Mado-Médo
Bonjour,
Je rêve tellement de vous lire. Envisagez-vous l'écriture de poésies, de nouvelles ou de contes ? Merci
oui, j'écris de la poésie et de la prose depuis plus longtemps que je ne fais de la musique. Les choses se profilent à l'horizon....
04/08/2021 Jay
I know a girl who moved to Eureka to farm marijuana. Any recommendations on any good places to eat or cool places to go in the cultural hotbed that is Eureka?
I haven’t spent a lot of time there in the last 30 years, but there’s a good Vietnamese restaurant down by the co-op in Eureka. Mariscos is a great Mexican seafood place, I think they moved to the lovely town of Fields Landing. Watch your back. Mostly, I would go hiking. Go to Trinidad —that part of the coast. Eat at Larrupin’s. Get a tattoo at Sailor’s Grave. Buy some records from The Works. Check out the bird sanctuary at the foot of G st in Arcata. Stay in at night! The dead live!
04/02/2021 Nick
What was the story behind the one off Houdini de Sade performance from 1991?
Right after I met Zorn when he helped us mix the first Bungle record I was initiated into his circle of musicians. I think Trey and Mike recorded Elegy, which was mostly a West Coast line up, almost immediately after our record was finished. A few months later he asked me to perform the Houdini/deSade piece at the Walker Arts Center in Minneapolis, along with Willy Winant, Patton, Joey Baron and a bunch of others— I can’t recall who. Not sure why he never recorded this “flash card” piece. I suppose he wasn’t happy with the composition as a whole? Anyway, I had no idea what I was doing.
03/30/2021 Eric
Any backstory about some of the one off shows you played in the early to mid 90s. Specifically when most of Bungle played with Splatter Trio and Zorns Cobra.
Too many one offs to mention. We all moved to SF in the ‘90s and almost immediately got involved with various branches of the music scene there. It was Zorn, of course, who introduced us to people like Larry Ochs from Rova, or a punk record store we didn’t know about on Valencia Street. I can’t think of any back stories other than making relationships with some very interesting musicians.
03/28/2021 Sam Chambers
Do you think it would be possible to introduce and enforce an income bracket to stop people over a certain annual gross income from buying and listening to Bungle and other Ipecac recordings? I'm sick of the pretentious elite poseurs appropriating my music, most of them haven't even heard of Ken Loach.
Why in God’s name would I want to control what and who buys my music. You some kind of Communist!? haha. Seriously though, rich people should buy my music in bulk! Appropriation….pfft. Once you put it out there, it’s not really yours anymore. The only way to battle that is to keep putting stuff out. Welcome to culture!
03/27/2021 Volk
Hello i've been looking for the ending of dead goon for a while but i just can't seem to find it, if you could let me know where it is from that would be awesome! i know alot of people would like to know where it's from too.
You found it! It’s on our record! That is a live DJ mix by David Shea who played turntables on that record. Hell if I know what all of that is.
03/25/2021 Tom, Warsaw
Hi Trevor. Such a great pleasure to listen or lately even read you! Listening to the "new" Bungle I thought... "Hey who else would have come up with such a crazy idea" but then realised looots of bands come back to their roots as they get old and nostalgic to the old times. Is it the real middle age crisis? Even Mike's outrageous look would have suggest that (pardon me). Do you feel there is still something new available for you, an unknown path? I really enjoyed your writing would that possibly be some new direction?
I’m always striving to learn and grow. What my capabilities are only time will tell. I feel like a lot of younger musicians have already surpassed me, but then there’s just more for me to take influence from. There is ALWAYS an unknown path. Finding it is another thing.
I think in Bungle’s case, there certainly was a level of nostalgia, but it was more about giving respect to something that never had it. More of that than getting back to roots.
I’m somewhat set in my ways to a degree, but I hope that I will continue to exhaust what possibilities I am capable of and therefore be forced to explore new directions.
03/24/2021 Sam Chambers
How pissed off does it make you that middle and upper class assholes actually have the gall to listen to your music and even claim to get something out of it?
Honestly it doesn’t piss me off at all. I can’t claim or control anyone’s intake or what that means to them. Not sure how you could actually. How can you measure what someone gets out of it? Do assholes listen to my music? Probably. Hopefully they paid full price.
