Clinton McKinnon
Encyclopedia
- For the U.S. politician, see Clinton D. McKinnonClinton D. McKinnonClinton Dotson McKinnon was a former American Democratic politician and journalist from San Diego.McKinnon was born 1906 in Dallas, Texas to Dr. John and Tennie McKinnon. He was 12 and the only child when his father died and his mother, a nurse, raised him. He graduated from Palo Alto High School,...
.
Clinton "Bär" McKinnon (born December 24, 1969) is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, perhaps best known playing saxophone in seminal San Francisco based band Mr. Bungle
Mr. Bungle
Mr. Bungle was an experimental band from Northern California. The band was formed in 1985 while the members were still in high school and was named after a children's educational film. Mr. Bungle released four demo tapes in the mid to late 1980s before being signed to Warner Bros. Records and...
.
Bär, pronounced 'bear', is a childhood nickname, given to him by his older sisters. In 1989 Bär joined Mr. Bungle and studied music at Humboldt State University
Humboldt State University
Humboldt State University is the northernmost campus of the California State University system, located in Arcata within Humboldt County, California, USA. The main campus, nestled at the edge of a coast redwood forest, is situated on Preston hill overlooking Arcata and with commanding views of...
. His primary instrument is the saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
, but he plays a number of other instruments including flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
, keyboards
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, percussion
Percussion instrument
A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
, bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
and other assorted woodwinds.
He was a member of Mr. Bungle from 1989 to their disbandment in 2000, and has written and performed with Secret Chiefs 3
Secret Chiefs 3
Secret Chiefs 3 is an instrumental rock group led by guitarist/composer Trey Spruance . Their studio recordings and tours have featured different line-ups, as the group performs a wide range of musical styles including surf rock, Persian, Arab, Indian, death metal, film music, electronic music,...
, Dieselhed
Dieselhed
Dieselhed was a San Francisco-based band, originally from Arcata, California.-Early career:Dieselhed formed in 1989 in the San Francisco Bay Area playing a blend of country, punk, and pseudo-classic rock. Drummer Heifetz spread his time between Dieselhed and the genre-bending experimentalists Mr....
and Humboldt County hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
/reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
/rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
fusion band Lakota
Lakota (band)
Lakota was an American melodic rock band that existed from 2002 until 2006.-History:The group was formed in Queens, New York in 2002 by former Black Army Jacket bassist, Carlos Ramirez, when he met singer/guitarist Kayne Konecny after he auditioned for another band he was playing in. The two...
. He has also appeared on the Melt-Banana
Melt-Banana
Melt-Banana is a Japanese punk band that is known for playing extremely fast noise music mixed with experimental electronica and pop-based song structures. They have worked with artists as diverse as Merzbow, John Zorn, Mike Patton, and Discordance Axis...
album Charlie
Charlie (Melt-Banana album)
Charlie is the third album by Melt-Banana. This album was the first release on their own label, A-Zap.Charlie marks a change in Melt-Banana's sound, the songs have gotten longer and a more "poppy" sound which would be further developed on the next few albums is present....
, on the Carl Hancock Rux
Carl Hancock Rux
Carl Hancock Rux is an award winning writer and performer; former Head of the MFA Writing for Performance Program at the California Institute of the Arts and has taught or been in residence at University of California–San Diego, Stanford University, University of Massachusetts Amherst,...
album Rux Revue
Rux Revue
Rux Revue is the debut album by Carl Hancock Rux, released by Sony 550 Records and produced in Los Angeles by the Dust Brothers;Tom Rothrock and Rob Schnapf; featuring drummers Joey Waronker and James Gadson; bassists Atom Ellis and Carol Kaye; keyboardist James Hall and bass guitarist Wah-Wah...
, on the Ray's Vast Basement album On the Banks of the Time, on the Eyvind Kang's album The Story of Iceland
The Story of Iceland
The Story of Iceland is an album of modern chamber music in multiple styles by violinist and multi-instrumentalist Eyvind Kang, accompanied by a large ensemble that includes guitarist Bill Frisell.- Track listing :...
and on the Barefoot Hockey Goalie album One Part Thomas Edison. Bär McKinnon is currently gigging around Melbourne with a band called Umläut.
Early years
Bär grew up in Crescent City, Northern California and was the middle child in a family of nine. In 1989, Bär joined seminal San Francisco based band Mr. BungleMr. Bungle
Mr. Bungle was an experimental band from Northern California. The band was formed in 1985 while the members were still in high school and was named after a children's educational film. Mr. Bungle released four demo tapes in the mid to late 1980s before being signed to Warner Bros. Records and...
and studied music and Humboldt State University
Humboldt State University
Humboldt State University is the northernmost campus of the California State University system, located in Arcata within Humboldt County, California, USA. The main campus, nestled at the edge of a coast redwood forest, is situated on Preston hill overlooking Arcata and with commanding views of...
