Faith No More to reunite for European Tour

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I had fair to poor experiences seeing them on The Real Thing and Angel Dust tours back in the day, but I'd probably try to catch this if they came through Denver...ah wait, I see Jim Martin's not on board. Never mind.
Faith No More to Reunite for European Tour
Plus: Mike Patton Scores Crank 2

Years before Nirvana and Nine Inch Nails took scuzzed-out sonics and transgressive imagery to the mall-rock mainstream, the Bay Area funk-metal spazzes in Faith No More violated every form of conventional wisdom and wound up playing bigger venues than anyone could've predicted. Back in the late 1980s, Faith No More brought new-wave synth-sheen, skronky jazz textures, and awkward white-guy rapping to a profoundly regressive heavy-rock scene. An entire generation of kids fondly remembers being freaked the fuck out by the flopping fish and the exploding piano at the end of the "Epic" video. FNM's 1989 album The Real Thing, the LP that pushed the band's poppiest tendencies to new extremes without compromising their weirdness, basically blew my mind when I was 10, and it's still an all-time favorite. And in 1992, the band opened Guns N' Roses and Metallica's mammoth co-headlining stadium tour, which means they're the first band I ever saw live. The image of all those fists pumping in unison to "Epic" is one I still carry with me.

FNM broke up 11 years ago, and I've never held out much help for a reunion, mostly because frontman Mike Patton has had such success making god-awful unlistenable weirdo blorp-jazz. But according to a Tripwire report, Faith No More will reunite for a summer European tour. So far, details are scarce. The band hasn't announced any dates yet, and Patton isn't giving any interviews on the subject. The band will hit the road with what was their final lineup: Patton, keyboardist/Imperial Teen frontman Roddy Bottum, slap-bassist Billy Gould, drummer Mike Bordin, and guitarist Jon Hudson. The band has no plans for any American shows right now. There's also no word on any involvement from classic-era guitarist Jim Martin (he of the frizzy hair and Sally Jessy Raphael glasses), who may be too busy growing giant pumpkins to take part. Also no word on original vocalist Chuck Mosely, the guy who sang on "We Care a Lot" and who Patton replaced just in time for The Real Thing.

Real talk: This is awesome news. Patton's latter-day downtown noise-freak persona has been unbearable, and FNM was a huge influence on the late-90s tsunami of shitty rap-metal bands, so Faith No More never get their due when people talk about the early-90s alt-rock revolution. But this was a great band, and these reunion shows will almost certainly be a whole lot of fun.

In other Patton news, he's just scored his first movie. And what a movie! Crank 2: High Voltage, which opens on April 17, is the sequel to the frantic and hilarious 2006 stoner classic where Jason Statam has to keep his adrenaline up or he'll die. Patton's involvement in this is probably the logical conclusion of the man's longtime film-music fixation. Patton's scored a few video games, and he also did the voices for the screaming vampire zombies in I Am Legend. His Ipecac label has given deluxe reissues to Ennio Morricone scores. And The Director's Cut, the 2001 album from Patton's Fantomas project, turned iconic film-scores into scary metal, and it probably still ranks as the best thing Patton's done since Faith No More broke up. So I'm guardedly optimistic that Patton will know exactly how to soundtrack Jason Statham shooting cocaine into his eyeball or whatever.
http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/n ... opean-tour
"I'm like a dog chasing cars, I wouldn't know what to do if I caught one. . . . I'm not a schemer. I just do things."

Re: Faith No More to reunite for European Tour

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FAITH NO MORE Officially Confirms Reunion Plans; Band Lineup Revealed

FAITH NO MORE bassist Bill Gould has released the following statement to BLABBERMOUTH.NET:

"FAITH NO MORE has always stood out as some sort of unique beast; part dog, part cat — its music almost as schizophrenic as the personalities of its members. When it all worked, it worked really well, even if the chemistry was always volatile.

"Throughout our 17 years of existence, the mental and physical energy required to sustain this creature was considerable and relentless. Though amicable enough, when we finally split, we all followed paths seemingly destined to opposite ends of the universe. Yet during the entire 10 years that have passed since our decision to break up we've experienced constant rumors and requests from fans and promoters alike. Nevertheless, for whatever reason, none of us kept in regular touch, much less to discuss any possibilities of getting together.

"What's changed is that this year, for the first time, we've all decided to sit down together and talk about it. And what we've discovered is that time has afforded us enough distance to look back on our years together through a clearer lens and made us realize that through all the hard work, the music still sounds good, and we are beginning to appreciate the fact that we might have actually done something right. Meanwhile, we find ourselves at a moment in time with zero label obligations, still young and strong enough to deliver a kick-ass set, with enthusiasm to not only revisit our past but possibly add something to the present. And so with this we've decided to hold our collective breaths and jump off this cliff.... BACK, GOD FORBID, INTO THE MONKEY CAGE!!!

"We can only hope that the experience of playing together again will yield results erratic and unpredictable enough to live up to the legacy of FNM.

"Who knows where this will end or what it will bring up... only the future knows. But we are about to find out!"

FAITH NO MORE 2009 is:

Mike Bordin - Drums
Roddy Bottum - Keyboards
Bill Gould - Bass
Jon Hudson - Guitar
Mike Patton - Vocals

Patton's publicist told MTV News that FAITH NO MORE was playing in Europe only, with no North American dates scheduled.

The exact dates and countries have yet to be confirmed.

Although it was rumored that FAITH NO MORE would headline California's Coachella festival in mid-April, only Patton is performing at the event.

As previously reported, a source close to guitarist Jim Martin, who was in FAITH NO MORE from 1983 until 1993, told BLABBERMOUTH.NET that the axeman expressed interest in taking part in the reunion after being recently contacted by keyboardist Roddy Bottum and a member of FAITH NO MORE's management team, but that the band ultimately decided to utilize Hudson for the upcoming dates.

Martin left FAITH NO MORE in 1993 due to "internal conflicts" and was replaced by FNM singer Mike Patton's MR. BUNGLE bandmate Trey Spruance. Trey also exited soon after recording 1995's "King for a Day... Fool for a Lifetime", just before the band was to begin a world tour. Spruance was replaced by Dean Menta, the band's guitar roadie. FAITH NO MORE's final studio CD, "Album of the Year", was released in 1997 and featured yet another new guitarist, Jon Hudson, who was a former roommate of Billy Gould.

Re: Faith No More to reunite for European Tour

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I kind of tuned out after Martin left, sounds like he's still AWOL. Kind of like Jane's Addiciton without Erik Avery in my book. I did recently purchase a digital copy of The Real Thing, it holds up nicely. That album blew my mind back when it came out.
"I'm like a dog chasing cars, I wouldn't know what to do if I caught one. . . . I'm not a schemer. I just do things."