
singer-songwriter
, multi-instrumentalist
, producer
, and actor
, best known as the lead singer of the metal/experimental rock band Faith No More
. He has also sung for Mr. Bungle
(which preceded his involvement with FNM), Tomahawk
, Fantômas
, Lovage
, The Dillinger Escape Plan
and Peeping Tom
.
Known for his eclectic influences and experimental projects, Patton has earned critical praise for his vocals; which touch on crooning, falsetto
, screaming
, opera
, death growls, rapping
, mouth music
, beatboxing
, and scatting, among other techniques.
Puffy's the only guy who's jealous. "All drummers want to be singers. I think it's a myth that the singer needs to be the focus. Bands perpetuate that myth. With somebody like Sebastian Bach it makes sense. Look at him. He could be in an Avon ad.
It's (RV) about a slob sitting around who doesn't do anything. I kind of identify with it.
Big Jim is over and out, as far as I am concerned.
Trey Spruance didn't want to tour for ages. And Dean Menta has always been our guitar-roadie during Angel Dust, and I remember him playing fantastically during soundchecks. During each gig, he was watching from the side of the stage, seeing Big Jim play stuff that he could play better.
There's a lot of positive stuff to say about him... Why can't I think of any now? (laughs) Oh, here's something positive: Big Jim's best trait of character was that he has always been himself... which was his worst trait of character at the same time.
Oh, have you seen Beavis and Butt-Head when they watch one of our videos and Beavis goes: 'These guys sound just like the Chili Peppers?' As if I haven't heard that one before!"
Recently, a girl chained herself to me with hand-cuffs after a gig, just because I refused to talk to her. I politely declined, though. I am a well-bred boy. I don't want to be too specific, but... it got pretty ugly.
Despite the aural onslaught, King (For A Day) is not an assault I think it's us being us, more than anything. I think we finally had the resources to be us on this record.
Revenge is good. I think revenge is healthy too, and if you can use music in that way, a sort of therapeutic way for yourself, it can't do any harm. So if King (For A Day...Fool For A Lifetime) is angry in any way, it's angry in a random, chaotic, healthy way. Like the guy who goes into a building, shoots a bunch of holes in the wall and then leaves. He didn't kill anybody.
We just wanna be the happy bums that we are. That's all.
singer-songwriter
, multi-instrumentalist
, producer
, and actor
, best known as the lead singer of the metal/experimental rock band Faith No More
. He has also sung for Mr. Bungle
(which preceded his involvement with FNM), Tomahawk
, Fantômas
, Lovage
, The Dillinger Escape Plan
and Peeping Tom
.
Known for his eclectic influences and experimental projects, Patton has earned critical praise for his vocals; which touch on crooning, falsetto
, screaming
, opera
, death growls, rapping
, mouth music
, beatboxing
, and scatting, among other techniques. Critic Greg Prato writes, "Patton could very well be one of the most versatile and talented singers in rock music." While commenting on Patton's extended and diverse music groups, Allmusic called him "a complete and utter musical visionary and a mind-blowing and standard-warping genius."
He has many producer or co-producer credits with artists such as John Zorn
, Sepultura
, Melvins, Melt-Banana
and Kool Keith
. He co-founded Ipecac Recordings
with Greg Werckman
in 1999, and has run the label since.
Early years
Patton was born and raised in Eureka, California, where he and his friends (including fellow long-time members Trey Spruance
and Trevor Dunn
) formed Mr. Bungle
circa 1984. During the late 80s they recorded the cassette-only demos The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny, Goddammit I Love America, Bowel of Chiley and OU818 (featuring tracks that would appear on their first Warner Brothers album).
Joining Faith No More
Patton joined Faith No Morein January 1989 and filled the vocal void left by the recently-fired Chuck Mosley, who moved on to the band Cement.
Faith No More's The Real Thing
was released later the same year. The album reached the top ten on the charts thanks largely to MTV's
heavy rotation of the "Epic
" music video
(which featured Patton in a T-shirt promoting his own band Mr. Bungle).
