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Jello Biafra’s latest musical venture, Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine, have just released their debut album The Audacity of Hype and features none other than our good buddy Billy Gould on Bass:

“In the twenty or so years since his brainchild Dead Kennedys officially disbanded, Jello Biafra has made a career of spoken word gigs interspersed with musical collaborations with some of the most compelling figures in underground music. Recording projects and touring with the likes of Melvins, No Means No, DOA, Mojo Nixon and Lard (with Ministry’s Al Jorgensen) among others have kept his “hardcore as political weapon” message sharp, but the lack of his own band made these collaborations usually short-lived and left Biafra with a ton of songs that had never seen the light of day.

Inspired by Iggy Pop’s 60Th birthday gig at the Warfield in San Francisco, Biafra laid plans for his own 50th birthday party and finally decided it was time to start a band of his own. Ten years before he had been attempting the same thing with the likes of guitarist Ralph Spight (Victims Family,Freak Accident,Hellworms) and drummer Jon Weiss (Sharkbait,Horsey). They had also previously worked with bassist Billy Gould (Faith No More) who was tapped for the new group. After cramming rehearsals for a month the four piece band known as Jello Biafra and the Axis Of Merry Evildoers took the stage in a sold-out two night stand at San Francisco’s Great American Music Hall and subsequently spent the next 9 months in rehearsal for an album project.

Before entering the studio guitarist Kimo Ball (Freak Accident,Carneyball Johnson,Mol Triffid,Griddle) was recruited and the resulting twin guitar attack took the groups sound to new, noisier heights. The quintet now known as Jello Biafra and The Guantanamo School of Medicine began recording tracks for the upcoming LP/CD entitled “The Audacity Of Hype”(Alternative Tentacles Records) slated for release in October 2009, produced by Biafra and engineered by Hip Hop legend and long time Jello co-conspirator Matt Kelley (Hieroglyphics,Tupac,Digital Underground,Victims Family) at Prairie Sun Recording in Cotati,CA and San Francisco’s Hyde Street Studios.

The band’s sound retains some of the the spy-music-on-meth chaos of the DK’s while adding a healthy dose of Detroit style proto-punk mixed with layers of sonic guitar noise, and Weiss’ industrial excursions into metal percussion. Topically, the album explores how our forced Iraqnophobia and Homeland Insecurity continues to feed lawlessness at the top (“The Terror Of Tiny Town”) vs. a runaway police state and class war towards the bottom (“Three Strikes”,”Electronic Plantation”). “Clean As A Thistle” becomes more timely every day as “Family Values” blowhards get caught in sinful trysts while, album closer “I Won’t Give Up” offers an Age of Obama anthem on how change comes from agitation from below, not glamour and soundbites from the top.

Thirty years on, Jello Biafra has made an album that solidifies and expands his uncompromising vision and updates it for the new century, with a powerhouse band that promises to be a terrifying live machine, featuring Jon’s brother Andrew Weiss (Rollins Band,Ween,Butthole Surfers) filling the live bass position recently left vacant by Billy Gould’s return to Faith No More.”

www.myspace.com/jellobiafraandthegsm

Those lucky South Americans. This one’s an interview with Roddy at elcomerco.com.pe:

Faith No More: “Concerts in South America have been milestones in our history”

“I think none of the members of the band ever thought that a reunion of Faith No More would be possible,” explains  Roddy Bottum, founder and keyboardist of Faith No More, by phone from his home in San Francisco, California.

“We spent too much time together, more than 15 years. It is very difficult for a group of people to maintain harmony spending so much time together. It was also a very intense moment in the lives of all of us in the band. I think none of us should be closed as this episode of our lives. After we parted, I stopped talking for a long time with Billy (Gould), who was my childhood best friend, someone I grew up since age 9. We needed to set a distance from each other. But what no one imagined was that one day would reunite to play together. But when we did, when we returned to see the faces, the magnetism of the old days was maintained, and we think that the idea of gathering FNM was not so ludicrous. We’ve all matured a lot.”

The videos on Internet of the latest performances of the band show that you are sounding better than ever, how did you feel when you returned to play FNM songs on stage after so long?

It was terrifying. I do not know if it ever happened to you: to have the nightmare of going to college and discover that you have not studied it for a test. Something similar happened to me before the first concert of the tour: I dreamed that i was up on stage and did not remember how to play the songs by Faith No More. The truth is that we rehearsed a lot for these concerts. We were very prepared. I think Mike is singing even better than before. We have not played together for 11 years but have been involved in music, looking to improve on what we do.

