FAITH NO MORE

'Faith No More' was an experimental alternative rock group that formed in San Francisco, California in 1982 and disbanded in 1998. In the beginning of their 16 year career, Faith No More's vocalist changed a few times. However, the band's longest-lasting singer was Mike Patton.
Their music combined elements of heavy metal, funk, progressive, soul, hip hop, and jazz, among many others.

History

Early days

Faith No More formed in 1982 out of the ashes of Faith No Man, a band formed and headed by Mike "The Man" Morris. Roddy Bottum, Mike Bordin, and Bill Gould left Faith No Man. They chose the name "Faith No More" at the suggestion of a friend (as "The Man" was ''no more''). After cycling through a few guitarists, the members recruited Jim Martin. A number of singers were tried, including a six-month stint by Courtney Love as confirmed by Mike Bordin in a 1997 interview Courtney was, and remains, a friend of Roddy's.^[1] An airing has since surfaced of her performing on San Francisco Public Access TV with the band during their alleged "New Romantic phase".^[2]
Chuck Mosely became the band's full time singer and appeared on their first two records. A well known song from this era is "We Care a Lot", a satire of the prevalence of charity-related rock efforts such as Live Aid and "We Are the World". The song is also notable as one of the first rock songs to seamlessly blend in hip hop music.
During this period, the band gained a reputation for serious infighting and friction. In an interview in 1987, Mosely claimed that Martin had hit him with a bottle, and there were frequent rumors of physical confrontations between band members. Indeed, in a short history of the band in one issue, the British music newspaper Melody Maker observed that the band's internal relationships had descended into "pathological hatred". Bordin in particular seemed to be very much the "whipping boy" of the band and the butt of numerous cruel pranks and practical jokes. It is doubtful that the band would have stayed together had they not been successful after their second album, ''Introduce Yourself''.

The Real Thing

Mosely was fired in 1988 and replaced with singer Mike Patton. Patton, who was singing with his high school band Mr. Bungle, was recruited at Martin's suggestion after he heard a demo of Mr. Bungle's long-over death metal days. Patton dropped out of Humboldt State University to join Faith No More and in two weeks had written all the lyrics for the songs that would make up the Grammy award nominated album ''The Real Thing''.
''The Real Thing'' (or ''TRT'' for short) has been described as "early Brian Eno joins Led Zeppelin and Funkadelic."^[3] The video for "Epic", which featured slow motion footage of a fish flopping out of water, received extensive airplay on MTV in the summer of 1990, despite provoking anger from animal rights activists.^[4]^[5] The fish used at the end of video for "Epic" was Björk's. She stated "There was a party at Roddy (Bottum, Faith No More keyboardist)'s mansion in Berkeley and I was just coming from a poetry reading in San Francisco. I had been given the fish (which she admits to having named 'Linear Soul Child') from a person at that poetry reading, and brought it to Roddy's party. That's the last time I ever saw him." (Interview with CNN) That same year, Faith No More gave memorable performances at the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards (September 6) and on Saturday Night Live (December 1).
Some of the songs on TRT have subsequently been used commercially over the years. The lyrics to Epic were featured in the manga graphic novel 'The Dirty Pair, a plague of Angels'. The Dirty Pair are two female law enforcement officers in a future world who go to a karaoke night and sing Epic. Additionally "Falling to Pieces" featured prominently in Ridley Scott's 2001 war movie ''Black Hawk Down'' where it is used as background music as the soldiers prepare for their mission. ''From out of Nowhere'' features on the EA Sports' Games Madden NFL 2005 and NHL 2005.

