Ghost main man Tobias Forge’s love for Faith No More is nothing new, but in his recent appearance as guest host of Australian channel Rage‘s Midnight Show (which once featured Mike Patton as guest host), he played the band’s Midlife Crisis and explained what Faith No More meant to him:
“In the 90’s there were a few bands that I liked a lot, and still like to this day, that are consecutively hard to niche. One band is Faith No More. Who knows what they play? No one knows really. It’s a synth band? No. Is it a heavy metal band? No, not really. It’s just a really, really good rock band.”
I posted comments that have not appeared on the site here ??
Slayer and anthrax were household names , at least here in Ireland (bigger than MB)
The metal magazines purchased here were mostly if not all English magazines and imported to Ireland so musical taste was more or less the same here as it was in Britain.
Fnm and bungle and similar bands will always have loyal fans because they only serve music to diners who are fussy but have big appetites. When it comes to music we are like pigs looking for fucking truffles .
I really hope MB come to Europe even if to one country .
I guess they had pretty loyal fans everywhere then, whereas FNM took off in England first, then later picked up in the USA, Europe, and then South America….only to fade later in the USA. A big problem with the USA was that there really weren’t any European style festivals to bring different tastes together. Lollapoolaza was only really successful in the early 90s, and then later that had an all female one called Lilith Fair, other than that I can’t even remember any. FNM were just big enough to not need a Festival tour, but also just small enough not to be paid well to be on the tour. FNM advertising was also TERRIBLE. I was obsessed with the band, waited outside the store to get Angel Dust, but then didn’t even know about KFAD or AOTY being put out or them touring my area until after they had already come through. My friends and I would freak out, “Holy Shit! FNM played last night and we missed it!”. Whereas Bungle shows were well advertised in advance and I went to all of those. The Bungle shows in 99 were actually more plentiful in the USA and hit major and minor cities as well, whereas FNM would skip over many minor cities on their last 2 tours. Bungle had so may players though and ticket prices were cheap, so I wonder if they really made much money even though they were selling out. I know their contract was better than FNMs and they had more funding for their tours and recording sessions.
Were Anthrax or Slayer big in the 80s in Europe? Or Thrash in general? I still think that has the most to do with them just playing these American shows. Slayer is from L.A. and Anthrax are from NYC….so that’s where they are playing.
Mr bungle has an enormous fan base in Europe – their gigs here from 95 and again 2000 were sell outs in pretty decent sized venues and even got billed on a lot of European festivals… which isn’t at all surprising after all ska and punk especially in Britain was were the dna of that genre set up shop . As soon as mr bungle got enough financial backing to arrive in Europe and elsewhere they were already musically recognised and their shows didn’t need much advertising or introductions. All the metal magazines I use to read weekly from the local newsagents as a teenager would cover and update their readers on anything mr bungle. They were an instant hit over here , respected and loyally listened to and followed right up onto the bands last gig in Notts Co .
Oh, yeah….97 tour is sometimes described as a cynical, loveless endeavor, that they were all not into it…but I think they gave nothing but killer shows from all the bootlegs I’ve listened to. I think it was the peak of Patton’s live vocals for those kinds of songs.
I didn’t know Mr. Bungle was a big deal in England or Chile….whereas I knew FNM were obviously loved and respected more. One thing though is that Thrash was fairly Amercan and this is a thrash show to 2 thrash legends in Scott Ian & Dave Lombardo, both Slayer & Anthrax being huge in the USA. I would argue that Mr. Bungle were probably biggest in the USA followed by Australia. Bungle toured the USA twice for California and sold out over and over, and that was at shows where they would have an underage crowd, then they’d all leave and an adult crowd would then come in for a new show. So 2 sold out shows each night for 2 USA tours. FNM was not doing that in 95 or 97 in the USA. The venues were a little smaller for Bungle often, but not always.
The more I think about the mr bungle America only gig comeback the more pissed off I get – why would they not bother their arses giving their European/south American fans a similar tour? The band must realise that the majority of their fan base was definitely not in America and it’s a fucking insult to not to make it their business to show their appreciation elsewhere – I know fnm wouldn’t have gave priority to their American fan base over say England or Chile – As the saying goes “eaten bread is soon forgotten”
On another subject – in relation to fnm live stuff I seem to have overlooked the Sziget 97 festival recording – king for a day was phenomenal especially Hudson’s contribution
Epic was good too and that’s a rare statement for me because iv never really liked that song and normally skip by it
Yes. The 3 Bungle shows sold out quickly b/c of scalper ‘bots’. So the band added 3 more shows and I think a 7th show. They keep selling out despite efforts to regulate number of tickets 1 person can buy, etc. They kept the prices very low, but now they are up for resale from scalpers for hundreds of dollars or even a thousand. Stupid and a real shame. It is not a true reformation, just the 3 originals Mike, Trey, and Trevor. Instead of bringing back any of the other later or original members, they have Dave Lombardo on drums and Scott Ian on rhythm guitar. Which is great, but it is somewhat loosely a true “Mr. Bungle” show in that regard. They will play the Raging Wraith of the Easter Bunny and probably some other thrash covers. It would be a fun show, but I don’t consider it a must see where I try to make plans a whole year in advance. The best thing about it is that maybe it gets the 3 guys in a room often enough to rehearse some new stuff they are working on and they decide to reform the band. I would definitely NOT want a Bungle reunion tour like FNM did…they were not a pop-ish band like FNM…their concerts were not for the purpose of playing the ‘hits’, but for challenging the audience with strange music. A Bungle reunion tour would be just a cash grab where they are “preaching to the choir”. The only endeavor should be to fill the whole in the music world of challenging music. FNM is different. They are free to be challenging or predictable and safe…but I wish they would swing back to more “challenging”.
