John Wiese

Born in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, in 1977 and based in Los Angeles, John Wiese studied graphic design at CalArts before establishing himself as a prolific noise musician working across harsh noise, noisecore, grindcore, free improvisation, and musique concrète. He co-founded the group Sissy Spacek in 1999 with Charlie Mumma, releasing much of its catalog — along with his own solo records including Collected Tracks (2000) and Escaped Language (2017) — on his own Helicopter label. Sissy Spacek has drawn collaborators from across the noise underground, including Merzbow, Hijokaidan, Smegma, and The Haters. Wiese later joined the revived lineup of Airway — one of LAFMS’s founding member groups, dormant since the late 1970s and brought back for occasional performances from 1998 onward — performing and releasing Airway recordings alongside original members Joe Potts, Rick Potts, Chip Chapman, and Tom Recchion, including through his own Helicopter label.