In the United States, Faith No More would not again match the commercial success of The Real Thing. After three more studio albums (Angel Dust, King for a Day... Fool for a Lifetime
, and Album of the Year) Faith No More officially disbanded in 1998.
When interviewed about his lyrical content with Faith No More, Patton responded, "I think that too many people think too much about my lyrics. I am more a person who works more with the sound of a word than with its meaning. Often I just choose the words because of the rhythm not because of the meaning".
Mr. Bungle and Beyond
During his time in Faith No More, Patton continued to work with Mr. Bungle. His success in mainstream rock and metal ultimately helped secure Mr. Bungle a record deal with Warner Bros.The band released a self-titled album (produced by John Zorn) in 1991, and the experimental Disco Volante
in 1995. Their final album, California
, was released in 1999.
Patton's other projects included two solo albums in the Composer Series on John Zorn's Tzadik label (Adult Themes for Voice
in 1996 and Pranzo Oltranzista
in 1997). He is a member of Hemophiliac
, in which he performs vocal effects along with John Zorn on saxophone and Ikue Mori
on laptop
electronics. This group is billed as "improvisational music from the outer reaches of madness". He has also guested on Painkiller
and Naked City
recordings. He has appeared many times on other Tzadik releases with Zorn and others.
In 1998, Patton formed the avant-garde metal supergroup Fantômas
with Buzz Osbourne (of The Melvins
), Trevor Dunn
(of Mr. Bungle
), and Dave Lombardo
of Slayer
. They have released four studio albums. The band is still together as of July 2011.
There have been several projects over the years featuring Patton that have not been officially released, although some live bootlegs do circulate. These projects include House of Discipline (with Bob Ostertag
and Otomo Yoshihide), Moonraker (with Agata Ichirou of Melt-Banana
, Buckethead
and DJ Eddie Def), Christian Fennesz and Mike Patton, and Patton & Rahzel. Patton contributed vocals to the Team Sleep
song Kool-Aid Party, but the song did not make it onto the final album.

and the beat boxer
Rahzel
on her album, Medúlla
.
In 2005, Patton signed on to compose the soundtrack for the independent movie Pinion, marking his debut scoring an American feature-length film. However, this had been held up in production and may be on the shelf permanently. His other film work includes portraying two major characters in the Steve Balderson
film Firecracker
. He has also expressed his desire to compose for film director David Lynch
.
In February 2006, Mike Patton performed an operatic piece, composed by Eyvind Kang, at Teatro di Modena in Italy. Patton sang alongside vocalist Jessika Kinney, and was accompanied by the Modern Brass Ensemble, Bologna Chamber Choir, and Alberto Capelli and Walter Zanetti on electric and acoustic guitars. Patton remarked that it was extremely challenging to project the voice without a microphone.
Patton's Peeping Tom album was released on May 30, 2006 on his own Ipecac label. The set was pieced together by swapping song files through the mail with collaborators like Norah Jones
, Kool Keith
and Massive Attack
, Odd Nosdam
, Jel
, Doseone
, Bebel Gilberto
, Kid Koala
, and Dub Trio
.
In May 2007 he performed with an orchestra a few concerts in Italy, by the name of Mondo Cane
, singing Italian oldies from the 50s and the 60s.
Mike also provided the voices of the monsters in the 2007 film I Am Legend
starring Will Smith
.
He is regarded as very hard-working. Faith No More keyboardist Roddy Bottum
remarked about Patton "caffeine is the only drug he does", in reference to the Faith No More song "Caffeine" from the album Angel Dust, which Patton wrote while in the middle of a sleep-deprivation experiment. He also worked on the Derrick Scocchera short film "A Perfect Place" for the score/soundtrack, which is longer than the film itself.
In December 2008 along with Melvins, Patton co-curated an edition of the All Tomorrow's Parties
Nightmare Before Christmas festival. Patton chose half of the lineup and performed the album The Director's Cut
in its entirety with Fantômas. Patton also appeared as Rikki Kixx in the Adult Swim
show Metalocalypse
in a special 2 part episode on August 24.
In 2009 Patton created the soundtrack to the movie Crank: High Voltage. He also performed vocals on the track "Lost Weekend" by The Qemists
.