Angel Dust

Faith No More displayed an even more distinctly experimental bent on their next album, ''Angel Dust''. One critic writes that the album is "one of the more complex and simply confounding records ever released by a major label,"^[6] and another writes that "'A Small Victory', which seems to run Madame Butterfly through Metallica and Nile Rodgers … reveals a developing facility for combining unlikely elements into startlingly original concoctions."^[7]
''Angel Dust'' featured the singles "Midlife Crisis", "A Small Victory", and a re-recording of the theme to the film ''Midnight Cowboy''. ''Midlife Crisis'' has been used in the popular videogames, '', playing on fictional Alternative station Radio X and in ''Tony Hawk's Underground 2''. Later pressings of the album also included their cover of the Commodores classic "Easy", which in some parts of the world became the band's biggest hit; "Easy" was subsequently used in a commercial for Levi's in 2006. ''Angel Dust'', though not as successful as ''TRT'' in the U.S., sold 700,000 copies there, and did manage to outsell ''TRT'' in many other world charts. In Germany, for example, the record was certified Gold for sales of more than 270,000 copies. Along with heavy airplay of "Easy" and "Midlife Crisis", the album became a bit of a sleeper hit in the UK, South America, Europe and Australia.
After touring to support ''Angel Dust'' in the summer of 1992, longtime guitarist Jim Martin was fired by fax before the recording of their follow-up, ''King for a Day... Fool for a Lifetime'' (or KFAD/FFAL) in 1995. He was replaced by Mr. Bungle guitarist Trey Spruance, who also left soon after; just before the band was to begin their world tour. Spruance was replaced by Dean Menta, the band's keyboard roadie.

King for a Day

''KFAD/FFAL'' was an equally experimental album, varying in styles and moods from heavy and slow to spasmodic and jazzy. In the U.S. the album failed to get any sort of attraction or following, slipping out of the charts quickly. Sales (about 1.5 million) were below that of ''Angel Dust''. The band accordingly decided to cut their world tour short by 4 months, cancelled the singles "Gentle Art Of Making Enemies" and "Take This Bottle", and released a 7 x 7-inch box set of singles that included the B-sides and some interviews between the songs. ''KFAD/FFAL'' did however sell acceptably in the UK and Germany, and even went to #1 on the album charts in Australia.

Album of the Year

''Album of the Year'' was released in 1997 and featured yet another new guitarist, Jon Hudson, who was a former roommate of Billy Gould. The album debuted much higher than expected in some countries, for example Germany (#2, later going gold) and Australia (#1 again, going platinum). In an additional 12 countries in Europe, it went either gold or platinum. In the U.S. the reaction was slow for the album; however, just as interest was picking up on their tours and album they called it a day. The singles "Ashes To Ashes" and "Last Cup Of Sorrow" had minimal success. The music video for "Last Cup of Sorrow" is based on the Alfred Hitchcock film ''Vertigo''. Electro-tinged ballad "Stripsearch" was released as a single in various countries (excluding the U.S. and UK). "She Loves Me Not" was canceled as a single which was a little indicator of their imminent break-up.

Faith No More’s end

In early 1998 the new flaring of break-up rumours on the Internet began. Starting with a rumor posted to the Faith No More newsgroup alt.music.faith-no-more claiming Mike Patton had quit the band in favour of side projects, this rumor, although denied at the time, proved to be at least partly true. The band canceled their planned support tour for Aerosmith and on April 19, 1998 Bill Gould began spreading the following by email and fax:
"After 15 long and fruitful years, Faith No More have decided to put an end to speculation regarding their imminent break up... by breaking up. The decision among the members is mutual, and there will be no pointing of fingers, no naming of names, other than stating, for the record, that 'Puffy started it'. Furthermore, the split will now enable each member to pursue his individual project(s) unhindered. Lastly, and most importantly, the band would like to thank all of those fans and associates that have stuck with and supported the band throughout its history."
Faith No More played their last show in Lisbon, Portugal on April 7 1998.^[8]

Post Faith No More

After the dissolution of Faith No More the members have gone on to numerous different projects.
Mike Patton went on to work with long time side-band Mr. Bungle. Later he worked with producer Dan The Automator on various albums including Lovage: Music to Make Love to Your Old Lady By. Other projects were with John Zorn, Björk, Rahzel, Imani Coppola. He has been active with several other groups, including Tomahawk, Fantômas, Peeping Tom, and The Dillinger Escape Plan. Mike Patton also plays the voice of The Darkness in the video game The Darkness.
Keyboardist Roddy Bottum formed Imperial Teen.
Guitarist Jim Martin went on to collaborate with Anand Bhatt. He has made guest appearances including ''Antipop'' by Primus, as well as having released a solo album titled ''Milk and Blood'' (1996). He also appeared on Echobrain's self-titled debut album alongside former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted.
Mike Bordin regularly performs as a member of Ozzy Osbourne's band, as well as Black Sabbath and he was also a member of Korn for a tour when their drummer David Silveria had suffered a broken wrist. He played drums on Jerry Cantrell's album ''Degradation Trip''.
Billy Gould was a member of Brujeria, as well as founder of Koolarrow Records, and has also overseen the releases of various Faith No More compilations; he also played a few songs on Fear Factory's 2005 album Transgression. In 1998, Billy Gould also produced the album Vainajala (1998) by the Finnish rock band CMX.
Faith No More's "Epic" will be featured in the upcoming video game ''Rock Band'' for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 and Wii. It is scheduled for release on November 2007.^[9] Gamers can play along with the original master recording, using guitar, microphone and drum controllers to simulate a virtual rock band in their living room.

