Billy Mohler is a Grammy-nominated producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He was raised in

South Orange County Orange County is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,186,989, making it the third-most-populous county in California, the sixth-most-populous in the United States, a ...

and is

Bill Medley William Thomas Medley (born September 19, 1940) is an American singer and songwriter, best known as one half of The Righteous Brothers. He is noted for his bass-baritone voice, exemplified in songs such as "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'". Med ...

's (of the Righteous Bros.) godson. He attended and graduated from

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

where he studied electric, bass and acoustic bass. Mohler then received a full scholarship to the prestigious

Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz The Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz is a non-profit music education organization founded in 1986. Before 2019, it was known as the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, but was then renamed after its longtime board chairman, Herbie Hancock. The in ...

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

. He was a member of the rock band The Calling until 2002. The band's debut record ''

Camino Palmero ''Camino Palmero'' is the debut studio album recorded by American alternative band the Calling. It was released by RCA Records on July 10, 2001 (see 2001 in music). It contains their hit single "Wherever You Will Go". The title of the album come ...

'' has sold more than 5 million copies worldwide. He is currently a member of the

Jimmy Chamberlin Complex James Joseph Chamberlin (born June 10, 1964) is an American drummer and record producer. He is best known as the drummer for the alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins. Following the 2000 breakup of the band, Chamberlin joined Pumpkins fro ...

, and is a good friend of Chamberlin. The two first met when Mohler auditioned for

Zwan Zwan was an American alternative rock Supergroup (music), supergroup that was formed by Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin, lead singer/guitarist and drummer of The Smashing Pumpkins respectively, after they disbanded in December 2000. Other memb ...

, Chamberlin's former band. Mohler and Chamberlin became quick friends. It was Mohler who Chamberlin called first after securing a record deal with

Sanctuary Records Sanctuary Records Group Limited was a record label based in the United Kingdom and is as of 2013 a subsidiary of BMG Rights Management solely for reissues. Until June 2007, it was the largest independent record label in the UK and the largest m ...

. Mohler contributed greatly to the band's first album (''

Life Begins Again ''Life Begins Again'' is the debut studio album by the Jimmy Chamberlin Complex (side project band of The Smashing Pumpkins/Zwan drummer Jimmy Chamberlin). It was released on January 25, 2005 and as an Enhanced CD. The album stars several gue ...

''), co-writing and co-producing it with Chamberlin, playing bass guitar, bass, electric guitar and keyboards throughout, and singing in "Streetcrawler" and "Newerwaves". With the Jimmy Chamberlin Complex, Mohler has co-produced and co-written three albums including the groups most recent 2020 album Honor. Mohler's recording/songwriting/production credits are diverse. He has recorded with

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

, Sia, Awolnation (13 times platinum) Dolly Parton (Dumplin Soundtrack), Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry, Linda Perry, Natasha Bedingfield, Nile Rodgers, Chic, Dorothy, Pat Benatar, Little Big Town, Maren Morris, Mavis Staples, Miranda Lambert, Alison Krauss, Elle King, Kacey Musgraves, Pom Pom's,

Aimee Osbourne Aimee Rachel Osbourne (born 2 September 1983) is an English actress and singer. She is the eldest daughter of Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne. Her father Ozzy also has three older children from his previous eleven year marriage to his first wife Thelm ...

The Airborne Toxic Event The Airborne Toxic Event is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 2006. It consists of Mikel Jollett (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Steven Chen (guitar, keyboards), Adrian Rodriguez (electric bass, backing vocals), Daren Tayl ...

, Conway,

Liz Phair Elizabeth Clark Phair (born April 17, 1967) is an American singer-songwriter. Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Phair was raised primarily in the Chicago area. After graduating from Oberlin College in 1990, she attempted to start a musical career ...

Kelly Clarkson Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter, author, and television personality. She rose to fame after winning the first season of ''American Idol'' in 2002, which earned her a record deal with RCA. Her debu ...

Macy Gray Natalie Renée McIntyre (born September 6, 1967), known by her stage name Macy Gray, is an American R&B and soul singer and actress. She is known for her distinctive raspy voice and a singing style heavily influenced by Billie Holiday. Gray ha ...

, The Calling, Lifehouse, and

Debi Nova Deborah Nowalski Kader, better known by her stage name Debi Nova () born 6 August 1980, is a Costa Rican singer-songwriter who resides in Los Angeles. She was involved in six Grammy award nominated projects, including a dance song, "One Rhythm", ...

