Rocker Mike Patton Explodes In Firecracker
Giant Magazine Online Exclusive
Mike Patton interviewed by Brett Lasik
The prolific singer lends his askew aesthetic to a true-life indie murder-drama.
Imagine a murder in a small town. A body is found buried in a shed, and the neighborhood is in shock. The person you thought you knew slowly becomes someone you never knew at all. This is the world of Firecracker, a new film from writer/director Steve Balderson that takes its inspiration from actual events in the town of Wamego, Kansas. A true tragedy, Firecracker is an unflinching study of a broken home and the emotional fallout it creates.
Firecracker also marks the film debut of Mike Patton, the creative dynamo better known in the music world as the ex-frontman of Faith No More and Mr. Bungle, and the current frontman of Tomahawk and Fantomas. Along with B-movie goddess Karen Black (Easy Rider, Trilogy of Terror, House of 1000 Corpses), Patton handled two roles as David, the abusive alcoholic older brother, and Frank, the festival owner. We had a chance to speak with the new screen star after Firecracker’s premiere at last month’s Chicago Underground Film Festival.
How were you first approached for this project?
Steve Balderson was a friend of a friend and he asked me to star in it. At first I was more interested in writing the score, but that was already taken care of, so I read the script, liked it, and figured I would give it a try.
How did you get yourself into the state-of-mind of a violent alcoholic?
I really didn’t have to do much. I think anger is one of the easiest emotions to conjure up. But I did spend some time hanging around the town of Wamego, trying to pick up their patterns of speech.
Why were you and Karen Black both cast in dual roles?
I think it helped show two perspectives of the same story. Seeing the same faces helps draw a connection between similar story lines. Karen Black was great. It was humbling to see her prepare for some of her more intense scenes. It’s always cool seeing someone doing their art well.
Do you feel bitten by the acting bug now? Any future acting plans?
Maybe if I was approached about something and it felt right, sure, but it’s not like you’ll see me turning up on sitcoms. I have no more acting jobs lined up right now, and Firecracker is still shopping for a distributor, so we’ll see what happens. What I really want to get into is doing scores for movies. I’m actually working on one now for this movie Pinion that’s in pre-production.
Can you clue us in on any future Patton-related music releases?
I have about three albums worth of material for this new project I’ve been working on called Peeping Tom. I just need to get it wrapped up. Also, Tomahawk will be working on a new album sometime next year.
Is there any chance we’ll ever see another Mr. Bungle show before we die?
It could happen, but I won’t be singing. Some bridges have definitely been burned. It was a fun time and sometimes you just have to move on. I’ve got a lot on my plate now.
Source: Giant Magazine
Submitted By: Don Walheim
November 23rd, 2005 at 6:41 PM
I actually think that UHHHHHHHHHHHH this is the UHHHHHHHHHH band leave a message UHHHHHHHHH
November 27th, 2005 at 10:12 PM
every time they ask patton about mr. bungle, he gives an answer that just puts another nail on the coffin… sad but true. what tha fuck does he mean with “i wont be singing”??? that wouldnt be mr bungle… and i defiitiley admire dunn and spruance, dont get me wrong, but the group was the bomb… i guess i will never see a mr bungle concert in my life…
November 28th, 2005 at 6:46 PM
he means he is done. if you do some easy math with interviews from band members on the net you can come to the conclusion that there was a falling out with patton with…..______________.
November 28th, 2005 at 10:17 PM
I wonder if the movie Firecraker will ever make it to Québec (canada). I hope they will release it on DVD. But you know what would be even better… a Faith No More DVD. I have both the vids and Brixton academy on VHS but the sound gets worse every time I watch them (even if I have the original copies).
For Mr. Bungle it is a sad story but it’s been a while now since we know it’s dead! Let’s focus on the present tense. Carpe Diem!
December 1st, 2005 at 3:35 AM
the answer is spruence. he had some problems with him. in 95 during the king for a day sessions he though that was not a good idea to play with spruence in faith no more. only billy gould wanted that.
December 1st, 2005 at 6:43 AM
I saw Mr. Bungle twice during their last tour [thank my lucky stars] and I met Spruance at one of the shows…When I asked [something along the lines of] what their process was like when they recorded California, he was an asshole about it and made it a point to tell me that Mike didn’t know anything about ‘gear’ or ‘protools’ and ‘recording’. Really, as a musician he’s incredible, but [maybe I caught him at a bad moment] my impression on meeting Spruance was that he was a real shithead. The second time around I saw them in athens, ga Mike hung out at the bar with some of the left over crowd..he was a totally kewl guy…
December 1st, 2005 at 7:56 AM
God bless you neb!!!!
