Mike Patton

Michael Allan Patton was born on January 27th 1968 in Eureka, California. Patton had an early interest in music, the first album he owned was the Star Wars Soundtrack. He was inspired by records in his parents collection, including Elton John, Frank Zappa and Earth Wind and Fire. He claims he became a singer by accident, filling in for when someone dropped out of a gig. At the age of 13 Patton attended Eureka High and met Trevor Dunn. 
The two were in their first band together, Gemini. 
Their friendship led to heavier musical tastes such as Slayer and the recorded a tape with Patton on guitar and Dunn on vocals under the name Turd. They hooked up with Trey Spruance and Jedd Watts to form Mr. Bungle in 1985.

Faith No More had just recorded their debut album and were on the road with frontman Chuck Mosley. On October 4th 1986 the tour brought them to Humboldt state university in Arcata where Patton was studying English. After their set the band were hanging out when Spruance handed a copy of Mr. Bungle's very first demo cassette The Raging Wrath Of The Easter Bunny to Mike Bordin.
In the autumn of 1988 FNM were on the hunt for a replacement singer. Patton was studying and had a job in The Works, Eureka's only local record store, when he got calls from both Jim Martin and Bordin asking him to audition. Patton hesitated at first but eventually made the 10 hour journey to San Francisco with Spruance and Dunn in tow.

In December the same year the newly completed five piece set about recording The Real Thing. The music was mostly written already, Patton began writing lyrics and it took him around a fortnight to write drafts for the whole album.
The album was released on June 20th 1989, but was preceded by the release of two singles, From Out Of Nowhere and Epic. The band themselves had chosen to release Epic in the US in mid 1989 but it wasn't until the single was released in the UK and Europe on January 30th 1990 that it found real success. The Real Thing took the world by storm and catapulted Patton into a stratosphere of fame. He handled this by being as awkward and childish as he possibly could.
Patton introduced masturbation and porn into almost every interview, sidestepping questions that alluded towards lyrical meaning, his musical influences or his personal life. Patton became a schizophrenic interviewee, who used various personalities, in what appeared to be his way of dealing with the sudden fame and fan adoration imposed upon him. He would advertise Mr. Bungle as often as possible which led to convince the press he would leave FNM at any moment. 
Patton also publicly berated celebrities in the press and from on stage while they watched, Lenny Kravitz, Sinead O'Connor, Poison to name a few. This often landed him in trouble.
The press often compared Patton to Red Hot Chili Peppers singer Anthony Kiedis after he complained in an interview that Patton had adopted his style. Patton enjoyed the chance to make fun of this comparison. 

Whether consciously or not Patton found ways to lose the unwanted attention from fans over the next few years. In 1991/1992 Patton had a radical change of image from long haired, hip hop frat boy to greasy, thrift shop, petrol pump assistant! His stage persona matured from clown to brooding masochist. Patton was involved with the writing of the 1992 album Angel Dust from the outset, which saw a distinct change in FNM's music. 
The term shit terrorism was first used by Patton himself in December 1992. It was a reaction to living life on the road with Guns 'N' Roses and Metallica. Born out of a distaste for the rock n' roll lifestyle FNM were surrounded by, and a means to fill the long days between gigs. Onstage he threw himself against around so violently that doctors told him he was causing serious damage to his shins. 
It became plainly obvious from interviews and tensions on stage that there was a rift between Patton and Jim Martin, a clash of personalities. 

After Jim's departure in 1994 FNM employed Patton's Mr. Bungle band mate Trey Spruance to record guitars for King For Day Fool For A Lifetime. Patton was uncomfortable with the appointment due to FNM's volatile situation. 
This period brought about much change for FNM and Patton including him getting married to Italian artist Cristina Zuccatosta and relocating to Bologna, Italy. 

When FNM regrouped to work on their next recording, Album Of The Year, Patton was unhappy with the material and was becoming more occupied in his own experimental music. Eventually in 1998 FNM split up. 

In 2007 Patton attended Roddy's wedding and reconnected with members of FNM. Even though Patton had commented in the press on more than one occasion that he would never reform with FNM, on February 23rd 2009 it was his publicist who confirmed they were to return. 
The Second Coming Tour saw FNM play all over the world over 6 years. 
In 2015 FNM released Sol Invictus, their first studio album in 18 years. Patton confessed he had little to do with writing the music and recorded his vocals in his home studio. 
FNM toured to promote the album for one year including their first nationwide U.S tour since 1997. Most recently Patton has stated that he unsure about the band's future.

