Former Faith No More guitarist Jim Martin celebrates his 48th birthday today. The then distinctive-looking axeman was a crucial component of the early Faith No More sound – especially The Real Thing – but after years of tension he was sacked in November 1993.
He has since released one solo album, Milk in Blood in 1997. He has also released records as part of Behemoth and Fang and with Anand Bhatt while he also appeared on Metallica’s Garage Inc album. More recently he is reported to have retired from making music and famously focused on pumpkin growing instead. Check out two interviews here and here in which Jim speaks about his pumpkin passion.
Jim solo stuff
Jim in quotes
“By the making of Angel Dust in 1992, the line between the stage and reality became indistinct. [New singer] Mike Patton was having a reaction to sudden fame, and [keyboardist] Roddy [Bottum] was distant. Everyone was convinced they couldn’t continue with me in the band, so I sold my interest and we dissolved our partnership.”
Blender 2004
“It took a lot of time to recover from those years. It was an awful lot of work. No weekends, no settling, no family. You hear about how glamorous being in a successful band is, but it’s not everything you might think it would be.”
Oakland Tribune 2005
“Growing these isn’t all that different than what I used to do in music. If you want to be good, you have to give it what it needs.”
On pumpkins, Oakland Tribune 2005
Others on Jim
“Jim was a night owl. He’d stay up until about 5am, and then sleep through the afternoon. The two of us worked on our own in the studio. Jim had come up with a lot of music for the album, including Surprise! You’re Dead! (which actually goes back to a 1970s band called Agents Of Misfortune, featuring Jim and future Metallica bassist Cliff Burton), Zombie Eaters and Falling To Pieces. We’d be finished by about 10pm, and then go out to party.”
Mike Bordin on The Real Thing recording
Metal Hammer 2009
“There’s always been arguments about that – Jim’s always said he quit. He didn’t. I fired him by fax. It was the only way of getting hold of him! Getting rid of him was a real cleansing exercise. There’s no point keeping someone in the band who’s only there for the money or something. Jim wasn’t committed to what the band wanted to do. I’m good at sacking band members. And by fax was such a… 90s way of doing things.”
Roddy Bottum
Metal Hammer 2009
“Jim Martin had always been very conventional in what he wanted to do with the band, very much a fan of guitar music only and metal specifically. During the recording of ‘Angel Dust’ it became apparent to both him and us that we were heading in very different directions.”
Roddy Bottum
Metal Hammer 2009
“We weren’t having a good time together and it was pretty obvious. We saw it coming for too long, while we were making the Angel Dust album. The whole time for two years while we were touring we kept hoping it would get better. After that much time you can’t help but feel like an idiot for feeling that way. Basically, what it came down to was he couldn’t hold up his weight musically.”
Mike Patton
Interview from 1995 in Negele Gig Database
It’s a shame those two articles linked aboved appear to be dead now – I’d’ve loved to have read what modern-day Martin has to say for himself
As for firing/sacking, it actually makes sense that both stories can be true, i.e. perhaps Jim had left in his own mind but was avoiding telling the rest of the band… I’ve certainly heard of such behaviour in marital relationships… doesn’t matter who delivers the divorce papers! Trust Roddy…
FNM are such a funny band. I love AD more than I love TRT, and it’s a shame the band and Jim never got over their differences.
From IY to TRT to AD to KFAD, each record represents a revolution in sound, the biggest and most jarring for me of which is certainly the leap from Angel Dust to King For A Day. AOTY, I have much less love for, even though it has some wonderful tracks. It sounds to me on AOTY that they’d stopped being excited by their own music.
I suppose it I had it my way, I’d love to hear 4 new FNM albums:
1 with Jim as guitarist, 1 with Trey as guitarist, 1 with Jon as guitarist, and then finally one WITHOUT Patton as singer (probably still with Jon on Axe, I guess).
If not albums, then 4 EPs. 🙂
IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK?!
I REALLY REALLY don’t like John Hudson. If they had to fire Big Jim they should at least keep Tray or Dean in the band… this guy Hudson just sucks! Happy Birthday JIM and thanks for the riffs!
I agree with the previos two comments. The Real Thing was not only good, but one of the best albums of all time. And it was Jim Martin’s monster riffs that drove the whole thing. The other band members blew it, they could have made a couple more ‘epic’ albums with Jim. Post Jim albums are okay because of Patton, but nowhere near the same league as the JM albums. If you don’t like metal, then don’t worry about Jim. But if you do like Metal, Jim, Patton and FNM were pure genious for far too short.
FMN was the best live band I had ever witnessed, period. After Jim left/faxed/ or whatever, I never bought another FNM album because FNM lost their metal sound that made them great in the first place.
Big Jim was the best guitarist FNM ever had. His playing on The Real Thing and Angel Dust is killer. They were never the same band without Jim imo.
@Mike Bolger : I’m sure Jon gets respect from a lot of people, beginning with me 🙂
Don’t be schocked, Master Martin looks a bit different than in the old days…
http://www.hauntedbay.com/features/HMBWO/HMBWO2003photos3.shtml
I wonder if he still has, even turns on someday that flying V…
Happy Birthday, Jim. FNM does it very well without you, but there’s one word that condense my respect for you: “JIZZLOBBER”.
it is obvious that jim would never fit FNM in the KFAD era (and for the coming years as well) but as a former member of my favorite band ever and also for making some other nice songs in his “milk & blood” album, he gets my eternal respect.
Happy B.
Nice post thx
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Jon Hudson is like the Rodney Dangerfield of FNM, poor guy gets no respect.
But it was Jon, not Jim, that co-wrote Ashes to Ashes, which is one of my favorite FNM songs. Especially those guitar chords, it’s very much classic Epic-era guitar work there but that song doesn’t get anywhere near the same amount of radio, VH1, or MTV airplay that Epic does.
No, wait a second, I just remembered that MTV and VH1 don’t play videos anymore. It’s all Rock of Daisy of Real World Love.
– The Real Thing Vs. Angel Dust – 2 Masterpieces – 2 Winners In Totally Different Categories!! – but King For A Day is also a Winner & a Masterpiece! – and so of course is Album Of The Year! – but again, in some other totally different categories! –
Well, yeah…I know what U mean…and Angel Dust is my religion, but however, Jim will always be the “Real” guitarist of FNM! (at least for me) – No one could/can’t really replace Him!
..but also, it would have been pretty odd & weird if Jim would have got on the 2nd coming Tour! Almost like “Born Dead” – (it would have been awesome if He had join though, but unfortunately I don’t think it would have worked)…They naturally had to continue w/ the line up where they last ended!
..but anyway, a Big Cheerz for Big Jim! -“The Axeman who didn’t really fit in anymore…and now uses his axe to cut the pumpkins”-
PS -Disco Dust Rules-
happy birthday, Big Jim!!!
Well, I agree with K. cause KFAD is one of my favourite album EVER and Angel Dust is worship !!! Yes, Jim Martin was a great guitarist and I understand why people were surprised to not seeing him to the Second Coming Tour. I also know that Mike and Roddy despised him and it could be really awkward to play with him again, I guess 🙂
Anyway, Happy B-Day Jimmy and wish you the best !!
Well, happy birthday Mr Martin.
However, I can’t say I miss him in FNM… The best things in FNM happened either without him (KFAD) or without is consent (AD) so… 😉
Happy B-Day Jim & Good Luck w/ the Pumpkins! – Many of Us sure Missing You & Wishing U All the Best!
First time I heard Jim’s solo stuff. Not very interesting to me…