YOUR QUESTION:

02/18/2021 Alexandra

Hi Trevor,
first of all: Thank you for all of your music. Lockdown was a time where I really discovered a lot of different music (Thank you for the mixtape this really helped too). What about your experience? Is there still music out there where you suddenly think "I really like that" even though it's not the genre you normally listening too?
For the future I wish you all the best and as many gigs as possible after the lockdown. Don't forget to come to Austria!

MY ANSWER:

I did listen to a lot of music in lockdown. Spend hours surfing Bandcamp and finding all kinds of electronic and noise stuff I knew nothing about. Some of that stuff made it on to my mixtapes! I explore areas I’m not familiar with on purpose in order to find new, exciting music. It’s really endless. Despite the usual crap that is shoved down our throats via commercial radio and other outlets, there is really a ton of great music to be found. Looking for it is half the fun!

YOUR QUESTION:

02/14/2021 Hed

Hi Trevor, really curious what your favorite studio to record in is, and why? Cheers.

MY ANSWER:

That’s a really open-ended question. Really depends on a lot of factors. I love The Bunker and EastSide Sound, both in NYC. Oktaven up in Yonkers is great. Systems 2 was a beautiful room, which is sadly gone now. The same can be said of Brilliant in SF. Many studios are great, and the room or iso booths come into play depending on what the band is but ultimately it’s really the engineer that makes or breaks it.

YOUR QUESTION:

02/09/2021 Michael

Hi Trevor,
Longtime fan, blah blah blah. I discovered recently that you worked on a Brian Welch record that Tony Levin also worked on. I've never heard it but I wanted to ask if you had met and worked with Tony during those sessions and what you thought of his work overall. I live in the same general area as Tony does, it's given me the opportunity to see him perform many times in King Crimson related projects but also in jazz (Levin Brothers) and even quasi classical (California Guitar Trio) settings. I'd venture to say he's one of the most versatile and talented instrumentalists I've seen and a genuinely lovely guy as well. I briefly met you a couple of times around 20 years ago and I'd say the same for you, I've seen you play in some vastly different groups and you were also gracious enough to chat with a 21 year old music nerd after shows. I believe you live within a few hours of each other, is there any chance that you might collaborate someday? It'd be a match made in heaven for this fan.

MY ANSWER:

I share your respect for Mr. Levin. Been a King Crimson fan for years. Apparently I replaced his tracks on the Brian Welch record if you can fucking believe that. I have much I could say about that entire recording experience, little of it is good, other than the paycheck I got. I’ve never seen so much quantizing in my life. I have never met Mr. Levin but would be honored to. No concept of what a collaboration could possibly consist of.

YOUR QUESTION:

02/04/2021 1

Lol, on your wikipedia page, one of the genres listed is punk rock. You’ve literally never played on a punk record in your entire life. Why do you think people are always so desperate to credit punk? Imagine anyone thinking that on the encyclopedia entry for your professional career as a bassist, one of the genres that you fall into as a bass player is PUNK.

MY ANSWER:

I appreciate how you seem to have the definitive call on what I’ve recorded in my entire life. Maybe it didn’t occur to you that you don’t know everything; that there is no way you could. That’s beside the point though. It’s called “street cred” to answer your question. It has a “real” quality that is visceral — not unlike pretty much everything else, but you know, it makes for good marketing I suppose. I have played lots of “punk” songs on stage in my life. My wikipedia page is painfully uninformed though. I don’t know who wrote that stuff.

YOUR QUESTION:

02/04/2021 barry white

whatever happened to the mike pride trio with you and mary? ya’ll had a good musical rapport. better yet, what happened to mike, he seems to not be around much anymore? cheers xoxo

MY ANSWER:

Mike is busy as ever as a musician although not located in NYC anymore. Things happen, people move around, get into other stuff, etc. Would be fun to revisit that someday.

YOUR QUESTION:

02/03/2021 Help

Hello. I would like your guidance. Like any normal person, I keep my CD collection in alphabetical order and within that order, each artist’s albums are ordered by year. Really basic, traditional stuff. But, you see, I am struggling with what to do with the Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny CD. Should it go first, before the self-titled WB debut, or last, after California???? This is a serious archival/curatorial/aesthetic/philosophical/existential dilemma. Please, Trevor.

MY ANSWER:

Well, it’s not like you have 10 Bungle CDs to confuse the issue. Pretty sure you’ll be able to find it either way. I suppose it makes logical sense to put it after California since you’re categorizing the recording, not the concept. Probably what you should really do is buy two copies and bookend this legendary oeuvre. I’m not as anal as you; I just jam an artist’s works all together, not worrying about the chronology. The real problem starts when you start a “world music” shelf, and some of those people also have “rock” and/or “classical” recordings. Where the hell am I supposed to put Nate Wooley’s music??

YOUR QUESTION:

02/02/2021 ASTOR

Hi Trevor!, How are you? I was searching de interwebs for any info about SpermChurch, and found out your partner Sannety died las april. Sorry to hear that man. Im really looking forward to that project. Also very eager to listen to your sonwriting album and the new TrioConvulsant.
Any plans of releasinng the other covers that Bungle recorded last year? Or the outtakes from the WB albums?
Hope you doing well and that the world spins again so you can with any of your bands to Argentina. I saw you with Zorns Moonchild, Tomahawk and Mondo Cane.
SALUDOS!