On May 4, 2010 Mondo Cane
, where Patton worked live with a 30-piece orchestra, was released by Ipecac Recordings. The album was co-produced and arranged by Daniele Luppi.
"Recorded at a series of European performances including an outdoor concert in a Northern Italian piazza, the CD features traditional Italian pop songs as well as a rendition of Ennio Morricone
's 'Deep Down'."
Video game involvement
Patton is known to be an avid video game player. In 2007, he provided the voice of the eponymous force in the video game The Darkness, working alongside Kirk Acevedo
, Lauren Ambrose and Dwight Schultz
. Record label Ipecac Recordings
have confirmed he will reprise the role in The Darkness II in 2012.
He also had a minor role in Valve Corporation
's 2007 release Portal as the voice of the Anger Sphere in the final confrontation with the insane supercomputer, GLaDOS. He has another role in the Valve title Left 4 Dead
, voicing the majority of the infected zombies. He also voiced Nathan "Rad" Spencer, the main character in Capcom
's 2009 video game Bionic Commando, a sequel of their classic NES title.
Faith No More reunion
In February 2009, Faith No More announced that they were reforming for a tour and possibly new material, first as a footnote on a blurb for Patton's score for Crank: High Voltage and later as an official announcement on fnm.com. Their first gig on the road again was at the Brixton O2 Academy in London, where 1990's Live at the Brixton Academy was recorded, on June 10, 2009. They have played as one of three headliners at The Download Festival 2009, in Castle Donington, which was Faith No More's first time at the festival. At the festival they covered "Poker Face" by Lady Gaga
with Patton embellishing her vocal style with a beat-box effect. Bassist Billy Gould has also stated that an American tour is "not out of the question". In June 2009 Faith No More announced that they will be headlining the NME stage at Reading & Leeds festival. On July 4, Faith No More performed a concert together at the Open'er festival
in Kosakowo Airport near Gdynia, Poland.
Faith No More also played the large Roskilde Festival
near the city of Roskilde, Denmark. Faith No More also performed in Portugal
in Optimus Alive'10, where Mike Patton sang one song, "Evidence", completely in Portuguese. They had already played the same song completely in Italian on June 14, 2009, at the Rock in Idro Festival in Milan
. 12 August 2009 was the date for FNM's first Turkish live appreance in Istanbul
. Faith No More headlined the Australian Soundwave Festival in 2010. On the 27th of August 2009, Faith No More played in the Olympia Theatre in Dublin, Ireland
and were supported by local band Adebisi Shank.
On September 1, 2009 Faith No More played at Israel Trade Fairs & Convention Center in Tel Aviv, Israel, supported by Monotonix
and Dinosaur Jr. August 2009 Faith No More headlined the Radio 1/NME Stage at both Leeds & Reading Festival where they played the theme tune to popular UK Soap Eastenders as part of their setlist.
Most of the summer shows started with a cover of the song "Reunited" by Peaches & Herb
.
Faith No More
perfome in Santiago de Chile on 5th of December along with Primus
, on their last performance live, as part of his farewell Tour. A day before, he played on Teleton Chile.
Faith No More is still together as of July 2011.
Recently, Faith No More played the Chilean Rock Concert Maquinaria on the 12th and 13th of November of the present year. At 15th November, they lined up the stage on SWU Festival.