December 1st, 2005 at 8:15 AM
along the history patton always had problems with spruance. i have a FNM interview with Gould and he said that patton advised him several times about spruance. that was a really bad idea to call him to play with FNM.
December 1st, 2005 at 8:16 AM
but sure…spruance is a great musician.
December 1st, 2005 at 4:02 PM
So yeah, the bungle-era is over… it’s a shame, but that’s what happens. Same with FNM… but three albums worth of Peeping Tom-material… that’s going to be so sweet
December 2nd, 2005 at 4:04 AM
fucken pattons the bomb man with all the shizznit i thought mentor was a better guitarist then spruance any way oh yea and for the record chilli peppers are fucken shit it was funny as when bungle dressed up as them and bagged the fuk outta them
December 2nd, 2005 at 10:42 AM
Patton was nice to me too when I met him. I was 18. This was like 10 years ago after a Bungle show in Boston during the Disco Volante tour. He was clearing his gear off stage as the crowd was leaving and I ran up to the stage to give him a video tape of my band (always thinking like a marketing fuck) and asked if he could watch it. He simply said “Yeah, sure, I’ll watch it,” and put it on his mic rack. It’s funny because the people I came with didn’t know I did this until I was handing him the video and they all screamed when they saw me which I think caught Patton by surprise a bit.
December 3rd, 2005 at 5:40 AM
FNM will be back…it’s only a matter of time….might not be a roddy or bordin or hudson but there will be a gould…hopefully a mike too.
December 3rd, 2005 at 6:48 AM
Dean Mentor is definitley a worse guitarist than Spruance. Don’t you have ears mannn!, regardless of whether he was a bit of a dick or not.
Jon Hudson was also superior.
Did anyone see Mentor play live with FNM? I did, his guitar sound was well tinny and he hadn’t learnt the solos properly.
December 3rd, 2005 at 7:11 AM
Faith No More without Bordin or Roddy is like Van Halen without Van Halen
December 3rd, 2005 at 3:52 PM
all I know is that King For a Day is easily the worst faith no more album, although Im not sure its because of Trey Spruance. It just seems not as good as the other 3 releases w/ Patton(Ive never heard the albums before he was singer and I dont really care to)
December 4th, 2005 at 10:39 AM
I don’t normally throw my two cents in regarding fan-boy opinions, but what the hell…here’s my two, maybe even three cents:
One of the most astute observations I have ever heard regarding Patton’s musical process and it’s subsequent effect on us, the initiated, was from a friend of mine, Shawn, an excellent musician who is now the drummer for Skeleton Key, a fantastic band on Mike’s label Ipecac. He said that he noticed that what makes Patton so great and unique, is that he’s not afraid to always leave his audiance wanting MORE. This is especially evident with allot of the Fantomas stuff, where he’ll give you an amazing hook or pocket of music and just when you’re starting to get your boner, he’ll switch directions entirely. I can only compare it to a potentially frustrating-but-sometimes-mind-blowing technique of foreplay/sex, where you deliberatly keep teasing your partner until they go into a frenzy. It’s a risky stunt, sometimes you can end up just pissing someone off, bringing the sex to an abrupt end (which, as much of a Patton loyalist as I am, is something I think he’s been guitly of from time to time). I personally think that the artistic pinnacle of this technique can be found in General Patton v the X-ecutioners. I admit that on the first few listens, what I felt was frustration…why couldn’t he follow through with some of these beats, they were so obviously some of the best, most cutting edge nuggets to come along in hip-hop in a loooong time. I stuck with it though, and I have been subsequently rewarded by what I have come to think is a genuine cohesive masterpiece, that’s easily the most subversive hip-hop album of all time (has anyone else picked up on the album’s theme of male aggression = sexual disfunction? Can you imagine Snoop or Jay-Z even comprehending subject matter such as this, much less attempting it?) Anyway, back to my original point regarding Patton’s tendency to leave us wanting more. I can even detect that principle surfacing from time to time with Tomahawk. I can’t think of another pop act (and by “pop” I mean its more general definition: something that is catchy-relatively short (as opposed to jazz or classical) and has a chorus. Just needed to define my terms so no one would think I was comparing the music we all obviously love to like, Jessica Simpson, which is “pop” in the bubblegum-easily digestible cliched way.) especially in the area of Hard Rock (lame description, but I can’t think of another) where, more often than not, Tomahawks songs will only contain one chorus. That’s unheard of in this line of music…you got a good hook/chorus, you milk it for all it’s worth. Not so with Tomahawk.
