He was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, reared in Colorado, and is now based in San Francisco. His accumulated works are impressive to say the least: he has published over 21 CDs, two movies, two DVDs, and three books. He is considered not only a musician and performer, but also a historian and political activist. In 1982, consumed by an interest in politics, he moved to El Salvador for seven years and completely abandoned music. His political writings have been published all over the world. Musically, he has collaborated and played in bands with Mike Patton of Faith No More and Mr. Bungle fame, John Zorn, Yoshihide Otomo, and many more. He is currently a Professor of Technocultural Studies at UC Davis.