Reactions to fame

, he stated: "It's hard to see as much as you'd like to with our schedule on the road, but it's harder to do coke and fuck whores every night. Now that's a full time job." His attitude towards popular music is also evident in his songwriting, as Allmusic critic Cammila Albertson writes: "When Patton sings 'Roll it up and smoke it again/Bottoms up and drink it again/ Fix it up and shoot it again/ I can't believe I did it again,' (Mojo by Peeping Tom
) he is keenly aware of the way it sounds for such an avant-garde composer as himself to recite perfect rock & roll cliches. His lyrics mock the self-important coolness of the music industry and self parody his own place in it." His contempt for the over-the-top antics of figures in popular music is often cited as the main reason that Patton has always been so guarded about his privacy and personal life. On the other hand, Mike Patton has stated that he enjoyed his time in Faith No More
:
Personal life
Patton married Italian artist Titi Zuccatosta in 1994. They separated in 2001. During an appearance on the radio show, LOVELINE (Listen), Patton said that it was a case of two people wanting different things and hinted that his excessive work habits may have been a factor. "It's very hard. It's a daily struggle", he commented in regards to the rigors of juggling a busy music career and a marriage. "It had to happen... Even though we knew each other really well when we got married, it doesn't get easier." He later added, "We're trying this. See what happens. There's still hope." Patton used to own a home in Bologna, Italy(which he sold around the time of the break-up), and speaks fluent Italian. He was interviewed by music journalist Lucas H. Gordon and the answers were given by Patton in Italian.
Patton's right hand is permanently numb from an on-stage incident during his third concert with Faith No More, where he accidentally cut himself on a broken bottle and severed the tendons and nerves in his hand. He can use his hand, but he has no feeling in it (despite his doctor telling him the opposite would happen).
Filmography
- 1990 - Live at the Brixton Academy, London: You Fat Bastards by Faith No MoreFaith No MoreFaith 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...
(VHSVHSThe Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
) - 1993 - Video CroissantVideo CroissantVideo Croissant was Faith No More's second VHS release. It was released in 1993, and features most of the band's music videos. On different versions of the tape you can obtain all of the music videos from that period....
by Faith No MoreFaith No MoreFaith 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...
(VHSVHSThe Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
) - 1993 - Video MacumbaVideo MacumbaVideo Macumba is a sexual scatology, nonsense and brutal violence film compilation edited by Mike Patton around 1991/1992. Patton sent the VHS tape to João Gordo , Max Cavalera and a Brazilian journalist shortly after they become friends during the tour with Faith No More in Brazil...
- Short film compiled by Mike Patton containing abstract and extreme footage - 1998 - Who Cares a Lot: Greatest VideosWho Cares A Lot: Greatest VideosWho Cares a Lot? The Greatest Videos is the VHS version of Faith No More greatest hits album Who Cares a Lot?. It contains almost all of the band's music videos , a new live video , and behind-the-scenes interviews and footage, most of which was taken from a previous video release, Video...
by Faith No MoreFaith No MoreFaith 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...
(VHSVHSThe Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
) - 2002 - A Bookshelf on Top of the Sky: 12 Stories About John ZornA Bookshelf on Top of the Sky: 12 Stories About John ZornA Bookshelf on Top of the Sky: 12 Stories About John Zorn is a documentary film on avant garde composer and musician John Zorn directed by Claudia Heuermann. It features performances of a range of Zorn's music and includes appearances by Joey Baron, Greg Cohen, Dave Douglas, Fred Frith, Ikue Mori,...
- 2004 - The Inner or Deep Part of an Animal or Plant StructureThe Inner or Deep Part of an Animal or Plant StructureThe Inner or Deep Part of an Animal or Plant Structure is an official DVD released by Björk on August 31, 2004. It is a 45 minute film about the making of the Medúlla album...
by BjörkBjörkBjörk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk... - 2004 - Wamego: Making Movies Anywhere - Documentary on the making of FirecrackerFirecracker (2005 film)Firecracker is a 2005 thriller film directed by Steve Balderson, starring Karen Black and Mike Patton of Faith No More.-Synopsis:Firecracker is a tale of murder in small town Wamego, Kansas. The film portrays abuse, suffering, denial, and dreams of escape...
- 2005 - FirecrackerFirecracker (2005 film)Firecracker is a 2005 thriller film directed by Steve Balderson, starring Karen Black and Mike Patton of Faith No More.-Synopsis:Firecracker is a tale of murder in small town Wamego, Kansas. The film portrays abuse, suffering, denial, and dreams of escape...
- Frank/David - 2006 - Live at the Brixton Academy, London: You Fat Bastards/Who Cares a Lot?: The Greatest VideosLive At The Brixton Academy, London: You Fat Bastards/Who Cares A Lot?: The Greatest VideosLive at the Brixton Academy, London: You Fat Bastards/Who Cares A Lot?: Greatest Videos is a compilation of Faith No More's two previously released VHS tapes, put together in a 2-disc set by Rhino Records-Disc one:...
by Faith No MoreFaith No MoreFaith 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...