Mr. Bungle

Mr. Bungle released 4  demos, The Raging Wrath Of The Easter Bunny (1986) Bowel Of Chiley (1987), Goddammit I Love America! (1988) and OU818 (1989). But it wasn't until 1990 after Patton had achieved success with FNM that they were signed to a record label. They released their self-titled debut album in August 1991 produced by jazz experimentalist John Zorn. The record mixed metal, funk, ska, carnival music and free jazz.
Mr. Bungle's second album Disco Volante (1996) was written in 1994 but touring had to wait until Patton had finished playing with FNM. The album was more experimental and avant-guard than the first. 
Mr. Bungle's third album California was released on July 13th 1999. A much more easily accessible album. The album was scheduled to be released a week earlier but Warner Bros. held off so as not to coincide with the Red Hot Chili Peppers album, Californication, which was to be released on the same day. Following the album release date clash, Kiedis had Mr. Bungle removed from a series of summer festivals in Europe. Mr. Bungle retaliated by dressing up as members of the RHCP and performed a medley of the songs. 
The band played their final show on September 9th 2000 at Rock City in England. No official announcement was made referring to the band's split. 

Ipecac Recordings 

In 1999 Mike Patton co-founded the independent record label with Greg Werckman.
Their first release was Patton's own project Fantômas featuring Trevor Dunn, Buzz Osborne and Dave Lombardo. His second was a collaboration with Masami Akita titled Maldoror.
Ipecac has become a home for alternative acts and Patton has also released many of his own projects via the label. Three more Fantômas studio albums, The Director's Cut (2001), Delìrium Còrdia (2003) and Suspended Animation (2005).  His band Tomahawk with Duane Denison, John Stanier, Kevin Rutmanis and Trevor Dunn have released four albums, Tomahawk (2001), Mit Gas (2003), Anonymous (2007) and Oddfellows (2013). An album of Italian pop songs involving a full orchestra entitled Mondo Cane (2010). A pop/rap album entitled Peeping Tom (2006). Two albums of mood music from the collaboration with John Kaada, Romances (2004) and Bacteria Cult (2016). 
Most recently Faith No More's Sol Invictus and a hardcore album by Dead Cross featuring Dave Lombardo, Justin Pearson and Michael Crain. 

Other Projects 

Inspired by John Zorn, Patton has been experimenting with different styles and genres in his own music since 1996 when Tzadik released two solo albums, Adult Themes For Voice and Pranzo Oltranzista (1997). 
He has collaborated with countless musicians including Zorn on many occasions, including Hemophiliac and the Moonchild Trio series of albums. He joined up with Dan The Automator and Jennifer Charles to create Lovage (2001). The Dillinger Escape Plan (2002), The X-Ecutioners (2005), Ictus Ensemble (2012). Patton and Australian composer Anthony Pateras released the Tetema album Geocidal (2014). Patton's long awaited project Nevermen with Doseone and Tunde Adebimpe released an album in 2016. 
He has provided guest vocals on countless projects with artists including Bjork, Sepultura, Secret Chiefs 3 and Zu....plus many more. 
Patton has written and produced music for several film soundtracks, A Perfect Place (2008), Crank : High Voltage (2009), The Solitude Of Prime Numbers (2011), The Place Beyond The Pines (2013) and the unreleased 1922 Soundtrack. 
Patton has also appeared in front of the camera playing the parts of 'Frank' and 'David' in Steve Balderson's film noir Firecracker (2005). In 2007 he provided voice overs for the vampiric villains in I Am Legend. 
He has also lent his vocal talents to several computer games.

(In short Patton has done a SHITLOAD of stuff.....to be continued) 

2015

NPR Music
"From word to word and sentence to sentence, if there's a grand meaning, you come up with it, because I certainly can't. I don't have one. I'll tell you. I don't have a grand plan. I write lyrics based on music, on a musical flow, and what sounds good at the time. If I can fit a them into that, then hey, I'm lucky. If not? I don't care. They're just words. If they're political, if they're antisocial or god knows what — if they were, then that's not my problem. I just write them, and it's up to the world to decide what they are. That's my position."

Billboard
"I never wanted to be a 50-year-old guy making music [for] teenagers. I don’t think any of us did. But all I can tell you is we’re making good shit. I don’t care who listens."