Which brings me to Peeping Tom. Considering Patton’s creative output, (which is truly staggering when you think about it, I mean, does he have time for laundry?) it seems a little strange that this album is taking upwards of SIX years to see the light of day. I’m wondering if the pressures of delivering a radio-friendly pop album (a goal that Patton has admitted to in numerous interviews) is in conflict with the general musical approach I outlined above. I mean, crafting a great pop song is one of the most difficult things to pull off-in this day and age, it’s almost unheard of. Gone are the days when Bacharach, Mancini, Porter and Gainsburg, just to name a few, could pull a song out of there ass that was both timeless in that cross generational way and put a smile on your face for the rest of the day. Hell, Moonriver, Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head, Night and Day…these are pop songs that my grandparents, parents and myself can all agree on. You have to wonder if there might be a shred of fear in Patton that he might fail in this goal. I mean SIX years and we’re entering into Axle Rose/Chinese Democracy area.
One last observation: does anyone else think it’s interesting that of the two undisputed geniuses in Mr. Bungle (Trey and Mike) both of them went on to start their own labels in order to have an outlet for their creativity. With Mike, there is an obvious tendency to release as much as humanly (inhumanly?) possible, while Trey, in keeping with his legendary perfectionism, takes 3-4 years for each meticulously crafted Secret Chiefs 3 album. And is it more than a coincidence that in the interim, neither artist has released something that has so universaly satisfied their fans than their last colaboration, California? Just an observation. (Although, for the record, I think that General Patton, Fantomas’ The Director’s Cut and the Lovage albums come as close as one is likely to get to California’s sublime perfection.) Sorry, this all seems like I might have given you all upwards of four or five cents.
December 4th, 2005 at 11:47 AM
Don, I agree with what you’re saying. Something I noticed, though, is that on General Patton vs. The X-ecutioners – Get Up Punk! the chorus is repeated far too much! I thought that this was very unlike Mike to do, and it ruins the song for me.
Oh, and ‘Lovage albums’? There’s only one… right?
December 4th, 2005 at 1:29 PM
For gasteropod: Interseting observation with regards to Get Up Punk!…I might be inclined to agree. As for the Lovage albums: There is only one official release, Music to Make love to Your Old Lady By. However, 75 Ark also released an instrumental version as well that is quite nice. (Automator has a habit of doing this with some of the albums he produces, such as Dr. Octogon, Deltron 3030 and the Gorillaz.) In addition, 75 Ark also offered a “companion” CD that was initially free through their web site that offers some demo versions of some of the Lovage songs, as well as a making of documentary, a couple of great screen savers and I believe a Handsomeboy Modeling School video. It’s great if you can find it. One more thing for those that might not have seen it, but while I was surfing around through J G Thirlwell’s (AKA Foetus, Steroid Maximus) web site not too long ago, I noticed a blurb about a video director (can’t remember his name) who was about to shoot a video for Thirlwell. Anyway, the blurb mentioned as one of his credits, having shot a video for Lovage. I googled the guys name, found his site, and sure enough, he had a link to the video, which was really quite good. If I recall correctly, I think it was for Anger Management and it featured Patton pretty much exclusively. Finally, for the “completeists” out there, it is possible to find a couple of the Jennefer Lopez covers that Lovage did on their o-so-short tour a couple of years ago. I don’t remember the names of the songs, but you might be able to find it on Limewire or Soulseek. They sound awsome, believe it or not.
December 5th, 2005 at 11:17 AM
Haha yeah I remember bidding on that limited 2-disc of Music to Make Love… on eBay years ago, but I didn’t win. I wouldn’t bother with that Instrumental version personally, since that erases Mike Patton and Jennifer Charles – who’d want to do that?!
December 6th, 2005 at 6:51 AM
It’s still pretty cool to just chill out to. I imagine it’s more for DJs, etc. and other people to use for their own mixing and stuff. (especially the vinyl)
Having said that, I’m totally with you. I have the regular one AND the instrumental version and I listen to the regular one way more. I guess if I sounded like Mike or Jennifer I could sing along to it.
heh heh, seriously though, it’s still cool even though it’s not exactly the same as the regular album. I think the songs without them got cut out or resequenced. I forget. It’s been ages since I listened to it and I don’t have it with me at the moment.
Even MORE fun was the little Lovage sampler you could order on the 75ark website. Not only did you get a song or two that were instrumentals, but you could get JUST the vocals too. THAT would be even more fun if I knew how the hell to use protools.
December 6th, 2005 at 10:45 AM
I’m sending in a request to sierra games for them to produce “Where in the world is Dan The Automator?”.
December 9th, 2005 at 7:08 AM
yeah, or the 6-degrees of Dan the Automator game. You could do that with any member of Fantomas too.
December 13th, 2005 at 5:17 AM
“I have about three albums worth of material for this new project I’ve been working on called Peeping Tom”
WOW!
