Your Question:

07/14/2020 Reina Nickels

Are the frequent references to Satan/Satanism meant to be ironic, or do you practice Satanism? If so, is it theistic or LeVeyian?

My Answer:

I appreciate LeVeyian Satanism; I follow The Church of Satan on Twitter and enjoy their debunking of idiocy. However, what I practice falls under my own jurisdiction. I would offer that almost all references to Satanism in metal are ironic and/or misguided and yet, it is a powerful trope that seems to work. If you’re referring to Bungle’s use of Satanic imagery I would say it’s more cultural than theistic.

YOUR QUESTION

08/22/2020 Earworms

The new recording of Raping Your Mind is such a mindfuck because musically/stylistically it sounds *exactly* of its (mid ‘80s) time, as it should, but the production/engineering is unmistakably 21st century. This contrast is what makes it such a peculiar listening experience, unlike anything I’ve experienced before in the context of metal (a genre where musical style and production style seem to be married to each other more so than any other). My question is what was your whole bass rig in the studio for the new record? As much gear/tech/studio geekery as you’re willing to divulge and indulge!

MY ANSWER

I went in there planning on using a big SVT with an 8x10. The classic one that was in the studio didn’t have a master volume, so it was impossible for me to not play excruciatingly loud and that didn’t work with us all being in one room. The assistant engineers suggested the Verellen Meat Smoke which I had never used. It worked nicely. That was it! They buried the cab in blankets, mic-ed the thing up, took a direct line and then I adjusted the mix of those to my liking. I also kept additional distortion to a minimum as to avoid being sucked into the guitar mids.

YOUR QUESTION

08/24/2020

hiwhat’s up with your “singing” on the First Grand Constitution & Bylaws album? did it come entirely from you or was there any input/direction from trey? improv or worked out? i’ve always had a hard time making sense of the fact that such an ideologically/philosophically coherent work contains an abundance of what seems to be truly spontaneous improv. but then maybe those things shouldn’t be at odds with each other, what do you think?

MY ANSWER

Not sure why you have to disparage me by putting quotes around “singing”. I jest. That’s all spontaneous free association which Trey knew I could deliver. I certainly think it pairs well with coherency. Ever have a nice expensive wine and a bunch of weird cheeses you couldn’t pronounce, and you didn’t know what order to eat them in, whether you should have both wine and cheese in your mouth at the same time or not? I go for those really strong French cheeses that almost smell like feet and yet you’re attracted to the sensation, kind of like a dog when it finds a dead animal in the pasture and wants to roll around on it. I’m assuming that’s a good analogy.

YOUR QUESTION

08/24/2020 Joe

Hey Trevor, hope this finds you well and safe. How do you balance listening to music, practicing, and creating? Thanks.

MY ANSWER

The eternal question. Hard to say, really. Eliminate the things in your life that are distracting. Make a schedule. Self-discipline is a constant challenge. Sometimes, one thing bleeds into the other, such as practicing into composing. But it’s important to keep in mind that all three things you mention are part of the same thread. When you are listening you are also practicing, for example. Sometimes, if you want to focus on a particular thing, you have to book yourself, as if an external boss. You have to step outside of your habits and tendencies to push yourself. Back in the day, I used to practice all day long, then, if I didn’t have a gig, I’d reward myself by going to the movies. That said, practicing itself is rewarding. But there are only so many hours in the day, so….hell, I don’t know, take shorter naps.

YOUR QUESTION

08/24/2020 Platypus Observer

Hey Trevor, hope you're doing ok. Even pre-pandemic it seems like it's getting increasingly difficult to earn a living doing anything creative - live venues are shutting down, arts funding is being cut, etc... which in some ways is a motivator but then other times I think well, maybe I should just become a developer instead. You're obviously a highly esteemed musician but do you ever struggle with this kind of thing?
I remember the old Q&As on your site, they were awesome - glad you're doing these again, we need more snarkful insight in these challenging times...

MY ANSWER

The end of the line for many musicians is often either teaching or touring. The older I get the more burned out I become on the latter, and that’s in addition to the obstacles you mention. Good and meaningful teaching jobs are also in demand and often secured for years. So yes, I struggle just as much as anyone else. Another option of course, is having a supplement job as many brilliant artists I know have. If you’re dedicated to something you’ll find a way to make it work. It may mean being pro-active, being innovative, etc. But that’s what artists do, no?

YOUR QUESTION

08/25/2020 Elena

You seem like the shy quiet one in the whole Zorn/Tzadik/Downtown scene. As a younger and more introverted one among the family do you ever feel socially out of place, not so much on stage or recording but more so when hanging out, going out to eat, during down time etc?

MY ANSWER

There is a younger generation after me now, but regardless, I feel socially out of place in most situations, which is one reason I prefer to spend those times alone.

YOUR QUESTION

08/25/2020 Fastidio

Hi Trevor ............ what messy anecdotes with your buddies MR.BUNGLE that you remember ...... could you share?
Saludos

MY ANSWER

Once, on our first real tour in ‘92 Trey was driving the van and decided to open a glass jar of kimchi he had purchased somewhere along the road. For whatever reason the jar exploded and there was kimchi all over the place!! Oh man, what a mess.