. He was a member of Mr. Bungle from 1989 to their disbandment in 2000. Towards the end of the '80s, Bär appeared on Mr. Bungle's cassette-only demo OU818 (featuring tracks that would appear on their first Warner Brothers
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
album), and as a result, the band earned a small local following.
Bär and Mr. Bungle
Bungle's lead singer Mike Patton had by the start of the '90s achieved success in mainstream rock and metalHeavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
with his other band Faith No More
Faith No More
Faith No More is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed originally as Faith No Man in 1981 by bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist Wade Worthington, vocalist Michael Morris and drummer Mike Bordin. A year later when Worthington was replaced by keyboardist Roddy Bottum, and Mike...
, which ultimately helped secure Mr. Bungle a record deal with Warner Bros. The band released a self-titled album (produced by John Zorn
John Zorn
John Zorn is an American avant-garde composer, arranger, record producer, saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist. Zorn is a prolific artist: he has hundreds of album credits as performer, composer, or producer...
) in 1991, followed by the highly surreal Disco Volante
Disco Volante
Disco Volante is a 1995 album by the band Mr. Bungle. It is by far the most experimental of all their productions, as it picks up inspirations from a wide variety of musical styles, including death metal, techno, '50s space age pop, musique concrète and Italian avant-garde...
in 1995. Their final album was California
California (Mr. Bungle album)
California is the final studio album by the band Mr. Bungle.Going by credits alone, Mike Patton contributed more to this album than any other member of the band. Additionally, it is also the most Patton had contributed to any Mr. Bungle album in terms of songwriting.It was supposed to be released...
. As a multi-instrumentalist, Bär provided a distinct style both as a player and songwriter, most notably on Mr. Bungle's final album, California. The album takes inspiration from Burt Bacharach
Burt Bacharach
Burt F. Bacharach is an American pianist, composer and music producer. He is known for his popular hit songs and compositions from the mid-1950s through the 1980s, with lyrics written by Hal David. Many of their hits were produced specifically for, and performed by, Dionne Warwick...
and The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California. The group was initially composed of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in 1962...
, influences close to Bär's heart. The album allowed more freedom for all members of Bungle in the songwriting process.
California blended lounge
Lounge music
Lounge music is a retrospective description of music popular in the 1950s and 1960s. It is a type of mood music meant to evoke in the listeners the feeling of being in a place — a jungle, an island paradise, outer space, et cetera — other than where they are listening to it...
, pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
, thrash metal
Thrash metal
Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
, Hawaiian, Middle Eastern
Middle Eastern music
The music of Western Asia and North Africa spans across a vast region, from Morocco to Afghanistan, and its influences can be felt even further afield. Middle Eastern music influenced the music of India, as well as Central Asia, Spain, Southern Italy, the Caucasus and the Balkans, as in chalga...
, kecak
Kecak
Kecak is a form of Balinese dance and music drama, originated in the 1930s Bali and is performed primarily by men, although a few women's kecak groups exist as of 2006....
and avant-garde music
Avant-garde music
Avant-garde music is a term used to characterize music which is thought to be ahead of its time, i.e. containing innovative elements or fusing different genres....
. The band did 5 tours to support this record. For the most part, perhaps with the exception of the Sno-Core 2000 tour where they were often booed, the band did have success attracting an audience.
Umläut
Clinton's brainchild Umläut are currently recording an album slated for release in February 2009. Mike Patton has contributed vocals to one of the tracks entitled "Atlas Face". Umläut is the culmination of years of work for McKinnon, after moving to Melbourne, Australia. The current lineup includes vibraphone and keyboards as well as Bär on saxophone and flute.They have been heavily cited as a rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
band without the rock.
Mr. Bungle
- 1989 - OU818 (demo)
- 1991 - Mr. BungleMr. Bungle (album)Mr. Bungle is the 1991 self-titled album by Mr. Bungle. The album contains many genre shifts which are typical of the band, and helped increase the band's popularity, gaining them a reasonable following and fanbase...
- 1995 - Disco VolanteDisco VolanteDisco Volante is a 1995 album by the band Mr. Bungle. It is by far the most experimental of all their productions, as it picks up inspirations from a wide variety of musical styles, including death metal, techno, '50s space age pop, musique concrète and Italian avant-garde...
- 1999 - CaliforniaCalifornia (Mr. Bungle album)California is the final studio album by the band Mr. Bungle.Going by credits alone, Mike Patton contributed more to this album than any other member of the band. Additionally, it is also the most Patton had contributed to any Mr. Bungle album in terms of songwriting.It was supposed to be released...
Secret Chiefs 3
- First Grand Constitution and BylawsFirst Grand Constitution and BylawsFirst Grand Constitution and Bylaws is the first studio album by Secret Chiefs 3. It was released in 1996.-Track listing:#"Ana'l Haqq"- :22#"Adept Chamber of the Magian Tavern – Altar to the Master Chief"- 1:11#"Inn of 3 Doors"- 1:22...
