It’s Official! Faith No More Reform
FNM.com have released Faith No More‘s official statement regarding the reunion. Mike Patton, Roddy Bottum, Billy Gould and Jon Hudson have all signed up for another ride on the FNM filly. Official word:
“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 17years 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 kickass 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 know where this will end or what it will bring up…only the future knows. But we are about to find out!FAITH NO MORE are:
Mike Bordin, Roddy Bottum, Bill Gould, Jon Hudson and Mike Patton“
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February 26th, 2009 at 10:25 am
I’ll believe it when I see it.
Now I see it I still don’t belive it!
Must be hard times financially for all.
In saying that though, I do sincerely hope that they bring out some new stuff. I know I am privileged enough to have seen them half a dozen times before, but who really wants to hear ‘Epic’, etc. for the zillionth time again?
February 26th, 2009 at 11:14 am
Who the heck is Jon Hudson?
February 26th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
Jon Hudson is the guitarist from AOTY.
Gronk if Aus is out (which despite what the publicist says, I doubt it will be), are you going to head over?
February 26th, 2009 at 12:34 pm
Jon Hudson replaced Dean Menta who had replaced Trey Spruance for the KFAD tour cos trey didn’t want to tour. then FNM went to the studio and apparently dean wasn’t so good at writing so they punted him and Hudson recorded and toured AOTY
February 26th, 2009 at 12:35 pm
I have it on relatively good authority that an australian tour is a goer
but yeah i will seriously consider a trek to europe to see FNM!
February 26th, 2009 at 12:35 pm
Dream come true!
February 26th, 2009 at 4:45 pm
SHOW ME THE DATES! SHOW ME THE DATES!
February 26th, 2009 at 7:26 pm
Downlaod festival uk…
February 26th, 2009 at 7:27 pm
download festival uk…haha
February 26th, 2009 at 7:34 pm
Am I the only one who’s a tad bothered by this. Don’t get me wrong I love FNM, just given Patton’s workload/talk of future direction there must be something lucrative in this for him to drop everything (Fantomas, Peeping Tom, Tomahwak (or is that dead in the water??)and run with it. Or maybe the whole thing will be a short six month burst and possible a new album. I don’t know I’m not overjoyed.
February 27th, 2009 at 10:25 am
fantomas hasnt done anything in ages, tomahawk might be non existent now that the other members have either been punted or have moved on (stanier is doin well in battles, duane has his USSA thing goin on, kev was punted), peeping tom i always thought was something that would happen when it happens.
its definitely not a bad thing that’s for sure, and I’m getting more and more excited that I will possibly be able to see them for the first time
February 27th, 2009 at 3:58 pm
I’ve been fortunate enough to have seen FNM in the past but like I’ve said before if a) they don’t try and do a comeback album and b) it keeps Patton away from rubbish projects like Peeping Tom and Crudo then I’m all for it.
February 28th, 2009 at 1:47 am
Gronk, im pretty sure us Aussies would get a run before the US, Mike and Faith No More have always had great support from us Australians, Fingers crossed, This is a great day!! I had the great experience of seeing them live at Alternative Nation in 1995 fuck that was 14 years ago, i was sixteen never been to Melbourne and loved every minute, i have relived the experience many times as i came acroos a bootleg dvd
February 28th, 2009 at 12:07 pm
@yeti: i dunno, mew FNM material might go alright
@moose: yeah i think you might be right, i wonder what venue? hordern i would imagine. that alternative nation fnm show would have been kickass!
February 28th, 2009 at 11:12 pm
Gronk have you seen the show, Ive got it on DVD happy to burn you a copy email your details and i will post
March 1st, 2009 at 4:36 am
nah i havent yeah that would be awesome thanks for that. chuckin you an email now. also im going to edit your post and remove your email so nasty spam crawlers dont come across it and send you ads for pills n stuff
March 1st, 2009 at 2:59 pm
gronk, “might” being the operative word.
Check out The Stooges comeback album ‘The Weirdness’!
March 1st, 2009 at 4:55 pm
Like everyone, I can’t express how surprised and baffled I was at this news! Just wondering if anyone else has what are ultimately ‘confused’ feelings about this? Just to give my quick FNM bio here – I’ve been a fan since a kid and grew up with the band (so to speak) and was a regular on the old fnm newsgroup, good old CV, bunglefever and all the rest. So I went through the whole ‘can’t believe my fav band have split’ period with everyone else at the time. But I feel I have musically matured by a massive amount since then, and I have always understood and appreciated Patton’s perspective on the whole reform issue – i.e. let sleeping dogs lie, they only would taint their legacy from that point on, and that there’s plenty of different music to focus on. As time went on, a reunion seemed increasingly less likely and I wanted it less and less. For me, FNM managed to hold their integrity and taught us how important it is for music to be relevant and made for the right reasons. In a commercial climate of music that is made for all the wrong reasons, FNM held that fine line of popularity vs ’selling out’. For instance, all the stage antics and piss-take covers seemed to add to the appreciation of a hardcore fan, not less the dynamic range of genre and style fused in each album. So what happens now? Patton warned of parading dinosaurs and all the usual reunion cliches, but I am not sure what the other members had said about the idea since the split. So whilst being happy about this and I am worried about how this integrity is handled. The saving grace, I think, is that I always think of FNM as being amazingly serious about not being serious and this will be the key to recapturing that magic. I hope that when they met about this (as mentioned in the statement) that they really were all on the same page and we don’t suffer cringe-worthy stuff that will make any big, long-time FNM fan feel embarrassed. As I said, they will have to be as musically relevant now as they were before, and be doing it for more that just the $$$$.
