Career
He was a guest star on the United States. television show Gilmore Girls, where he played the tambourine in the fictitious band Hep Alien. He appeared in the 2004 documentary Dig! along with the rest of the Brian Jonestown Massacre, and is featured prominently on the cover of the Digital Video Disc of the same film. His image is also on the cover of the Brian Jonestown Massacre album Thank God Foreign Mental Illness (and a very distended image of him can be seen on Give lieutenant Back!).
He rejoined for their 2006 tour and still plays tambourine and maracas with the band.
In 2011 Gion released his first solo vinyl European Parliament "Extended Play". In 2012, Gion released the single "Yes" as an advance of his upcoming solo album which was due to be released in 2014.
At the end of 2013, he formed a new group, Joel Gion & The Primary Colours, made up of Gion on guitar, percussion and vocals, Brian Jackson (guitar), Derek See (guitar and vocals), Galine Tumasova (bass, vocals), Raul Sanchez (drums), Yvonne Hernandez (percussion), and Kevin Wood (keyboards). In 2014, Gion released a solo album named Apple Bonkers on August 18 (United Kingdom) and 19 (United States).
The album is mainly composed of classic 1960s sounds, with influences from shoegaze, post-punk, psychedelia, alt-country and mod/beat music