How is that you quote in concerts hits as the pop of Lily Allen or Lady Gaga? In “Live at Brixton Academy, almost two decades ago, you did it with New Kids on the Block and Technotronic Is it improvised?

Yes, absolutely. When we started this new tour, again in Brixton, we played many songs, over two hours. Since then we try to better select the repertoire for each concert, for contrasts between the ages, but the references to popular themes emerge almost instantaneously on the phone from Mike (Patton). It’s not something that we plan in advance.

You have played in very specific places in your previous tours of South America, from Rock in Rio in Brazil until the Festival of Viña del Mar, Chile …

Many of our previous concerts in South America have been landmarks in the history of FNM. The first time we played Brazil we were all surprised at the magnitude of the Rock in Rio festival. We had no idea how many people would go to see us, the importance of this show was great, because we had a great time and it opened many doors, especially in Brazil. The people there are very friendly, always treated us very well. You are very crazy Latinos: until we visited South America for the second time, never before had we needed a bodyguard. And that concert in Vina del Mar was delusional: he knew nothing about anything until we left to play, we saw this very strange man dressed in suit and wonder “what the hell are we doing here?”. We felt trapped in a program like “Bailando por un sueño”

Let’s talk about Imperial Teen. The last album by the band ( “The Hair the TV the Baby and the Band”) came out in 2007 …

Well, Imperial Teen has maintained the same lineup of 90. Recently we got a disc for Merge Records, a major label They recently made their anniversary party for their 20 years, where we played, and told us it was time to work on a new album of the band. I’ve been working with Imperial Teen during breaks in the FNM tour.

Chuck Mosley, the former lead singer of FNM. Do you know what he thinks of this reunion tour?

I think he would have liked to be part of the reunion in some way. When we started, he was always a very important part of FNM. At one point we thought it would have been great for him to accompany us along with Jim Martin (another former member of FNM) in our first show in England. But neither of them could. Chuck, for example, had lost his passport and was unable to get a new one soon. But from the beginning we wanted to include everyone in this tour, but it did not work.

Latercera.com recently posted a brief interview with Billy Gould….in spanish:

Faith No More: “Great moments of the band that happened in Chile”
Billy Gould, bear of the band, speaks of its return, the future and shows that will offer in Santiago.

“These days, Faith No More takes a breather. A few weeks off before starting the second coming of The South American tour, the tour back in July, the group revived, 11 years after its dissolution. And in an unprecedented gesture at the meeting of one of the most important rock bands of the 90s, its bassist and founding member, Billy Gould, interrupted his break to talk with La Tercera. The highlights of entry: “On this tour we are not giving any interviews, this is a special case,” the massive man in charge of the four strings of the group that next October 29 will offer a gala show at Teatro Caupolicán and next day will hold its reunion with the masses in the Estadio de La Florida

“We decided to talk because what happened in Chile is very crazy,” Gould said. “Chile is one of the most special places for the group. I mean you. Great moments in the history of the band have happened there and feel a very powerful energy. We are very aware of the expectation of our visit, if this is not for Chile, we would not have given this interview, “says the man who come together on the group for the third time the country after a bizarre debut at the Festival de Viña 1991 and a return that had received thousands of spitting in the hectic closing Monsters of Rock Festival 1995 at Teatro Caupolicán.

What do you remember Viña?
Vina was incredible. We thought it was a rock festival. When we started playing there was a family audience thought we were a band of pop. Many people did not understand what is ours, many people hated him and there was another that I liked. Definitely do not pass unnoticed.

Do you remember the spit of 1995?
It was crazy. There was a very different energy from Vina.

“Bad energy?
No, no, quite the contrary. It was one of the most intense shows I can remember. It was one of those nights where everything is on, I remember we played very fast.

A RETURN HERMETIC
Since the group announced its return through a statement on its official site, there have been no new developments to the new dates that had joined the tour that revisits songs from the six albums between 1985 and 1997 – and ending in March 2010 in Australia.

Do you prepare something special for South America?
We’re taking songs that we have not touched on the reunion tour. Insurance that covers but will not tell you what. Every night is different, there is little, just two weeks.

What will happen to the group after the tour?
None of us know.

Right?
Yes, we have not sat down and talked much about it.