2013

The Believer
"The idea, at least in rock or pop culture, that the singer is on some pedestal in Speaker’s Corner —I’ve just never subscribed to that. I’m not a poet. I’m not up onstage to get something off my chest. I’m making musical statements, or, most of the time, musical questions for people to figure out, and I’m not going to get in the way of that."

Decibel
"If you love your work, it's not really work. It becomes something you do without thinking about. It becomes a bodily function, like waking up in the middle of the night and taking a leak. Except I wake up in the middle of the night with an idea. One thing I try to be conscious of is not putting out everything I write or record. It's like working out or exercising—that's how I see it. What I love about what I do is the work and the process of creating. It's not the producing of a document in the form of a record or even a live concert. It's the actual spark of having an idea and putting it down—for yourself. Later on, you decide whether it's worth putting out so the world can hear it."

Alarm
"You know, something that seems really important to you maybe one day at one certain snapshot in your life loses significance after a certain number of years, and you kind of forget why you're mad at somebody, or you forget what happened. And you realize there's only a certain number of true compatriots and friends and family that you have in this life. Sometimes it's just not worth harboring any bullshit and [instead] trying to move on. And musicians move on by making music together."

2012

Faster Louder
"With a real artist you don’t say shit. You say, “I trust you!” It’s like a good chef. You show up at a restaurant and you say “Bring it to me.” Chef’s table, I don’t give a fuck, we trust you, I love you."

2011

The Quietus
"That's the reason that concerts exist. It's a momentary event and it's a special thing for the people who are there that night, and the musicians playing. It should only really live for the people in that room. That's another thing that I hate these days, podcasting this, and recording that. Not everything should be podcast and available and documented. Some things just need to live in that space, that night. You walk out and it's gone. It's only special and it's only proprietary for the people there."

2006

Tape Op
"I realized long ago that I can't control who the fuck listens to me. Or how many, or why. Or what if I looked a certain way or tried to sound a certain way? I couldn't do it if I tried. I gave up. You could go gray and have ulcers very quickly if you live that way."

2005

The Wire
"It's very easy to get lost, growing up in small towns like that. You develop a certain nervous energy that sticks with you your whole life and you're always itching to get the hell out of wherever you are. I still have that, even though I'm happy in San Francisco. Maybe that's why I tour a lot, I'm not sure."

2003

Kerrang!
"It's not like you sit down with a glass of wine and look off into the sunset and are struck with divine inspiration. Most of the time for me it's like brushing your teeth, it's routine, and what I do is try and write, or work, on music a few hours a day, no matter what. It's more like, for me, a chore. I force myself to do it. So, there it is, in all of its romantic glory."

2001

Kerrang!
"There's just not enough time time to do everything and I feel as though I'm behind right now. My worst fear is an empty plate. I'm very gluttonous and greedy when it comes to working. If I've got an empty space in front of me and I don't know what to do with it, I start to get a little nervous."

Kerrang!
"I whole-heartedly agree that every rap-rock band out there is rubbish, but I accept no responsibility for those morons. Whenever I hear these bands say that Faith No More made them what they are, I just shrug it off because if I were to stare too much into the mirror I would have committed suicide long ago. Maybe I should blame Anthony Kiedis, that'd be more fun."

1999

Kerrang!
"...we spawned an awful lot of shitty bands. I've been told that before, and I generally try to just shrug it off. Most of the bands they mention I don't like at all, and I'd hate to take credit for what they're doing."

1997

Kerrang!
"We always have problems, we always will have problems - bands always do. All bands do. You take five strangers and put them in a room and take them out on the road together, make them sleep together, and then you see what happens. It's a disaster. But one thing I think we're getting better at is maintaining a working relationship with each other. Like it or not, this has become our lives. And it is a ridiculous job, but it's what puts food on our tables. No matter what you're doing, you have to take it seriously, because it is your life."

1995

NME

"I can't actually write words before music. The words are the last thing; before the words, I hear sounds. Sometimes the words have no connection to anything, they just have to fit into the sound. I'm sure a lot of what was going into the words on the new record were things that we were all going through at the time. Kind of subtle ways of getting revenge on those people. People you see everyday, situations you're in everyday that maybe it's better if you don't confront them. Everyone will know what it's about but no-one will talk about it. It's a beautiful thing."

