Photo Jimmy Hubbard
2023 was alas on the whole another Faith No More less year. We fans have sat patiently awaiting the announcement for the rescheduling of those lost shows originally planned three years ago.
Roddy Bottum said in conversation to one of our admin team ‘never say never’. Mike Patton seems to have happily overcome his mental health issues and thankfully returned to the stage. Hopefully the band will iron out the kinks and we will hear from them soon.
One of the reasons that FNM are so unique is that the music is a combination of very different personalities and influences and here at Faith No More Followers we do exactly that, we follow not just the band as a whole but their individual musical endeavours and it’s been another exciting year to be a fan of Patton, Roddy and Bill Gould in particular.
Let’s start with the busiest member of the band, Roddy. He and his partner Joey Holman treated us to a second Man on Man record named after the seaside town in Massachusetts where it was written Provincetown. As provocative and fun as their first album with catchy melodies and hard hitting riffs Roddy has certainly found a place to express himself whilst also impressing fans of FNM.
The two took the record on the road starting in the USA and ending with some cracking gigs in Europe supporting Dinosaur Jr.
Roddy kept us up to date via his social media platforms, sharing with us his joyful tour moments.
Bill seems to have fully immersed himself in Balkan culture as he expanded his Yebiga rakija across the globe. Although the drink has not arrived in the UK yet, it is available all over North America and in Australia!
Two thirds of the Talking Book project featuring Bill and Jared Blum released the long awaited soundtrack to the Serbian film Eclipse directed by Natasa Urban. The first full soundtrack by the duo is otherworldly and atmospheric. Both Bill and Jared spoke about the project on various podcasts.
Finally let’s remind ourselves of Patton projects from the last twelve months. Mr. Bungle 2.0 continues to be the man of 1000 voices’ focus. Their brand of bone crunching bunny metal with Dunn, Spruance, Lombardo and Ian continued to blast crowds in the USA throughout May and September.
The announcement of further shows for 2024 in USA, Japan, Australia and Europe suggests another Bungle filled year ahead.
Patton also collaborated with Italian band Calibro 35 on the song L'odio e l'amore for the soundtrack to Diabolik Chi Sei? of which we know little about and is unavailable at present. We will keep you updated.
Also, to keep Patton fans at bay Ipecac recordings also gave us vinyl reissues of Tomahawk’s back catalogue and the Peeping Tom record, with General Patton vs The X-Ecutioners on its way.
Other notable FNM moments of 2023 include the classic 1987 version of We Care A Lot reaching a new generation of music fans when it was included on the soundtrack to the latest Marvel cinema smash hit Guardians of the Galaxy 3, and also on the soundtrack of The Pope’s Exorcist a horror film starring Russell Crow.
In other areas outside of the official camp Accidental Cyclops released two follow-ups to The Real Thing RPG based on Angel Dust and King For A Day.
Who Cares Anyway Post-Punk San Francisco and the End of the Analog Age by Will York was released via Headpress, a must read book with chapters about early Faith No More.
Finally the only dedicated Faith No More podcast Podcast Croissant spent the year deep diving track by track into The Real Thing. The hosts took an extended break while Mike Hayes became a new father but have the latest episode on Zombie Eaters ready for release in the new year.
Let's keep our fingers crossed that 2024 brings some news on our favourite band. Until then grab yourself a ticket to see Mr. Bungle.
Happy new year you fat bastards....