Talking Book is the soundscape project featuring Bill Gould, Jared Blum and Dominic Cramp. Their 2011 album was a fantastic abstract expressionistic recording which plays likes the soundtrack to a movie. It is dark and atmospheric yet still has an underlying warmth with rich textures and distinctive melodies. "It’s got a lot of subtle melodies and shifts parts a lot and progresses. There’s movement to it, so you kind of go down this sink hole with us." - Blum 2016 You can read our interview with Jared Blum HERE. Koolarrow Records have announced that the long-awaited follow up record will be released on April 24th. Though the approach to creating the record has been uniquely their own, there are obvious echoes of Eno’s earliest ambient projects and his Bowie collaborations, ‘60s Serbian and Czech soundtracks, English folk and coastal melodies, intertwining prog guitars met with dusty electro acoustic tape music and Lynch’s “Eraserhead” score. “We had originally thought this would be an easy follow-up to our debut album from 2011,” said Gould. “But in fact, this was a journey that took years. It was a wild ride, but in my opinion was totally worth the effort, it enabled us to really dig deep, and get this the way we wanted it. I feel like we have created a soundtrack to a film that can only be seen through listening.” Listen to Thermal Drift below. Talking Book II is a total listening experience, meant to be digested as two complete pieces, preferably with headphones. The tracks are meant to flow, one into the other, without gaps. The vinyl release will be limited to 500 copies and contains an entire piece per side. Talking Book II track list: Blood Aurora Thermal Drift The Land Upright A Crumbling Mind Smiles Zastava Early Sorrows The Last Time She Died They Came at Dawn A Sea Turned to Stone Heritor Lost in Glass The War Was Better Dying Light Absent Horizon Pre-orders the 12” vinyl version HERE. #billgould #talkingbook

Italian math rock duo Zeus! have recorded a cover of Human Fly by The Cramps featuring Mike Patton. Justin Pearson's One Three G Records will issue a tribute album to The Cramps as their one hundredth release titled Really Bad Music For Really Bad People: The Cramps as Heard Through the Meat Grinder of Three One G. The record will feature bands such as Daughters and Retox as well as Mike Patton with Zeus!. Patton will feature on a cover of the 1978 song Human Fly originally on the band's first EP Gravest Hits. Three One G’s one hundredth release will be another tribute, this time to an iconic band known for its raunchy and pure punk spirit, all while looking effortlessly cool: The Cramps. For the label’s third comp, the lineup of musicians enlisted to take part is even more diverse, including the likes of Chelsea Wolfe, Daughters, Mike Patton, and Metz, among others—all members, in some way or another, of the extended Three One G family. Here you’ll hear everything from Cumbia-style Cramps as interpreted by Sonido De La Frontera, to Panicker’s electronic dance-centric distorted version of “I’m Cramped”. Just as The Cramps mastered the art of covering music through their own warped lens, Three One G carries on the torch of re-imagining songs with swagger and style, making it their own while honoring a band whose influence on the label is obvious. Track list: 1. Child Bite “TV Set” 2. Metz “Call of the Wighat” 3. Secret Fun Club feat. Carrie Gillespie Feller “I Was a Teenage Werewolf” 4. Chelsea Wolfe “Sheena’s in a Goth Gang” 5. Sonido de la Frontera “Zombie Dance” 6. Qui “New Kind of Kick” 7. Zeus! feat. Mike Patton “Human Fly” 8. Retox “Garbageman” 9. Magic Witch Cookbox “People Ain’t No Good” 10. Microwaves “Don’t Eat Stuff Off the Sidewalk” 11. Daughters “What’s Inside a Girl” 12. Panicker “I’m Cramped” Really Bad Music For Really Bad People: The Cramps as Heard Through the Meat Grinder of Three One G will be release on May 1st. Pre-order it HERE. #mikepatton #zeus #thecramps

Two more dates added to Faith No More's summer European tour This summer is filling up with FNM dates and two more have been added in Sweden. On Thursday June 25th Liseberg amusement park in Gothenburg and on Roddy's birthday Wednesday July 1st Gröna Lund amusement park in Stockholm. For the full list of tour dates in the UK, Europe and North America check HERE. #faithnomore #europeantour

Shit terrorist was the phrase coined by Mike Patton himself in 1992 t describe his unsanitary behaviour, but hidden amongst the turd eating and golden showers was a more unnerving storyline... During 1992 Patton shed his weather worn pin-up frat boy skin and emerged as a scruffy thrift shop degenerate who rather unexpectedly stole our hearts. His lovable cartoon character antics were replaced by stomach churning mischief that gave us all a laugh at the expense of stereotype rock n rollers like Axl Rose. Toodles was an antique child’s doll which found her way into several interviews and photo shoots during the end of 1992 and into 1993. The origin of Patton’s creepy companion differs from interview to interview - trolling the press was something that FNM were experts at during the Angel Dust era. Whether Patton acquired her from a voodoo priest in New Orleans, dug her up in an Atlanta graveyard or bought her from an antique store in Davenport - the fact is the two were inseparable for a few months. It was in an article with UK music tabloid Melody Maker that Patton introduced us to Toodles. Somewhere along the line, Mike has acquired an ancient baby doll, name of Toodles, which he carries around tenderly, wrapped in a tee-shirt. His fellow band members make a big fuss of the doll, cooing at it and kissing its forehead. Toodles has a large, pink head, potholed and cracked, a filthy, partially burned, crocheted body, and filmy, opaque green eyes. There is something distinctly eerie about Toodles. I flippantly ask Mike if he breast-feeds Toodles, and he looks at me like I just grew and extra head. "She doesn't eat," he explains, as one would to a simpleton. Yet when FNM head for the stage, he props Toodles face-down over a bowl of mayonnaise. Maybe he should have