Can we expect new songs by Faith No More?
I’d love that to happen, but it’s something that just solve once we finish the tour. For now we are enjoying playing, we’re having a great time.

Mike Patton was recently interviewed in a Brazilian newspaper and spoke about the recent Faith No More tours. Thanks to Buga_Lady at MOTO we have a translation:

Rio de Janeiro, RJ – Tuesday, 13th October 2009

Segundo Caderno
Bernard Aerugo

On the 5th of November,  21h30m, at Citibank Hall, Rio de Janeiro rockers will be back together with an old love affair, which started on the 20th January 1991. Back in that time, there was a band fronted by a jumpy brat, and being pushed by two video clips of heavy rotation on a newly born MTV Brasil, which showed the crowd that they were a serious band with their mixture of rock and funk, and got a rare connection with the people who crowded Maracas stadium.

- I don’t know how many times I’ve been to Brazil, but it was less than ten – says the brat, singer Mike Patton from Faith no More, with 41 years old today. – And that’s too few.

After 11 years apart, FNM is back since February 2009, and their return to Brazil will be in November, in Porto Alegre, Sao Paulo and Belo Horizonte, besides Rio.

- I’m having a lot of fun with the shows – says Patton, through the phone, from his home in San Francisco, in the USA. – But South America is the part of the tour what I was waiting for since the beginning.

- Since the first time, in Rock in Rio, I had a lot of fun in your country. And Rio is more special then everything else, of course.

After so many years apart, the band, that achieved great success all over the world in the beginning of the 1990’s, did not maintain the same popularity in the following years with their CDs “King for a day, fool for a lifetime” (1995) and “Album of the year” (1997), in which they didn’t balance so well their experimental side with a pop flavor, and ended up extinct – not many people still thought there would be a Faith no More reunion.

- I was certain that would never happen – admits Patton. – I don’t know how many times, through the years, I said I would never be part of something like that, that it would be a step back. I always liked to give and end to things for good, in my personal life and professional, and go ahead. The idea of paying homage to our own music sounded selfish and horrible. Many times my manager came talking about an offer, and I wouldn’t let him finish the sentence.

He doesn’t know if the reunion never happened before only because of him.

- I would simply say “no”, I didn’t want to know, I had no idea if any of the others had ever said “yes”.

Until one day…

- There was an offer for some shows in Europe – recalls the singer.

- I thought it was a good moment and ended up agreeing. In the first rehearsal, I was late and I didn’t manage to enter the studio. I sat outside on the floor and listened to the band playing. The sound was very good, I felt I would be comfortable singing those songs again. And now we are here. We already played about 40 shows, and we are all happy.

The formation that brought FNM back is not the same from when they were at the top of their career, with successes like “Epic” and “Falling to pieces” (the two bizarre videoclips that MTV Brazil would play non-stop in 1990): the big-bearded guitarist Jim Martin, that was in the group until 1993, was not invited.

- We thought about inviting him, but we did two records without him, and that would be too many songs he would have to learn – tells Patton. – and there were also personal risks. For these reasons we have Jon Hudson, who is a good player and is great to deal with.

There are no news songs in the shows.

The show will certainly include successes like “From out of nowhere”, covers like the delicious “Easy”, from the Commodores, and B-sides like “Malpractice”. But do not expect new songs.

- We don’t have any new songs – says the singer. – The reason for this reunion is to remember our  old songs, which we like so much, and try to entertain people with them. We have been lucky and there have been lots of people interested.

The tour, according to him, is more fun then hard work.

- We usually stay three weeks traveling and then go home to rest – he tells. – We are, in a way, getting to know each other again, learning how to deal with each other. Of course I have always been in touch with them, we are friends, but that sort of friend that you don’t talk to every day. So far, it has been great.

He says the reunion may not last forever.

- We are not Starbuck’s, that are in every corner – he jokes.

- If you want to see us, it is better go this time, because we don’t know if there will be another one, certainly not in another 10 years. So far we have shows booked until February, and maybe that will be it. The curious fact is that we didn’t have many offers to play in the USA.

So far, there are no plans for a new record.

-  We haven’t discarded that completely, but we are not thinking about composing – says the singer.

- We don’t want to be like those bands that stay years apart, then return and release a horrible record.
That way, is it possible that Patton, in 2010, go back to projects like Fantômas, an experimental rock full of noise that played in Brazil in 2005 at a festival.