Is the mr bungle gigs totally sold out ? The news of them reforming is as big as when fnm did – I also think they will sound better now than ever with a lot more thought and effort applied .
Huge huge news — William Winant involved ?
I’d love to go – huge journey for me although
I agree with something Patton said after the tour…FNM became a little too self-aware. That means they take themselves a little too seriously. They should put out a fun EP like Songs to Make Love To again, or plays some songs as collaborators like they did with Boo-Yaa Tribe or Sparks. This band used to fun. Also, they don’t have to go silent for 3 years…they could put out any of the live material they recorded….maybe. I think they may be hindered by song rights…like if they tried to put out any live material with songs from IY through AOTY, they may have to pay Rhino or something. That may have been why they didn’t release the Chuck live show from 1986 as an official release and charge for it, they just put it up on youtube. Some rich person needs to buy the rights to their music back from Rhino. They could put out a deluxe Sol Invictus with some instrumentals since Patton didn’t record vocals. They could just admit that Patton isn’t interested and close shop…then reform Castro Sinatra. I mean, what the heck do Puffy and Hudson do all day anyway? Keep in mind, this is all tongue in cheek. I love all the guys and all the career decisions…I’m just too obsessed.
I will add…I really didn’t ever consider spending the money to fly to NY or CA to see Mr. Bungle play the Easter Bunny demo. I think it’s great for them and a fun idea, so I’m glad it’s happening. But the only thing Mr Bungle could do that would get me really excited is reform with Bar & Heifetz and record new music that is challenging. But whenever FNM are only going to play a few shows, I always see if I can afford to go.
I’m thankful for all that the FNM guys do when they are not doing FNM…love Patton’s projects, Bill’s projects, Roddy’s projects and bands. I just think that a band that is still alive needs to remind us every once in a while…not go completely dark.
I don’t think fnm purposely go off the radar – they just don’t have anything worthwhile to peddle .. I’d expect nothing less , it’s probably the reason the band never disappoints – they don’t just churn out any aul shite – it’s why we like them …
Maybe more fitting for this post….I feel like Faith No More is “ghosting” it’s fans. Supposedly they still exist…but they don’t return any of our calls.
Ugh…I keep hoping for some peep out of FNM…but nothing. It’s getting rather depressing. I feel like I have a sado-masochistic relation with this band.
I believe trey too but it kind of took me by surprise given that he is so talented and seems to play with no effort and is one of those guitarists that could have popped out of his mother at birth with the feckin thing – in fact at the time when kfad was released i was so impressed with the guitar sound on “the last to know” that my first assumption was that it must have been written by trey – after a brief Colombo miniature investigation it was uncovered to be written by the big boys in fnm —
which in a way in cements treys feelings of nervousness playing on stage with fnm – I’m sure he was also blown away with the guitar arrangement on that particular song – so simple , so solid , no showboating , no nonsense decadent premier league shut up and auscultate our Michelin star musical feast kind of stuff . There very few musicians out there that can rise above everyone in such a way where there is practically no debating their genius when they constantly churn out music that puts them ahead of the herd –
Ps – if you haven’t already heard of this fella and of this particular track
– DUSTY KID – PSIKA –
Absolutely nothing out there in his musical enclosure that sounds like what he’s able to produce . I have often referred to that particular song as maybe the best song I’ve ever heard –
Bizarrely reminds me of an old Irish tv show called FORTYCOATS
Unfortunately, not that I have seen. I think my favorite version is from Nancy, France in April 95, but the London one is pretty good as well. They are all audience recordings though. I remember that Trey interview…I believe him in that there is no point in reinventing the wheel. Jon had already figured out how to have his guitar tone fit in the mix and to modify chord progressions to fit the live playing by Bill, etc. I did notice some nuance by Trey in the songs, but I mostly enjoyed the never before played songs (Star AD & Absolute Zero) and all the songs where they brought Jon out and played with 2 guitars (basically the 2nd half of the album). One of their best shows by far….they need to release an official version!
Is there any decent quality (soundboard) live versions of
“The last to know” that I’m not aware of ? London 95 seems to be the best out there unless there’s a bootleg version I’ve not heard .
Watched a good interview with trey in relation to his role on the kfad tour — he wasn’t comfortable playing in front of huge crowds and was in a way star struck by fnm as a band . Had to get tips and tricks from Jon Hudson on how to play that particular style . Don’t know if he was being modest.
I’m thinking that Roddy probably was responsible for most of the samples as he was collecting them in a box and then some homeless guy almost stole them!…as read about in Small Victories. But it also says Jim went out in a swamp and recorded the noises for the beginning of Jizzlobber. I wish FNM would go back to being a little more theatrical. Also, I’ve decided to start counting the 1/13/1986 show at the I-Beam that Bill allowed to be released on youtube as an “official” release, making it the best FNM live album…love watching and listening to that show. Chuck was excellent…Puffy is a maniac on Arabian Disco. I ripped it from youtube and listen to it while working out.
I think anyone who has a different motivation on the musical path they take usually end up passing through the kibbutz of faith no more — midlife crisis has that great beastie boys sample in it too, I wonder who’s idea that was?