. Mohler has produced/written with

Awolnation Awolnation (stylized in all caps) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, formed and fronted by Aaron Bruno, formerly of Under the Influence of Giants, Home Town Hero, and Insurgence. The band is signed to Better Noise Music, formerly being s ...

(recently went 6 times platinum), Gustavo Galindo (Grammy Nomination for Best Latin Pop Rock Album 2011),

War Tapes War Tapes is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 2004. The band has played shows and toured across the US and in the UK with The Smashing Pumpkins, Tiger Army, Shiny Toy Guns, Moving Units, The Bravery, Longwave, VNV Nat ...

The Drowning Men The Drowning Men is an American indie-rock quintet from Oceanside, California. The members are Nato Bardeen (vocals, keyboards, guitar, mandolin), James Smith (lead guitar, vocals), Todd Eisenkerch (bass, vocals), Rory Dolan (percussion), and G ...

, Last American Buffalo,

Carina Round Carina Round (born 20 April 1979) is a British singer-songwriter from Wolverhampton in the West Midlands of England. Career In the summer of 1996, following a gig in a basement acoustic club in Wolverhampton, Round was given a three-night su ...

Katy Rose Kathryn Rosemary Bullard (born January 27, 1987), known professionally as Katy Rose, is an American singer-songwriter and producer. Rose released two studio albums, '' Because I Can'' (V2 Records) and ''Candy Eyed'' (River Jones Music). Since her ...

Lenka Lenka Kripac (born 19 March 1978) is an Australian singer-songwriter and actress best known for her song " The Show", from her debut album, ''Lenka''. " The Show" has been used in numerous advertisements, most notably for Old Navy, as well as ...

The Bellrays The Bellrays (also capitalized as The BellRays) is an American rock group that combines garage rock and punk with soul music, founded in Riverside, California in 1990 by vocalist Lisa Kekaula and guitarist Bob Vennum. They have been with severa ...

, Bill Madden, Shane Alexander, Trevor Menear and many others. Mohler performed with

Jon Brion Jon Brion is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and composer. He performed with the Excerpts, the Bats, 'Til Tuesday and the Grays before becoming an established producer and film score composer. Brion has ...

on the

Charlie Kaufman Charles Stuart Kaufman (; born November 19, 1958) is an American filmmaker and novelist. He wrote the films ''Being John Malkovich'' (1999), ''Adaptation'' (2002), and ''Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'' (2004). He made his directorial de ...

film ''

Synecdoche, New York ''Synecdoche, New York'' (pronounced ) is a 2008 American postmodern psychological drama film written and directed by Charlie Kaufman in his directorial debut. It stars Philip Seymour Hoffman as an ailing theater director who works on an incr ...

''. Mohler recently co-wrote music for

John Krasinski John Burke Krasinski (; born October 20, 1979) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his role as Jim Halpert on the NBC sitcom ''The Office''. He also served as a producer and occasional director of the series throughout its nine ...

's directorial debut film, ''

Brief Interviews with Hideous Men ''Brief Interviews with Hideous Men'' is a short story collection by the late American writer David Foster Wallace, first published in 1999 by Little, Brown. According to the papers in the David Foster Wallace Archive at the Harry Ransom Center, ...

''. For a brief period in 2006, Mohler worked with

The Smashing Pumpkins The Smashing Pumpkins (also referred to as simply Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band from Chicago. Formed in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, bassist D'arcy Wretzky, guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmy Chamb ...

in Los Angeles, CA. Mohler also plays drums in a band called

who have opened for the Smashing Pumpkins,

Tiger Army Tiger Army is an American psychobilly band based in Los Angeles, California. The group was formed in 1996 in Berkeley, California, and its only constant member is singer, guitarist, and lead songwriter Nick 13. The band has released six studio ...

VNV Nation VNV Nation is an Irish alternative electronic project led by Ronan Harris in the roles of singer, songwriter, and producer. VNV Nation's sound combines lyrics with sounds that ranges from melodic industrial dance anthems, to haunting ballads ...

Shiny Toy Guns Shiny Toy Guns is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 2002. The band is composed of guitarist/vocalist Chad Petree, vocalist Carah Faye Charnow, keyboardist Jeremy Dawson, and drummer Mikey Martin. Their first studio ...

Moving Units Moving Units is an American dance-punk band from Los Angeles, California. History The band was formed in 2001 by Blake Miller (formerly of Spectacle) Johan Boegli and Chris Hathwell after Miller invited Boegli and Hathwell to jam songs from an ...

and toured in the UK and the West Coast with

The Bravery The Bravery is an American rock band formed in New York City in 2003. The band consists of lead vocalist Sam Endicott, guitarist Michael Zakarin, keyboardist John Conway, bassist Mike Hindert and drummer Anthony Burulcich. They are best known ...

