Mike Patton
Overview
Michael Allan "Mike" Patton (born January 27, 1968) is an American
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.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
, multi-instrumentalist
Multi-instrumentalist
A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays a number of different instruments.The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument to be learned , but people who double on another instrument are not usually seen as multi-instrumentalists.-Classical music:Music written for Symphony...
, producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, best known as the lead singer of the metal/experimental rock 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...
. He has also sung for 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...
(which preceded his involvement with FNM), Tomahawk
Tomahawk (band)
Tomahawk is an experimental alternative metal/alternative rock supergroup from the United States. They formed in 2000 when Fantômas, ex-Mr. Bungle and Faith No More singer/keyboardist Mike Patton and ex-The Jesus Lizard guitar player Duane Denison started swapping tapes with the intention of...
, Fantômas
Fantômas (band)
Fantômas is an avant-garde metal supergroup formed in 1998 in California, United States. The band is named after Fantômas, a supervillain featured in a series of crime novels popular in France before World War I and in film, most notably in the 60s French movie series.-History:Fantômas began just...
, Lovage
Lovage (band)
Lovage is a collaborative project headed by Dan the Automator, under his pseudonym "Nathaniel Merriweather" . The album is called Music to Make Love to Your Old Lady By, which was created in team with Mike Patton and Jennifer Charles, who both provide vocals...
, The Dillinger Escape Plan
The Dillinger Escape Plan
The Dillinger Escape Plan is an American mathcore band from Morris Plains, New Jersey. The group originated in 1997 after the disbanding of Arcane, a hardcore punk trio consisting of Ben Weinman, Dimitri Minakakis, and Chris Pennie. The band's current line-up consists of guitarist Ben Weinman,...
and Peeping Tom
Peeping Tom (band)
Peeping Tom is a rock band led by Mike Patton. To date, they have released one eponymous album and two singles. Patton has enough material written for the project to possibly record two more albums.-Artists who have played with Peeping Tom:*Rahzel...
.
Known for his eclectic influences and experimental projects, Patton has earned critical praise for his vocals; which touch on crooning, falsetto
Falsetto
Falsetto is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous edges of the vocal folds, in whole or in part...
, screaming
Screaming (music)
Screaming is a vocal technique that is most popular in subgenres of heavy metal, punk and hard rock, including metalcore, deathcore, post-hardcore, groove metal, black metal, and grindcore...
, opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
, death growls, rapping
Rapping
Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
, mouth music
Puirt à beul
Puirt a beul is a traditional form of song native to Scotland, Ireland, and Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia.-Name:The Scottish Gaelic for such a tune is port à beul: "a tune from a mouth—specifically a cheerful tune—which in the plural becomes puirt à beul...
, beatboxing
Beatboxing
Beatboxing is a form of vocal percussion primarily involving the art of producing drum beats, rhythm, and musical sounds using one's mouth, lips, tongue, and voice. It may also involve singing, vocal imitation of turntablism, and the simulation of horns, strings, and other musical instruments...
, and scatting, among other techniques.
Quotations
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.
Guitar Magazine, September 1992.
It's (RV) about a slob sitting around who doesn't do anything. I kind of identify with it.
Guitar Magazine, September 1992.
Big Jim is over and out, as far as I am concerned.
"Dangerous Jokers" - (Nieuwe Revu, 17-24 May 1995)
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.
"Dangerous Jokers" - (Nieuwe Revu, 17-24 May 1995)
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.
"Dangerous Jokers" - (Nieuwe Revu, 17-24 May 1995)
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!"
"Dangerous Jokers" - (Nieuwe Revu, 17-24 May 1995)
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.
"Dangerous Jokers" - (Nieuwe Revu, 17-24 May 1995)
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.
"Faith No More" - (CMJ New Music Monthly, April 1995)
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.
"Faith No More" - (CMJ New Music Monthly, April 1995)
We just wanna be the happy bums that we are. That's all.
"Faith No More" - (CMJ New Music Monthly, April 1995)
Encyclopedia
Michael Allan "Mike" Patton (born January 27, 1968) is an American
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.
, 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).
in 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".
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.