Can’t wait***
December 13th, 2005 at 7:57 AM
Here’s a link to the Lovage videos that Don mentioned above
http://www.thebastardprince.com/lovage.video.html
December 13th, 2005 at 11:20 AM
You guys are all chowderheads!!!!
December 14th, 2005 at 5:46 AM
mmmmm. chowder.
December 15th, 2005 at 9:20 AM
Wow, thanks Russ – wish it could be a little smaller, though….
December 17th, 2005 at 9:51 PM
HEY ALL U MIKE PATTON FANS im a Huge fan of Mike Patton and all i can say is congrats to him for being on such a good movie called Firecracker i hope he does really well in his Projects or wateva he he does in his life ….. i have all albums of patton,s King For A day Fool For A LifeTime, AngelDust, TheRealThing,Album Of The Year, FaithNoMore Greatest Hits ect …… as far as BuNgle is concerned i have Caca Volante, self entitled Mr BuNgLe, and FanTomas ….. so ALL U Patton fans out there just let mike patton to support him in any projects he has or does he was a Huge hit in his 15 yrs his been with FaithNoMore so, if u read this mike if u have time pls drop me a line at mattybull10@hotmail.com ……… i have seen ur shows at the King for a lifetime tour in syd 95 and at the alternative Nation 95 at eastern Creek UR A fucking Ledgend MAN!!!
) Cheers and Good luck in all ur Projets 
December 20th, 2005 at 12:45 AM
I couldn’t care less that Bungle is dead. I don’t think there will ever be a band to satisfy me as much as they did, but the latest works of Spruance/Patton/Dunn make me ejaculate with every listen. Suspended Animation, Book of Horizons and Sister Phantom Owl Fish are three amazing albums. It is kind of like Disoo Volante was simply divided by three, and I would hope that all the Bungle conspiracy theorists would just be thankful for every album released by Web of Mimicry and Ipecac, and stop wasting their breath.
December 20th, 2005 at 1:08 PM
Hoooly crap, those lovage videos looked awesome. Someone reveal where I can get my hands on the full version immediately!
January 2nd, 2006 at 11:01 AM
Patton is god!!! Here is abit more Lovage for you fucks…. http://www.youtube.com/results.php?search=lovage
January 16th, 2006 at 8:57 AM
[...] Is there any chance we’ll ever see another Mr. Bungle show before we die? It could happen, but I won’t be singing. Some bridges have definitely been burned. It was a fun time and sometimes you just have to move on. I’ve got a lot on my plate now. (Mike Patton im Interview mit Giantmag, via beta.cacavolante) 16:56 Uhr – Kategorien: Musikalisches [...]
February 2nd, 2006 at 9:14 PM
Well, reading Patton`s answer about a eventual reunion with mr. bungle, just makes me wonder, what tha bloddy hell really happened there!!!???, i can understand the friction over all the years that passed, my guess is that this guy just wanted to make another kind of music, stick around with other people, just get away from the other band members, the prove is simple; secret chiefs 3 in the beggining was all mr. bungle members except for patton and, over all this years they never had a single problem to break up between them, right now, they are all separated doing his own proyects, but certainly am sure they would work toghether again, Spruance said it, i think patton is in a paralel stage worrying about his own stuff, and obviously a mr. bungle reunion is not a prioriry in his agenda, dont know how many years are gonna pass, but i know this must happen someday, just give time to all, specially to patton who really need it, his mind is somewhere else….
thiago just wanted to say u are damn wrong my friend, i think this has nothing to do with Spruance, he have his own way to do things, and the only one who doesnt want to rejoin here is patton, he cant deny it, everytime he is asked about it, he say that just a miracle could put them toghether again, dont know why, but the only obstacle to see them all making misic again is patton will.
About the time Spruance spend in faith no more, u are wrong too, the problem there was always that the band itself never wanted a mr. bungle member around them, they were freaked with the idea that he could be an influence to patton to change the horizonts of the band, they never really accepted Spruance like a official member, and they kicked him out by givin the responsability to their manager.
i love F.N.M, but lets accept this, they were the ones who used Spruance just to record of the disc and then dissposed of him, to me besides martin he was the greates guitarrist of the band, king for a day touched the heaven, just a damn masterpiece, and if u remmber after that only Dean Menta borrowed himself to be someone who Spruance would never accept; a simple roadie, and i agree with him, thats not fair for a man who really liked the proyect and had the guts and talent to be a great adquisition after martin`s depart. meanwhile patton was there doing and saying nothing about “the problems” that Spruance could cause in there, cuz thats bullshit, the problem there was simply that puffy, billy and roddy didnt liked him at all, and after king for a day was done, they left him and went on searching for a roadie who wolud accept to go on tour around the world, be informed man, dont say such things without informing pretty well about the matter……
finally, a new tomahawk album??, after mit gas i was stunned, not as far as his old works but, about his recent proyects, i just follow tomahawks marks, lets just hope that this album be the greatest from all tomahawk´s work…….