CMJ
"Revenge is good. I think revenge is healthy too, and if you can use music in that way, a sort of theraputic way for yourself, it can't do any harm. So if King 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."

1993

BAM
"After a while, all of those things fall apart, and that's how you get comfortable with somebody. I think that's probably how it happened. You learn how to fart and cuss in front of them. That's healthy. The way the band operates, politically, is, whoever steps out of line, everyone pounces on him. So if you're constantly afraid of doing something, nothing gets done. When everybody gets a little more comfortable, you can pull out any idea, and it can be manipulated, raped, made fun of, whatever. But still ... that's OK. Because that's how shit gets created; I'm convinced of that."

Kerrang!
"There's this myth about lyricists and singers, that they're always 'projecting their inner-most secrets', which is horse-shit. Singers are the WORST! They can't hide behind instruments..."

1992

Unknown
"I don't want to be buried, and I don't want a tombstone either. When I die, I'd like to be melted down into liquid form, hardened, and rolled into a ball-like dough. Then I'd be dipped into a crystallising substance, baked and eaten like a cake."

The Face
"When I was staying in a hotel room once, I took a shit, rolled it into a ball and put it in the hair dryer so that the next guest to dry their hair would get hot shit in their face. Ain't that rock n' roll? I do hope rock stars are a dying breed. People love to lap them up -- you know how something always tastes better if you swallow it quickly."

Metal Connection
"I think that the music industry makes people think that a band's got to be —especially with men — like a very male bonding type of locker room thing, and anything outside of that is adulterous."

Reflex
"We just reveled in boredom! The only thing you can do is humiliate yourself further, and then you realize that, and you just keep milking it, and it's really sick, and... you just wallow in it. I think we all felt the same way. Every once in a while, I'd throw in a few lines from a cover song or something, but that was the only glimmer of hope! I don't think any of us really got burned out from touring itself--it's just that we didn't have any other material to play. I mean, we were touring on one record, and when you come back to the same place six times and you're playing the same set, it's like, wait a minute! Who's gettin' ripped off here?! I'd be pissed if I came back to see a band that I liked and they played the same thing. We toured for... uh, too long!"

Circus
"A lot of the tunes are like character sketches. I don't see anything wrong with that. A lot of people maybe will want to give me shit for that."

Hit Parader
"We'd never plan out anything because it was supposed to be conventional or unconventional. That would be totally against the point. I know our record label wished we were more conventional, but I don't think our fans would like that, and I know we wouldn't. We know this record's gonna evoke some heated reactions from people. That's cool, that's exactly what we want. If we can piss people off we're happy."

Sky Magazine
"On our last tour I jumped into the crowd and broke this kid's nose. I tried to get him medical aid but he said he'd rather have a t-shirt. It's bad. What do you tell his parents? The other day I met a guy who had a scar over his eye, just like mine. I asked him how he got it and he said: 'You did it to me, but it's cool'."

1990

Spin
"Masturbation is a lot easier to do than relating to someone. It's like playing a video machine. You can relate to a machine a lot easier than a human being. You can just pound yourself for hours and hours and not think about it. With sex, no matter how great it is, there's always something missing." 

Kerrang!
"Murder is like writing a song. You plan it out and if everything goes as it's supposed to, it's a success. I've never done it , though murder does have a certain appeal - if I knew I could get away with it."

RIP
"What he doesn't realize is that I am Anthony Kiedis, and I'm the raddest dude. Let me tell you, I'm in the greatest band, and it's so cool. But all these jerks, one of which is that Mike Patton asshole, all want to be me. So I'm gonna get him, and I'm gonna get him good." 

Kerrang!
"We don't see ourselves prancing all over MTV - the truth of the matter is that we're still playing 200 seaters in the US. Europe is a bit better - we get to play festivals there - but then again, I shouldn't even say Europe. It's just England and that's got a lot to do with the amount of attention we've paid them. think we re just perceived as a pop band there, a disco, dance-mix sensation - like Kylie Minogue or Bros."

Circus
"All those little tensions going on, it's beautiful. We're all really stubborn, but we let each other do musically what each one wants to do. So it's like having five totally different idiots singing at the same time, and every once in a while it sounds okay."