In 2004, Patton worked with Björk
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'."
, 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.
" 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.
Patton has garnered critical praise and has been made a heavy metal icon; however, Patton's reaction to this fame has been unconventional. He has acted irreverently towards the music industry, and expressed his distaste for the infamous lifestyles of rock stars. In a 1995 interview with the San Francisco Chronicle
, 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
:
(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).
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
, multi-instrumentalist
Multi-instrumentalist
A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays a number of different instruments.The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument to be learned , but people who double on another instrument are not usually seen as multi-instrumentalists.-Classical music:Music written for Symphony...
, producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, best known as the lead singer of the metal/experimental rock 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...
. He has also sung for 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...
(which preceded his involvement with FNM), Tomahawk
Tomahawk (band)
Tomahawk is an experimental alternative metal/alternative rock supergroup from the United States. They formed in 2000 when Fantômas, ex-Mr. Bungle and Faith No More singer/keyboardist Mike Patton and ex-The Jesus Lizard guitar player Duane Denison started swapping tapes with the intention of...
, Fantômas
Fantômas (band)
Fantômas is an avant-garde metal supergroup formed in 1998 in California, United States. The band is named after Fantômas, a supervillain featured in a series of crime novels popular in France before World War I and in film, most notably in the 60s French movie series.-History:Fantômas began just...
, Lovage
Lovage (band)
Lovage is a collaborative project headed by Dan the Automator, under his pseudonym "Nathaniel Merriweather" . The album is called Music to Make Love to Your Old Lady By, which was created in team with Mike Patton and Jennifer Charles, who both provide vocals...
, The Dillinger Escape Plan
The Dillinger Escape Plan
The Dillinger Escape Plan is an American mathcore band from Morris Plains, New Jersey. The group originated in 1997 after the disbanding of Arcane, a hardcore punk trio consisting of Ben Weinman, Dimitri Minakakis, and Chris Pennie. The band's current line-up consists of guitarist Ben Weinman,...
and Peeping Tom
Peeping Tom (band)
Peeping Tom is a rock band led by Mike Patton. To date, they have released one eponymous album and two singles. Patton has enough material written for the project to possibly record two more albums.-Artists who have played with Peeping Tom:*Rahzel...
.
Known for his eclectic influences and experimental projects, Patton has earned critical praise for his vocals; which touch on crooning, falsetto
Falsetto
Falsetto is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous edges of the vocal folds, in whole or in part...
, screaming
Screaming (music)
Screaming is a vocal technique that is most popular in subgenres of heavy metal, punk and hard rock, including metalcore, deathcore, post-hardcore, groove metal, black metal, and grindcore...
, opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
, death growls, rapping
Rapping
Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
, mouth music
Puirt à beul
Puirt a beul is a traditional form of song native to Scotland, Ireland, and Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia.-Name:The Scottish Gaelic for such a tune is port à beul: "a tune from a mouth—specifically a cheerful tune—which in the plural becomes puirt à beul...
, beatboxing
Beatboxing
Beatboxing is a form of vocal percussion primarily involving the art of producing drum beats, rhythm, and musical sounds using one's mouth, lips, tongue, and voice. It may also involve singing, vocal imitation of turntablism, and the simulation of horns, strings, and other musical instruments...
, 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
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...
, Sepultura
Sepultura
Sepultura is a Brazilian heavy metal band from Belo Horizonte, formed in 1984. The band was a major force in the death metal, thrash metal and ultimately groove metal realms during the late 1980s and early 1990s, with their later experiments melding nu metal, hardcore punk and industrial.Sepultura...
, Melvins, 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...
and Kool Keith
Kool Keith
Keith Matthew Thornton, better known by his stage name Kool Keith, is an American rapper from The Bronx, New York. A founding member of Ultramagnetic MCs, Kool Keith has recorded prolifically both as a solo artist and in group collaborations. Kool Keith is the self-proclaimed inventor of...