- It is always fun to go there, but that time it was weird – he remembers. – I remember we went to a van to go sound check and I joked with the promoter saying I wanted to go to a barbecue place. When we passed near one, I think in Barra, she told the driver to stop.

We left the van, ordered caipirinhas and had a great meal. When, hours later, I asked if we weren’t too late for the sound check , she said that we weren’t because the festival was running even later.

Besides playing in Fantômas, he owns a Record label, Ipecac Records, and has various other projects, like Mr. Bungle (another bizarre band, in which he sings since before FNM) and Peeping Tom.

- I’m finishing recording for a project called Mondo Cane – he says. – They are covers from classic-rock Italian tunes, a gender that I got to know when I lived in Italy.

Mike, who listens from Marcos Valle and João Gilberto to Sepultura and Ratos de Porão, intends to see some old friends in Brazil.

- I don’t see João Gordo (“gordo” means “fat” in Portuguese) in many years, how is he? I heard he became some kind of star, he is on MTV, is that true? Did he operate his stomach? Then, he turned into João “Flaco” (“flaco” means “thin” in Spanish)…

So after much speculation on whether or not Faith No More would tour the US, Billy Gould and Roddy Bottum have both confirmed via Twitter that the tour is on and in the planning stages. Good news for our US buddies!

http://twitter.com/MRGOULD/status/5024060691

“Tweet THIS: In response to all of our concerned US brethren…YES…we yare now actively planning US dates.”

http://twitter.com/RODDYBOTTUM/status/5025115095

“reiterating comrade @MRGOULD claim… USA dates will happen. seriously, you thought they might not? cmon…”

Thanks to jazzsick for the tip.

The latest issue of Rock-a-rolla magazine has a new interview with Trevor Dunn talking to him about his latest band Madlove. They posted a snippet of the article on their home page which paints a rather dire picture regarding any hopes of a Bungle reunion ever happening:

“Faith No More have done it, but those expecting a Mr. Bungle reunion shouldn’t hold their breath – unless, of course, they can hold it for a really, really long time. “I don’t think it’s gonna happen unfortunately” bassist Trevor Dunn told Rock-A-Rolla. “I mean, I say unfortunately on behalf of people who want it to happen – I actually don’t want it to happen.” Dunn, who recently released the debut album with his brand new band MadLove, talked to us about his current projects and the joys of playing “traditional rock music”. Check out the full interview in the latest issue of Rock-A-Rolla Magazine, out now.”

Although Trevor does not seem interested in a Bungle reunion, Bar and Danny have both expressed interest in working with the bungle guys again one day, so anything is possible.

Check out the latest issue of rock-a-rolla for the whole article plus interviews with Jello Biafra and Chuck Mosley.

Both the Sydney and Melbourne legs of the Faith No More Sidewave tour will be on sale Thursday 29th of October at 9am. The Melbourne show will be available through ticketmaster (no direct link yet) and the Sydney show will be on sale via ticketek.

The lowdown:

Monday 22nd February – Hordern Pavillion, Sydney (Licensed All Ages )
Tickets through Ticketek ($85 + GST + fees and charges)

Thursday 25th February – Festival Hall, Melbourne ( Licensed All Ages)
Tickets through Ticketmaster ($85 + GST + fees and charges)

More info:

liveguide

fasterlouder

ticketek

From the video description:

“Mike Patton and Luciano Chessa test out the reconstructed futurist noise machines for the upcoming ‘Music for 16 Futurist Noise Intoners’ at the Novellus Theater in Yerba Buena Center for the Arts on Friday October 16th at 8pm.”

Dillinger are currently in the studio recording their latest album, Option Paralyisis, and they have started releasing a few inside the studio vids. From the snippets on the vids the new record sounds like it is shaping up to be kickass.

According to Ipecac, Mike has recently written a “Futurist Noise Composition” but won’t actually be performing it. It will be performed by other musicians in two separate shows in  New York and San Fran.

The official statement:

“Now here is a cool show to check out. Mike Patton recently wrote a  musical piece for a futurist noise series that will be performed by  musicians and composers in both San Francisco and New York City.

The SF show is October 16th at MOMA/Yerba Buena http://www.sfmoma.org/events/1459

The New York show is November 12th at Town Hall

The list of musicians that composed the music is VERY impressive.  Check it out. Mike will NOT be performing.”