Mike Patton

**Michael Allan "Mike" Patton** is the current lead vocalist in the American alternative metal band Faith No More.

## Early Life

Mike Patton was born in Eureka, California on January 27th, 1968. In 1984, he formed the experimental band, Mr. Bungle, before its timely demise in 2000. During some of his time in Mr. Bungle, he joined Faith No More in the year 1988, replacing previous lead vocalist Chuck Mosley. Later that year, ***The Real Thing*** was released (Patton's first album with Faith No More). After this, Faith No More put out three more studio albums before disbanding in 1998.

## Faith No More (1988-1998; 2008-Present)

Patton replaced Chuck Mosley, who later joined Cement. Faith No More's third studio album, The Real Thing, was an immediate hit with MTV once Patton took over as the lead singer. "Epic" was a music video that seemed to be played non-stop on MTV (in which video, Patton was wearing a Mr. Bungle shirt). In Angel Dust, Patton had little say in how the lyrics work-- the songs were already written. In Angel Dust and later albums, however, Patton's influence grew in size enormously, and it shows.

### Personal Projects

In 1998, Faith No More eventually disbanded after many months of growing discord amongst its members; the musicians went on to pursue their own projects. Mike Patton pursued multiple projects, including the final album with Mr Bungle, ***California (***1999), before they, too disbanded due to differences in 2000; forming the megaband ***Tomahawk*** in 2000; releasing a joint venture with multiple artists under the name ***Peeping Tom*** (2006); and his covers of 1950’s and 1960’s Italian pop songs, ***Mondo Cane*** (2010), recorded with a full orchestra. Patton has also released collaborations with John Kaada (***Kaada/Patton***), The Divine Gods, Lovage, and in 2016, formed ***The Nevermen*** with Tunde Adebimpe and Adam "Doseone" Drucker. He has also composed soundtracks and provided voice work for films and video games, including *The Darkness* and Valve Software games, such as *Portal* and *Left 4 Dead.* His soundtrack for the film ***A Place Beyond the Pines*** (2013) received critical acclaim.

### Faith No More reforms (2008-Present)

With Gould, Bordin and Patton having reconciled at Roddy Bottum’s wedding in 2008, fans of Faith No More were rewarded with the news that FNM 2.0 were doing a reunion tour, *The Second Coming Tour*. The band hadn't planned on making any new content past that, yet lo and behold, in 2015 they had released an album titled ***Sol Invictus*** (unconquered sun in Latin). It's unknown whether or not Faith No More has any plans on splitting again.

## Personal Life

In 1994, Patton got married with Cristina Zuccatosta, but split with her in 2001. On a radio show, *Loveline*, Patton stated that "it was a daily struggle" to juggle marriage and a musical career. "It had to happen," he stated, and he said that "there's still hope." He used to live in Italy, and sold the house in Bolonga around the time of the breakup. They reconciled in 2004. Patton also speaks fluent Italian.

### Mike Patton's Right Hand

Mike is permanently numb in his right hand. He is still able to use it, however. The incident occurred during his third concert with Faith No More when he severed tendons and nerves in his right hand from a broken bottle. In an *interview*, Patton stated that "there was a period where it was a very big deal, where I had to learn how to do everything with my left hand. Play basketball, brush your teeth, masturbate, all that good stuff." He also finds it funny that "the doctors told me that I wouldn't get the movement back but I'd get the feeling back. They were 100 percent wrong and I'm glad they were wrong because I'd rather be able to move the fucking thing."

## Trivia

* Mike is able to reach an impressive 6 octave vocal range.
* He's known to do some very strange things during concerts. He is known to spit, stage dive dangerously, and has destroyed a drumset with a backflip. He has also swallowed a shoelace (and regurgitated it) and has pulled out his genitals during a performance on multiple occasions.
* In 2015, at Rock in Rio, Patton went to stage dive after "Caffeine", but miscalculated the stage completely and landed on solid ground. The next concert that Faith No More had performed, in Chile, Mike was seen in a wheelchair. However, he was still able to walk with the use of a cane and limited movement.
* After a year-long feud with The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Patton finally lashed back. One Halloween night, Mr. Bungle dressed up as the Chili Peppers and mocked their lyrics, covering a song and changing the lyrics on purpose. They also mocked the antics and history of the Chili Peppers' addiction issues.