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| Birth Name(s) : Michael Allan Patton |
Date of Birth: N/A |
| Status:
Single
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Partner:
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| Profession:
Musician |
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Full Mike Patton Biography
Faith No More, Mr. Bungle, Fantômas, Tomahawk, Peeping Tom, Lovage, John Zorn, Dillinger Escape Plan, Hemophiliac
Michael Allan Patton (born January 27, 1968) is an American musician, best known as the lead singer of the band Faith No More from 1988 to 1998. He has also handled lead vocals for Mr. Bungle (which preceded his involvement with FNM), Tomahawk, Lovage, Fantômas, The Dillinger Escape Plan, and Peeping Tom.
Patton is 5 feet 8 inches tall. His right hand is permanently numb from an on-stage incident during his third concert with Faith No More, where he accidentally cut himself on a broken bottle and severed the tendons and nerves in his hand. He can use his hand, but he has no feeling in it (much to the surprise of both Patton and his doctor, who told him the exact opposite would happen).
Mike grew up in Eureka, California, where he and his friends formed Mr. Bungle circa 1985. During the late 80s they recorded the cassette-only demos The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny, Goddammit I Love America, Bowel of Chiley and OU818 (featuring tracks that would appear on their first Warner Brothers album), and earned a small local following. Patton joined Faith No More in January of 1989 and filled the vocal void left by the unreliable and recently fired Chuck Mosley, who moved on to the band Cement. Faith No More's The Real Thing was released later the same year. The album reached the top ten on the charts thanks largely to MTV's heavy rotation of the Epic promo.
During his time as a member of Faith No More, Patton continued to collaborate with Mr. Bungle. His success in mainstream rock and metal ultimately helped secure Mr. Bungle a record deal with Warner Bros. The band released a self-titled album (produced by John Zorn) in 1991, and the highly surreal Disco Volante in 1995. Their final album was California.
In 2007, Mike Patton played the voice of the eponymous possessive primeval force in the video game The Darkness. He worked alongside Kirk Acevedo, Lauren Ambrose and Dwight Schultz in playing the roles of the main characters in the gruesome and shocking story that follows Jackie Estacado's trip to hell and back twice in a search for revenge of the killing of the only person he ever cared about. He also had a minor role in Valve Corporation's 2007 release, Portal as the voice of The Anger Sphere in the final confrontation with the insane supercomputer, GLaDOS. He has another role in an upcoming Valve title, Left 4 Dead. In October, 2007 it was announced that he would be voicing the main character in Capcom's remake of their classic title, Bionic Commando. Patton is known to be an avid video game player.
In February 2006, Mike Patton performed an operatic piece, composed by Eyvind Kang, at Teatro di Modena in Italy. Patton sang alongside vocalist Jessika Kinney, and was accompanied by the Modern Brass Ensemble, Bologna Chamber Choir, and Alberto Capelli and Walter Zanetti on electric and acoustic guitars. Of the experience, Patton remarked that it was extremely challenging to project the voice without a microphone.
In 2005, Patton signed on to compose the soundtrack for the upcoming independent movie Pinion, marking his debut scoring an American feature-length film. His other film work includes portraying two major characters in the Steve Balderson film Firecracker. He has also expressed his desire to compose for film director David Lynch.
Patton's long-gestating Peeping Tom album was released on May 30, 2006 on his own Ipecac label. The set was pieced together by swapping song files through the mail with collaborators like Norah Jones, Kool Keith and Massive Attack, Odd Nosdam, Jel, Doseone, Bebel Gilberto, Kid Koala, and Dub Trio.
"I don't listen to the radio, but if I did, this is what I'd want it to sound like," Patton says of the project. "This is my version of pop music. In a way, this is an exercise for me: taking all these things I've learned over the years and putting them into a pop format."
Patton is highly regarded in alternative musical circles, and seen as something of an idol in the eyes of modern alternative youth for his air of mystique, his constantly-changing musical sensibilities, his impressive vocal range, and his experimental nature. He remains an elusive figure in music, rarely giving interviews and characteristically dismissive of his contribution to Faith No More in particular. Although recently he has openly stated that he enjoyed his time in Faith No More, and in 2006 he chose a Faith No More video for MTV2's Mike Patton Takeover.
Patton married Italian artist Titi Zuccatosta in 1994. They separated in 2001. During a recent appearance on the radio show, LOVELINE (Listen), Patton said that it was a case of two people wanting different things and hinted that his excessive work habits may have been a factor. "It's very hard. It's a daily struggle," he commented in regards to the rigors of juggling a busy music career and a marriage. "It had to happen... Even though we knew each other really well when we got married, it doesn't get easier." He later added, "We're trying this. See what happens. There's still hope." Relatedly, Patton used to own a home in Bologna, Italy (which he sold around the time of the break-up), and speaks fluent Italian.
Lives and compilations: Live at the Brixton Academy | Who Cares a Lot? | This Is It: The Best of Faith No More | Epic and Other Hits | The Platinum Collection |
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