(double disc DVD compilation of previously released VHS titles) - 2007 - Kaada/Patton LiveKaada/Patton Live (dvd)Kaada/Patton Live is a DVD of the collaboration between Mike Patton and John Kaada that was released on November 20, 2007. The DVD features a live performance of the music from the album Romances from Roskilde Festival 2005...
- Live performance DVD - 2007 - I Am LegendI Am Legend (film)I Am Legend is a 2007 post-apocalyptic science fiction film directed by Francis Lawrence and starring Will Smith. It is the third feature film adaptation of Richard Matheson's 1954 novel of the same name, following 1964's The Last Man on Earth and 1971's The Omega Man. Smith plays virologist Robert...
- Creature Vocals (voice) (credited as Michael A. Patton)http://www.ipecac.com/news.php - 2008 - A Perfect PlaceA Perfect PlaceA Perfect Place is a black-and-white tragic comedy short directed, produced, and written by Derrick Scocchera starring Mark Boone Junior and Bill Moseley, first released on 2 February 2008 at the Lake County Film Festival...
- Short film soundtrack by Patton (Released with film as CD/DVD special edition) - 2008 - Live From London 2006Live from London 2006The Fantômas Melvins Big Band is a DVD of the collaboration between Fantômas and The Melvins that was released on August 26, 2008.- Track listing :# "Sacrifice" # "Page 27"...
- Live DVD release of a performance by the Fantomas Melvins Big Band in LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
on May 1, 2006 - 2008 - MetalocalypseMetalocalypseMetalocalypse is an American animated television series, created by Brendon Small and Tommy Blacha, which premiered on August 6, 2006 on Adult Swim...
- Patton voices the character of reformed rocker Rikki Kixx on episodes "Snakes N Barrels II" part one and part two. This special 2 part, half hour presentation aired on The Cartoon Network August 24, 2008. - 2009 - Crank: High Voltage - Film Score
- 2010 - BunrakuBunraku (film)Bunraku is a 2011 martial-arts action film written and directed by Guy Moshe based on a story by Boaz Davidson. The film stars Josh Hartnett, Demi Moore, Woody Harrelson, Ron Perlman, Kevin McKidd, and Gackt and follows a young drifter in his quest for revenge.The title Bunraku is derived from a...
- Narrator
Video games
- 2007 - The DarknessThe Darkness (video game)The Darkness is a first-person shooter video game, developed by Starbreeze Studios and published by 2K Games for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. It was released on June 25, 2007 in North America and on June 20, 2007 in Europe. The video game is based on the comic book of the same title...
- Voice of The Darkness (Starbreeze Studios) - 2007 - Portal - Voice of the Anger Sphere (Valve Software)
- 2008 - Left 4 DeadLeft 4 DeadLeft 4 Dead is a cooperative first-person shooter video game. It was developed by Turtle Rock Studios, which was purchased by Valve Corporation during development. The game uses Valve's proprietary Source engine, and is available for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360 and Mac OS X...
- Infected voices (Valve Software) - 2009 - Bionic CommandoBionic Commando (sequel)Bionic Commando is a 2009 action-platform video game, part of the Bionic Commando series. The game was developed and published by Capcom in collaboration with Swedish developer GRIN and produced by Ben Judd. The game is a sequel to the 1988 NES version of Bionic Commando and its remake Bionic...
- Voice of Nathan Spencer - the Bionic Commando (Capcom) - 2009 - Left 4 Dead 2Left 4 Dead 2Left 4 Dead 2 is a cooperative first-person shooter video game. It is the sequel to Valve Corporation's award-winning Left 4 Dead. The game launched on November 17, 2009, for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 in the United States and November 20 in Europe; in 2010, Left 4 Dead 2 was made available to...
- Infected voices (Valve Software) - 2012 - The Darkness 2 - Voice of The Darkness (Digital Extremes)