February 9th, 2006 at 5:17 AM
OW……
I’m really afraid now. (hands shaking).
The truth has to be told.
how could you waste your time writing that? jesus….
February 10th, 2006 at 2:19 AM
Star a.dreamer – Where did you get these facts comes from!!!! you seem to have it all wrong.
February 15th, 2006 at 12:26 AM
He was dropped on his head as a child Thiago,….it’s obvious.
Also, I noticed the comparison between meeting Mike and Trey in person……..
it was completely the opposite for me, Mike was a cocky prick and Trey was laid back, besides the bitching about driving thing……that’s a completely different story.
Maybe Mike ran out of his favorite hair gel, hell, who knows?
Kinda sucked, I would’ve rather spent more time talking to Mike than OsamaBinSpruance.
February 23rd, 2006 at 11:06 AM
Mike es un genio musical incomprendido. Sin embargo, ha logrado llevar su voz a lÃmites insospechados…
February 27th, 2006 at 5:09 AM
yes
March 7th, 2006 at 6:56 AM
Yes? I thougt that this is ENGLISH site,bit OK…I can speak SLOWENIEN hehe…Hey all you “Patton fans”, FANTOMASMELVINS BIG BEND is coming in Europe on a little tour (8 concerts). Come in MY little SLOVENIA
))
March 9th, 2006 at 12:30 PM
to bowen and everyone:
in the last cv web site, there was an interview of Spruance saying his side of the story, and u know what?, i believe him. all of u are on patton´side cuz u dont understand that he can wrong, even just once, u think he´s cool and maybe he is, but no one of u really knows them very well to say: “ya ok, i agree with patton just cuz he`s patton”, and my point has been misuranderstantood
i dont give a damn is he is shakin or doin a shit, but i think u and everyone who think likes this guy must be informed pretty well before saying something that is simply wrong…..
March 9th, 2006 at 12:49 PM
to nipplepincher:
ohhh i see…. so is like “MR. Mad man Spruance vs Patton: the cool guy”???
If i get ur point then i assume that u know him pretty well, then congratulation man i envy u …lol…
March 9th, 2006 at 1:12 PM
I own the article that Spruance says his side, if anyone wanna read it, just let me know and am gonna put here just a fragment of the whole thing……..
March 10th, 2006 at 2:50 AM
Yeah, put it on here, let’s have a read but to be honest i’ve only gone on what i’ve heard in interviews and I guess none of us could really know what went on back then. Maybe I have more respect musically for Patton and Dunn, therefore taking their side, so to speak. Peace Star. A…..xx
March 10th, 2006 at 6:21 AM
I find it ridiculous that a 38 year old man can say that something will “never” happen.
March 10th, 2006 at 1:32 PM
ok, so be it, this is an interview that i found here about 2 years ago about Spruance actual proyects and info about what we are talkin now, am gonna put a just piece of the matter, and dont worry man, with u no hard feelings
, peace for all……
For years, there’s been speculation as to the real reason you left Faith No More. Some people have said you didn’t want to tour, others said you didn’t want to play “Epic� live, and others said that bassist Billy Gould threw you out because he didn’t want another Mr. Bungle. What really happened?
-[laughs] Wow, man. Let me add some rumors to that list. My favorite is the one that came from Faith No More themselves – they said that I was an heir to the DuPont fortune. Did you hear that one? That was printed in NME. I have “connections� to the Rothschilds and Rockefellers, so I’m basically this spoiled rich kid that can’t be relied upon in any way. So of course, with my quirky background and all that, why would I be bothered with touring? I’m just a spoiled fucking brat!
At that point, those guys’ heads were kind of screwed on backwards. It was unfortunate, because I thought that Faith No More was a really good band. I liked them when they came up to Eureka in 1986. I went nuts over them, and Mike – he wasn’t really into them. [laughs] I was a Faith No More fan in the early days. They were fucking amazing, Jesus Christ. Then when that whole situation with [former Faith No More guitarist] Jim Martin was falling apart and they needed a guitar player, I threw my name in the hat. I don’t even think Mike wanted me in the band, but the other guys liked the demo that I made for them. We did the whole thing on a handshake, and basically as time went on, I recorded with them and we didn’t have any formal agreement over what the situation was going to be. And I really felt that they were taking advantage of that situation, which was really disheartening. They were going through so many different issues as a band. And then to walk into a situation where you’re just essentially a roadie and getting jerked around, it really ended up being this thing where, if I’m going to commit to a year of touring with no agreement and they’re reneging on all of these things that we talked about – it’s like, we’ve got you, so you’re going to tour with us for a year and then we’ll talk about you becoming a part of the band-.
