Who is Jesse Hughes?

Who is Jesse Hughes? The heavy metal world knows hims as "The Devil". He  is an American musician from Greenville, South Carolina. Hughes is known for his role as frontman of the California-based rock band, Eagles of Death Metal. He cites Little Richard as his biggest musical influence and inspiration.

 Early life

Hughes was born September 24 1972 At age 7, Hughes' mother, Jo Ellen, moved him to Palm Desert, California. In high school, Hughes became friends with Josh Homme (later of Kyuss and Queens of the Stone Age). They became good friends after Josh Homme stopped a bully from picking on Hughes. Hughes graduated from the Greenville Technical College with a degree in journalism and worked as manager of a Video Depot in the Palm Desert for several years.

 Politics

Hughes worked as a speechwriter and activist for the Republican Party. He worked for former Congressman Sonny Bono. He remains a devoted Republican, and has called President Barack Obama a "communist". In an interview with Altitude TV, Hughes said, regarding the 2008 presidential election, "I would never vote for Obama. Not in a million years." He called Obama a "talking head" who has behind him a machine that "understands the sophistication of media." He added: "I want my money and my guns. And I don't want anyone to tell me what to do. I don't like people who offer me free lunch, or all-you-can-drink lemonade, because nine times out of 10 you vote for them and they give you a glass and pour a little bit in the bottom and go, 'That's all you can drink.' "
Hughes is a registered member of the National Rifle Association, but claims not to hunt for he believes it isn't fair - "I don't like hunting animals because they can't shoot back.".

 Eagles of Death Metal

Jesse Hughes and Josh 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 rehab, but paid for it as well.

 Pseudonyms

Hughes is known to go by 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."

 Other works

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

Musical equipment

Hughes is currently endorsed by Maton guitars and Orange amplifiers.

• Maton MS500 Electric
• Maton BB1200 Electric
• Maton EAJ85 Jumbo Acoustic
• Yamaha AES1500
• Orange Rockerverb 50w combo
• Laney Amplifer

 Selected discography

For a comprehensive listing, see Eagles of Death Metal#Discography

Year	Band or artist	Album
1998	The Desert Sessions	Volumes 3 & 4
2002	Fatso Jetson	Cruel & Delicious
2004	Eagles of Death Metal	Peace, Love, Death Metal
	As a solo artist	A Pair of Queens
2005	Queens of the Stone Age	Lullabies to Paralyze
2006	Eagles of Death Metal	Death by Sexy
2008		Heart On
TBA	As solo artist	Fabulous Weapon

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