03/23/2021 Trav Sandberg
Hi Trevor, I was always pretty obsessed with the organ sounds from Disco Volante, specially the Ma Meeshka ones. Do you remember which keyboard or synth were used? Thanks in advance
Unfortunately I do not, although I believe there is a B3 running through a Leslie on that tune, no? We had a lot going on at the time, you’d have to ask someone else.
03/18/2021 chrisThoughts? Is Rock finally dead?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pdQnZLEWNo
HAHHAHA. I think it’s clear that rock is undead.
03/15/2021 Sam Chambers
While you were (thankfully) never a ska band, do you ever regret even flirting with that shit? I can't listen to the self-titled for that influence, preferring intelligent music like Disco Volante and California, or REAL music like your metal stuff.
Hell no I don’t regret it. Bands like Fishbone, Oingo Boing, The Specials, Bad Manners— we were digging all that stuff. And I still appreciate a good Madness video from time to time. I respect your opinion but ska is just another way of arranging chords and melodies, like everything else.
03/09/2021 Director
Did Patton ever tell you why he added lyrics to Experiment in Terror? Do bands even talk about that kind of stuff, or is it more of a no questions asked policy?
I’m not sure what other bands talk about — and I haven’t been in many bands where there is a dedicated lyricist other than myself. We never talked about that choice, but I don’t think we had to. It makes sense to me why he would do that.
03/03/2021 JC
Ever listened to Dominick Fernows noise project Prurient?
Thanks to you, I am right now. Digging it.
03/03/2021 The Ghost of Halloween Past
Hi Trevor, I hope this question isn't too personal. Around the time that you moved to NYC, Trey was known for being sharply critical of not only the "Downtown" scene of Zorn's orbit, but also '90s avant improv in general. I wouldn't expect you to be aware of all or even most of the stuff that he expressed in interviews over those years, but I was wondering if through conversations between you two if he ever communicated such sentiments, and if it ever affected your friendship with him considering that you were going to be moving across the country to become part of a scene that he was publicly criticizing. As a relevant aside, was there any reason why you did not take part in the Weird Little Boy sessions that included Trey, Mike, Zorn, and Willy Winant, on, I believe, an off-day in NYC on the Disco Volante tour? Cheers.
I remember something of this, some of which may have come from his own personal experiences. But no, that never affected our friendship. I can respect differences of opinions, or maybe I agreed with some of what he said. I have no recollection to be honest, and it seems to me that those types of opinions are capable of evolution in any regard. I can say for certain that all of us in Bungle were reaching for very different things as the touring of California concluded. Granted, we were in our 30s, somewhat successful and able to make personal moves that didn’t necessarily include our usual circle.
I don’t know why I wasn’t included in that recording, but it’s probably because there was a specific instrumentation involved, a certain budget, etc. It’s a waste of time to ever take any of that sort of thing personally. Not long after that I ended up going on tour with Zorn in a “West Coast” version of the Masada Quartet, so I got my time in.
03/02/2021 I just found out Shelley played on a Bjork album, I never knew that! Any good stories she relayed to you about the recording?
Yes indeed! Glad that is being noticed. I believe she got that gig via her colleague Zeena Parkins. I don’t remember hearing any stories, but as I understand it, it was a very positive experience.
03/02/2021 El Bajo
I don’t get some of the unspoken rules of metal. For example, if there is going to be this entire genre of music based on two distorted, screeching guitars, why would the bass have distortion and deliberately get lost in the noise of the guitars? Why doesn’t metal have clean, bouncy, rubbery bass tones that have a directness (more fundamental/less overtones) that cuts through and can anchor and complement the metallic mids of the guitars, and give the music a really heavy bottom end?
Well, that’s exactly why I don’t use a ton of distortion in those situations. I maintain the low end and definition necessary for the harmonic movement to be clear. There are endless unspoken rules in every genre and it’s your job to question them!
02/24/2021 Ryan Roddick
Like everyone who submits a question, I first must sing your praises. Huge fan of all of your work, my son is learning bass currently and I have frequently given him music of yours to show him how a well rounded bass player can move from one genre to the other. Also finding out that you played bass on the Backyardigans movie was pretty cool and made it enjoyable to watch. Now that that's out of the way.
