MIKE PATTON

Mike Patton, the master of the thorax, has been straining his windpipes to all imaginable limitations since his high school days with Mr. Bungle. The band, named after a film short appearing on Pee Wee's Playhouse, recorded a series of demo tapes which eventually landed Patton the role as lead singer of the San Francisco band, Faith No More. The band had quite a list of previous lead singers, including Courtney Love, but it was Chuck Mosley who ended up fronting the band's debut. Problems with Mosley's wild antics, including his alleged walk-offs during the band's cover of Black Sabbath's War Pigs, eventually lead to his firing and had the band on the search for a replacement. With Patton on vocals, Faith No More attained mega-wide commercial success with The Real Thing (Slash 1989). The album rocketed to the top with hits such as Falling To Pieces and the band's anthem, Epic. It was this success with Faith No More which eventually landed Patton's other band, Mr. Bungle, a deal with Warner Bros.

Born in Eureka, CA on January 27, 1968, Michael Allen Patton's schizophrenic and spastic approach to singing has caused him to be known as one of the most talented singers in the rock and metal scene. Seamlessly switching from soft, emotional R&B grooves to death-metal screams and growls has earned Patton the recognition of being able to do just about anything. You can hear the wide range of influence on songs that Faith No More covers, such as The Commodores' Easy, G.G. Allin's I Wanna F*** Myself, and The Bee Gees' I Started a Joke.

Patton led Faith No More through successful albums such as Angel Dust (Slash 1992), King for a Day, Fool for a Lifetime (Slash 1995), and the band's swansong, ambitiously titled Album of the Year (Warner Bros. 1997). Stopping along the way, the band joined Rap artists Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. on crossover track, Another Body Murdered, to which Mike adds his 'Patton-ted' blood curdling screams and monk-like chanting. But it was hit songs like Midlife Crisis, A Small Victory, The Gentle Art of Making Enemies, and Last Cup of Sorrow that burned the band their permanent place in rock history.

During the recording sessions of the Mr. Bungle debut, Patton teamed up with avante-garde jazz artist, John Zorn. Since then Patton has released two experimental solo albums on Zorn's label, Tzadick Records. Adult Themes for Voice is a collection of "experimental sounds never imagined possible from just voice and microphone." (-Tzadick Records). Pranzo Oltranzista is also laiden with vocals and sound effects, but features Patton's ambient songwriting for cello, guitar, saxophone and percussion.

Never liking to be tied down, Mike Patton has always been simultaneously fronting numerous acts. The break up of Faith No More allowed Mike the freedom start his own record label, Ipecac, for his new band Fantômas while still continuing to sing for Mr. Bungle. The band, featuring Slayer drummer Dave Lombardi, Melvins guitarist Buzz Osbourne, and Bungle bassist Trevor Dunn, released their self-titled debut in 1999. You can expect two more releases from Fantômas in the near future.

Adding to his resumé, Mike Patton has teamed up with New York based turntable group, X-Ecutioners, and will also be loaning his talents to former Jesus Lizard guitarist Duane Denison's band, Tomohawk.

- Dino Covelli, VH1.com

Please visit Mike Patton's Record Label at www.Ipecac.com for more information.

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