offered the mayo to L7 instead. L7, in the great tradition of support bands, don't get the full benefit of catering. Once a day, a nourishing meal of bread and water or a little thin gruel peremptorily thrust in their direction. These women are hungry, and have resorted to daring raids on FNM's rider. But it isn't until I mention Toodles that Mike truly comes to life. "TOODLES is what I've been wanting to talk about! Toodles comes from Atlanta. I dug her up. It was on the Guns N'Roses tour. We went to a graveyard, a really old graveyard all prisoners. No names on the gravestones, only numbers. There was this really small grave, and I figured, how could there be an infant prisoner? So I dug it up, and there was Toodles. I could hear 'Sweet Child o' Mine' playing across the night from the open air arena, and I knew we were meant to be together" In a second article from RAW Magazine Patton's story is slightly different. “Have you met Toodles?" asks Patton, holding up an ancient baby doll with diseased limbs and peeling eyes. Apparently he picked her up in a thrift store about three weeks ago, although her place in his heart is already being threatened by a monkey skull he found in Pennslyvania, "It's supposed to win me arguments and protect my home," Patton smiles, "I don't believe in it, but it's a great theory, Bill bought Alister Crowley's original cocaine spoon. It's got a little document with it like a little family tree, saying whose hands it's passed through." Toodles fate is however a mystery, whether Patton kept her close and she eventually made it as a stage prop with Fantômas we will never know. More likely Patton woke up one day to find his wife had thrown that unsanitary crap out. "We're a band that encourages extremes.....so when anyone is doing things like that. I think: Well whatever you wanna do, whatever you wanna try - no matter how outlandish - just make yourself happy. Which is a healthy environment. I'm very proud of the extremes that go on in our band, I'm proud of the fact that Mike is like that. I'm proud that he carries a doll around a voodoo doll called Toodles. That's such a bizarre thing, but extremes are what we're about." - Roddy Bottum | NME 1993 #mikepatton #toodles #angeldust #faithnomore

FNM and Korn will embark on a huge 26 date of North America and Canada in the summer of 2020, we examine their history together. Faith No More have always vehemently refused to take any responsibility for inspiring the 90s alternative movement of nu-metal, where-as Korn reluctantly take credit for inventing it. Both bands suffered from hapless pigeon-holing by the music press who were unable to define their unique sounds and had to invent labels for convenience - FNM funk metal , Korn nu metal. The two bands recently announced they would play together for dates at Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles alongside System Of A Down and Helmet. Soon after it was revealed that Korn and FNM would co-headline a large scale tour across North America (with a stop in Canada). A revelation that was favourably received by many fans, but questioned by others. Here we will look at the connections between the two band's histories. We start with the influence FNM's music has had on members of Korn, who have always cited Mike Patton, Chuck Mosley and co as inspiration. Despite what members of FNM say, you can hear nods to FNM in Korn's music - African rhythms, slapped and distorted bass tones, plus hits of rap and eastern melody lines from frontman Jonathan Davis. "My favorite Faith No More record is The Real Thing. That's when Mike Patton took over. That's the one. I do like We Care a Lot. We got a lot of our influences from The Real Thing. It showed everybody you could do heavy music and not be "metal". It was something completely different." - Jonathan Davis 2015 "They can do no wrong by me. They sound great. I like their new stuff, too. It fits right in with the old stuff, I think. I think everyone is so excited to hear them and see them playing together again, I know a couple of the guys, they're great guys and phenomenal musicians. To me, they're not a metal band. They always say they're not a metal band. I've always kind of felt that way about Korn. They inspired Fieldy and I to start a band and start playing. That was back in 1987, so it's inspiring that not only are they still going, but they sold out that place three nights in a row. It gives guys like me hope." - Munky Shaffer 2015 "The chemistry of the way that Bill Gould plays bass in Faith No More is incredible. He and I kind of play the same, but he plays on-beat and with a pick most of the time, even though it sounds like he’s slapping. As much as I practise, I can’t play like that." - Fieldy 2020 In 1996 Davis and Patton recorded the song Lookway with Sepultura which would appear on the acclaimed sixth album by Max Cavalera and co Roots. During an interview in 2015 Max recalled working with the two singers: "Mike Patton was on the song, and Jonathan's a huge Faith No More fan. He was actually freaking out that Patton was there. He was really nervous, which was actually kind of funny. He kept chewing on his hair the whole time he was in the studio. Ross Robinson teased him at one point and told him to calm down. [Laughs]" "'Lookaway' came out of a jam. It's a really heavy riff. Patton started singing this Indian chant, and it gave me goosebumps in the studio when he did that. It was so intense. He showed up in the studio with a Samsonite briefcase. I was like, 'Mike, what's up with the briefcase?' He said, 'It's what I need to record.' It had an echo pedal inside for his voice and a bottle of wine. He opened the wine and we drank it. At one point, the three of us were on the floor of the studio going crazy and making weird noises and sounds! Jonathan took it to another level. He's singing about people with a fear of pussy, which is a crazy concept. It came out as a really cool, obscure song on 'Roots'." In 2000 Korn's drummer David Silveria was sidelined with a wrist injury and Mike Bordin filled in for approximately 7 months and nearly 100 dates. "When I