Mike Patton: “Let’s Not Listen To Trump” on Pandemic
Add Mike Patton to the growing list of musicians to speak out against Donald Trump — not surprising! — as we now sit exactly one week away from finally being able to boot that fucker out of office.
In a recent chat with Consequence of Sound, the Faith No More / Mr. Bungle / Tomahawk etc. frontman spoke about Trump’s botched handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. After revealing that the early months of lockdown were actually quite productive for him on a musical level, Patton explains that he’s now itching to get back to normal life but defers to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, on when it’ll be safe to resume touring.
On his productivity during the early months of the pandemic and his mounting frustration with Trump’s handling of the coronavirus, he said:
“When this stuff started, all I can think about is basically we were so lucky to do those Bungle shows when we did them in late February. I just felt lucky that we got those in. During the [pandemic], I had to cancel a year’s worth of shows. I was scheduled to be with Faith No More, doing a lot of different stuff on different continents. So, I took the pandemic as an opportunity … I like being at home and I’m not really a social guy anyway. So fuck it, I’ll stay home and make music. No big deal. So the first three months were like gold. I was totally working every day and during the pandemic I’ve worked on three or four different records. So to me, it wasn’t that much different than my norm. However, after like three months, I was like, ‘Fuck this shit, this is getting old. Come on, I gotta go to a fucking restaurant.’ And it became a little more laborious.”
“In San Francisco, where I’m at, some things are kind of open, some things are not. You don’t really understand the protocol and whatnot. It’s coming to that realization that you can’t get what you want when you want it. I think moving forward, during the pandemic — and there’s no end in sight, let’s be honest … let’s not listen to Trump — there’s no end in sight so this is the way we’re going to live for now. So it’s on me to figure out how do I adjust, and not just close myself up and isolate. I can’t do that.”
When asked when he thinks concerts will return, Patton answered:
“I’m not a scientist, my friend. What I would say is two words: ‘Doctor Fauci.’ I ain’t doing shit and nobody’s going to do shit until we know it’s safe. Not just for us, but for everybody. Right now, a public gathering, which a concert really is, is not a good fucking idea. It’s not a good idea, and most of us keep that in mind. I’m not trying to push the envelope here. It’s not going to happen. So what we’ll do is basically wait until we’re told what we need can do. It’s fucking simple. Be safe, be cool. A lot of people and a lot of musicians don’t get that. But we’re not gonna play until we know for a fucking fact that it’s safe to do so.”
The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny Demo, a re-recording of Mr. Bungle’s 1986 demo (with some bonus tracks) with Scott Ian and Dave Lombardo in the band, comes out next Friday, October 30. Pre-order it here and listen to “Sudden Death” from the affair below.