(1996, Amarillo Records) - Second Grand Constitution and Bylaws: Hurqalya (1998, Amarillo Records)
- Eyes of Flesh, Eyes of FlameEyes of Flesh, Eyes of FlameEyes of Flesh, Eyes of Flame is a live album by Secret Chiefs 3, recorded August 18, 1998 and rereleased in 2007. Recorded live at their performance at Slims in San Francisco on August 18, 1998, this CD features the 1998 touring incarnation of Secret Chiefs 3, Trey Spruance, Danny Heifetz, Eyvind...
live album (1999, Web of Mimicry) - Book MBook MBook M is the third studio album by Secret Chiefs 3, released in 2001. The album is centered around the theme of the Holy Grail, and the artwork consists of several layers of ciphers and alchemical symbols.- Track listing :...
(2001, Web of Mimicry) - First Grand Constitution and Bylaws Remastered (2000, Web of Mimicry)
- Second Grand Constitution and Bylaws: Hurqalya Remastered (2000, Web of Mimicry)
Songwriting credits
- 1991 - Mr. BungleMr. Bungle (album)Mr. Bungle is the 1991 self-titled album by Mr. Bungle. The album contains many genre shifts which are typical of the band, and helped increase the band's popularity, gaining them a reasonable following and fanbase...
- 1995 - Disco VolanteDisco VolanteDisco Volante is a 1995 album by the band Mr. Bungle. It is by far the most experimental of all their productions, as it picks up inspirations from a wide variety of musical styles, including death metal, techno, '50s space age pop, musique concrète and Italian avant-garde...
- Untitled
- "After School Special" (words: Dunn/McKinnon/Patton, music: McKinnon) – 2:47
- "The Bends" (music: Patton/McKinnon/Spruance) - 10:28
- "Man Overboard"
- "The Drowning Flute"
- "Aqua Swing"
- "Follow the Bubbles"
- "Duet for Guitar and Oxygen Tank"
- "Nerve Damage"
- "Screaming Bends"
- "Panic in Blue"
- "Love on the Event Horizon"
- "Re-Entry"
- 1999 - CaliforniaCalifornia (Mr. Bungle album)California is the final studio album by the band Mr. Bungle.Going by credits alone, Mike Patton contributed more to this album than any other member of the band. Additionally, it is also the most Patton had contributed to any Mr. Bungle album in terms of songwriting.It was supposed to be released...
- 1999 - California
- "The Air-Conditioned Nightmare" (words: Patton music: Patton/McKinnon) - 3:55
- "Goodbye Sober Day" (words: Patton music: Patton/McKinnon) - 4:29
Guest appearances
- Ray's Vast Basement - On the Banks of the Time (1998)
- Carl Hancock RuxCarl Hancock RuxCarl Hancock Rux is an award winning writer and performer; former Head of the MFA Writing for Performance Program at the California Institute of the Arts and has taught or been in residence at University of California–San Diego, Stanford University, University of Massachusetts Amherst,...
- Rux RevueRux RevueRux Revue is the debut album by Carl Hancock Rux, released by Sony 550 Records and produced in Los Angeles by the Dust Brothers;Tom Rothrock and Rob Schnapf; featuring drummers Joey Waronker and James Gadson; bassists Atom Ellis and Carol Kaye; keyboardist James Hall and bass guitarist Wah-Wah...
(1998) - Melt-BananaMelt-BananaMelt-Banana is a Japanese punk band that is known for playing extremely fast noise music mixed with experimental electronica and pop-based song structures. They have worked with artists as diverse as Merzbow, John Zorn, Mike Patton, and Discordance Axis...
- CharlieCharlieCharlie is a common nickname for Charles and less commonly for Charlotte or Charlene.Charlie may also refer to:- Music :* Charlie , a British rock band in the 1970s and 1980s...
(1998) (with Mr. BungleMr. BungleMr. Bungle was an experimental band from Northern California. The band was formed in 1985 while the members were still in high school and was named after a children's educational film. Mr. Bungle released four demo tapes in the mid to late 1980s before being signed to Warner Bros. Records and...
) - Eyvind KangEyvind KangEyvindur Kang , only child of Charles Shin-Chul Kang and Kristjana Gunnars, is an American composer, violinist, tuba, and erhu player...
- The Story of IcelandThe Story of IcelandThe Story of Iceland is an album of modern chamber music in multiple styles by violinist and multi-instrumentalist Eyvind Kang, accompanied by a large ensemble that includes guitarist Bill Frisell.- Track listing :...
[Tzadik] (2000) - Barefoot Hockey Goalie - One Part Thomas Edison
- Rhymes, Rituals & Rhythms - LakotaLakota (band)Lakota was an American melodic rock band that existed from 2002 until 2006.-History:The group was formed in Queens, New York in 2002 by former Black Army Jacket bassist, Carlos Ramirez, when he met singer/guitarist Kayne Konecny after he auditioned for another band he was playing in. The two...
(1994)