Faith No More The Real Thing
June 28th 1989.
Slash Records.
DISCOGS
BUY

Faith No More Live At Brixton Academy
(Video) August 20th 1990.
(Audio) February 4th 1991.
Slash Records.
DISCOGS
BUY

Faith No More Angel Dust
June 8th 1992.
Slash Records.
DISCOGS
BUY

Faith No More King For A Day Fool For A Lifetime
March 28th 1995.
Slash Records.
DISCOGS
BUY

Faith No More Album Of The Year
June 3rd 1997.
Slash Records.
DISCOGS
BUY

Faith No More Sol Invictus
May 19th 2015.
Reclamation Records.
DISCOGS
BUY

Mr. Bungle Raging Wrath Of The Easter Bunny
Easter 1986.
Ladd-Frith Productions.
DISCOGS

Mr. Bungle Bowel Of Chiley
1987.
DISCOGS

Mr. Bungle Goddammit, I Love America!
1988.
DISCOGS

Mr. Bungle OU818
1989.
DISCOGS

Mr. Bungle 
August 13th 1991.
Warner Bros. 
DISCOGS
BUY

Mr. Bungle Disco Volante
October 10th 1995.
Warner Bros.
DISCOGS
BUY

Mr. Bungle California
July 13th 1999.
Warner Bros.
DISCOGS
BUY

Fantômas 
April 26th 1999.
Ipecac Recordings.
DISCOGS
BUY

Fantômas The Director's Cut
July 9th 2001.
Ipecac Recordings.
DISCOGS
BUY

Fantômas Delìrium Còrdia
January 27th 2004.
Ipecac Recordings.
DISCOGS
BUY

Fantômas Suspended Animation
April 5th 2005.
Ipecac Recordings.
DISCOGS
BUY

Tomahawk 
October 30th 2001.
Ipecac Recordings.
DISCOGS
BUY

Tomahawk Mit Gas
May 6th 2003.
Ipecac Recordings.
DISCOGS
BUY

Tomahawk Anonymous
June 19th 2007.
Ipecac Recordings.
DISCOGS
BUY

Tomahawk Oddfellows
January 29th 2013.
Ipecac Recordings.
DISCOGS
BUY

Kaada / Patton Romances
November 30th 2004.
Ipecac Recordings.
DISCOGS
BUY

Kaada / Patton Bacteria Cult
April 1st 2016.
Ipecac Recordings.
DISCOGS

BUY

Peeping Tom
May 30th 2006.
Ipecac Recordings.
DISCOGS
BUY

Mondo Cane
May 4th 2010.
Ipecac Recordings.
DISCOGS
BUY

Maldoror
September 14th 1999.
Ipecac Recordings.
DISCOGS
BUY

Lovage Music To Make Love To Your Old Lady By
November 6th 2001.
75 Ark.
DISCOGS
BUY

The Dillenger Escape Plan Irony Is A Dead Scene
August 27th 2002.
Epitaph.
DISCOGS
BUY

General Patton vs. The X-Ecutioners
February 5TH 2005.
Ipecac Recordings.
DISCOGS
BUY

Tētēma
December 9th 2014.
Ipecac Recordings.
DISCOGS
BUY

Nevermen
January 29th 2016.
Ipecac Recordings.
DISCOGS
BUY

Dead Cross
August 4th 2017.
Ipecac Recordings / Three One G.
DISCOGS
BUY

Mike Patton Adult Themes For Voice
April 23rd 1996.
Tzadik Records.
DISCOGS
BUY

Mike Patton Pranzo Oltranzista
April 22nd 1997.
Tzadik Records.
DISCOGS
BUY

Mike Patton A Perfect Place
March 11th 2008.
Ipecac Recordings.
DISCOGS
BUY

Mike Patton Crank : High Voltage 
April 7th 2009.
Lakeshore Records.
DISCOGS
BUY

Mike Patton The Solitude Of Prime Numbers
November 1st 2011.
Ipecac Recordings.
DISCOGS
BUY

Mike Patton Laborintus II
July 10th 2012.
Ipecac Recordings.
DISCOGS
BUY

Mike Patton The Place Beyond The Pines
March 28th 2013.
Ipecac Recordings.
DISCOGS
BUY

Mike Patton History with Faith No More
Happy Birthday Mike Patton 2017
Diary Of A Shit Terrorist
Introduce Yourself The Mike Patton version
Faith No More And The Easter Bunny | How Mike Patton Met FNM
Mike Patton's First FNM show Review

Pattonfanatic.com
ipecac.com
Follow @IpecacRec

This profile will be regularly updated please return.