. He co-founded Ipecac Recordings
Ipecac Recordings
Ipecac Recordings is an independent record label based in California. It was founded on April 1, 1999 by Greg Werckman and Mike Patton Ipecac Recordings is an independent record label based in California. It was founded on April 1, 1999 by Greg Werckman (ex-label manager of Alternative Tentacles,...
with Greg Werckman
Greg Werckman
Greg Werckman lives in a suburb in Northern California, was the lead singer of the band Duh! and operates Ipecac Recordings from a backyard cottage, which was launched in 1999 with former Faith No More frontman Mike Patton...
in 1999, and has run the label since.
Early years
Patton was born and raised in Eureka, CaliforniaEureka, California
Eureka is the principal city and the county seat of Humboldt County, California, United States. Its population was 27,191 at the 2010 census, up from 26,128 at the 2000 census....
, where he and his friends (including fellow long-time members Trey Spruance
Trey Spruance
Preston Lea Spruance III or "Trey Spruance" is an American composer, producer, and musician, perhaps best known as the leader of the multi-genre outfit Secret Chiefs 3 and for his work as guitarist and keyboardist with Mr. Bungle...
and Trevor Dunn
Trevor Dunn
Trevor Roy Dunn is an American composer, bass guitarist and double bassist.Dunn came to prominence in the 1990s with the experimental band Mr. Bungle. He has since worked in an array of musical styles, notably with singer and Mr...
) formed 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...
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 MoreFaith 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...
in 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
The Real Thing (Faith No More album)
The Real Thing is the third studio album by the American rock band Faith No More. It was first released through Slash Records on June 20, 1989. It was the first release by the band not to feature vocalist Chuck Mosley, instead the album featured Mike Patton from the experimental band Mr. Bungle...
was released later the same year. The album reached the top ten on the charts thanks largely to MTV's
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
heavy rotation of the "Epic
Epic (song)
-American release:This version was released in America as a "Slash sticker" labelled 7" and as a cassette with a "Burning Splash" sleeve.-Australian release:The 7" and cassette versions of this release only had tracks 1 & 2, unlike the 12" which featured all 3....
" music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
(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
King for a Day... Fool for a Lifetime
King for a Day... Fool for a Lifetime is the fifth studio album by Faith No More, released in 1995. It was their first album recorded without longtime guitarist Jim Martin. The album showcased a greater variety than the band's usual heavy metal leanings, with Rolling Stone calling the end result a...
, 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.Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
The band released a self-titled album (produced by John Zorn) in 1991, and the experimental 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, 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...
, 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
Adult Themes for Voice
Adult Themes for Voice is an album recorded by Mike Patton in hotel rooms during a Faith No More tour. It consists of vocal noises by Patton himself. The 34 tracks aren't considered singing in any conventional sense, as they consist mainly of Patton shouting, screaming, clapping, squeaking and...
in 1996 and Pranzo Oltranzista
Pranzo Oltranzista
Pranzo Oltranzista is Mike Patton's second solo project. It is subtitled "Musica da Tavola per Cinque" , and is based on "Futurist Cookbook" by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, written in 1932...
in 1997). He is a member of Hemophiliac
Hemophiliac (band)
Hemophiliac is an experimental musical act. This group is billed as improvisational music from the outer reaches of madness. Mike Patton does voice effects along with John Zorn on saxophone and Ikue Mori on laptop electronics.-Discography:...
, in which he performs vocal effects along with John Zorn on saxophone and Ikue Mori
Ikue Mori
, also known as Ikue Ile, is a drummer, composer, and graphic designer.-Biography:Ikue Mori was born and raised in Japan. She says she had little interest in music before hearing punk rock...
on laptop
Laptop
A laptop, also called a notebook, is a personal computer for mobile use. A laptop integrates most of the typical components of a desktop computer, including a display, a keyboard, a pointing device and speakers into a single unit...
electronics. This group is billed as "improvisational music from the outer reaches of madness". He has also guested on Painkiller
Painkiller (band)
Painkiller is a band originally formed in 1991. Their style can be described as a mix of avant-garde jazz and grindcore; later albums also incorporated elements of ambient and dub....
and Naked City
Naked City (band)
Naked City was an avant-garde music group led by saxophonist and composer John Zorn. Active primarily in New York City from 1988 to 1993, Naked City was initiated by Zorn as a "composition workshop" to test the limits of composition in a traditional rock band lineup...
recordings. He has appeared many times on other Tzadik releases with Zorn and others.