joined Korn, I definitely perceived common starting points, so I felt pretty comfortable. But Korn takes everything to greater extremes. It's like the difference between a Model A Ford and a Porsche Turbo Carrera. It was an exciting time to play with those guys, because they were a little vibed about playing in front of 70,000 people each gig opening for Metallica. But they stepped up to the plate, and they were amazing." - Bordin 2001 Fear and the Nervous System is project that was set up by Korn guitarist James 'Munky' Shaffer in 2008. The band recorded one album which was released in 2012. Bill Gould featured on bass. "My guitar tech for 15 years used to tech for Faith No More. He was Jim Martin’s guitar tech back when Jim Martin was back in Faith No More. Him and Billy had a relationship and I was saying, “Man, I gotta get someone to play bass on this thing,” and he said, “Do you want me to ask Billy?” and I said, “Well, yeah! I’m a huge Faith No More fan!” Ever since they had Chuck Mosley in the band and the first record, I’ve been a fan. So, that goes way back. And Korn and myself and everyone that has anything to do with this band have been Faith No More fans. And Billy said, “Let me come down and I’ll fly down.” He came down and I picked him up from the airport. He liked a lot of the tracks and started working on them later that night. So that came together." - Munky 2012 In 2009 Davis was invited to guest on Chuck Mosley's debut solo album Will Rap Over Rock For Food, resulting in one of the album's stand out tracks, The Enabler. "The last time Korn was out here with Ozzfest, I met those guys -- they've given me a lot of props. I gave them my demo, and they played it before they went on. They were like, 'Yeah, it's cool, send us [a copy].' I was like, 'Hopefully it will be done in a month,' and that was two years! I don't want to get ahead of myself anymore, so I'll just wait until we get it totally finished." - Mosley 2006 “I was blown away by his voice. So original. Chuck has a great style that you can tell it’s him as soon as he starts singing. I’m a big fan and I was honored when he asked me to appear on his new stuff.” - Davis 2019 When Chuck sadly passed away in 2017 Korn guitarist Brian 'Head' Welch was one of the first to offer his condolences. "I remember living in a tiny apartment in Burbank, California, living with most of the guys who would later form Korn They were in their funk rock band called L.A.P.D. I was just hanging out drinking beer trying to figure out life. They were so into the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Faith No More, and I wanted nothing to do with those bands. Little did I know that FNM would grow on me so much that it changed my whole outlook of what metal could sound like. I remember Fieldy waking the whole house up every single day singing the background vocals for the song 'We Care A Lot'. Every morning he would scream, 'whoa whoa uh oh!' Drove us all crazy, but looking back now, it's a funny memory. FNM with Chuck Mosley were a huge part of our everyday lives back then... RIP Chuck Mosley, I'm so grateful that you and your family came to see us a couple months ago at our show." - Welsh 2017 In 2016 Korn released their cover of We Care A Lot via the 30th anniversary issue of Metal Hammer magazine. This version of the 1985 FNM classic was originally recorded by the band in 2005 for a proposed covers album titled Korn Kovers. Korn have shared the lineup only a handful of times previously to the 2020 tour, they were onstage at Download 2009 right before FNM and at Greenfield festival the same year. It will be interesting to see which order the bands perform in and how much stage time each band is allocated. We believe this these shows are an interesting coupling and will be a lot of fun, we are sure all involved care a lot and it will be just peachy. Please comment below with your opinions. #faithnomore #korn

Rumours have been circulating that the recent live line up of Mr. Bungle will re-record their 1985 demo cassette Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny Have we now got concrete evidence? As Scott Ian posts a picture on social media of himself playing a Baritone guitar through a Plasma pedal. We can clearly see from the painting of Dave Grohl on the wall that he is indeed at Studio 606 in Northridge California. Also that is Trey Spruance's Guitar in the background, and possibly Trey himself crouched behind Ian. Ian was supposed to appear on the Eddie Trunk show along with Brian Posehn to promote their comedy metal album, Grampa Metal, but had to cancel due to a "super secret recording session in LA" that Eddie wasn't allowed to reveal. #mrbungle #scottian #treyspruance #ragingwrathoftheeasterbunny

Faith No More will co-headline a 26 date tour across the U.S and Canada in August and September 2020. The extensive tour will include support from Daron Malakian and Scars On Broadway and Helmet for select dates. Plus Ipecac Recordings own Spotlights and noise punk duo '68. The announcement follows on from two dates at Banc of California Stadium with System of a Down and Korn on May 22nd and 23rd. The dates with Scars On Broadway are: 7th August - Pepsi Center - Denver, CO 9th August - Usana Amphitheatre - Salt Lake City, UT 11th August - White River Amphitheatre - Auburn, WA 13th August - Toyota Amphitheatre - Sacramento, CA 14th August - Shoreline Amphitheatre - Mountain View, CA 16th August - Fivepoint Amphitheatre - Irvine, CA 17th August - Ak-Chin Pavilion - Phoenix, AZ 19th August - Isleta Amphitheatre - Albuquerque, NM 21st August - Dos Equis Pavilion - Dallas, TX 22nd August - Germania Insurance Amphitheatre - Del Valle, TX 23rd August - Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion - The Woodlands, TX 25th August - Ameris Bank Amphitheatre - Alpharetta, GA 27th August - The Pavilion At Montage Mountain - Scranton, PA With Helmet 29th August - BB&T Pavilion - Camden, NJ 30th August - Jiffy Lube Live - Bristow, VA 1st September - Xfinity Center - Mansfield, MA 2nd September - PNC Bank Arts Center - Holmdel, NJ 3rd September - Barclays Center - Brooklyn, NY 5th September - S&T Bank Music Park - Burgettstown, PA 6th September - Darien Lake Amphitheatre - Darien Center, NY 9th September - Budweiser Stage - Toronto, ON 10th September - DTE Energy Music Center - Clarkson, MI 12th September - Ruoff Music Center - Noblesville, IN 13th September - Blossom Music Center - Cuyahoga Falls, OH 15th September - Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre CHI - Tinley Park, IL 17th September - Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre - Maryland Heights, MO Tickets onsale Friday 21st 10am EST from FNM.COM. Citi is the official presale credit card of the tour. As such, Citi cardmembers will have access to purchase presale tickets beginning Tuesday, Feb. 18 at 12:00pm local time until Thursday, Feb. 20 at 10pm local time through Citi EntertainmentSM. For complete presale details visit www.citientertainment.com. Tickets go on sale to the general public beginning Friday, Feb. 21 at 10am local time at LiveNation.com. #faithnomore #korn #scarsonbroadway #helmet #spotlights

On February 18th 2010 Faith No More performed at the Vector Arena in Auckland, New Zealand. FNM shared the same hotel as welsh crooner Tom Jones, who performed at A Day On The Green on February 21st. Stuff Nz From evoking the spirit of Tom Jones and having a mid-stage nap, to picking up a megaphone and using it to amplify his voice, Patton showed his talent for the bizarre. He also has one of the most versatile voices in rock and that was what the near-capacity Vector audience came to see. Faith No More have been around in one incarnation or another since 1981 and Billy Gould on bass, Roddy Bottum on keyboards and Mike Bordin on drums have been there for the long haul. The 12-year layoff hasn't dulled their edge with Gould in fine form during Cuckoo for Caca and Bordin still hammering away with that mass of dreadlocks. Latest-in-a-long-line of guitarists, Jon Hudson held his own from the crunching Epic to the jazzy sounding twang of Evidence, but it was Patton who made the show what it was. His sardonic wit peppered the breaks between songs as Faith No More played a pretty fair selection from their last four albums. There were a few classics left off the Auckland setlist - Be Aggressive and We Care A Lot spring to mind - but Faith No More reminded the crowd of why they were one of the most original and respected bands of the 90s. NZ Herald Anyway, apart from the shortened set, the reunited Californian band - who mix everything from jazz and funk, to cabaret and metal into one tight rock'n'roll onslaught - showed they can still kick arse after more than a decade apart. Besides Patton, who looked dapper and typically demented and ringmaster-like in an all-red ensemble, the rest of the band are a little greyer and balding these days, but they still play with venom. Drummer Mike Bordin - still with dreads, although more snowy now - is a soul metal machine, and Patton has a throat from hell as he serenades, raps, roars, yabbers, and croons through microphones, megaphones and walkie talkies. Nor have they lost the ability to whip your head off as they morph from the mooch and shuffle of songs like Evidence into the chug and lurch of slamming songs The Gentle Art of Making Enemies and From Out of Nowhere, off the band's 1989 break-through album The Real Thing. And there were a clutch of songs mid way through that are testament to Faith No More's longevity and standing. #faithnomore #tomjones

This story is not about Mr Bungle. So you have to marvel at the old geezer's timing. As Mike Patton paces his home/studio in San Francisco, answering his phone to talk for the first time in five years about Faith No More, his older band is foremost on his mind. "I'm prepping to leave on tour tomorrow … so I've kind of been in that weird state," he explains. "Complete chaos." The very brief, US-only Bungle reunion is remarkable for a typically perverse reason. "We're only playing our first demo tape. Most of the fans who know Mr Bungle have not even heard this stuff. It's all very much pretty nasty thrash metal stuff. So it's going to be interesting." Preparing to please and baffle his fans at the same time? Sounds like Patton. Some of us are still processing his Mondo Cane tour of 2012: an immensely orchestrated set of Italian pop songs from the 1950s and '60s delivered sans irony or translation by the biggest voice in the alt-rock universe. But let’s leave those two suitcases half-packed in the hall, alongside a dozen other Patton projects including, but not limited to, Tomahawk, Fantomas, Moonchild Trio (with John Zorn), Dead Cross, and last year's Jean-Claude Vannier collaboration, Corpse Flower. The band that dwarfs them all, in commercial terms at least, is once more ready to rock. Faith No More's five-year hiatus is "not a long time for a band that’s existed for 30 years. That's just a pause," Patton says of the 2020 reunion that kicks off in New Zealand in May. "When we finished our last run, we all said, 'Keep your ears open, keep your eyes open and … this isn't over yet'. It didn't feel final." "When I first joined the band, I was the one that was really wound up tight." - Mike Patton Far from it, if you lived in Australia. FNM joined the Soundwave Festival in early 2015, but that was before they sprang their surprise comeback album, Sol Invictus. And even then, it was almost 20 years since they'd played their own full-length shows here. "That record has been out for a few years now, so this is us coming down to play on our own terms," Patton says. "We're gonna play all sorts of stuff. That record, a lot of other stuff too. We’re not promoting anything. There's nothing to sell." Except for a legacy of course. Which, since they whacked John Barry's Midnight Cowboy theme at the end of their Angel Dust album in 1992, has revelled in delicate curveballs as much as their trademark full-metal racket. The Commodores' Easy, the Bee Gees' I Started A Joke and Burt Bachrach's This Guy's In Love With You were covers of choice on the Sol Invictus run. "Because most of what we do is very, very loud and very abrasive," Patton