So you were a hired hand for the album.
-Yeah, essentially what was going on was there was a salary agreement, and then that salary was going to extend indefinitely. And all I wanted was, in writing – I’ll agree to a year of touring on this salary business, but after a year, we’ll renegotiate something. We don’t have to say what it is, but we’ll come to a renegotiation. And by the time we finished the record, the only person who was finally straight with me was the manager, who said, “No, we’re not even going to renegotiate. That’s it.� So I just told them to fuck off. I’m not playing hardball, and if this is the way you guys play, forget it. A band is a band, and I’m into doing gentlemen’s agreements – we’ll be gentlemen and we’ll do it. You play fucking hardball with me, you can fuck off. I walked – simple as that. It wasn’t a hard decision. But I learned a lot from it and I don’t hold resentment. Billy, at the time, was in a screwed up mindset. Patton – he can exert a lot of influence over people, and those guys had their balls in a vice. They were in a tough fucking spot. It basically became clear to me why Patton didn’t want me to be in the band after a while. He was incredibly hard to get along with in that band environment, and I’d honestly never seen that side of him in Mr. Bungle. We’d never dealt with that. Patton and I have butted heads over the years, but just as friends. It’s nothing that I saw in a band context. But man, that’s not a side of him that I want to deal with.
I was also really worried about that Faith No More situation threatening Mr. Bungle, because we’d just finished recording Disco Volante. I knew that if I stayed in Faith No More, my relationship with Mike would’ve deteriorated very rapidly. So that was a concern. That and not wanting to be shit upon. I remember when I made the decision, it was right after I hung up with their manager. It was like, ‘Alright, I’ve got all this other music.’ And that was when Secret Chiefs 3 was born.
But like I said, I’ve got no hard feelings. I learned how this industry works, I learned how people get, I learned how gross everything is. I have to tell you this – right after all of this stuff happened, I was served fucking papers after quitting. They tried to charge me for equipment that I didn’t buy, thousands and thousands of dollars. I recorded that whole record with my roommate’s $100 Les Paul imitation because I didn’t have a fucking guitar that would work. I bought a power amp on their account, and after I quit I get this bill for $10,000! That’s just one – believe me, there were a million fucking things. It all worked out man, whatever – I don’t really care, to me that stuff is comical. But the part that was so surreal was when my friend told me, “Trey, you’ve got to see this interview in NME. The guys are saying all this stuff about you.� So I get on my bike and ride down Divisadero to Tower Records, and at that point I didn’t have any fucking money at all, so I was looking under books and laundry and all this shit, scraping for change. At the end of the month I always got to the point where I was scraping for burrito money. So I got $2.75 to buy a burrito after looking at [the NME interview]. I don’t even have enough money to buy the fucking magazine, and I’m standing there in Tower Records reading about how I’m the heir to the DuPont fortune. [laughs] That was a surreal experience, having the bicycle, barely scraping by, and having the entire fans’ perception being this completely other thing. I can’t tell you how fruitful of an experience that was. Most of the philosophies that I’m interested in have to do with the engineered appearance of the world that we live in versus the esoteric or hidden reality behind it. I feel very privileged to be in a world where I can deal with some press coverage like that. [laughs] Where you just get that driven home to you, so explicit, like a hammer into your fucking skull. It’s really quite a healthy thing, and I wish everybody could experience it-.
How has that experience affected you today?
-It didn’t make me bitter. I guess I was lucky because I’d read enough Kierkegaard to enjoy the irony. [laughs] To be honest, for a few years up to that, stuff like that was bothering me, but that article was the final nail in the coffin – when it all became hilarious-.
Did you ever talk to Patton about that article?
-No, man. No way. It’s all part of a game that gets played. Again, I like the fact that these things are going on. I’m not trying to dispel myths – I think it’s funny. [laughs] It’s hilarious to me. The more of it that goes on, the better. I mean, Patton went out there [in the early Faith No More days] and talked about shit eating [in the press], especially over in Britain. He doesn’t eat shit! But the stuff just spreads like wildfire, it’s unbelievable the way it works-.
i hope this will make u all think twice…………
March 11th, 2006 at 4:01 AM
Pretty fuckin interesting! sounds quite from the heart. if that’s all true then shame to think that other members of FNM were quite so ready to fuck someone they knew over to protect their paranoid asses… On the other hand, as long as the music’s good, what do I care!
March 11th, 2006 at 7:11 PM
Yah man, i know what u mean, when i readed this it was like: “what da fuck!!??, is this really true??” and i didnt even wanted answer that to myself, its a kind of fukin hard dilemma, but its up to us wich side we decide to belive……..