March 2nd, 2009 at 1:02 pm
@Yeti: yeah im scared it will be shite but ah well we shall see
@Lewis: welcome to stubbadub, thanks for the post. i have a feeling this may be for the $$$, at least for mr P. he has recently been stating he is looking ahead to the future and wants to cut back on his touring. A FNM world tour would probably put some nice dollars in the bank for this goal dontya think?
March 3rd, 2009 at 1:32 pm
Lewis,
I’m completely with you on this one.
I don’t mean to rain on anyone’s parade, especially folk like yourself Gronk who are unfortunate enough never to have seen them live, but I have to question the whole validity of the exercise.
I never, ever thought there would be the remotest possibility of Mike Patton singing all the old standards again. Let’s face it, who even listens to ‘The Real Thing’ these days?
Like I have said before, if they still retain the ability to surprise then fantastic let’s go for it. Release an album of schizophrenic nursery rhymes and Las Vegas style big band sounds.
If, however, it is simply a retread of all the tired old faves for $$$$$ then count me out of it.
March 3rd, 2009 at 4:36 pm
And if they do it for the money, so what? Personally, I believe (and actually kind of know) that it aside from the money, they’re also doing it for fun.
I think each and one of them walked his own unique creative path (aside from Hudson, I have no idea what he did), they threw away many opportunities to “sell-out” in order to do what they believe in, and they “earned” (like they owe anyone any explanations) to do whatever the fuck they want, whether it’s for the money, for the chicks or for the heck of it.
I am disappointed that Hudson will be the guitar player, but I am sure that they will still sound amazing – they are 100% professionals and live-show masters, anyone who gets a ticket wont be disappointed.
The people who criticize them for “doing it for the money” or for “selling it” should re-think their own lives, it seems – if musicians that constantly refused to sell out and do things for money decide that it’s their time to enjoy (again) some life of fame and fortune, they got every fucking right to do so.
Boohoo, we have to count someone out of the shows…
March 3rd, 2009 at 6:13 pm
For starters, FNM left us with Album of the Year. The last song we got from them was Pristina. I don’t know what to expect from a new album, but it can’t be worse than that. I think it will be better as I doubt they will try to conform to any current standards as they were doing towards the end.
Even if they just do a greatest hits tour and go back into retirement, so what? I don’t know how old you are Lewis, but maybe you aren’t yet jaded. I’m done with being idealistic on such matters. Now I just want to have a good time. Sure, some of them are pushing 50, but the songs are still awesome and I will have a great time seeing them live once again. Again, they left us with AOTY. They can’t make it any worse!
So what if they are doing it for the money? Have you looked at the economy lately? If they want to do it, there are enough of us who will want to see it. I’m not 100% sure, but I think there’s a good chance it will be really good if they have a good attitude about it.
March 4th, 2009 at 1:25 am
yeah i dont buy in to the whole selling out thing. if you can make money and do what you love then by all means do it
when you do it just for the money or change who you are/your music etc for money then i think that is selling out, but I dont think any of FNM do it purely for the money otherwise they wouldnt have broken up in the first place. they broke up because it was no longer fun for them.
i think they are older/wiser/more mature now and the reunion is a combo of the $$$ and the fun.
check out billy on twitter, he seems to be enjoying himself immensely
March 4th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
Pappy dearest,
No need to act like a complete scrotum and throw all of your old Real Thing t-shirts out of your pram. Like I said, I can understand folk’s enthusiasm for the news if they were unlucky enough not to have seen FNM before.
I have NEVER accused anyone of selling out. If Puffy needs some more moolah to indulge a ‘Cuckoo For Caca’ habit or if Roddy needs money to treat his boyfriend to more sunny Caribbean holidays, then fine.
From my point of view, I find it extremely difficult to summon up the enthusiasm to watch near 50 year-olds and a 40+ Patton going through the motions of ‘Epic’ for the 6,309,512th time (give or take a dozen or so) at some shitfest metal gathering surrounded by skateboarding geek nu-metal fans of tripe such as Korn, etc.
I do hope I am wrong and that they shake up as much shit as they used to and bring out some killer new material in the process. Please forgive my cynicism in the meantime until the full details are known.