YOUR QUESTION

08/25/2020 Michelle

Noticing the credits of California I saw that you wrote retrovertigo and the holy filament, and I’m wondering if you written anything along the same vein? Those are some of the coolest songs. Your work in moonchild is really sweet as well. Keep up the great work, and would love to hear a collection of raw demos from you.

MY ANSWER

The closest thing to Retrovertigo I’ve written since then is my MadLove record. I’ve also mentioned a “singer/songwriter” record that’s been in the works for a good decade. Hoping to finish that before I’m 60. The Holy Filament was kind of a special piece that lives on it’s own island.

YOUR QUESTION

08/26/2020 Brock O'Toole

Given the statements made in interviews about feeling that the Raging Wrath era of Mr. Bungle never had it's due and that you were always a metal band and metalheads at heart, do you regret going in an experimental, avant-garde direction with Mr. Bungle? If you could go back in time, would you have saved any interest in jazz or the avant-garde for your various other projects, and cemented Mr. Bungle's legacy as one of the earliest death/thrash metal bands?

MY ANSWER

Nope. No regrets. We were changing as we felt fit at the time. Having Mr. Bungle was actually a blessing as we had an outlet to explore different directions. There was no saving necessary, and I formed my own bands later to express whatever I wasn’t expressing in Bungle, as did the others. I would have lost my mind if I’d been stuck playing Day On The Green year after year.

YOUR QUESTION

08/26/2020 Ken Topham

Is there any way for one to acquire a notated score for "The Holy Filament"? Does one exist? I love the piece. I am interested in studying the harmonic structure. I would love to coordinate a performance for one of my student ensembles. As the composer of the piece, I would love to hear your thoughts on this and so much more. I hope you are well. Thanks for your time.

MY ANSWER

There is no formal score. Probably the piano part is written out, and the lead vocal melody. The vocal harmonies were all recorded on the spot. I’m sure as an educator you are capable of transcribing the thing ; )

YOUR QUESTION

08/27/2020Legendus Maximus

Please note, I asked Clinton McKinnon this about 10 years ago and he told me I'd have to ask you...
Clearly mickey mousing is one of your favorite compositional techniques
Please fill in the gaps for the acts of Platypus

0:00 - The big bang
0:32 - The settling of the elements, primordial soup and all that sciencey stuff
0:40 - Single protein things folding, placoderms evolving and whatevermore sciencey evolution stuff
0:45 - Platypus is formed
0:47 - Platypus walks in its funky rhythm
1:01 - Platypus swims underwater
1:15 - Swims up for air
1:22 - Pops out from underwater and paddles around at the surface
1:33 - back on land
1:37 - It stings something
1:51 - Swimming up a creek i guess...?
2:12 - Walking around and stuff again
2:24 - Im kinda lost here
2:40 - Has a biologist found him here?
2:45 - Gets pissed at the biologist for pulling him out of the water
2:49 - Biologist analysing the platypus swimming around in a tank
Kind of more experiments and weird stuff going on
3:35 - Doing an autopsy on the platypus
Kinda lost after here

MY ANSWER

I disagree that micky-mousing is a favorite technique. Sure, I’ve used it, but sparingly. Your interpretation of the second-by-second take on Platypus is your own. I would only write music in that way, most likely, if it were for film and that many cues were necessary (unlikely). Sometimes music isn’t about anything. It could be a vehicle for an idea (such as the history of a monotreme) or simply, just sounds.

YOUR QUESTION

08/27/2020 NM

How do you avoid worrying that your music is just the product of what you like? Do you feel a desire for it to be justified by something more objective or important? Have you found any justification like that?

Do you think your aesthetic beliefs are like your moral beliefs? I mean if I don't like death and like the color yellow, can I dedicate my life to painting things yellow and leave the fight against death to others? (I have done that, for the time being.)

Thanks for this.

MY ANSWER

I don’t think it’s a matter of what one likes. It’s more about being a sentient observer and expressing things that can’t be expressed in other ways. I’m positive that my music is as much informed by affinities and beliefs as by disgust and confusion. I think my moral and aesthetic beliefs inform each other but they are not the same thing. I think people should speak poetically but I also belief the merchant at the grocery store should be able to understand me. Also, hate to tell you this, but there is no fight against death. Death wins in the end (spoiler alert). So go forth and paint yellow my fellow artist. Cover the Earth! (as the fine folks at Sherwin-Williams would say). You don’t have to speak about death in your yellowness but it will be there whether you like it or not, in fact, maybe more so than you think it is. Perhaps you paint things yellow as a way of accepting (since you can’t ultimately avoid) death. Other things you can avoid. I mean, if you don’t like brown, don’t use it.

YOUR QUESTION

08/27/2020 Byron Dunbar

You mention what you are reading often and discuss loving books. Have you ever considered writing a novel or do you simply enjoy books as an audience member and prefer to express yourself in music and song lyrics?

