Mr. Bungle
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Background information | ||
| Origin | Humboldt County, California, USA | |
| Genre(s) | Various Experimental rock |
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| Years active | 1985–2000 | |
| Label(s) | Warner Bros. Records Slash |
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| Associated acts |
Faith No More Fantômas The Dillinger Escape Plan Secret Chiefs 3 Dieselhed Peeping Tom Theory of Ruin Tomahawk Tub Ring |
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| Members | ||
| Mike Patton Trey Spruance Trevor Dunn Danny Heifetz Clinton "Bär" McKinnon |
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Mr. Bungle was a highly influential experimental rock group that formed in 1985 in Eureka, Ca, and was known to blend and cycle through several musical genres, often within the course of a single song, fusing radically different styles together. While it would be impossible to list all of the genres incorporated into their music, some notable ones include heavy metal, rock music, funk, free jazz, surf rock, hardcore punk, Klezmer music, ska, reggae, hip hop, avant-jazz, noise rock, funkcore, dub music, folk music, contemporary art music, pop, doo-wop, progressive rock, ambient music, funk metal, psychedelic rock, electronica, exotica, swing music, space age pop, soul music, death metal, rockabilly, bossa nova, and even video game and cartoon music. Mr. Bungle released three full-length albums between 1991 and 1999 and has not been active since then.
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[edit] Major Releases
Their self-titled debut Mr. Bungle, recorded a year after Mike Patton was recruited into Faith No More, was produced by jazz experimentalist John Zorn. The content is very hard to pin down using specific genres, and the structure and musical style of any single track can dramatically alter anywhere in a song.
The first track on the self-titled recording was originally called "Travolta". Apparently, John Travolta took issue and threatened legal action, so on later pressings of the album, the track was changed to "Quote Unquote".
They created a video for "Travolta" and submitted it to MTV. Unfortunately, the station refused to air the video because of images of bodies hanging in nooses. This raised a minor controversy, as several other videos aired at the time (including videos for Nirvana) contained images considered more graphic than those of "Travolta".
Disco Volante, their second major release, has a completely different tone. It is the most experimental of Mr. Bungle's albums as the music ventures into more complex and formal sonic territory. Extreme shifts of musical style are constant throughout the album, arguably making it Mr. Bungle's most difficult and inaccessible release. Disco Volante included influences from contemporary classical music, electronic music pioneers such as Pierre Henry, Morton Subotnick and Dick Hyman, avant-garde jazz, and European film music of the 1960s and 1970s (Ennio Morricone, Bruno Nicolai, Peter Thomas, etc.). In doing so, the album constituted a marriage of formal, academic avant-garde with informal pop culture, and as such is an excellent representation of the synthesis of high art and low art.
The band's third album, California, is said to be their most accessible. While the genre shifts are still present, they are less frequent, giving the album a less chaotic and more stable feel. While Disco Volante was a dark, brooding work, California has a much lighter tone, and shows influences of exotica and The Beach Boys, while still incorporating even more diverse styles, including Kecak, Klezmer, Middle Eastern and Roma music. Vocalist Mike Patton also claims that their tour with The Dillinger Escape Plan during this period influenced the direction of Mr. Bungle, which can be heard during some songs from California such as None Of Them Knew They Were Robots.
[edit] Stage Antics
More so than other Mike Patton related projects, Mr. Bungle was known for their terrifying stage shows, where all of the band members would dress up in outrageous costumes and masks. For instance, Patton would often wear a gimp mask and Trevor Dunn would donn a blue dress and pigtails while headbanging maniacally.
During the 1990 tour for the self-titled album, they played in a combination of plastic clown masks and S&M gear.
Such antics were particularly felt at the live shows during the Disco Volante era. The presentation of the band on stage has sometimes been close to a realization of Antonin Artaud's Theatre of Cruelty in the musical domain.
The shows for the California tours, while still involving various members wearing masks and dressing up, were no longer showing evidence of Artaud's influence. Sometimes, themes related to the Village People were included, and occasionally, black suits with white dress shirts.
[edit] Anthony Kiedis and Mr. Bungle Feud
Mr. Bungle is also known to have had a bad relationship with the Red Hot Chili Peppers' frontman Anthony Kiedis.[1] In fact, Mr. Bungle's 1999 album California was supposed to be released in 1998, but their label Warner Bros. Records pushed it back so as not to coincide with the Red Hot Chili Peppers similarly titled 1999 album Californication because Warner Bros. feared that Kiedis would be angry. Both Patton and Kiedis have denied this was true, with Patton stating that because the Chili Peppers and Mr. Bungle have two entirely different fan bases, delaying the release was absolutely unnecessary. The bad relationship between Patton and Kiedis started when Kiedis saw singer Mike Patton's other band Faith No More and accused Patton of ripping off his style. However, both Mike Patton and Faith No More had been performing before the formation of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.[1] Mike Patton (and Mr. Bungle) took great offense to Kiedis' comment, sarcastically threatening Kiedis in the press.[1] According to some sources, Patton attempted to end the old feud, apparently to no avail.
