Christopher Ryan Goss (born August 17, 1958) is an American record producer and musician. Best known for producing records for

Kyuss Kyuss ( ) was an American rock band, formed in Palm Desert, California, in 1987. The band disbanded in 1995, and since then, members of Kyuss have gone on to form or play in several notable bands including Queens of the Stone Age, Fu Manchu, D ...

and

Queens of the Stone Age Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated QOTSA) is an American rock band formed in 1996 in Palm Desert, California. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme, who has been the only constant member throughout multiple line- ...

, he is regarded as an important figure in the development of

stoner rock Stoner rock, also known as stoner metal or stoner doom, is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of doom metal with psychedelic rock and acid rock. The genre emerged during the early 1990s and was pioneered foremost by Kyuss and Sleep. ...

and desert rock genres. Goss is also the lead singer and guitarist of the

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

band

Masters of Reality Masters of Reality is an American rock band formed in 1981 by frontman Chris Goss and guitarist Tim Harrington in Syracuse, New York, United States. They took the name for the band from a misprinted label of the third Black Sabbath album. Goss ...

Recording career

As well as being the founding (and only constant) member of influential desert rock outfit

, Goss is also well known for his production work on albums by

and

. Largely credited as the ''Godfather of desert rock'', Goss has on several occasions played down the importance of his role in this musical movement. In 1999, he stated, "I can't make any claim at all to inventing desert rock, or stoner rock, or whatever you want to call it. I make rock n roll records, and hopefully try to make the listener feel like I did when I heard my favourite music." In 2004, Goss highlighted exactly what kind of music he created, "There's a bunch of weirdos that I work with all the time, and we make what I call 'out of whack' Rock records. That's what I do. When people want an 'out of whack' weird Rock record, they call me, and I take an 'out of whack' amount of money to do it, and I'm glad to be there. It's cool." In late 2004, Goss had to be hospitalized due to severe internal infection and the European leg of his tour in support of the new

album ''

Give Us Barabbas ''Give Us Barabbas'' is the fifth studio album of the American rock band Masters of Reality, released in 2004. Material for the album comes from sessions for a planned release on Epic Records in the mid 1990s entitled ''The Ballad of Jody Frosty ...

'' had to be postponed indefinitely. After his recuperation, he joined

Jeordie White Jeordie Osbourne White (born June 20, 1971), better known Twiggy Ramirez or simply Twiggy, is an American musician, mostly known as the former bassist and guitarist of the rock band Marilyn Manson. Previously, he was the bassist for A Perfect ...

and

Zach Hill Zachary Charles Hill (born December 28, 1979) is an American multi-instrumentalist and visual artist. He is best known as the drummer and co-producer of the groups Death Grips and the I.L.Y's, and as the drummer of math rock band Hella. Art In ...

to release ''

I Got a Brand New Egg Layin' Machine ''I Got a Brand New Egg Layin' Machine'' is the debut mini album of Goon Moon released on Suicide Squeeze Records. According to member Chris Goss the album "... runs the gamut from pure rock to tracks that just sound like noise." The cover art wa ...

'', a "mini LP" released under the name

Goon Moon Goon Moon is an American rock band composed of Jeordie White (also known as Twiggy Ramirez) and Chris Goss. The band released the mini-LP ''I Got a Brand New Egg Layin' Machine'' in 2005 and have since recorded a full-length album, ''Licker's Las ...

. Goss appeared with his longtime friend

Josh Homme Joshua Michael Homme ( ; born May 17, 1973) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the founder, primary songwriter, and only continuous member of the rock band Queens of the Stone Age, which he form ...

as " The 5:15ers" at the "winter edition" of

ArthurFest ArthurFest was a two-day music festival curated by Arthur Magazine. The festival took place September 4 and 5, 2005 at the Barnsdall Art Park in Los Angeles, California. The lineup included such acts as: Yoko Ono, Sonic Youth, The Black Keys, Modey ...