In 1998, Patton formed the avant-garde metal supergroup Fantômas
Fantômas (band)
Fantômas is an avant-garde metal supergroup formed in 1998 in California, United States. The band is named after Fantômas, a supervillain featured in a series of crime novels popular in France before World War I and in film, most notably in the 60s French movie series.-History:Fantômas began just...
with Buzz Osbourne (of The Melvins
The Melvins
The Melvins are an American band that formed in 1983. They usually perform as a trio, but in recent years have performed as a four piece with two drummers. Since 1984, singer and guitarist Buzz Osborne and drummer Dale Crover have been the band's constant members...
), Trevor Dunn
Trevor Dunn
Trevor Roy Dunn is an American composer, bass guitarist and double bassist.Dunn came to prominence in the 1990s with the experimental band Mr. Bungle. He has since worked in an array of musical styles, notably with singer and Mr...
(of 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...
), and Dave Lombardo
Dave Lombardo
Dave Lombardo is a Cuban American heavy metal drummer best known for his work with American thrash metal band Slayer. He has performed with Slayer on seven albums, including their groundbreaking 1986 release Reign In Blood and their 2006 release Christ Illusion, for which he received critical praise...
of Slayer
Slayer
Slayer is an American thrash metal band formed in Huntington Park, California, in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. Slayer rose to fame with their 1986 release, Reign in Blood, and is credited as one of the "Big Four" thrash metal acts, along with Metallica, Megadeth and...
. 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
Bob Ostertag
Robert "Bob" Ostertag is an experimental sound artist based in San Francisco.- Early career :...
and Otomo Yoshihide), Moonraker (with Agata Ichirou of 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...
, Buckethead
Buckethead
Brian Carroll , better known by his stage name Buckethead, is a guitarist and multi instrumentalist who has worked within several genres of music. He has released 34 studio albums, four special releases and one EP. He has performed on over 50 more albums by other artists...
and DJ Eddie Def), Christian Fennesz and Mike Patton, and Patton & Rahzel. Patton contributed vocals to the Team Sleep
Team Sleep
Team Sleep is an American experimental alternative rock group led by singer/guitarist Chino Moreno, better known for fronting the Sacramento-based band Deftones....
song Kool-Aid Party, but the song did not make it onto the final album.
Björk
Björk 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...
and the beat boxer
Beatboxing
Beatboxing is a form of vocal percussion primarily involving the art of producing drum beats, rhythm, and musical sounds using one's mouth, lips, tongue, and voice. It may also involve singing, vocal imitation of turntablism, and the simulation of horns, strings, and other musical instruments...
Rahzel
Rahzel
Rahzel M. Brown, also known as simply Rahzel, is an American musician and virtuoso beatboxer, formerly a member of The Roots.Nicknamed the "Godfather of Noyze," Rahzel is known for an ability to sing or rap while simultaneously beatboxing, as evidenced in his performances of "Iron Man" and his...
on her album, Medúlla
Medúlla
Medúlla is the sixth studio album by Icelandic singer, songwriter, and musician Björk, released on August 30, 2004 by Warner Bros. Records and One Little Indian. The title derives from the Latin word for "marrow". The album is almost entirely a cappella and constructed with human vocals...
.
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
Steve Balderson
Stephen Clark Balderson is an American film director.-Early life:Balderson was born in Manhattan, Kansas and raised in nearby Wamego, Kansas until the age of twelve, when his family moved to Manhattan. Balderson attended Manhattan High School. Though his class attendance was poor, Balderson...
film Firecracker
Firecracker (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...
. He has also expressed his desire to compose for film director David Lynch
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...
.
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
Norah Jones
Norah Jones is an American singer-songwriter and occasional actress.In 2002, she launched her solo music career with the release of the commercially successful and critically acclaimed album Come Away With Me, which was certified a diamond album in 2002, selling over 20 million copies...