MY ANSWER

It is something I’ve considered. Not sure if it would be a fiction piece or something else, but in any case, that is a massive undertaking. We’ll see….

YOUR QUESTION

08/29/2020 Mongo

If a documentary were made about Bungle's career, I'm talking really high quality shit, what song do you think should play over the credits?

Similarly, a documentary for -your- career as a whole: What song of yours (from any project) would you want playing over the credits?

MY ANSWER

I’m assuming you’re imagining the credits rolling at the end of the film, maybe some montage-type, Ken Burnisms, black and white, a couple of funny outtakes, extra behind-the-scenes footage. … For Bungle, it would be an unreleased improvisation from the '‘90s, but untitled and unexplained. For my own thing, probably one of my piano Nocturnes.

YOUR QUESTION

08/30/2020 Melody Nelson

Hi! Can you talk a little about the production process for the new Raging Wrath recording? Given that the production credit goes to the band, how were things split up between everybody? Did Dave and Ian have input in it too? Did anybody come to the table with really specific ideas about production style or even engineering? Curious what Spruance brought to the sessions considering his production obsession and affinity for extreme metal. Thanks!

MY ANSWER

It was really a group effort. We all deferred to each other when in doubt. We also knew from the get-go what kind of sound —’80s thrash obv— we were going for, so much was just given/unspoken. Often as is the case with Bungle, the guy who wrote the song has a sort of authority of the production, arrangement, details. But even in those cases, any five of us might chime in at anytime with an opinion or suggestion. And it’s important not to leave out Husky, the recording engineer and Jay, the mixing engineer. Their input is priceless.

YOUR QUESTION

09/01/2020Charles GrodinI

enjoy hearing stories of unlikely celebrity fans of bands. It was amazing seeing Devito and Rhea at the Fantomas shows in LA at the Troubadour. There's Lady GAGA's love of Maiden, Bill Paxton and Mike Muir running around town seeing punk shows in the early 80's, Belushi and Beef Baloney from Fear and Hammer Horror actor Sir Christopher Lee's obsession with heavy metal. Any weird Hollywood encounters or unexpected fans or stories? Thanks man.

MY ANSWER

Hmm, can’t think of any. Typically celebrities have a sort of magnetism for each other and for better or worse, not being what I would consider a “significant celebrity” I tend to avoid any of that. It doesn’t help that I like to spend my time backstage in a remote corner by myself eating salad. I also don’t spend very much time in Hollywood. I saw Steven Tyler in the grocery store once!

YOUR QUESTION

09/04/2020Nick Stoklasa

Do you prefer Charles Schulz's Peanuts or Trey Parker's South Park, and why (or do you not like either of them and why?)

MY ANSWER

I think that is an impossible and unnecessary choice to have to make. I grew up on Peanuts, cried my eyes out in the theater over Snoopy Come Home. South Park doesn’t need my opinion to uphold it’s wisdom. I enjoy them both.

YOUR QUESTION

09/09/2020 David Lee Hagar

So, some questions about OU818. Who wrote the amazing, creepy intro music? Any recollections you have about it would be much appreciated. I assume it was sequenced rather than played? And probably a keyboard that was present at the studio? Do you remember what keyboard it was?? There’s something about that sound that is really unsettling/sinister. I don’t get how a couple of kids from Eureka could come up with such a sound.
Also, a question about the title: I’m afraid I don’t get the Van Halen joke. I get “oh, you ate one too” but wtf is the joke that “OU818” is trying to make?

MY ANSWER

Trey programmed that weird-ass shit on, I believe, an Ensoniq SQ-80 which was our main keyboard for years.
In terms of your question about the title, I don’t think you’re meant to get it. We thought it was funny. In fact, we were in tears when it was suggested. It’s funny because the 8 gets repeated and it makes no sense. You still don’t have to get it.

YOUR QUESTION

09/10/2020

Do you know if Zorn listens to/likes any contemporary popular forms/styles of music? Has he ever mentioned specific artists, or have you ever seen him get excited about something really unexpected? I have a hard time imagining him being as open to more contemporary pop stuff in the way that you are. Who knows, maybe he digs someone like Fiona Apple or Outkast but I’d be alittle shocked!

MY ANSWER

I don’t know for sure, but my guess would align with your instinct. I’ve certainly learned about a lot of artists and performers from him over the years, mostly from earlier eras, that I had never heard of.

YOUR QUESTION

09/14/2020 Lance

Did Slipknot ever pay you guys royalties for blatantly stealing the masks and costumes idea?

MY ANSWER

You can’t really copyright “ideas”, and more importantly we weren’t the first band to wear disguises on stage. Yes, their take on the concept was arguably a copy-cat move (and I know from an observer that some of them were at some of our shows in ‘92 when we exclusively wore overalls and such) but I saw KISS in 1979 and never payed them royalties. Considering that our outfits came from public Halloween shops and thrift stores, I can almost guarantee that our costume budget was considerably smaller than theirs.