, performing an intimate set which was "crafted in less than a month as the duo was a rather late addition to the Arthurball line-up as Sunday's headliner". Continuing with

, Goss, White and Hill released a full-length album in May 2007 entitled ''

Licker's Last Leg ''Licker's Last Leg'' is the first full length studio album by Goon Moon, and the follow-up to 2005's ''I Got a Brand New Egg Layin' Machine''. The record was released via Ipecac Recordings on May 8, 2007. The album features cameos by longtime Gos ...

'' containing many guest artists synonymous with the desert rock scene. Goss also joined Queens of the Stone Age and

Billy Gibbons William Frederick Gibbons (born December 16, 1949) is an American musician who is the guitarist and lead singer of the rock band ZZ Top. He began his career in the band the Moving Sidewalks, which recorded a full-length album entitled, ''Flas ...

to perform " Burn the Witch" on ''

Late Night with Conan O'Brien ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien. NBC aired 2,725 episodes from September 13, 1993, to February 20, 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and music ...

''. In 2013, regarding Josh Homme's supposed decision to sequence the album Era Vulgaris using songs originated in a "Los Angeles studio without a single thing written, just to see what it was like to force songs out of his psyche", Goss was quoted saying: "I've seen him do that before with the Desert Sessions but never with Queens. The Queens of the Stone Age is a business, where he's the CEO. It's not run the same." In 2014, filming completed in Las Vegas for ''Death in the Desert'', a full-length movie for which Goss wrote an original song titled "Only the Lonely", performed by singer

Roxy Saint Roxanne Saint (born November 5, 1977) is an American singer, musician, video producer, director, and actress who started singing at age 17. She's known for her role in the film ''Zombie Strippers'' and as the lead performer in the goth band Rox ...

, who plays the character Corey in the full-length film, which is directed and produced by Saint's husband, Josh Evans. It stars

Michael Madsen Michael Søren Madsen (born September 25, 1957) is an American actor. He has starred in many films and television series, frequently collaborating with director Quentin Tarantino, most famously in the latter's debut film ''Reservoir Dogs'' (19 ...

Shayla Beesley Shayla Beesley is an American actress best known for her role in the horror film ''Reaper''. Biography Beesley was born the oldest of four children to mother Tegan Ollie, a belly dancer who died in 2012, and father Graham Beesley. She lives in H ...

and

Paz de la Huerta María de la Paz Elizabeth Sofía Adriana de la Huerta y Bruce (; born September 3, 1984), known professionally as Paz de la Huerta, is an American actress and model. She had roles in the films ''The Cider House Rules'' (1999) and ''A Walk to Re ...

. The movie is inspired by the book

Death in the Desert ''Death in the Desert: The Ted Binion Homicide Case'' is a 2000 biographical and crime account by the American journalist and crime author Cathy Scott, with a second edition in 2012. The book, which was the first of four released about the case ...

Cathy Scott Cathleen "Cathy" Scott (born c. 1950) is a ''Los Angeles Times'' bestselling American true crime writer and investigative journalist who penned the biographies and true crime books ''The Killing of Tupac Shakur'' and ''The Murder of Biggie Small ...

, with the screenplay by John Steppling.

Selected discography

Throughout his career, Goss has worked with a wide range of musicians in various genres.

AllMusic – Chris Goss discography AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

/ref> *1989: ''

'' by

*1992: ''

Blues for the Red Sun ''Blues for the Red Sun'' is the second studio album by American rock band Kyuss, released in 1992. While the album received mainly favorable reviews, it fared poorly commercially, selling only 39,000 units. It has since become a very influentia ...

'' by

*1993: '' Sunrise on the Sufferbus'' by

*1994: ''

Welcome to Sky Valley ''Welcome to Sky Valley'' (also known as ''Sky Valley'' and ''Kyuss'') is the third studio album by American rock band Kyuss. It was released on June 28, 1994, through Elektra and Chameleon Records. Background and composition ''Welcome to Sky ...