, Kool Keith
Kool Keith
Keith Matthew Thornton, better known by his stage name Kool Keith, is an American rapper from The Bronx, New York. A founding member of Ultramagnetic MCs, Kool Keith has recorded prolifically both as a solo artist and in group collaborations. Kool Keith is the self-proclaimed inventor of...
and Massive Attack
Massive Attack
Massive Attack are an English DJ and trip hop duo from Bristol, England consisting of Robert "3D" Del Naja and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall. Working with co-producers, as well as various session musicians and guest vocalists, they make records and tour live. The duo are considered to be of the trip...
, Odd Nosdam
Odd Nosdam
Odd Nosdam is a musician, DJ, artist, and co-founder and ex-art director of record label/collective Anticon.Nosdam was first noticed for the drone and warped pop of his former group cLOUDDEAD ; he has worked closely with Mike Patton on his Peeping Tom project and remixed tracks by a variety of...
, Jel
Jel
Jel is a hip hop producer and rapper for the Anticon label. He is a part of the hip hop duo Themselves and is also heavily involved in the bands Subtle and 13 & God.-Style:...
, Doseone
Doseone
Adam Drucker, better known as Doseone , is an American MC, artist, and poet from Idaho. Dose is known for his nasal, high pitched, fast polyrhythmic rapping style and abstract lyrics. He often simultaneously performs synth, sampler, or keyboard on stage. His words tend to express upon topics of...
, Bebel Gilberto
Bebel Gilberto
Bebel Gilberto is a Brazilian popular singer often associated with bossa nova. She is the daughter of João Gilberto and singer Miúcha. Her uncle is singer/composer Chico Buarque...
, Kid Koala
Kid Koala
Eric San , who records under the name Kid Koala, is a Canadian DJ, turntablist, musician and an author of graphic novels. He is signed to the British record label Ninja Tune, is a member of alternative hip hop supergroup Deltron 3030, and The Slew with Dynamite D and former members of the...
, and Dub Trio
Dub Trio
Dub Trio is a dub/rock cross-over band from Brooklyn, New York.-Biography:Dub Trio is DP - Dave Holmes Stu Brooks and Joe Tomino...
.
In May 2007 he performed with an orchestra a few concerts in Italy, by the name of Mondo Cane
Mondo Cane (album)
Mondo Cane is an album by Mike Patton, released on May 4, 2010 through Ipecac Recordings. It features cover versions of 1950s and 1960s Italian pop music, performed by Mike Patton with an orchestra of about 65 people...
, singing Italian oldies from the 50s and the 60s.
Mike also provided the voices of the monsters in the 2007 film I Am Legend
I 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...
starring Will Smith
Will Smith
Willard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. , also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor, producer, and rapper. He has enjoyed success in television, film and music. In April 2007, Newsweek called him the most powerful actor in Hollywood...
.
He is regarded as very hard-working. Faith No More keyboardist Roddy Bottum
Roddy Bottum
Roddy Bottum , is an American musician, best known as the keyboardist for the San Francisco rock band Faith No More...
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
All Tomorrow's Parties (music festival)
All Tomorrow's Parties is a music festival which takes place at Camber Sands holiday camp in East Sussex and Butlin's holiday camp in Minehead, Somerset, England....
Nightmare Before Christmas festival. Patton chose half of the lineup and performed the album The Director's Cut
The Director's Cut
The Director's Cut is an album by Mike Patton's supergroup Fantômas. All the songs are more or less recognizable cover versions of popular movie themes. This album has many more occasions of Patton using traditional vocals than Fantomas's other albums....
in its entirety with Fantômas. Patton also appeared as Rikki Kixx in the Adult Swim
Adult Swim
Adult Swim is an adult-oriented Cable network that shares channel space with Cartoon Network from 9:00 pm until 6:00 am ET/PT in the United States, and broadcasts in countries such as Australia and New Zealand...
show Metalocalypse
Metalocalypse
Metalocalypse is an American animated television series, created by Brendon Small and Tommy Blacha, which premiered on August 6, 2006 on Adult Swim...
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
The Qemists
-Mix albums:-Singles:*React - *Summer Son - *Iron Shirt / Let There Be Light - *Stompbox - *Dem Na Like Me - *Lost Weekend - *On The Run - *Drop Audio - *S.W.A.G...