I now we are Big fans of F.N.M and besides all this polemic, this precious legacy that they left after 17 years (10 years with patton) must be the most important thing for us all……..
What da hell!!!, troubles between people can always be resolved and they dont last, great music can live forever!!!!!
March 15th, 2006 at 10:14 AM
Ive read that Trey interview before and it is very revealing and interesting . I will concede that FNM were in a very fucked up mental situation during that time period – remember aside from Jim leaving, Roddy was also on drugs and shit, eveyrone must’ve been confused. But the thing is, I have a hard time believing that Billy Gould (essentially the leader of FNM) and even the rest of the band members (well, excepting maybe Patton) could be such assholes as he’s making out. And the interview he mentions about the DuPont fortune, I ‘m sure that FNM were joking about that in that NME interview Trey mentions… it was probably taken as serious though. Words get misinterpreted often.
I for one would like to hear Billy Gould’s response to this interview if ever possible in the future, but like Trey himself said – its probably all water under the bridge. Personally i think the financial things that FNM apparently tried to stick Trey for was more management related…. but – whatever.
March 20th, 2006 at 4:56 PM
Yeah, I remember that interview and it struck me as sincere. I met Trey once in Austin Texas at a Skeleton Key show about two or three years ago. I was under the impression he was some kind of hermit who never went out, but he was very approachable and laid back. I had kinda gotten the impression in interviews that he might be a bit sick of talking about Patton with random fans, so I just kept the (brief) conversation focused on how blown away I was by the way Bungle approached their live sound on the California tour. He seemed impressed that I remembered specifics like speaker placement and some of the pre-recorded melodies. Anyway, he mentioned that he had planned to write a book on the recording of California. That most people didn’t understand how insanely fucking difficult the process was…no digitization…all ANALOG throughout the recording process…something I was unaware of, but added even more awe to what was (is) already my favorite album of all time. Unfortunately, he went on to say that after writing about half of it, his laptop was stolen and he said he may never get around to it again. Sigh. I guess what I’m saying is, my gut tells me that Spruance probably got fucked over. I suppose we should all just be grateful that he didn’t let that get in the way of the California recording. The bottom line is that as much of a Patton-o-phile as I might be, if I ever met him, I’d probably walk away thinking he was a prick and he’d walk away not giving two shits that I was a fan. Which just goes to say that admiration of the art and admiration of the artist don’t often converge. Which is way there are so few artists that I admire that I’d actually want to meet.
March 21st, 2006 at 4:41 AM
I’d agree with that, I met Patton and Billy Gould once and found Patton to be quite difficult whereas Billy was really cool, seemed really laid back and made time to chat. Maybe it’s something to do just with frontmen of bands. I’ve been in quite a few bands in my time and I can honestly say all of the frontmen have had ego issues.
March 21st, 2006 at 7:11 PM
Goddamit Don u just have a good point, and this has to do with my perception of the matter too, i respect all of them; Patton, Spruance, Gould, and i always did, even after all i readed or heared about them. A fan must learn to separate his feelings about the music that the man can do, and the feelings that the man can show if this fan ever really meet anyone of them, at least to say more than “Hi man, i love ur work” and that crap, but i still have not the luck to meet them, just saw them playing live and thats all.
anyway the point is that a fan when is givin his opinion about someone who admires, must never lose the objectivity, like i said before, i cant agree with Patton just cuz he is Patton, even if i really am a big fan if him, well at least a big fan of his old works as a musician, hell yeahh i am, but am not gonna be by his side when i think that he or the rest of FNM members really did wrong…..just cant do that…
Finally someone dig my point!!!!!