'' by

*1994: ''All of Us'' by I Love You *1995: '' ...And the Circus Leaves Town'' by

*1995: ''Marie Mozege'' by Les Super Stars *1996: ''

Dust Dust is made of fine particles of solid matter. On Earth, it generally consists of particles in the atmosphere that come from various sources such as soil lifted by wind (an aeolian process), volcanic eruptions, and pollution. Dust in homes ...

'' by

Screaming Trees Screaming Trees was an American rock band formed in Ellensburg, Washington, in 1984 by vocalist Mark Lanegan, guitarist Gary Lee Conner, bass player Van Conner, and drummer Mark Pickerel. Pickerel had been replaced by Barrett Martin by the tim ...

*1996: '' Leave the Story Untold'' by

Soulwax Soulwax are an electronic band from Ghent, Belgium. Centred around brothers David and Stephen Dewaele, other current members include Igor Cavalera and Stefaan Van Leuven. They were first noticed after the release of their album ''Much Against Eve ...

*1996: ''Daaly'' by

Thione Seck Thione Ballago Seck (March 12, 1955 – March 14, 2021) was a Senegalese singer and songwriter in the mbalakh genre. Seck came from a family of griot singers from the Wolof people of Senegal. He first performed with Orchestre Baobab, but he lat ...

*1996: '' Tiny Music... Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop'' by

Stone Temple Pilots Stone Temple Pilots (also known by the initialism STP) is an American rock band from San Diego, California, that originally consisted of Scott Weiland (lead vocals), brothers Dean (guitar) and Robert DeLeo (bass, backing vocals), and Eric Kretz ...

*1996: ''

Amusing the Amazing ''Amusing the Amazing'' is an EP by American stoner rock band Slo Burn, released in 1997. It contains four songs, and sounds very much in the vein of Kyuss, of stoner rock fame, partly due to having been co-produced by Chris Goss, who also pro ...

'' by Slo Burn *1997: '' How High the Moon: Live at the Viper Room'' by

*1998: ''

Holiday Man ''Holiday Man'' is the debut album by the American alternative rock band The Flys (American band), the Flys, released in 1998 by Trauma Records. The album spawned two singles, "Got You (Where I Want You)" and "She's So Huge", both of which charted ...

'' by The Flys *1998: ''Gaslight'' by 30 Odd Foot of Grunts *1998: '' Volumes 3 & 4'' by

Desert Sessions The Desert Sessions are a musical collective series, founded by Josh Homme in 1997. Artists such as Brant Bjork, PJ Harvey, Twiggy Ramirez, Dave Catching, Nick Oliveri, Mark Lanegan, John McBain, Ben Shepherd, Josh Freese, Chris Goss, Alain ...

*1998: ''

'' by

*1999: ''Kimi No Oto Ga Kikoeru Basho'' by

Bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

*1999: '' Welcome to the Western Lodge'' by

*2000: '' Spirit\Light\Speed'' by

Ian Astbury Ian Robert Astbury (born 14 May 1962) is an English singer, best known as a founding member, lead vocalist and frontman of the rock band the Cult. During various hiatuses from the Cult, Astbury has fronted the short-lived Holy Barbarians in 1 ...

*2000: ''

Cocaine Rodeo ''Cocaine Rodeo'' is the debut studio album by American rock band Mondo Generator, released on Southern Lord Records in 2000. It was compiled of material recorded by vocalist/bassist Nick Oliveri with Rob Oswald of Karma to Burn (drums), vocali ...

'' by

Mondo Generator Mondo Generator (sometimes known as Nick Oliveri and the Mondo Generator) is an American rock band founded in 1997 by Nick Oliveri. History Formation and ''Cocaine Rodeo'' (1997–2002) Nick Oliveri (under the moniker ''Rex Everything'') f ...