reasons, "we feel our covers have to be on the other side of the teeter-totter and so usually we end up choosing, you know, more kind of easy listening or R&B kind of stuff." There may also be a more wilful aspect to it, he concedes. "When we started out we were kind of pigeonholed into this funk-rap-metal genre, which was horrifying to us. We did everything we could to distance ourselves from that." Looking way back, it was a certain contrariness of spirit that attracted the 18-year-old college student to the insurgent musical chemistry of bassist Billy Gould, drummer Mike Bordin and keyboard player Roddy Bottum. With singer Chuck Mosley, Faith No More was two albums old when they rolled through Patton's hometown of Eureka, California, in '86. "There was a fierceness about them," says the singer who was fine-tuning a six-octave voice with Mr Bungle at the time. "There was a 'We don't give a f---' attitude that attracted me." Within a few years, Mosley was out [he sadly died of drug-related causes in 2017]. With Patton out front, The Real Thing was among the definitive rock albums of 1989. Over four more, many things have changed — John Hudson is the first guitarist to have survived two in a row – but intensity is not one of them. "When I first joined the band, I was the one who was really wound up tight," Patton says. "I was kind of serious and everything was like, monumental, and they were telling me, 'Don't worry about this, don't worry about that', so they really walked me through the whole experience. "They're still my mentors, in a sense, and I still assume that role. I mean, I think we all learn from each other but still, when it comes down to decisions on serious stuff, I pretty much always try to be a team player and that [means] like, OK, respect to the elders," he says with a laugh. It's hard to reconcile the soft-spoken conversationalist with the gale-force frontman of some 40 albums. Harder still to see the lost English literature student from Humboldt State University in the towering figure Patton has become on the modern music landscape. "I didn't intend to write, believe me. I didn't know what I was doing," he says of those years. "I certainly wasn't very happy at that time, that's for sure. I hated college. I hated everything. I just felt like I didn't belong. And thank goodness music took me away from that." The literature angle, by the way, is a red herring. "When I write a song … the only agenda is to serve the music. It's not about telling a story, it's not about being a poet or pushing some grand point across. It's about Serving. The. Music. And I try to do that through words, and through my voice, which is my instrument, and I don't really look at it any deeper than that. "I know people that are singer-songwriters and they will literally write out a poem, or five pages of stuff, and put that to music. I would never do that, ever. It has to come from sound. I need to hear notes and I like to hear progressions and moods and feelings before I can even put pen to paper." And is that likely to happen again soon? Sol Invictus arrived after sustained denial of new album plans in 2015. But it seems necessary to ask. "Ah, who knows?" Patton says. "I've put my foot in my mouth so many times in the past saying 'No, never, never', so I'm not gonna go there. You never know. We don't." Michael Dwyer | The Sydney Morning Herald #mikepatton #faithnomore

We're worried. Very worried. It's Monday morning, and IRISH JAEGA should've returned from her weekend on-the-road jaunt with FAITH NO MORE. She should be at her desk, diligently sub-editing the latest spectacular instalment of 'The Week In Metal'. But she ain't. She's nowhere to be found. Suddenly, Geoff Barton's telephone rings. FNM guitarist BIG SICK UGLY JIM MARTIN is on the line. "We have stolen your journalist! We have some Bic razors, and we are going to shave every hair from her body unless you give us the front cover" he cries. It's a desperate situation, straight out of the pages of a Robert Louis Stevenson novel. Which is why we've called this heart-rendin' story... Kerrang! | Issue 276 | 10.02.1990 | Irish Jaega Kidnapped WE ARE in a small mini bus travelling to Sheffield for the first gig of Faith No More's British tour. All of the venues have already sold out, and the atmosphere is jovial. My Scouse accent is being mimicked with amusement, as are the Cockney tones of the guy from London records, FNM's record company. The biscuits are being passed round at a frenzied pace, and we are listening to the 'Red Tape' - a collection of phone calls made to a 70-year-old bar owner in the States, who for eight months was plagued by such enquiries as: "Is Al Givuakik there?" When the guy finally catches on, after five minutes of yelling it around the bar, the expletives are beyond belief. "I'll dig up your mother's skeleton and fuck her you cocksucking motherfucker!" the owner yells down the phone to the mystery caller. This soon becomes the in-phrase, and is added wherever possible to every conversation. Faith No More on tour are a close-knit unit full of diverse characters Guitarist Big Sick Jim Martin is the obvious rock 'n' roller, always to be found at the bar, with a voice reminiscent of Ernie from Sesame Street. Bassist Bill Gould is the story teller, while Mike 'Puffy' Bordin (drums) is the deep thinker with a serious wind problem at both ends. Roddy Bottum (keyboards) and vocalist Mike Patton at first seem much quieter comparison. But get them on their own and you find that Roddy is the thoughtful bookworm, while Mike exudes energy and  eccentricity in the nicest possible way. All of FNM, without exception, are the funniest, most lovable guys you could hope to meet. Travelling along with the band are road manager Tim 'Mad Barber' Dalton, who has a penchant for shaving women, and band manager John 'Vacillating' Vasilou, who tries to keep everything in control. However, the pair usually end up causing a mayhem by themselves. There are car chases on the motorway and various comments shouted at bemused passers by. Arriving at Sheffield Octogon, first night problems are already