1. Did you and the other bungle guys reach out to Bar and Danny regarding the easter bunny album? I know they weren't apart of it originally but to me, they are core members of the band.
2. Any more film scoring? I love the album Four Films.
3. The Cardiacs vs. Zappa. I recently had a debate with my brother on the better band. In my opinion Zappa was an amazing musician but I find him a bit egotistical and his lyrics are dumb. I feel Tim Smith of the Cardiacs was just total talent and humble. What are your thoughts?
Thank you for the music you share with us all, it's truly a gift.
1. Yes, we did. Total transparency, like the mature fucks we are.
2. Yes, something I did years ago soon to be released on my label —also, if you haven’t seen my personal Bandcamp page, there is a “Three Films” release from an older period of composing.
3. I don’t really understand the rating game, or comparing who’s better. I like both for various and different reasons, or sometimes the same reasons. I certainly have my preferences, as you do, but that really says nothing about who is better. The whole lot is brilliant.
02/23/2021 Brooklyn Draft Dodgers
Does Mr. B own the rights to the WB albums and will there be band sanctioned reissues?
We do not own those; WB does. There is currently some talk on a box set….we’ll see….
02/22/2021 Aiden T.
Hi!
First, I just wanted to say I really enjoy your work and it's very inspiring. I do also really love Mr. Bungle but I'm sure you get a ton of questions about them, so I'll stick to other questions.
I am also both an upright and electric bass player (although I'm very much an amateur) and was just wondering what your opinion on fretting with your third/ring finger was? My high school's orchestra conductor was always very strict about not fretting with my third finger, although he did not actually really play bass much himself. However, my current school's guitar/electric bass teacher actually argues in favor of using your ring finger. I didn't know if maybe it was an upright vs electric bass thing or just a personal preference kind of thing as neither teacher played both basses. I noticed in the tabs you put out of Dead Goon you use third finger but wasn't sure if you only use it on electric or if you try and avoid it at all.
Unrelated, but I was also wondering what you thought of mint chocolate chip ice cream? A lot of people say it tastes like toothpaste but it's one of my personal favorite ice cream flavors.
Lastly, thanks so much for creating great music and also for answering all these questions, it's very appreciated. Hope you're doing alright in quarantine and I hope to hear back whenever you have time if you choose to answer this one :)
It’s good to use the correct nomenclature so avoid the word “fretting” when talking about the upright bass, otherwise I think you’re talking about an instrument with frets. By the same token, the upright bass does not have a fretboard, it has a fingerboard. Anyway, what you are describing is very much an electric vs upright scenario. Traditionally the 3rd finger is not used in classical technique on the upright until you get into thumb position, where you also drop the use of the 4th finger. Electric bass is totally different and I use a four finger position (one finger per fret, 1-2-3-4) all the way up the fret board. There are some exceptions to all of this. Some modern upright players utilize the 3rd finger around the 8th position or so, and sometimes the traditional upright position of 1-2-4 is easier utilized in certain scenarios on the electric bass. Check out my article “For And Against Technique” in Arcana vol 2 for more on this tomfoolery. I’m a big believe in both traditions of the respective instruments. A lot of masters spent a lot of time honing in on the perfect technique. There are various schools of thought on which is best, but it’s really up to you to find your own balance.
I do like chocolate chip ice cream. I disagree with the toothpaste association. But mostly I prefer more chocolatey or fudge oriented flavors.
02/21/2021 Carl
(Regrettably I am dumb. Thus my question is irritatingly tedious and fantastically selfish. I am wearing a black trio convulsant tshirt however, which entitles me to harass you. (Told you I was dumb.)
In the chorus of My Ass Is On Fire, along with your terrifically cool energetic bass line there is a sound. Is it a crowd? Backing vox by lead singer and band? An effect? A mysterious EQ detour?
Love ya Trevor. Maybe some questions are better left unanswered. Not this one, obviously. Just some.
Carl
Don’t be so hard on yourself, Carl. You do you. I’m not exactly sure what sound you’re talking about — there is some noise synth doubling the bass part in what I guess you’d call the chorus. It could also be some eq wizardry or other subtle doubling. Can’t remember!