*2000: ''

Rated R Rated R refers to movies (and also to TV shows and video games in certain systems) that have been given a "restricted" rating by one of the following film rating systems: * Motion Picture Association of America film rating system * Canadian Home Vid ...

'' by

*2000: '' Muchas Gracias: The Best of Kyuss'' by

*2000: ''Outta My Way'' by The Flys *2001: ''

Toasted Toast most commonly refers to: * Toast (food), bread browned with dry heat * Toast (honor), a ritual in which a drink is taken Toast may also refer to: Places * Toast, North Carolina, a census-designated place in the United States Books * Toas ...

'' by

Fatso Jetson Fatso Jetson is an American desert rock band from Palm Desert, California, formed in 1994 by Yawning Man members Mario Lalli and Larry Lalli, along with Tony Tornay. They are often credited as the fathers of the desert strain of stoner rock la ...

*2001: ''

Volumes 7 & 8 ''Volumes 7 & 8'' is a compilation of the seventh and eighth releases from The Desert Sessions. The seventh volume is titled '' Gypsy Marches'', and the eighth '' Can You See Under My Thumb? There You Are.''. The album features appearances from ...

'' by

The Desert Sessions The Desert Sessions are a musical collective series, founded by Josh Homme in 1997. Artists such as Brant Bjork, PJ Harvey, Twiggy Ramirez, Dave Catching, Nick Oliveri, Mark Lanegan, John McBain, Ben Shepherd, Josh Freese, Chris Goss, Alain ...

*2001: '' Deep in the Hole'' by

*2002: ''

Songs for the Deaf ''Songs for the Deaf'' is the third studio album by the American rock band Queens of the Stone Age, released on August 27, 2002 by Interscope Records. It features guest musicians including drummer Dave Grohl, and was the last Queens of the Stone ...

'' by

*2003: ''

Flak 'n' Flight ''Flak 'n' Flight'' is the second live album by American rock band Masters of Reality, released in 2003. Reception In 2005, ''Flak 'n' Flight'' was ranked number 449 in ''Rock Hard'' magazine's book of ''The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of A ...

'' by

*2003: ''Tell Them Hi'' by Campfire Girls *2003: '' Vol. 9&10'' by

*2003: ''

Atomic Ritual Atomic Ritual is the third studio album from stoner rock band Nebula, released in 2003 by Liquor and Poker and Sweet Nothing Records. The album was reissued in 2022 by the band's current label, Heavy Psych Sounds Records. Track listing All songs ...

'' by

Nebula A nebula ('cloud' or 'fog' in Latin; pl. nebulae, nebulæ or nebulas) is a distinct luminescent part of interstellar medium, which can consist of ionized, neutral or molecular hydrogen and also cosmic dust. Nebulae are often star-forming regio ...

*2003: '' Here Comes That Weird Chill'' by

Mark Lanegan Band Mark William Lanegan (November 25, 1964 – February 22, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter, and poet. First becoming prominent as the lead singer for the early grunge band Screaming Trees, he was also known as a member of Queens of the S ...

*2003: ''The Underground Personality Tapes'' by

*2004: '' Never, Never Land'' by UNKLE *2004: ''

'' by

*2004: ''

Bubblegum Bubble gum or bubblegum is a type of chewing gum, designed to be inflated out of the mouth as a bubble. Bubble gum flavor While there is a bubble gum "flavor" – which various artificial flavorings including esters are mixed to obtain – it ...

'' by the

*2004: ''

Auf der Maur Auf der Maur is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Melissa Auf der Maur (born 1972), Canadian rock musician ** ''Auf der Maur'' (album), debut album of Melissa Auf der Maur *Nick Auf der Maur Nick Erik Auf der Maur (April 10, ...