And yeahh in that interview Spruance said something of writin a book about the torture that was the recording of california, what??, someone stole his laptop??, i didnt knew that, thats pretty fucked up man, fukin bad luck!!, do u think that he ever is gonna have the will to start all over again???, i really hope so, he still has alot to say about Mr. Bungle old times…
March 22nd, 2006 at 4:48 PM
To Mark Bowen: I think you probably nailed it with regards to frontmen and their egos. One the one hand, I’ve seen a whole lot of interviews with Patton, both on the printed page and on video, and 9 times out of 10, he comes across as looking like he’s incredibly put-out by the whole promotional process of the music business. On the other hand, most of the questions he gets asked are very simplistic and very repetitive: “How do you come up with music?”; “Why did FNM break up?”; “What’s it like touring?” etc. But as understandable as that is, that has more to do with the lack of creativity on the part of the interviewer; as far as I’m concerned, they deserve to be fucked with a bit. What seems less excusable to me is the way he seems to condescend to fans allot. I know there are plenty of exceptions, and I’m making a bit of a generalization, but the impression I get from him, as well as the impression most of the people I know who’ve met him, is that he treats the average fan like a nusiance. I’ve flat out read in interviews that he views web-sites like this one as a big waste of time. Which to me seems a bit hypocritical, in that it’s precisely people like us, the rabid fans who buy anything he puts out that has allowed him to have the lifestyle and artistic freedom he so craves. I mean, there are probably a number of talented musicians who would love to not be completely commited to just one band. They just don’t have the fan base to support that kind of ecclectisism. I can’t think of a single other musician (past or present) that has the kind of freedom he has. I respect that the guy is, literally, probably the hardest working guy in the music business. It seems, in return, he respects people the most that seem to have the same no nonsense work-ethic as he. I know it’s a fine line between being gracious to fans-wanting to give them the best bang for their buck, so to speak-and letting fans interest start to compromise ones art. He just seems to have avoided that whole line altogether by distancing himself from his audiance as much as possible. At the end of the day, though, it’s hard to fault him when the end result is so volumeous and of such high quality. There are plenty of cool people in the world I’d like to hang with, but none who have brought me as much artistic pleasure as that bastard. May 30th can’t get here faster. D.
March 24th, 2006 at 3:47 AM
PATTON – WE ARE YOUR BREAD AND BUTTER MATE!
March 24th, 2006 at 1:44 PM
He wont even read this bowen…..hahahaha
March 25th, 2006 at 3:06 AM
Oh I’m not so sure about that Star man, think about it.. when he’s kicking back, taking a break from the music, on a long flight… wouldn’t you find it funny what people are writing and assuming about you?… I fuckin would!
March 25th, 2006 at 4:01 AM
hahaha mark,you’re funny guy,well,I wouldn’t find out what they talk about me, because there’s like 1000 forums like this, do you think he would come on THIS one? well,mark from your mouth in patton’s ears
March 25th, 2006 at 10:31 AM
Welllllll I don’t know but I read somewhere that when this site started up members of FNM used to check it out and write stuff on here, so I guess it’s one of the more seriously taken forums, you know for the proper fans:). If he does read this he’d probably think we were all idiots anyhow, but it doesn’t matter because as Don rightly states, we are here for the music and not for the man, maaan.
March 25th, 2006 at 10:33 AM
Maja – I’m still gonna send u that stuff ok, just bear with me. I might have a spare copy of ‘The Real Story’ if your really lucky!:)!
March 26th, 2006 at 3:58 AM
Like i said before; he wont even read this……..lol…………..
March 27th, 2006 at 12:20 AM
JUHUHU YUUUPIIIIII,I’m felling lucky all the time hahahaha, I have em…let me see…about 50 concerts for you, I just need to take by butt up and go to post it
March 27th, 2006 at 10:12 PM
50 DAMN CONCERTS????!!!!!!, DO U STILL WANNA BE MY FRIEND MAYA???…..LOL…….
March 27th, 2006 at 10:17 PM
BY the way….friday 31 its my birthday, will that info help me to convince u???? hahaha
March 27th, 2006 at 10:58 PM
Star…I think you are my best friend now (send me an e-mail and tell me how old are you),maby I could find something for you)
…and that concerts I send to mark are only 95-97, there are a lot of older things in my collection 
uuuuuu 
March 28th, 2006 at 2:55 AM
Maja, do you have much from ’93? I think that was the year they gave the best intense performances. I will send you some treats
:):)
March 28th, 2006 at 3:55 AM
I could find something from 93
you want something? (your cd’s are on the way, I hope you’ll get the envelope in one peace 
March 28th, 2006 at 5:46 AM
Only if it’s no trouble Maja:)
March 28th, 2006 at 6:32 AM
Aything Mark
(we sound like …i’ld rather not say) hahahaha 
March 29th, 2006 at 1:26 AM
“We were like ink and paper, numbers on a calculator……”hahaha.
March 29th, 2006 at 1:32 AM
Top 5 FNM songs, if thats possible
Caffiene
Smaller and smaller
Collision
Stripsearch
Got that feeling.
March 29th, 2006 at 1:54 AM
MY 5 IS:
-King For A Day
…and then nothing for a long time…hahaha
-Falling To Pieces
-Caffeine
-A Small Victory
-Just A Man
March 29th, 2006 at 7:56 AM
Yes,Mark,It is not a good day if you are not lookin’ good! (glad that I made you laugh)hehehe
January 25th, 2008 at 4:44 AM
bank of america mortgage rates…
auspices lemming moped….
January 29th, 2008 at 11:19 PM
apwu health plan…
drenched:nonchalant!types celebrations farmyard.tiresome …
March 15th, 2010 at 10:50 AM
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