in evidence. The PA isn't working and there is frantic and soldering going on. Eventually, things finally start to go right. The gig is packed to the seams and frenzied. Standing in the pit with the photographer and bouncers seems the safest bet, until I am nearly knocked unconscious by some guy landing on top of my head. More proof that FNM are climbing the rungs of the ladder to success at a rate that is almost alarming. Back at the hotel I am surprised to see how quickly the guys wind down. The ever hungry Patton wonders around in search of food. Billy and 'Puffy' Bordin hit the bar. Tim the manic tour manager threatens to shave off my body hair. Not surprisingly, I am less than keen on the idea. The next morning, Jim Martin, photographer Dave Willis and myself take a leisurely stroll to the local newsagent. Jim says 'Howdy' to the natives, films them on his toy video camera and tells us how he hates human mucus... "It's alright if you're in love, though. I spat right on top of this worm one day. It was kinda weird watching your mucus crawling away... " We buy a copy of the Sunday Sport for Tim, with its cover story about a hairy woman. "Tim would love to shave this," grins Jim... The subject of shaving gets brought up again in the van travelling to Newcastle, I'm threatened with follicle removal more. I demand photographer Dave williis' protection, but the bastard is ganging up with the lads, and says he'll take photos. Typical. The gig in Newcastle is even more chaotic than the Sheffield show. On stage, Patton seems possessed; there is a manic glint in his eye and he pounds the stages with seemingly endless energy. It wears me out just watching him. There is a fancy rouched velvet curtain hanging over the stage that, after several determined leaps from the drum riser, Patton finally manages to half rip down. Then Gould, in a fit of enthusiasm, invites the audience back to the hotel for a party afterwards... We have to make a quick escape from the venue in order to avoid an irate owner who's none to pleased about the demise of his curtain. On arrival at the hotel we are greeted by the sight of some 40 odd fans, waiting for the party. Bill is astounded - the hotel is miles away from the venue, and I think he underestimated the enthusiasm and dogged determination of FNM's British fans. Anyway, the deed is done, and having sneaked the lot of 'em in by a back door, the party ends up in Bill's room cram-packed with bodies. I TAKE THE opportunity to drag Mike Patton, who seems to fight shy of crowds off stage, back to my room for an interview. On his own, Mike is quick witted, funny and very talkative. His addition to the band came around after he was dragged to one of their gigs by members of his former band, Mr Bungle. "I gave Mike Bordin a tape of my band because I thought he'd like it, then they just gave me a call one day and said, 'Let's jam'. It Was quite casual. It felt comfortable for them and for me too." "I'm still with Mr Bungle as well, but it's a totally different thing to FNM. I kinda come off tour with FNM and go back and get together with Mr Bungle again." Surprisingly, FNM are a lot bigger in the UK than they are in the States. This state of affairs has been changing recently though, especially with the recent tour over in the US with Voivoid andSoundgarden. Are they surprised by the success they've had in Britain? "Yeah, very. Tonight at the show we were sitting in the dressing room afterwards saying, 'Why do these people like us?' It's a good question. We seem to be getting a lot of good press, and a rock stars like us. Record sales wise, have to just keep touring to keep it going." Are you surprised at the amount Metalheads getting into the band? "I don't know whether that's through what's been said about us in the press, or because of the people in bands like Metallica, who've said they like us. I want to believe it's just because they can get into the music. It just seems to work." Are you surprised by the wild reactions you've been getting from the audiences here? "Yeah! In places like LA there's total peer pressure. 'You might look stupid! Everyone's watching you.' Audiences have to act cool all the time. Over here the kids don't seem to be scared to show they're having a good time." "It was pretty good playing with Soundgarden and VoiVod, the crowd seemed to be more open. It wasn't just one kind of audience, it was all sorts of different people. I think it's the best tour we've done. The crowds at the Metallica gigs were a lot more non-committal." We get onto the subject of Patton's lyrics. On one hand you've got the ultimate love song 'The Real Thing'; on the other the more threatening lullaby murders of 'Zombie Eaters' and 'Underwater Love'. I want to know what inspires such extremes in his writing. "Ugly things, orgasms (he laughs), nausea, frustration, dandruff and carving up the wife! 'Underwater Love' was basically about murdering  someone you love." I'm beginning to think you are a bit of a dodgy geezer on the side Patton. "Murder is like writing a song. You plan it out and if everything goes as it's supposed to, it's a success. I've never done it ( he adds quickly), though murder does have a certain appeal - if I knew I could get away with it," he grins manically. If that's what appeals to you, then what scares you? "Shower curtains. I hate touching them. You know when you turn on the shower, there s a kind of wind generated from the water coming out, die curtain just seems to want to stick to you. It's f**kin' gross, man. It's like it's alive and coming at you argh!" How long do you think Faith No More will last? "I really don't know. As long as Jim's belly doesn't get too fat! And he doesn't wear stoopid pants." On the subject of pants, you disgusted everyone by wearing those hideous white underpants on a Kerrang poster last year... "Oh really? They're great! Look at these I've got on now!" Patton takes down his joggers to reveal a pair of black boxer shorts decorated with skeletons. "They glow in the dark! Boxers are great. You can wear them around and nobody's bothered. And you can wear them for a couple