'' by Melissa Auf der Maur *2004: '' Demon Crossing'' by Yellow #5 *2004: '' Mister Mental'' by

The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster (often referred to as Eighties Matchbox, 80s Matchbox, TEMBD, TEMBLD or shortened to just Eighties or 80s) were an English rock band from Brighton, formed in 1999. They released three albums, '' Hörse of t ...

*2005: ''

'' by

*2005: ''

Lullabies to Paralyze ''Lullabies to Paralyze'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band Queens of the Stone Age, released on March 22, 2005. The album debuted at #5 on the ''Billboard'' 200, and sold 97,000 copies in America during its first week of release, ...

'' by

*2005: '' Ocean of Confusion: Songs of Screaming Trees 1989–1996'' by

*2007: ''

'' by

*2007: '' The Cool'' by

Lupe Fiasco Wasalu Muhammad Jaco (born February 16, 1982), better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco ( ), is an American rapper, singer, record producer, and entrepreneur. He rose to fame in 2006 following the success of his debut album, ''Lupe Fiasco's ...

*2007: '' Era Vulgaris'' by

*2007: '' War Stories'' by UNKLE *2008: ''It's OK to be Happy'' by

Smith & Pyle Smith & Pyle was an American country music duo from Los Angeles, California, composed of actresses Shawnee Smith and Missi Pyle. History Shawnee Smith and Missi Pyle met in 2007 while filming an ABC comedy pilot titled '' Traveling in Packs''. A ...

*2008: ''

Neptune Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun and the farthest known planet in the Solar System. It is the fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 times ...

'' by

The Duke Spirit The Duke Spirit are an English rock band based in London. Their sound has been seen as a melding of influences ranging from alternative rock bands such as The Jesus and Mary Chain and Spiritualized, the tremulous rock'n'roll of bands such as T ...

*2008: '' More Stories'' by UNKLE *2008: '' End Titles... Stories for Film'' by UNKLE *2009: '' Pine/Cross Dover'' by

*2010: '' Out of Our Minds'' by Melissa Auf der Maur *2010: ''

Where Did the Night Fall ''Where Did the Night Fall'' is the fourth studio album from British electronic music act Unkle, released on . Background As a documentation of the work on the album, on 13 April 2009, James Lavelle, Unkle's mastermind, started an official "U ...

'' by UNKLE *2010: ''Everyman and Woman Is a Star'' by

The Cult The Cult are an English rock band formed in 1983 in Bradford, West Yorkshire. Before settling on their current name in January 1984, the band performed under the name Death Cult, which was an evolution of the name of lead singer Ian Astbury's ...

*2011: ''Enjoy Your Psychosis'' by Drums Are for Parades *2014: ''

Sonic Highways ''Sonic Highways'' is the eighth studio album by American rock band Foo Fighters, released on November 10, 2014, through Roswell and RCA Records. Similar to their previous album, ''Wasting Light'' (2011), it was produced by the band with Butch ...

'' by

Foo Fighters Foo Fighters are an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Foo Fighters was initially formed as a one-man project by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. Following the success of the eponymous debut album, Grohl (lead vocals, guitar) re ...

*2016: '' Your Desert My Mind'' by

The Mutants ''The Mutants'' is the fourth serial of the ninth season of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in six weekly parts on BBC1 from 8 April to 13 May 1972. The serial is set on and high above th ...

*2020: ''Lavender Blues'' by

Big Scenic Nowhere Big Scenic Nowhere is an American desert rock supergroup from California. History Demo album (2009–2012) Big Scenic Nowhere dates back to 2009 when demo recordings of the one-off project were recorded and released under the moniker; some bei ...

References

External links

Chris Goss' homepage
(archived)

with Brian D. Holland of Modernguitars.com. {{DEFAULTSORT:Goss, Chris 1958 births Living people American record producers Goon Moon members Queens of the Stone Age members American rock singers American rock guitarists American male guitarists American hard rock musicians American male singer-songwriters American singer-songwriters 20th-century American guitarists Masters of Reality members

Recording career

Selected discography

See also

References

External links