Mr Bungle

Mr. Bungle
Origin: Humboldt County, California, United States
Genre: Experimental rock
Years active: 1985–2000


Early days (1985–1990)

Mr. Bungle formed in 1985 in Eureka, California while the members were still in high school. The band initially consisted of Trevor Dunn, Mike Patton, Trey Spruance, Theo Lengyel, and Jed Watts. Watts was subsequently replaced by Hans Wagner, and he by Danny Heifetz, while Clinton "Bär" McKinnon joined in 1989.The band's name was taken from Lunchroom Manners, a 1960s children's educational film which was featured in a Pee Wee Herman HBO special in the early '80s.A puppet named Mr. Bungle was the main character and was used to teach children good manners and hygiene. In 1989 Faith No More bassist Billy Gould told Patton about a pornographic video called Sharon’s Sex Party, which also starred a character known as Mr. Bungle.

Soon after forming, the band's first demo, The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny, was recorded during Easter of 1986. It featured a fast, low-fi, death metal style, though it also utilized a trainwhistle, a saxophone, bongos, and a kazoo. The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny was followed by the demo Bowel of Chiley in 1987; this recording featured a different style incorporating the sounds of ska, swing, and funk. Bradley Torreano noted in Allmusic that the recording was "essentially the sound of some very talented teenagers trying to make their love of jazz and ska come together in whatever way they can."In 1988 Mr. Bungle released their third demo, Goddammit I Love America!, which was musically similar to Bowel of Chiley. Their final demo tape was OU818, released in 1989; this recording was the first to feature tenor sax player Clinton "Bär" McKinnon and drummer Danny Heifetz. OU818 combined songs from the earlier demos along with some new tracks having a heavier overall sound than the previous releases. In 1989 Mike Patton landed the lead vocalist position with San Francisco's Faith No More, getting the job after Jim Martin of Faith No More heard him on a Mr. Bungle demo.Patton decided not to break up Mr. Bungle, and continued to be a member of both bands simultaneously. Having established a strong following in Northern California, Mr. Bungle was signed to Warner Bros., who released their self-titled debut in 1991.

Self titled debut (1991–1994)

Their debut, Mr. Bungle, was recorded a year after Mike Patton was recruited into Faith No More and was produced by jazz experimentalist John Zorn. Released on August 13, 1991 the album contained several new songs and was similar in style to OU818. The record mixed metal, funk, ska, carnival music, and free jazz, but was normally described as "funk metal" by music critics. Almost all the members went by obscure aliases in the album credits. To promote the album in some stores, a Mr. Bungle bubble bath was given away with copies of the record sold.

It received mostly positive reviews with journalist Bill Pahnelas calling it "an incredible musical tour de force, and hands down the best alternative rock record of the year so far".On the style of the album, critic Steve Huey wrote in Allmusic "Mr. Bungle is a dizzying, disconcerting, schizophrenic tour through just about any rock style the group can think of, hopping from genre to genre without any apparent rhyme or reason, and sometimes doing so several times in the same song. His criticism of the album included commenting that it was "unfocused" and "a difficult, not very accessible record".

The first track was originally called "Travolta" however, the actor John Travolta took issue with this title and threatened legal action. With the encouragement of Warner Bros. the song name was changed and on later pressings of the album was called "Quote Unquote", which is also the title of an unauthorized John Travolta biography by Bob McCabe.They created a video for "Travolta" and submitted it to MTV. However, the station refused to air the video because of images of bodies dangling on meat hooks.

Disco Volante (1995–1998)

Due to artwork delays and the band members' many side-projects, it was another 4 years before Disco Volante was released in October 1995. This, their second major release, has a different tone and style to earlier Mr. Bungle recordings. While the self-titled album was described as "funk metal", with Disco Volante this was replaced with the label "avant-garde" or "experimental."

The music was complex and unpredictable with the band continuing with their shifts of musical style. Some of the tracks were in foreign languages and would radically change genres mid-song. Featuring lyrics about death, suicide, and child abuse, along with death metal, children's songs, and a Middle Eastern techno number, music critic Greg Prato described the album as having "a totally original and new musical style that sounds like nothing that currently exists". Not all critics were impressed with the album, with The Washington Post describing it as "an album of cheesy synthesizers, mangled disco beats, virtuosic playing and juvenile noises", calling it "self-indulgent" and adding that "Mr. Bungle's musicians like to show off their classical, jazz and world-beat influences in fast, difficult passages which are technically impressive but never seem to go anywhere". Additionally, writer Scott McGaughey described it as "difficult" and was critical of its "lack of actual songs".

Disco Volante included influences from contemporary classical music, avant-garde jazz, electronic music pioneer Pierre Henry, Edgar Allan Poe, John Zorn, Frank Zappa, Penderecki, and European film music of the 1960s and 1970s such as those composed by Ennio Morricone and Peter Thomas.

California (1999–2000)

After another 4 year break between albums, the band's third album, California, was released on July 13, 1999.Ground and Sky reviews have described California as Mr. Bungle's most accessible and while the genre shifts are still present, they are less frequent, with succinct song formats resulting in an album that The Associated Press called more linear. Allmusic described the record as "their most concise album to date; and while the song structures are far from traditional, they're edging more in that direction and that greatly helps the listener in making sense of the often random-sounding juxtapositions of musical genres". On the different style of this album, Mike Patton explained that to the band "the record is pop-y", before adding "but to some fucking No Doubt fan in Ohio, they're not going to swallow that."The album was well received with music critic Robert Everett-Green stating "The band's newest and greatest album does not reveal itself quickly, but once the bug bites, there is no cure. The best disc of the year, by a length."Trevor Dunn in concert supporting California

Additionally, the recording process for California became much more complex. The group chose to record the disc on analog rather than digitally and some songs required several 24-track machines while utilizing more than 50 analog tracks. As a result each song contains detailed layers of original samples, keyboards, percussion, and melodies. The album displays influences from Burt Bacharach and The Beach Boys, while blending lounge, pop, jazz, funk, thrash-metal, Hawaiian, Middle Eastern, kecak, and avant-garde music. The band did 5 tours to support this record. For the most part, perhaps with the exception of the Sno-Core 2000 tour where they were often booed, the band did have success attracting an audience.

Mr. Bungle's end

Following the 2000 tour the band again went on hiatus. Rumors circulated that the band had dissolved, with some members stating that the band was “over” while others insisted it was just "in limbo". In 2003 Patton alluded to the fact that the band would probably not record any more albums stating "I think it is over. The guys are spread all over the world and we don't talk to each other. I have not spoken to a couple of the guys since the last tour, years ago."While no official break-up announcement ever materialized, a 2004 Rolling Stone interview confirmed Mr. Bungle had disbanded with Patton revealing “We could have probably squeezed out a couple more records but the collective personality of this group became so dysfunctional, this band was poisoned by one person's petty jealousy and insecurity, and it led us to a slow, unnatural death. And I'm at peace with that, because I know I tried all I could."When asked about a possible reunion, Mike Patton said, "It could happen, but I won’t be singing. Some bridges have definitely been burned. It was a fun time and sometimes you just have to move on. I’ve got a lot on my plate now." Trevor Dunn adds, on his website, "Bungle is dead and I'm happy about it" and that "the members of Mr. Bungle will never work together as such again". Spruance, Heifetz, and McKinnon have been more optimistic; in response to a 'Mr. Bungle regrouping' question, Spruance stated “I hope so because that band could take over the fucking world if it wanted to."



Discography

* 1991 - Mr Bungle (2 parts)
* 1995 - Disco Volante
* 1999 - California

info from Wikipedia