MY ANSWER:

I’m doing alright, thanks for asking. And thank you for the condolences. No plans for Bungle releases at the moment. Releasing some new stuff of my own in the very near future. Follow the socials! Saludos!

YOUR QUESTION:

01/31/2021 Cheqalo

Have you seen Arto Lindsay's cameo in Desperately Seeking Susan (1985) starring Rosanna Arquette and Madonna?

MY ANSWER:

I guess I did when I saw that movie, when it came out! Should I watch it again? Does it hold up? Rosanna Arquette is pretty damn cute.

YOUR QUESTION:

01/30/2021 Maggie MaeSo,

you played keyboards for Scourge! What are your memories of that particular project? Do you remember the halloween costume you wore in the Arcata concert? Did you use the same Ensoniq SQ80 that was used in the Mr. Bungle self titled album for the keyboard pad parts? The world wants to know!

MY ANSWER:

We only did a handful of gigs. We rehearsed in some converted chicken coops where Bungle would also rehearse — the same place Dead Good was conceived mostly as an improv. I don’t remember wearing a costume, but it was something cryptic. Yes, same Ensoniq, Trey’s baby.

YOUR QUESTION

01/28/2021 Paul Z

Hi Trev!
Where's the goddamn drum machine? I left the m*er with Dunn! You Dunn, what are we going to do now? Let me bust that Van Halen album one more time
On a serious note - big fan of your work, especially your humbly persona. I've browsed the whole site, basically reading your answers only in the end.
I've spent a lot of time on "pointless drumming" and then I've found that practicing rudiments for couple of months, profits very much. Yet it's not as fun as playing the kit (in the beginning). Now I enjoy playing on an electronic kit, since I do not play in a band anymore.
Do you have any tips for a drummer, as a bassist? What do you want from a drummer in order for the rhythm section to 'click'?
Love you and sending huge amount of hugs from Poland

MY ANSWER

Fundamentals, rudiments, all that stuff, is absolutely important. What I want from a drummer is control of the instrument; to have limitless creativity unhindered by physical properties. I want their personality to come through and for us to be able to have a conversation without saying a word.

YOUR QUESTION

01/28/2021Francesco

Dear Mr. Dunn,
I appreciate a lot your work, especially those with Mr. Patton.
I am a bad amateur bass player but in my free time (which is extremely limited because of work and kids+wife at home) I try to study your riffs.
With just the help of my limited playing and listening ability I am not able to replicate them correctly and in a satisfactory way.
My question is: do you plan to publish your music sheets?
If not, may I ask you to share with me at least the the music sheet of Goodbye Sober Day? I really love this song!
Thanks a lot

MY ANSWER

I don’t plan on publishing any of my bass parts, though maybe that’s not a bad idea. A lot of the music, for Bungle especially, was never written down. I don’t have any sheet music for Goodbye Sober Day. Transcribing bass parts is a great way to learn though, so I’ll give you that job. You should also transcribe James Jamerson, Bobby Vega and Paul Jackson.

YOUR QUESTION

01/25/2021 CJ Matherson

Hey Trevor,
Just wanna say you were a big reason I picked up the bass, and I'm truly looking forward to all your future projects. This is kind of random, But did you watch the Pixar movie Soul? As on the nose as some of these kinds of movies can be, I really appreciated its message. During truly one of the worst years so far for me, it really helped me put things back in perspective. Throughout my life, I've always been more focused on end goals.Taking for granted the process, and blinding myself by the destination. I should be enjoying the little things a lot more. Do you ever find yourself guilty of this? What do you do about it?
Lots of Love

MY ANSWER

I have yet to see that film but have heard good things about it. Yes, I have to remind myself fairly frequently that life is a process and there is no goal. Mindfulness and meditation help. Take a walk, sit on a bench and look around. Hear what’s behind you, focus on your surroundings. You can do this in musical contexts, too.

YOUR QUESTION

01/24/2021 Gordo

Hey Trevor.
Covid Era not included... When not traveling and gigging, what does a day in the life of Trevor Dunn look like besides practicing? Also, when was the last time you had a non-musician job... age or year... job description - blah, blah, blah. I'm curious.

MY ANSWER

I worked at a Shakey’s Pizza franchise run by Born Again Christians when I was 18. Getting that job was the reason I cut off all my ‘80s metal hair. A few months later I joined a local bar band and never looked back to the 9 to 5. A day in the life for me includes oatmeal and tea at a leisurely pace, an hour at the gym and then a varying order of writing, practicing, recording, reading, and working for a living.

YOUR QUESTION

01/23/2021

Are you related to Jennifer Dunn, drummer of Mindless Self Indulgence?
Thoughts on MSI?

MY ANSWER

Yes, she is my step-aunt. Her mother wrote Geek Love and my uncle is Duck Dunn the bassist. I’ve been trying to get her to quick that horrible band forever.

YOUR QUESTION

01/19/2021 Miguel P.