March 4th, 2009 at 1:42 pm
Maybe it’s just me but I thought that the AOTY tour had a certain staleness and going through the motion feel to it. That’s the very reason they broke up in the 1st place.
I sincerely hoppe they do nothing to sully the legacy, and I believe it still means too much to the individual members for them to do so. Fingers, legs and eyes crossed.
March 4th, 2009 at 2:03 pm
I didnt think there was anything wrong with AOTY??? Maybe im just a thirty year old that loves the music i listened to from the time i was early teens to twenty, God as im typen this epic is playing on a DVD (its on its way gronk) of a bootleg concert i was at. If FNM come to Australia il be there, if not i would seriously consider going to the UK, as long as the concerts have the same energy now as they had then, Sellout???? Who cares all of us would sell out for dollars if we had to, and all i can say to people that are against it is Piss off!!! if you dont like it or the idea, dont listen to it! Easy keep liven in the past. Im not trying to offend anyone but dont throw stones!!!
March 4th, 2009 at 2:16 pm
Here, here, Jim Bowen, my thoughts exactly. I guess it is a matter of context – just because I feel negative towards what MIGHT happen with fnm, that doesn’t mean I am against anyone who will enjoy this. You can call me a pussy, spineless, hippy, commie bastard if you want – but I know I don’t want to see fnm run through a greatest hits tour just for the cash and leave it at that. Especially at large festivals with inappropriate line-ups (like download). I have already seen on a download forum loads of kids saying how disappointed they are that FNM are headlining. So lets hope that they DON’T start where they left off because, as Jim Bowen pointed out, they were getting visably stale at the end (I liked AOTY, but it certainly wasn’t the best). They will only be worth any relevance and your earhole if they are really all in this together for the love of it. And I don’t blaim them for cashing in whilst doing that – but just not exclusively for the dough. With the state the world is in I’d expect these guys to have something to say, a poke in the eye (that Patton loves to talk about), a bit of hard-hitting satire and music that will provoke conservative musical minds.
March 4th, 2009 at 2:42 pm
Download festival! Oh man is this my only realistic chance of seeing FNM? I dont want to be in a field in Leicestershire full of teenagers at midnight and I suspect neither do most of the other fans my age (36).
March 4th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
Moose,
Did I misread your post, or did you advise anyone against, or with reservations about, the re-union to “Piss off and stop living in the past”. ?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
March 4th, 2009 at 7:18 pm
Jim it says “Easy keep liven in the past. Im not trying to offend anyone but dont throw stones!!!
Hell i prob live in the past
March 4th, 2009 at 7:27 pm
“if you dont like it or the idea, dont listen to it! Easy keep liven in the past”
Thanks for reminding me I have this option Moose
And this comment from a guy who’s bootlegging a gig from ’95, lol
March 4th, 2009 at 9:28 pm
[I posted earlier but it hasn't turned up... take 2]
Here, here, Jim Bowen, my words exactly. It is a matter of context – just because I feel negatively towards what MIGHT be with FNM, that doesn’t mean I am against anyone who is for it. You can call me a pussy, spineless, hippy, commie bastard if you like, but I can’t say that I would even slightly advocate seeing FNM churn out a greatest hits tour and leave it that. And lets hope that they DON’T start up where they left off, as Jim said, they were getting visably stale by the end (and I liked AOTY, although it certainly wasn’t the best). It is important to remember that things change over time – they never change from what they WERE, of course, but songs like Epic (and most the early material) will just bare no relevance to FNM now – they didn’t even back then! Every copy of epic I have live, Mike always adds a mocking cover over the end (such as Foreigner, I Want To Know What Live Is) – it came across to me as the only way they could bear playing it once again in the set. Couple that with them billed with quite inappropriate lineups (eg download festival), I can’t say it strikes a chord with me. I have already seen lots of kids on a download festival message board complaining that FNM are headlining. The only way this will work is if all the guys really are in it for the love of the music. I certainly don’t blame them for cashing in whilst doing so. But with state of the world as it is, I expect these guys to have something to say. We need a poke in the eye (as Patton always loved talking about), some hard-hitting satire, and some assault on musically conservative minds.
March 5th, 2009 at 12:09 am
“For starters, FNM left us with Album of the Year. The last song we got from them was Pristina. I don’t know what to expect from a new album, but it can’t be worse than that.”
what?! outrage! heresy!
I’d agree, on the whole AoTY is not quite as strong as the others, but it has some excellent tunes – pristina easily among ‘em. I for one LOVE that song, especially the live versions. it’s vast and mournful and minimal, one of the most beautiful things they ever recorded.
March 5th, 2009 at 2:49 am
Pie Time, Pristina was the best song they could have ever finished with, one of my all time favourites!
AOTY definately has some filler material but most of that album is pure gold. Still a great album no matter what anyone says.
Long live FNM!
March 6th, 2009 at 2:12 am
yeah ilike AoTY too, not their strongest effort but still great music