Afterwards, Kiedis was responsible for getting Mr. Bungle kicked off of a series of summer festivals in Europe, Australia and New Zealand (as the headlining act at the festivals, The Chili Peppers had final word on the bands that would appear).[1] As a result, Mr. Bungle parodied the Red Hot Chili Peppers by covering the songs Give It Away, Around The World, Under the Bridge and Scar Tissue (deliberately using incorrect lyrics) on Halloween 1999 in Detroit, Michigan, where Patton introduced each Mr. Bungle band member with the name of one of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Mr. Bungle proceeded to satirize many of the mannerisms of the other band, mocking their frequent heroin injections and on-stage antics. Kiedis responded by having them removed from festivals in 2000 and threatening the band.[1] Mr Bungle members performed similar mocking of the Red Hot Chili Peppers during subsequent shows including their Australian visit in 2000 where they performed a two song opening of Red Hot Chili Peppers covers in Melbourne, Australia. Also in on the 'joke' was opening act Neil Hamburger who spent the vast majority of his comical monologues making heroin related jokes towards Peppers lead man Anthony Keidis.
The rest of the Chili Peppers seem to have no problems with Mr. Bungle, though Mr. Bungle's Trevor Dunn has frequently mocked the Chili Peppers' Flea.[1]
[edit] Mr. Bungle's End
Mr. Bungle is currently disbanded. When asked about a possible reunion, Mike Patton stated, "It could happen, but I won’t be singing. Some bridges have definitely been burned. It was a fun time and sometimes you just have to move on. I’ve got a lot on my plate now." Trevor Dunn adds, on his website, "Bungle is dead. Please realize that..." Spruance, Heifetz and McKinnon have been more optimistic; to quote Spruance, in response to the standard 'Mr. Bungle regrouping' question: “I hope so because that band could take over the fucking universe if it wanted to."
Trey Spruance is now part of the band Secret Chiefs 3. Trevor Dunn occasionally steps in to play bass. Danny Heifetz now resides in Sydney, Australia and plays in outfits such as The Tango Saloon and Munkle. Clinton McKinnon resides in Melbourne, Australia and plays with The Ribbon Device. Mike Patton has also kept busy with numerous musical projects and acting.
[edit] Band line-up
Regular members of Mr. Bungle included:
- Mike Patton - vocals, keyboards, samples
- Trey Spruance - guitar, keyboards
- Trevor Dunn - bass
- Danny Heifetz - drums
- Clinton "Bär" McKinnon - reeds
- Theo Lengyel - saxophone, keyboards (till 1996, left the band due to creative differences)
Former Members:
- Jed Watts - Drums (1985-1987)
- Hans Wagner - Drums (1987-1989)
Additional musicians often performed and recorded with them, including percussionist William Winant. They drew upon another keyboardist/backing vocalist for the summer/fall 1999 tour (name unknown).
[edit] Discography
| Album Cover | Date of Release | Title | Label |
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1986 | The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny | Ladd-Firth Productions |
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1987 | Bowel of Chiley | ? |
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1988 | Goddammit I Love America | The Works |
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1989 | OU818 | "B" Productions |
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August 13, 1991 | Mr. Bungle | Warner Bros. Records |
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October 10, 1995 | Disco Volante | Warner Bros. Records |
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July 13, 1999 | California | Warner Bros. Records |
The four early pre-Warner Bros. cassettes are not part of the band's official catalogue, and are considered nearly unfindable today. They are quite valued on eBay, with auctions ending in the triple digits. They are, however, downloadable from a semi-official ftp-server.
[edit] Footnotes
[edit] References
- [2] Huge FAQ on Mr. Bungle.
[edit] External links
- Bungle Fever fan-site
- Bungle Fever fan-site BBS
- Caca Volante news and archives
- Mr. Bungle at All Music Guide
- Mr. Bungle FAQ
- Rolling Stone article on the band's split
- [3]: Archive.org hosts the Coronet educational film "Lunchroom Manners," in which a puppet named Mr. Bungle teaches children how to behave at lunch. The first two minutes of audio are featured on Mr. Bungle's self-titled CD.
