Juan Alderete

On January 13, 2020, Alderete sustained a serious brain injury as a result of a bicycle accident near his home. Despite wearing protective equipment, he was in a coma for almost 4 weeks. As of March 25th, he is conscious and aware and is recovering at a rehabilitation facility. His wife, Anne, posts regular updates to his social media pages.

Alderete also laid down the bass line for the late rapper and singer Lil Peep on his 2017 single "Benz Truck".

On November 5, 2017. Alderete filled in bass for Marilyn Manson at the Ozzfest Meets Knotfest festival, replacing longtime bassist Jeordie White, a.k.a. Twiggy Ramirez. He has been Manson's bass player on tour since.

After The Mars Volta broke up in 2013, Alderete joined vocalist Cedric-Bixler Zavala in his new band, Zavalaz, and later became the touring bassist for Deltron 3030. Juan also runs a website dedicated to showcasing effects pedals and other musical gear called PedalsAndEffects.com.

Aside from The Mars Volta, Alderete has been invested in his own musical projects. Big Sir is a group composed of Juan and singer Lisa Papineau that has released four albums. Vato Negro is a group with a revolving door of musicians; originally a duo of Alderete and drummer Matt Sherrod, it has since featured Deantoni Parks, Omar Rodriguez-López, and Jon Theodore in various lineups. Alderete has played shows with both groups in 2010, in California and Fuji Rock Festival in Japan.

On May 1, 2007, Alderete announced that he had been diagnosed with polycythemia vera, a rare blood disease. However he also mentioned that he is feeling fine, will experience no side effects from the medication, and will continue to play music. Since discovering his condition, Alderete had agreed to become a spokesman for the MPD Foundation.

He went on to record Frances The Mute with them in 2004, and has played bass on every Mars Volta album since, as well as a number of solo albums by Omar Rodríguez-López. Since joining the band, he has played at Madison Square Garden and was featured on the front cover of the March 2005 issue of Bass Player Magazine.

In 2003, while working as a radio producer, Alderete received a call from Omar Rodríguez-López of The Mars Volta while on their European tour with an offer to audition for the band:

Although Extreme Volume II: Live was released in 1992, Racer X was not actually reunited. That year, Paul Gilbert was touring with Mr. Big, and Alderete was recording with a hard rock band called The Scream. In actuality, the album was just a compilation of songs that were recorded in concerts before the hiatus. However, around 1999, Alderete got a telephone call from Paul Gilbert, who asked if there was any possibility of recording another Racer X album. Juan agreed, and Racer X reunited to record Technical Difficulties, which features new material as well as older songs that were never recorded.

Alderete enrolled in Musicians Institute in Hollywood (Los Angeles, CA). He enjoyed his time in the school, explaining that he was able to learn techniques and styles that he had never even considered prior to his enrollment. Alderete and fellow student Paul Gilbert started their musical relationship during an audition that Alderete held to find a drummer. Alderete showed up at the audition, bringing a Musician's Institute student and drum-playing friend named Bill Lescohier. Although Lescohier was turned down for the part, Gilbert was impressed with Alderete's bass playing; the two quickly sought to form a speed metal band that would incorporate Gilbert's advanced neoclassical metal guitar technique with Alderete's solid bass lines. To complete the band, Harry Gschoesser joined to fill the drummer position, and Jeff Martin became the vocalist; the group named themselves Racer X (a title that Lescohier had suggested). With this lineup, the band released their debut album, Street Lethal, in 1986. Alderete has been recording with Racer X ever since (note: there was a ten-year hiatus starting from 1989), and their latest album was released in 2002, titled Getting Heavier. Alderete is credited as John Alderete on all Racer X albums.

Alderete was born in Los Angeles, CA the fourth of five children. In the late 1970s, the family moved to the Bay Area.

Juan Alderete de la Peña (born John Peter Alderete, September 5, 1963) is an American musician, best known as the longtime bassist of Racer X and the Mars Volta.