Interview with Mike Patton of Faith no More and Tomohawk and Mr Bungle and Fantomas

Mike Patton Interview

Currently of “Peeping Tom”
Formerly of “Tomohawk”, “Mr. Bungle”, “Fantomas”and “Faith No More”

VI:  What about your new release with “Peeping Tom”, have people responded or picked up on it yet?
Patton:  Yah, sometimes yes, sometimes no.  It doesn’t matter.  It’s nice that people are listening to it.
VI:  How did you hook up with Norah Jones on that album?  Did you write all the songs on that album?
Patton:  Yah, I wrote everything.
VI:  Did you have one song where you thought of Norah Jones?
Patton:  I was just thinking of unlikely suspects and Norah Jones’ name came up.  I didn’t know if she’d be up for it.  You never know- if you’re going to go outside the box with that shit.
VI:  Very unlikely suspect.
Patton:  What can I say, I got lucky.  Made a call, she was very cool, very open.  She is an artist in the purest sense.  She doesn’t give a shit, she doesn’t care, she wants to do something, she’s gonna do it, no matter how famous she is.  Let’s just say I owe her one.
VI:  You and Rahzel mix great, I think it’s a brilliant combination.
Patton:  We’re good buddies.  Old friends.  He makes this band really pop.  He is our secret weapon.
VI:  It is hard to tell where he is because it’s hard to tell the bass from Rahzel.
Patton:  That is why I give him a solo, so people can see what he is doing.  It is a little educational.  Tonight didn’t go so well for his solo because of the sound. 
VI:  I thought it went great.  Your voice at one point was like ‘Arraaaughhhgg’.  It sounded inhumanly possible.  You have been tweaking your voice for sometime now. 
Patton:  It’s all possible. 
VI:  What are your influences?
Patton:  Depends.  From project to project the influences are different.  When I was a kid it was “Bad Brains” and really hardcore stuff like “Minor Threat”.  Death Metal like “Slayer”, “Venom” but also Marvin Gaye. 
VI:  It sounds like you have mixed dark industrial with hip hop.
Patton:  I have a new set of influences for this stuff.
VI:  I heard a rumor that you released an album with nothing but you burping.
Patton:  Haha!  That’s one way of looking at it.  I made a record of all voice, that a lot of people think sounds like burps and noises(1).  Well.. a lot of it is.  It is noisy, very experimental, it’s nasty.  It is really out there.
VI:  Was that before Bjork came out with “Medulla(2)”?
Patton:  Yah.  Many moons ago.
VI:  You beat her to the pure vocal album.
Patton:  Well, it was just one voice, it was me.  It is very different from her record.  She made songs out of it, I made…. Well what I did was….Well, you should hear it. 
VI:  Janis Joplin of Jimi Hendrix?
Patton:  Hendrix.
VI:  Edgar Allen Poe or Robert Frost?
Patton:  Poe.   Come on man.
VI:  I don’t want to assume.
Patton:  Never been a big fan of Frost.  I never got Janis Joplin either.  I think it is all hype.  Junky Hype.  F*&k her.  Die Junky, f*%$ you.
VI:  Damn..  I think some bands have their own drug dealers.  I mean if the crowds on Ecstasy, the crowd is going to feel your music, no matter what you do. 
Patton:  I don’t know.  You either like it or you don’t.
VI:  I overheard that you don’t smoke pot.
Patton:  No, I can’t smoke pot.  I smoke cigars, matter of fact you got a light?  These are good cigars, Cuban.  You want one?
VI:  Hell yah.  You want some Jim?
Patton:  I don’t like any American whiskies.
VI:  I know this is a touchy subject, but…
Patton:  I don’t have any touchy subjects.
VI:  I read up on Wikipedia that you urinated on a bunch of photographers at a show.
Patton:  You read too much. 
VI:  OK…(awkward pause)  It’s good to read.
Patton:  Not that shit.  Books are fine, don’t read on the internet.  Don’t read rumors, are you kidding me?  You know better, come on.  There is a lot of great shit to read and Wikipedia(3) is not one of them. 
VI:  My mistake.
Patton:  No big. 
VI:  Do you have any words to upcoming musicians who have been inspired by your work?
Patton:  Keep playing.  Don’t worry about making it or bla, bla,bla, just play.  Play in your room your whole life and be great, that’s it.
VI:  That would be boring though?
Patton:  No it ain’t.  That is what we’d be doing, we just got lucky.  All there is to it.  If you are playing music and your really playing music to play music then you just f*%k&ng play.  That is the purest.
VI:  Words from a man who knows what he is talking about.
Patton:  A little bit.
VI:  Thanks for your time.

(1) “Adult Themes for Voice” – released in 1996.  Recorded in hotel rooms on a 4-track recorder. 
(2) Medulla – Bjork album using nothing but vocals which features Mike Patton and Rahzel.  One of the tracks sounds like Bjork is getting laid.
(3) Wikipedia – For what it is worth, following the interview I wrote Wikipedia and told them what Mike Patton thinks.    

Interview and photos by Kent Kessinger
More photos at www.kentkessinger.com