FAITH NO MORE FOLLOWERS End of Year Round Up 2018

So we find ourselves at the end of another Faith No More less year, fans haven’t been so depressed since 1998 when our favourite band went their separate ways! 2017 gave us a  glimpse of hope for the future of FNM, 2018 not so much.
Actually there happened to be some pretty cool stuff from workaholics Mike Patton, Bill Gould and Roddy Bottum. 

Mike Patton

Dead Cross owned this year with their European tour, new EP and a live performance on the PBR Halftime Show. Patton, Dave Lombardo, Justin Pearson and Michael Crain took there intense brand of hardcore to every corner of Europe, highlights were their shows in Italy and an impromptu show at Camden Underworld in the UK. 

Patton had a busy year aside from his exploits with DxCx. In February joined forces with DJ QBert and Money Mark (Beastie Boys) for two surprise shows at The Chapel in San Francisco. In March Patton returned to the same venue for a performance with John Zorn and again later in the month with Zorn and Trey Spruance. In May Patton and Uri Caine performed Forgotten Songs together at Teatro comunale Luciano Pavarotti in Bologna, Italy. In September Mike Patton joined John Zorn for his 65th birthday celebrations at The Chapel in San Francisco along with Dave Lombardo and Secret Chiefs 3.

September also saw the welcome return of Patton's Mondo Cane project with a show at Teatro Gran Rex in Buenos Aires and a triumphant return to Chile with three nights at the Coliseo Santiago .

Even with all these live performances Patton still found the time to give us a new album release, the long waited soundtrack to Netflix movie 1922  . And featured on the single Luna a Sol from Chilean musician Alain Johannes. 

Bill Gould

Bill started the year performing with Chilean hip-hoppers Como Asesinar a Felipes on their Elipse tour. Highlights included playing at Bar Rene in Santiago and Lollapalooza Chile.

This was the year that Bill joined the Mc5 50th anniversary tour along side Wayne Kramer, Brendan Canty (Fugazi), Marcus Durant and old friend Kim Thayil (Soundgarden). The supergroup toured for nearly three months in the States and Europe. Bill broke a long Twitter silence to express how he much he was enjoying the shows and relieved of band leader status, with the limelight on Wayne Kramer and no interviews, meant he could concentrate on simply rocking out. Highlights of the tour included a live studio session with KEXP, and a benefit gig for the charity Jail Door Guitars at the Ford Theater in Los Angeles, at which the line-up also included Matt Cameron (Pearl Jam, Soundgarden) and Duff McKagan (Guns N Roses). 

Roddy Bottum

Roddy took to the stage with Nastie Band a few occasions this year and also was a guest performer at the Pioneering People Basilica Benefit: Courtney Love at the Basilica Hudson in New York.

However the biggest news in 2018 was Roddy had his first onscreen speaking role in a movie, the film Tyrel directed by Chilean Sebastián Silva. 

Mike Bordin

There was no new music or performances from Puffy in 2018 however he did make a couple of public appearances. In February Puffy spoke at an intimate gathering at the Castro Valley School of Music to celebrate Cliff Burton Day. In September he flew to Ireland to help Adrian Harte celebrate the launch of Small Victories : The True Story Of Faith No More, where he spent the day hanging out with fans.  

Small Victories : The True Story Of Faith No More

Even though 2018 has been a year with little FNM news, fans have had the chance to celebrate the legacy of the most unique band in the world by reliving their history thanks to Adrian Harte’s biography.
The book has received considerable critical acclaim from the music press, musicians and fans alike. We are sure that most people reading this will have read SV and agree that it is a wonderfully detailed and revealing publication, if you haven’t then we can not recommend it enough. 

Adrian also launched the Podcast Croissant with Mike Hayes, the first podcast dedicated to Faith No More.

2019

The upcoming 12 months will be a time for much celebration as it will be 30 years since The Real Thing was released, Ipecac Recordings will have been making people sick for 20 years and we will celebrate 10 years of Faith No More version 2.0.

Mike Patton has two confirmed releases next year, the highly anticipated project with Jean-Claude Vannier and he will be appearing on a track on the forthcoming Neil Hamburger album titled Still Dwelling to be released on January 25th. In early 2017 we were given clues from Trevor Dunn and Duane Denison that Tomahawk were in the studio, could 2019 be the year that Patton resurrects the band? Or could we be treated to another recording from Mondo Cane?

We have heard rumours that in 2019 Bill Gould will rejoin with Jared Blum and Dominic Cramp returning to his Talking Book project and releasing a follow up to their 2011 album. Plus Bill and Mike Bordin are involved with the Chris Cornell tribute concert in January (more news to follow). 

We hopefully have new music from Roddy Bottum with an Imperial Teen record that has been two years in the making. And a Nastie Band record due out in January. Plus a recording with French outfit HifiKlub. 
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As of yet no major events have been announced for any of the five members of FNM, could this mean that their schedules are set for working together after 4 years apart? The final chapter of Small Victories : The True Story Of Faith No More confirms that FNM are far from finished.

In a February issue of Kerrang! magazine, Bill commented on the future of the band. "That I don't know. I'm open to any outcome. If we do another one It'll be because we're 100 per cent behind it if not, I don't see the point. There's so much shit out there and so much noise, the world doesn't need a half-hearted Faith No More record." 

In November Roddy spoke with The Ring, the Cage, and the Stage stating “I think we all acknowledge that it’s not something that any of us want to turn our backs on, and it’s kind of fun to do. So in the hopes of pushing things forward and making new music, we continue to do that, to get together and make new sounds and just have a dialogue about prospects and songs and where we go in the future.”