. War Tapes are signed to

Sarathan Records Sarathan Records is an indie rock record label based in Seattle, Washington. The label was formed in 2005 by Jonathan Kochmer, a member of indie band Two Loons For Tea. Artists *Airpushers * Shane Bartell * Chrisopher Blue * The Purrs * Sensat ...

in Seattle, WA and recently completed a US tour with VNV Nation as well as releasing their first full length, ''

The Continental Divide ''The Continental Divide'' is the debut album from American rock band War Tapes. It was written and recorded from 2008 to early 2009 in Los Angeles, and released on May 26, 2009, on Sarathan Records. Recording and critical reception The album w ...

''. The band released an EP in 2020 entitled Only Time Will Tell featuring five new songs. Mohler's performance credits are equally diverse including

Lee "Scratch" Perry Lee "Scratch" Perry (born Rainford Hugh Perry; 20 March 1936 – 29 August 2021) was a Jamaican record producer, composer and singer noted for his innovative studio techniques and production style. Perry was a pioneer in the 1970s development o ...

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he help ...

Wayne Shorter Wayne Shorter (born August 25, 1933) is an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Shorter came to prominence in the late 1950s as a member of, and eventually primary composer for, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. In the 1960s, he joined Miles Davi ...

Jimmy Heath James Edward Heath (October 25, 1926 – January 19, 2020), nicknamed Little Bird, was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger, and big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually co ...

Clark Terry Clark Virgil Terry Jr. (December 14, 1920 – February 21, 2015) was an American swing and bebop trumpeter, a pioneer of the flugelhorn in jazz, and a composer and educator. He played with Charlie Barnet (1947), Count Basie (1948–51), Duke ...

Terence Blanchard Terence Oliver Blanchard (born March 13, 1962) is an American trumpeter and composer. He started his career in 1982 as a member of the Lionel Hampton Orchestra, then The Jazz Messengers. He has composed more than forty film scores and performed ...

Billy Childs William Edward Childs (born March 8, 1957) is an award-winning American composer, jazz pianist, arranger and conductor from Los Angeles, California, United States. Early life When he was sixteen he attended the Community School of the Performing ...

, Awolnation,

Steven Tyler Steven Victor Tallarico (born March 26, 1948), known professionally as Steven Tyler, is an American singer, best known as the lead singer of the Boston-based rock band Aerosmith, in which he also plays the harmonica, piano, and percussion. ...

, Meiko, and he was a member of the band Anarchy Orchestra,Broward-Palm Beach – Music – Pit Bullies Skate
formed in part by legendary skater

Tony Hawk Anthony Frank Hawk (born May 12, 1968), nicknamed Birdman, is an American professional skateboarder, entrepreneur, and the owner of the skateboard company Birdhouse. A pioneer of modern vertical skateboarding, Hawk completed the first documen ...

. While at Berklee, Mohler was a member of The Jay Hodgson Group, which also included violinist Ludvig Girdland, drummer Rohin Khemani and lead-singer and songwriter Jay Hodgson; Girdland would go on to become an important session violinist in Los Angeles, working with the likes of

Electric Light Orchestra The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1970 by songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood with drummer Bev Bevan. Their music is characterised by a fusion of pop, classical a ...

and

Eels Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 19 families, 111 genera, and about 800 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...

, among others. He recorded on their debut album, which topped collegeweb.com's national 'indie' chart for more than three months in 1998. Mohler performed on bass at the 61st Grammy Awards alongside Dolly Parton, Katy Perry, Kacey Musgraves, Maren Morris, Little Big Town, Linda Perry, and Miley Cyrus. Mohler released his debut album in 2019 called Focus featuring Nate Wood on drums, Shane Endsley on trumpet, and Chris Speed on Tenor Saxophone. Mohler's album was featured in Jazziz Magazine. Mohler has worked on ad campaigns for Tom Ford (Lady Gaga, Nile Rodgers), Swovski Diamonds (Daya), Tommy Hilfiger, CSX Trains, AT&T, Finlandia Vodka, and many others. In 2020, Mohler contributed upright bass to CBS's show The Stand. Mohler was also featured in Bass Player Magazines Artist Spotlight. Mohler currently plays Fender Basses, Moollon Basses, Hofner Basses, Ashdown Engineering amplification, Noble Di and D'Addario strings.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mohler, Billy Living people American bass guitarists American indie rock musicians Guitarists from California American male bass guitarists Year of birth missing (living people)