of weeks at a time." Ugh! I accuse him of being a scummy bastard. He laughs, We get onto the subject of dreams. Mike's worried because he hasn't had any lately. "I miss dreaming. Maybe there's something wrong with me. I haven't had any good sex dreams either. I've never had a wet dream - it's weird! All my friends have. I wake up with bone-ons all the time though nice if you got guests over." The next morning we find that, during the party the night before, Bill's hotel bed broke under the pressure of 40 odd liggers while Willis tried to photograph them all. The bill is £110. Meanwhile Patton is getting his pocket money docked for the curtain incident. AS THE REST of the band try to sort out the problems and nurse their hangovers, I talk to Roddy Bottum, who had sensibly avoided the party and gone to bed. I ask him how he feels about the tour so far. "It's great. Last night especially. Last time we sold out all the venues, but this time they're a lot bigger. I was a bit worried to see how we'd do in these much larger places. The fact that these have all sold out is great." Do you feel that you're losing any of the atmosphere you had at the smaller clubs? "As far as the stage diving goes, but that's OK. Sometimes the last tour just got too much with all the hoopla onstage. It's pretty difficult when kids are stepping on our pedals, knocking the keyboards over.It makes for a great atmosphere but it can get a bit too chaotic." "The success we've been having has taken a long time. If it had overnight it would have taken me by surprise. But it's kinda paced itself out." I ask him if he's surprised by the hardcore of followers that appear at every gig. "In America a couple of kids will go to a couple of shows, but I guess with it being so spread out and all... here, they seem to get real fanatical. Also, there's the stage diving thing. That happens in the States but nothing compared to the extent it does here. It's nuts! They just crazy. It's good to know we can bring that kind of reaction out. "It's really sad we haven't got to go over, to Ireland-we really wanted to. I've heard they go really wild over there. It seems mad that we're here, and it's only across the water. I don't really know why it has happened." "We'd love to do one of these festivals you have in Summer. They sound great." Yeah, and Faith No More would certainly be a better bet than some of the uninspired choices of previous years. Do you see anything of Chuck Mosley these days? "I still see occasionally, the rest of the guys don't. He's trying to get his own band together. With Chuck, well he Just wasn't as committed as the rest of the band. Mike Patton's different, he's willing to put the effort in." How does Chuck feel about the success the band's been getting since he left? "I really don't know but hopefully it will encourage him to try harder with his band. We'd already written most of the material for 'The Real Thing' LP when Mike joined the band and he just seemed to fit in really well." It is time for me to make the journey back to London, and FNM kindly offer me a lift to the station. It is only when we get on the motorway that I start to suspect that something's wrong. We are on the way to Edinburgh! When I point this out, Jim grins evilly and says, "Yes, we're kidnapping you and holding you hostage in return for the cover of next week's Kerrang!." We get to a Little Chef, and FNM grab a mobile phone to call up Geoff Barton to make their demands, 'Puffy' jabbing me with a knife to make me scream. Jim tells Geoff they're going to shave me and send the hair back in the post (Geoff tells me later that the mobile phone kept cutting out, and he was only able to catch about every third word of FNM's rantings. Which could explain why Iron Maiden are on this week's cover...) I wonder if it's all a bad dream. the hell I'm going to get back home before FNM carry out any of their shaving threats, Tim's already bought a pack of bic razors in readiness, waving them underground nose with fiendish glee. Luckily the subject is forgotten when a guy called Andy turns up with a new 'Red Tape'. I sneak away while they're listening to it to grab some sleep for a couple of hours, and then make my escape in the early hours to the station, bleary eyed. Sitting on the train back to London, I can't help but laugh at the absurdity of the whole situation. I know what I'm going to call them next time I see them. Faith No More muthaf**kin' cocksuckers and diamond geezers. #faithnomore #therealthing #mikepatton #jimmartin #roddybottum

Bill Gould has rejoined Wayne Kramer's MC50 to tour Australia in February The first gig down under supporting Alice Cooper was on Saturday February 8th at the RAC Arena in Perth. The Rockpit Before Alice takes to the stage though let’s not forget the rather fine warm-up acts. Firstly, if like me, you have lived with ‘that’ album all your life but only ever heard of the legend of Wayne Kramer and Detroit’s MC5 then MC50 (should that be MC52 this year?) is a complete revelation! And with members of Soundgarden and Faith No More and Fugazi in tow as well as Marcus Durant fronting this is a musical treat to be savored! Amnplify Around The Sound The night began with a tribute to legends the MC5 as MC50 hit the stage! Original member Wayne Kramer put this group together to celebrate the legacy of MC5 and their 50th Anniversary 2 years ago, Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil, Fugazi drummer Brendan Canty, Faith No More’s Billy Gould on Bass and Zen Guerrilla frontman Marcus Durant. From the start they made a massive racket and drew me in from the get go. Billy Gould seemed to look like he was living his lifelong dream – I really appreciated his enthusiasm! Vocalist Marcus Durant was manic and wild in his delivery, there was a reason he was chosen for this that’s for sure! Highlight songs of the set were ‘Kick Out The Jams’, ‘Come Together’ and and ‘Looking At You’. They got a big ovation from the Perth crowd post set! I am so happy that I got to see them, it’ll be the closest I’ll ever get to seeing the original MC5 and they did that bands legacy proud. Now – time to stick the MC5 in the Hall of Fame next year, please? 100 Percent Rock To kick the night off, however, the early comers were treated to an amazing performance from MC50. Assembled to mark the 50th anniversary of the legendary MC5’s Kick Out The Jams by founder and guitarist Wayne Kramer and featuring, among others, Kim Thayil (Soundgarden), Brendan Canty (Fugazi) and Billy Gould (Faith No More), this bona fide supergroup kicked off their, as Kramer himself mentioned, “criminally short” set with Ramblin’ Rose, followed by Kick Out The Jams. With former Zen Guerilla frontman Marcus Durant on vocals, MC50 finished up with the politically tinged Looking At You, which Kramer dedicated to the “political class”, much to the delight of the crowd. #mc50 #billygould #waynekramer #kimthayil #marcusdurant #brendancanty