Collaborations

Faith No More collaborated with the Boo-Yaa TRIBE for the song "Another Body Murdered" on the 1993 ''Judgment Night'' soundtrack. In 1998, the Sparks album Plagiarism was released featuring two collaborations with Faith No More ("This Town Ain't Big Enough for the Both of Us" and "Something for the Girl with Everything").

Tours

Some of the groups Faith No More toured with during their career include Red Hot Chili Peppers, Voivod, Circus of Power, Robert Plant, Billy Idol, Metallica, Guns N' Roses, Helmet, Kyuss, L7, Babes In Toyland, Primus, Ozzy Osbourne, Alice Cooper, Limp Bizkit, Soundgarden, Korn,Pantera and Glorious Din.

Influence

Faith No More has been credited as one of the innovators of the funk metal genre and one of the first rock bands to incorporate hip hop into their music. Their music remains influential for many experimental rock and alternative rock musicians, and numerous modern bands cite Faith No More as an influence.

Relatively Shocking Mike Patton / FNM Moments

★ During the 1992 Angel Dust tour with Guns N' Roses:

★
★ At one show in Lisbon, the band invited the audience to throw garbage on stage. Patton then rummaged around and ate some of the trash.

★
★ At another show in Seville, Spain the crowd was throwing empty plastic water bottles at the band. Someone threw a bottle on-stage that had urine in it. At one point in the concert, Mike Patton opened the bottle and poured the contents over his head, plunging the entire audience into shocked silence. Billy Gould and Roddy Bottum have stated that this was their favorite concert.^[10]

★
★ Patton defecated in an orange juice carton and then sealed it and returned it to Axl Rose's tourbus vending machine.

★ During the MTV Music Awards performance of Epic in 1990, Patton flopped around on stage like the controversial "dying" fish from the video.

★ At a 1995 concert in Chile, the crowd began to spit on the band. Patton encouraged this and even invited people to spit in his open mouth while singing.

★ During a European tour, Patton defecated on a park bench in front of Kensington Palace.

★ During a 1991 concert in Denmark, Patton told the audience that tour-mates, Lenny Kravitz and Sinéad O'Connor were copulating in the hospitality tent. Kravitz looked on in horror.

★ Faith No More gained a reputation for publicly ridiculing their more mainstream tour hosts--especially Guns N' Roses.

★ Patton became infamous for talking about his self-stimulation habits in the press. He often wore a t-shirt with a grotesque image of a man sitting on a toilet seat, pleasuring himself, and the words "Girls are OK--but they're not the real thing."

★ Roddy Bottum frequently made references to his homosexuality in an effort to alienate the crowd. At a show in Australia, he taunted the crowd: "I heard that homosexuality is illegal here. Too bad, because we were going to have some fun backstage." The song "Be Aggressive" was itself an attempt by Bottum to alienate people (or derive amusement from embarrassing Mike Patton in concert). It became Faith No More's second-most played song in concert.

★ Mike Patton regularly did front-flips while singing on stage. He often landed on his back, but would get right up and continue singing without interruption.

★ In one of his first shows with the band, Patton accidentally slashed his right forearm on a piece of broken glass. The resulting nerve damage left him able to use his arm and hand, but not have any feeling in it.

★ Faith No More was famous for showing their disdain for MTV...on MTV. This can be seen in the Hanging with MTV performance during the Angel Dust era, where the band continuously interrupted a flustered VJ while she was trying to introduce the next video.