Hi there,
I just saw you mentioned 'trolling' referring to the Sex Pistols. But I always thought that Mr. Bungle was (now IS) the ultimate troll - in a good way - band. Sometimes when I'm rocking Bungle's debut (something happening too often lately, for some reason) I laugh my ass off trying to picture those guys on Warner Music listening to it for the first time and saying something like "well, we have to sell this".
So the question is, do you actually know what kind of reaction they had on WB when they got the record?
Do you think there was some kind of "let's do this so we keep the Faith No More guy happy" vibe (Patton himself pointed something like that) or they actually got it at the first hearing?
That's it. Thanks for the laughs, the inspiration, and the terrific music!

MY ANSWER

I’ve mentioned this before but no one at WB ever cared. I think they had misguided hopes that we would crank out a FNM style hit; that they had a double weapon with a certain singer. I have no idea what their reaction was. We were a tax write-off. I can almost guarantee though that they never “got it”.

YOUR QUESTION

01/18/2021 Justin James

Trevor -
Huge fan! Just wanted to say that I absolutely love your tone on RW. I hate to admit this, but I rarely get to JUST LISTEN to music anymore... I haven't had a work commute in 13 years and I have 3 kids and I'm constantly working. So please forgive me if I didn't realize just how amazing RW actually sounded until a long car ride yesterday! Everyone in that lineup is just throwing so many notes out as quickly as possible, it can be tough for the bass to shine through, and you manage that trick adroitly.
I was wondering what your secret is for that? I know your gear, it makes sense to me, but between song composition and stuff that happens in the recording studio and gear choice, there's obviously a difference between a bassist who blends into the background on a thrash disc (say, Araya) and one who cuts through with a clear and distinct voice (you, Dave Ellefson). Would love to get your take on that, and how you stand out in the crowd.
Thanks, and much appreciated!

MY ANSWER

Thanks for noticing! I think the problem with most bassists in metal scenarios is that they are using too much saturation. Leave that to the guitars. If you want the natural, metallic grit of the bass tone to be present, keep it clean —well, not totally clean. I like a tasteful level of tube distortion. But saturation sucks the low end out and then you’re essentially just playing another guitar. The other secret weapon is to have an engineer who is also a bass player. Jay Ruston killed it in the mix of that record and I am forever in debt. I use a couple distortion boxes in a live setting, but mostly I rely on pushing air through cones and maintaining the traditional roll of what low frequency instruments are there for.

YOUR QUESTION

01/17/2021

01/17/2021 Traviz Gartzeea

Hi Trevor. An honour to have this little chat with you. I had just discovered that a commercial metal band (or at least sounded/looked like that) did a cover from Retrovertigo. That freaked me out a lot! Also made me curious show did you feel about that and if you received any profit/royalty fee or similar as composer of the song or WB swallowed it... Thanks in advance and sorry for my weird/poor english...

MY ANSWER

I was honored to have that song covered although I thought it could have been treated differently. I like the way Cat Power rewrites the covers she chooses. She finds the essence and makes it her own rather than just saying, here’s my karoake take. Fortunately Bungle and the individual writers retain our own publishing rights so we do see royalties for that.

YOUR QUESTION

01/12/2021 doctor fiu-ci-vohi

Trevor, first of all let me thank you for the music. Bungle's debut record literally changed my life when i was a teenager, but your later ventures (MadLove in particular) are lovely - if this is the right word for some of them ;) - as well.
i'd like to ask what is your favourite chord change or/and whole progression? both as a listener, composer and instrumentalist (because it may vary, as it does in my case)? my bet would be on something with at least one tritone interval :)
a side question: what is your opinion on Metheny/Mays collaborations? i know they have a bad rep for being a smooth, cafe jazz, at least here in Poland, but i think there's a LOT of substance to be found beneath the thin genre surface.
stay cool and be well in these tough times!

MY ANSWER

I don’t have one favorite chord change, it really depends on context — setting up surprises, creating tension. Tritones are, of course, a fundamental part of traditional tertian harmony. Some of my favorite progressions happen in Elliot Smith and Alan Parsons songs.
There is definitely substance in Metheny/Mays collaborations. Both musicians are brilliant and their pop references are finely crafted. Sometimes people get distracted by the packaging and forget to hear what is really taking place. You could re-orchestrate that smooth jazz into something less cheesy and those haters would loose their shit.

YOUR QUESTION

01/04/2021 Ang

I played cello in school and always meant to get back to it. Here I am years later, no cello, and hands that are going to sh*t. First question: should I get a cheapo cello at Walmart for a couple hundred or just get a good one right off. Second question: What can I do to strengthen my hands? Read up a bit but there is so much info out there n I don't want to waste any more years thinking about doing this. Thank you 😊

MY ANSWER

If you’ve already played in the past I wouldn’t go too cheap. Bad instruments kill inspiration and getting that good feeling back in your hands probably won’t come with some beater cello. But you can find a mid-range instrument if you’re willing to spend a little more. The best thing for strength is boring old long-tones; slow practice. Metronome at 40 and eight clicks to the bow. Also, just playing scales, or anything really, at a very slow tempo while focusing on maintaining a good, even tone.