All Techies, Codgers, Millennials and LGBTQs welcome to thrash! No Rambos. I attended the final Mr. Bungle show on September 9th at Rock City in Nottingham twenty years ago. So when it was announced that they would return in 2020 - fate, destiny or a very understanding wife decided I would be at one of these shows. It was my life-long curiosity of San Francisco, the city that gave birth to and nurtured FNM, that determined which show. It is fascinating how fans of Bungle hail from so many different groups - metal-heads, funksters, weirdos from all over the world crowded under the billboard sign outside The Warfield Theatre on Saturday February 8th. And I was amazed how many faces were familiar even though I was 5000 miles from home. Amongst the throng, in my thread-bare classic 1991 'there's a tractor in my balls... again' shirt, I was surprised to see the lack of Bungle shirts. Back in the day half the crowd would have a ‘Patton-band’ shirt on, tonight was not the case which led me to believe that the addition of Scott Ian and Dave Lombardo had also stirred the mix well. Talking of shirts, the queue for the merch stall was almost as massive as the cost of a beer. It immediately struck me how alike the auditorium of The Warfield and that of Brixton Academy are - with cavernous ornate ceilings it is easy to see why FNM feel so at home in the London venue. We found a good spot just out reach of the pit, and as the room filled so did the air with the smoke of countless joints. Man that place was like the interior of Cheech and Chong’s Chevrolet. First band of the night were Intestinal Disgorge. These guys were great and judging by Mike Patton, Trevor Dunn and Trey Spruance’s enthusiasm from stage left, they were very welcome. Second on were old school punk/funk trio Victim's Family who were once on Mordam Records at the same time as FNM. Another nice addition to the night. Not much time was spent in the marijuana fogged depths of the pit until the curtains opened and Mr. Bungle 2.0 took to the stage, immediately launching into a twisted cover of goofy 60's TV presenter Fred Rodgers' ‘Won’t You Be My Neighbour’. Patton had swapped Coolio for Snoop Dogg style braids but still looked equally as maniacal as the band chugged into ‘Anarchy Up Your Anus’. A second glance to the stage and we noticed that Dave L had sneakily been replaced behind the kit by an unknown drummer. At the end of the song Patton revealed that the sticks man was none other than Jed Watts who recorded the original 'Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny' in 1985. Very cool. We were stood not too far from the speakers and I am sure the volume setting was illegal, the sound vibrated my body so much that the next morning the muscles in my legs throbbed. Those riffs that had showed so much potential from the crappy 35 year old cassette certainly sounded fleshed out, and ‘Spreading the Thighs of Death' was brutal. The band payed tribute to the late drummer Reed Mullins with a cover of Corrosion Of Conformity's 'Loss for Words'. ‘Thank you guys for coming, you’re here to hear a bunch a shit you’ve never heard before...' said Patton with a cheeky smile as the band performed the first of the new 'Raging Wrath' era songs 'Glutton for Punishment'. 'Malfunction' by Cro-Mags, 'Raping Your Mind', 'Just Sit There' by Crumbsuckers and 'Bungle Grind' follow for 30 minutes of pure head-banging delirium. The second of the new Bungle songs is 'Methamatics' which includes a riff from 1991 Bungle song 'Love Is A Fist', something I missed at the time as I was doing my best not to piss my pants! The first respite in the torrent of thrash metal, and the first real glimpse of classic Bungle is a cover of Seals & Croft's 70's pop song 'Summer Breeze' which kind of weeded out (excuse the pun) some of the Anthrax fans from the Bungle fans in the room. Patton tells us, ‘It’s not stopping...’ The third new 'Raging Wrath' era song 'Eracist', and a cover of Siege song 'Cold War' were up next. It was a little disappointing not to hear 'Hypocrites' in full or 'Evil Satan', however without the presence of a horn section logistics explain their absence from the set. 'Speak English or Die' by Stormtroopers of Death, 'World Up My Ass' by Circle Jerks and 'Sudden Death' and my face was officially melted, ears bleeding. Sometimes it felt like the three original Bunglers had given Scott Ian the stage and were standing back to watch him play, which is cool and understandable but not what I’d come to see. I came to see the unity of Patton, Spruance and Dunn, which at times was a little fragile. I imagine the right crowd was there for this show, but I’m not sure they would be the right crowd for future Bungle, too many 'Rambos'. Overall it was a great night, and to see the Bungle trinity onstage again was definitely worth the 5000 mile journey. I am sure that this line-up will release re-recordings of 'The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny', but I think we are all now praying this leads to a regrouping with Danny Heifetz and Bär McKinnon, for some more eccentric music. Bring back the saxophones, bring back the keyboards, bring back the surf pop, bring back the noise, bring back MY Bungle... #mrbungle #mikepatton #treyspruance #trevordunn #davelombardo #scottian