Band members

Band member	Instrument(s)	Dates	Albums recorded
Roddy Bottum	keyboards	1982-1998	all
Billy Gould	bass	1982-1998	all
Mike "Puffy" Bordin	drums	1982-1998	all
"Big" Jim Martin	guitar	1983-1993	''We Care a Lot'', ''Introduce Yourself'', ''The Real Thing'', ''Angel Dust''
Mike Patton	vocals/other	1988-1998	''The Real Thing'', ''Angel Dust'', ''King for a Day... Fool for a Lifetime'', ''Album of the Year''
Chuck Mosley	vocals	1983-1988	''We Care a Lot'', ''Introduce Yourself''
Jon Hudson	guitar	1997-1998	''Album of the Year''
Dean Menta	guitar	1995-1997
Trey Spruance	guitar	1995	''King for a Day... Fool for a Lifetime''
Mark Bowen	guitar	1983
Wade Worthington	keyboards	1982
Courtney Love	vocals	1983

Discography

Singles

'Year'	'Title'	'Chart positions'				'Album'
'Year'	'Title'	US Modern Rock	US Mainstream Rock	UK	US Hot 100	'Album'
1987	"We Care a Lot"	-	-	#53	-	''Introduce Yourself''
1987	"Anne's Song"	-	-	-	-	''Introduce Yourself''
1989	"From out of Nowhere"	-	-	#23	-	''The Real Thing''
1990	"Epic"	#2	#25	#37 (#25 on reissue)	#9	''The Real Thing''
1990	"Falling to Pieces"	#12	#40	#41	#92	''The Real Thing''
1992	"Midlife Crisis"	#1	#32	#10	-	''Angel Dust''
1992	"A Small Victory"	#11	-	#29	-	''Angel Dust''
1992	"Everything's Ruined"	-	-	#28	-	''Angel Dust''
1993	"Easy"	-	-	#3	#58	''Angel Dust''
1995	"Digging the Grave"	-	-	#16	-	''King for a Day, Fool for a Lifetime''
1995	"Ricochet"	-	-	#27	-	''King for a Day, Fool for a Lifetime''
1995	"Evidence"	-	-	#32	-	''King for a Day, Fool for a Lifetime''
1997	"Ashes to Ashes"	-	#23	#15 (#29 on reissue)	-	''Album of the Year''
1997	"Last Cup of Sorrow"	-	#14	#51	-	''Album of the Year''
1998	"Stripsearch"	-	-	-	-	''Album of the Year''
1998	"I Started a Joke"	-	-	#49	-	''Who Cares a Lot?''

Soundtrack contributions

★ 1991 ''Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey'': "The Perfect Crime" Guitarist Jim Martin also had an acting part in the movie

★ 1990 '': "Surprise! You're Dead!"

★ 1993 ''Judgment Night'': "Another Body Murdered" (with the Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E.)

★ 1997 ''Grosse Pointe Blank'': "We Care A lot"

★ 2001 ''Black Hawk Down'': "Falling to Pieces"

★ 2004 ''Tony Hawk Underground 2'': "Midlife Crisis"

★ 2004 '': "Midlife Crisis"

★ 2007 ''Rock Band'': "Epic"

Tribute compilations

★ 2002 "" (US)

Videography

Music videos

(In chronological order)
#We Care a Lot (1988)
#Anne's Song (1988)
#From out of Nowhere (two very different versions) (1989)
#Epic (1990)
#Falling to Pieces (two very different versions) (1990)
#Surprise! You're Dead! (1990)
#Midlife Crisis (two not very different versions) (1992)
#A Small Victory (two not very different versions) (1992)
#Everything's Ruined (1992)
#Easy (two different versions of audio) (1992)
#Another Body Murdered (two different versions of audio) (1993)
#Digging The Grave (two not very different versions) (1995)
#Ricochet (two not very different versions)
#Evidence (two very different versions) (1995)
#Ashes To Ashes (1997)
#Last Cup Of Sorrow (1997)
#Stripsearch (1997)
#I Started A Joke (1998)

VHS Releases

#
#Video Croissant
#Evidence
#

DVD Releases

Footnotes

1. Bottum, Courtney Love Go To The Movies
2. Courtney Minelli (Love) in Faith No More - The Proof
3. The Real Thing Review
4. Inventory: 9 Music Videos Featuring Animals In Prominent Roles
5. Faith No More: The Real Thing Review
6. Faith No More Biography
7. Faith No More Biography
8. Faith No More Biography
9. GC 2007: More Rock Band Track List Revealed IGN
10.

Bibliography

# ''The Real Thing'' (Tablature book, available in both guitar and bass format)
# ''Angel Dust'' (Tablature book, available in both guitar and bass format)
# ''The Real Story'' (Biography about Faith No More)
# ''King for a Day ... Fool for a Lifetime'' (Tablature book, available in both guitar and bass format)

External links

★ FNM.com - home to FAQ, band history

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