Mr. Bungle Go Kaput

[Kire]

Mr. Bungle Go Kaput
Dec. 8, 2004

Patton blames California rockers' split on personality clashes


After a five-year recording break, experimental rockers Mr. Bungle are officially done. "I'm at a point now where I crave healthy musical environments, where there is a genuine exchange of ideas without repressed envy or resentment, and where people in the band want to be there regardless of what public accolades may come their way," says singer Mike Patton. "Unfortunately, Mr. Bungle was not one of those places."

The multi-member band (whose core members included Patton, guitarist Trey Spruance, bassist Trevor Dunn, saxophonist Clinton "Bar" McKinnon and drummer Danny Heifetz) originally formed back in the mid-Eighties in Eureka, California, while its members were still in high school. Then Patton joined Faith No More before their commercial breakthrough, 1989's The Real Thing. The boost in exposure landed Bungle a recording contract with Warner Bros., which released 1991's Mr. Bungle, 1995's Disco Volante and 1999's California.

Although Bungle never matched Faith No More's commercial success, they gained a large cult following and influenced recent funk/metal chart-toppers -- most notably Korn, whose guitarists utilize what they've dubbed the "Mr. Bungle chord." Also, long before Slipknot, Bungle donned masks onstage to hide their identities.

"We could have probably squeezed out a couple more records but the collective personality of this group became so dysfunctional," Patton says. "This band was poisoned by one person's petty jealousy and insecurity, and it led us to a slow, unnatural death. And I'm at peace with that, because I know I tried all I could."

More: http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/_/id/6659786/mrbungle?pageid=rs.News&pageregion=double1&rnd=1106441231218&has-player=true&version=6.0.11.847

dysfunctional? Mr. Bungle? I'm shocked.

[realisticphish]

1. lol nt

[Beware the Beast Man]

2. Wow. With an average 5 years between discs, I never even noticed.

Too bad. I loved Bungle. A friend of mine from college was beaten up by Patton during a show for dressing up as a clown. He threatened to dress as Jim Martin the next time he saw them. :)

[Kire]

3. that reminds me of a story

I was volunteering for an environmental lobbying group in DC one summer, and I brought a few CD's. Mr. Bungle was one of them.

So I was in a car at one point and the driver, who was from Oregon, said to put in one of my CD's. I chose Mr. Bungle. I was so excited about them. I was talking about how cool they were, and really promoting the hell out of them.

She told me that the Keyboard player beat the shit out of her best friend, and the rest of the car ride was completely miserable.