Jesse Hughes (musician)

Jesse Everett "The Devil" Hughes (born September 24, 1972) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known as the frontman of the California-based rock band Eagles of Death Metal, with whom he has recorded four studio albums.

At age 7, Hughes' mother, Jo Ellen, moved him to Palm Desert, California. In high school, he became friends with Josh Homme (later of Kyuss and Queens of the Stone Age). They became good friends after Homme stopped a bully from picking on Hughes. Hughes graduated from the Greenville Technical College with a degree in journalism and worked as the manager of a video depot in Palm Desert for several years.

Eagles of Death Metal

Hughes and Homme formed Eagles of Death Metal in 1998. Hughes credits Homme with saving his life, claiming that during the recording of the second Eagles of Death Metal album Death By Sexy, he fell into serious drug addiction and that Homme not only drove him to rehabilitation, but paid for it as well.

Le Bataclan attack

On November 13, 2015, the Bataclan theatre in Paris was attacked by terrorists while Eagles of Death Metal were performing. Hughes escaped with the rest of the band via the backstage, however the band's merchandise manager, Nick Alexander, was killed. The terrorist attacks killed 89 fans at the theatre, and 130 people overall.

Months after the Paris attacks, Hughes spoke out against Muslims in an interview with Gavin McInnes for Taki's Magazine. In the interview, he claimed that Muslims "[celebrated] in the streets during the attack". As a result of these controversial statements, he and his band were banned from two French music tours. He spoke out against Islam and liberal values as the reason why the attack happened. He also speculated about an involvement of the Muslim security personnel. While it was rumored he was refused entry to the venue when he tried to visit on the anniversary of the attack, he and his management claim this was not true, and that he was present outside of the venue but never tried to enter.

Other projects

Hughes is one of the characters in the book Sex Tips from Rock Stars by Paul Miles published by Omnibus Press in July 2010.

In September 2011, Hughes released his first solo album under the nickname Boots Electric. The album, Honkey Kong, was released on Dangerbird Records. He played his first show in Columbus, Ohio, on August 12, 2011, at the CD 101 Summerfest Eve.

On December 6, 2012, Jesse Hughes became an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church.

In 2015, Hughes appeared in the Björn Tagemose-directed silent film Gutterdämmerung, starring Iggy Pop, Grace Jones, Lemmy and Henry Rollins.

In a 2007 interview, bandmate Josh Homme stated "Jesse Hughes and I have a theory; we’re socially liberal but government conservative guys". Hughes has also said "I wanted to be a Republican politician, for God sakes. I’m a conservative, dude".

In 2017, Andrew Julian Vega, a former friend of Hughes, obtained a restraining order against Hughes after he made threats against Vega's life.

Hughes uses many different nicknames, including "J. Devil" (or simply "The Devil") as well as "Boots Electric" ("Boots" for short) and "Fabulous Weapon" (both of which were band names used by Hughes' father). In an interview, Hughes revealed that his band mate Josh Homme gave him "The Devil" nickname when he was thirteen. "I used to get picked on a lot by Karl Doyle" says Hughes, "And when I would get picked on severely, or if it really made a point to me, I would get vengeance, but I would get vengeance in the way that I could, which was mostly clever and all consuming. Joshua once witnessed me in the moment I was about to enact vengeance upon someone, and he just said, 'You're the fucking devil dude,' and it stuck."

Hughes is currently endorsed by Maton guitars and Orange amplifiers.

Guitars

• Maton MS500 Electric
• Maton BB1200 Electric
• Maton EAJ85 Jumbo Acoustic
• Yamaha AES1500
• Custom Gretsch Duo Jet with orange finish and black rooster knob in place of master volume knob

Effects

• Ernie Ball Wah Pedal
• Boss DD-6 Delay
• TC Electronic Nova Drive Overdrive/Distortion
• Boss TU-2 Tuner
• EHX Mini Q Tron
• EHX Deluxe Memory Man Classic Chassis
• MOOG MF-102 Moogerfooger Ring Modulator
• MXR Phase 100
• Boss BF-3 Flanger
• Ibanez TS808 Tube Screamer
• Vox V8474 Wah
• Custom L.A. Sound Design Pedalboard

Amplifiers

• Orange Rockerverb 50w combo
• Orange 4x12 Cabinet
• Laney Amplifer