.
On May 4, 2010 Mondo Cane
Mondo Cane (album)
Mondo Cane is an album by Mike Patton, released on May 4, 2010 through Ipecac Recordings. It features cover versions of 1950s and 1960s Italian pop music, performed by Mike Patton with an orchestra of about 65 people...
, 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
Ennio Morricone
Ennio Morricone, Grand Officer OMRI, , is an Italian composer and conductor, who wrote music to more than 500 motion pictures and television series, in a career lasting over 50 years. His scores have been included in over 20 award-winning films as well as several symphonic and choral pieces...
'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 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...
, working alongside Kirk Acevedo
Kirk Acevedo
Kirk Acevedo is an American actor. He is primarily known for his portrayals of Miguel Alvarez in the HBO series Oz, Joe Toye in Band of Brothers and FBI Agent Charlie Francis in the science-fiction series Fringe....
, Lauren Ambrose and Dwight Schultz
Dwight Schultz
William Dwight Schultz is an American stage, television, film actor, and voice artist. He is best known for his roles as Captain "Howling Mad" Murdock on the 1980s action show The A-Team, and as Reginald Barclay in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Voyager, and the film Star Trek: First...
. Record label Ipecac Recordings
Ipecac Recordings
Ipecac Recordings is an independent record label based in California. It was founded on April 1, 1999 by Greg Werckman and Mike Patton Ipecac Recordings is an independent record label based in California. It was founded on April 1, 1999 by Greg Werckman (ex-label manager of Alternative Tentacles,...
have confirmed he will reprise the role in The Darkness II in 2012.
He also had a minor role in Valve Corporation
Valve Corporation
Valve Corporation is an American video game development and digital distribution company based in Bellevue, Washington, United States...
'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
Left 4 Dead
Left 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...
, voicing the majority of the infected zombies. He also voiced Nathan "Rad" Spencer, the main character in Capcom
Capcom
is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Chaos Legion, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom developed and published Bionic Commando, Lost Planet and Dark Void too, but they are less known. Its...
'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 FacePoker Face (Lady Gaga song)
"Poker Face" is a song by American recording artist Lady Gaga from her debut album, The Fame. Produced by RedOne, it was released as the album's second single in late 2008 for some markets and in early 2009 for the rest of the world...
" by Lady Gaga
Lady GaGa
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to...
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
Open'er Festival
The Heineken Open'er Festival is a music festival which takes place on the North coast of Poland, in Gdynia. The first edition of the festival was organized in Warsaw in 2002 as Open Air Festival. The main organizer of the festival is the concert agency Alter Art, but the performance took its name...
in Kosakowo Airport near Gdynia, Poland.
Faith No More also played the large Roskilde Festival
Roskilde Festival
Roskilde Festival is a festival held south of Roskilde in Denmark and is one of the six biggest annual music festivals in Europe . It was created in 1971 by two high school students, Mogens Sandfær and Jesper Switzer Møller, and promoter Carl Fischer...
near the city of Roskilde, Denmark. Faith No More also performed in Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
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
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
. 12 August 2009 was the date for FNM's first Turkish live appreance in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
. 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
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
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
Monotonix
Monotonix were a garage rock band from Tel Aviv, Israel. They released their debut EP in 2008 and have toured mostly the United States and Europe, including notable now legendary appearances at SXSW...
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
Peaches & Herb
Peaches & Herb was an American vocalist duo, once comprising Herb Fame and Francine "Peaches" Hurd Barker...
.
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...
perfome in Santiago de Chile on 5th of December along with Primus
Primus
-Music, media and entertainment:* Primus , a musical group* Primus , an entity in the fictional Transformers universe* A member of the fictional superhero team The Omega Men...
, 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
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
, 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
Peeping Tom (band)
Peeping Tom is a rock band led by Mike Patton. To date, they have released one eponymous album and two singles. Patton has enough material written for the project to possibly record two more albums.-Artists who have played with Peeping Tom:*Rahzel...
) 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
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...
:
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, ItalyItaly
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
(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...
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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)