Matt McJunkins is a studio and touring bass player who currently resides in Los Angeles, California. He plays bass in A Perfect Circle

A Perfect Circle

A Perfect Circle is an American rock supergroup formed in 1999 by guitarist Billy Howerdel and Tool vocalist Maynard James Keenan. The original incarnation of the band also included Paz Lenchantin on bass, Troy Van Leeuwen on guitar, and Tim Alexander on drums...

, Puscifer

Puscifer

Puscifer is a side project of Maynard James Keenan from the bands Tool and A Perfect Circle. As Keenan is the only permanent member and he considers the project to be his "creative subconscious", Puscifer could also be considered a pseudonym for his solo work....

, Ashes Divide

Ashes Divide

Ashes Divide is an American rock band formed by guitarist Billy Howerdel, who had also formed A Perfect Circle. Howerdel is the primary songwriter, musician, producer, and vocalist for the band....

 and recently 30 Seconds to Mars

30 Seconds to Mars

30 Seconds to Mars is an American rock band from Los Angeles, formed in 1998. Since 2007, the band has consisted of actor Jared Leto , Shannon Leto and Tomo Miličević...

. He also sings backup vocals in all of these bands and plays some keyboard and guitar for Puscifer.

Early life

McJunkins began playing bass when he was 13-years old. His older brother was a drummer and convinced him to pick up the bass guitar. He went on to play in his high school marching and concert band. After graduating high school, he went on to study at the world renowned Musician's Institute in Los Angeles. This led him to begin taking gigs all over LA for many genres of music.

Ashes Divide

In 2008 he was selected by Billy Howerdel

Billy Howerdel

Billy Howerdel is the founding member, guitarist, songwriter, and producer for the bands A Perfect Circle and Ashes Divide. He has recorded three acclaimed studio albums with the former, and in 2008, Ashes Divide released their debut album, Keep Telling Myself It's Alright.-Early life:Howerdel was...

, co-founder of A Perfect Circle to play bass in his band Ashes Divide. He toured steadily with the band for the following year for festivals and headlining bills including Rock On The Range and Projekt Revolution.

Puscifer

After touring and performing with Ashes Divide, he was asked (along with fellow Ashes Divide bandmate, drummer Jeff Friedl

Jeff Friedl

Jeff Friedl is a studio and touring drummer currently based in Los Angeles, California. Jeff has recorded, performed, and/or toured with ASHES dIVIDE, A Perfect Circle, Puscifer, Devo, CSS, Danny Lohner, Carina Round, Ross Robinson, Shane Alexander, Mark Mothersbaugh, Jay Ruston, Linda Strawberry,...

) to join Maynard James Keenan

Maynard James Keenan

Maynard James Keenan is an American rock singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, winemaker, and actor. Originally from Ohio, Keenan spent his high school and college years in Michigan. After serving in the Army in the early 1980s, he attended Kendall College of Art and Design in Grand Rapids...

's sideproject Puscifer

Puscifer

Puscifer is a side project of Maynard James Keenan from the bands Tool and A Perfect Circle. As Keenan is the only permanent member and he considers the project to be his "creative subconscious", Puscifer could also be considered a pseudonym for his solo work....

 for their first live performances. Since then he has been a part of the touring Puscifer lineup and also contributed as a writer and performer on subsequent recordings with the group. He contributed to Puscifer's upcoming album, Conditions Of My Parole.

30 Seconds to Mars

In 2011, he joined Jared Leto

Jared Leto

Jared Joseph Leto is an American actor, director, producer, occasional model and musician. Leto has appeared in both big budget Hollywood films and smaller projects from independent producers and art houses. He rose to prominence for playing Jordan Catalano in the teenage drama My So-Called Life...

 and his bandmates as the bass player of 30 Seconds to Mars. He participated in their 2011 US and Australian tours.

A Perfect Circle

In the fall of 2010 he was asked to join A Perfect Circle for their first live performances in 6 years, and has been a touring member of the band since. Replacing previous bassists, Paz Lenchantin

Paz Lenchantin

Paz Lenchantin is an American musician of French ancestry. She came to Los Angeles, California with her family at the age of four....

 and Jeordie White

Jeordie White

Jeordie Osbourne White , better known by his pseudonym Twiggy Ramirez , is an American musician, who is best known for being the bassist and guitarist for Marilyn Manson. He was also the bassist for A Perfect Circle, and Nine Inch Nails...

(Twiggy Ramirez), he has been received well by fans and critics and has received feature stories in Bass Player Magazine and Bass Guitar Magazine which praise his playing and composition.

Playing technique

McJunkins began his career on bass as a predominant finger-style player, but upon joining Ashes Divide, Puscifer, 30 Seconds To Mars and A Perfect Circle, he now primarily plays with a pick. He often uses complex chord shapes in picking and strumming for all of the bands he plays with. He does, for the country music of Puscifer, still use finger style on occasion in their live show.

Gear

McJunkins plays Fender Precision Bass Deluxe Models that are 4-string and contain both the P-bass and J-bass pick ups. He tours with three of these basses, including the original black and white bass that Paz and Jeordie played previously with APC. He plays Mesa Boogie Big Block Titan heads through multiple Ampeg SVT 8x10's. He uses the Fractal Effects Processor for ASHES dIVIDE and APC. He uses Ernie Ball Power Slinky strings and Dunlop Tortex .88 picks.