 |title=Alive and Well |author=<!--Not stated-->  |website=Foo Fighters |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030314160432/http://www.foofighters.com/aliveandwell/index.shtml |archive-date=March 14, 2003 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

== Discography ==

=== Sunny Day Real Estate ===

* ''[[Diary (Sunny Day Real Estate album)|Diary]]'' (1994)
* ''[[Sunny Day Real Estate (album)|Sunny Day Real Estate]]'' (1995)

=== Foo Fighters ===
{{Main|Foo Fighters discography}}

* ''[[The Colour and the Shape]]'' (1997)
* ''[[There is Nothing Left to Lose]]'' (1999)
* ''[[One by One (Foo Fighters album)|One by One]]'' (2002)
* ''[[In Your Honor]]'' (2005)
* ''[[Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace]]'' (2007)
* ''[[Wasting Light]]'' (2011)
* ''[[Sonic Highways]]'' (2014)
* ''[[Concrete and Gold]]'' (2017)
* ''[[Medicine at Midnight]]'' (2021)
* ''[[But Here We Are]]'' (2023)

=== Juno ===
* ''[[A Future Lived in Past Tense]]'' (2001)

=== The Fire Theft ===
* ''[[The Fire Theft (album)|The Fire Theft]]'' (2003)

=== Lieutenant ===
* ''[[If I Kill This Thing We're All Going to Eat for a Week]]'' (2015)

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{commonscatinline}}

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{{Grammy Award for Best Rock Song}}
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