Back in the early ’90s, it appeared that there was a feud between Faith No More frontman Mike Patton and Red Hot Chili Peppers frontman Anthony Kiedis.
Mike Patton and Anthony Kiedis only share a few similarities. In the early ’90s, both singers had long hair and rapped with their shirts off but that’s where a lot of the similarities appeared to end.
Changing the Face of Different Rock Genres
Both bands had a lot to do with changing the face of different rock genres. They also added a lot of different musical flavors and influences into their music. Faith No More and Red Hot Chili Peppers would first become acquainted in the ’80s when Chuck Mosley was the frontman of Faith No More, before Mike Patton was even in the picture.
The two bands ended up sharing the bill on a tour that lasted from October until December which helped Faith No More reach a much wider audience. It wasn’t until 1990, when Mike Patton was established as Faith No More’s new singer, that any hostility between the bands began.
“…We’re not threatened by each other because our music is really a lot different.” – Mike Patton
In the June 1990’s issue of Kerrang magazine, Anthony Kiedis made the following comments about Mike Patton, “My drummer says he’s gonna kidnap Patton, shave his hair off and cut off one of his feet just so he’ll be forced to find a style of his own.”
This statement fueled a conflict in the press and in response, Patton said in an interview in 1990, “That’s an interesting one… we’re not threatened by each other because our music is really a lot different. The similarities are there in a superficial way but really there’s a huge chasm between us. We are kind of on different sides of the spectrum. We’re on the rock side and they’re kind of on the more traditional funk side.”
Patton would say in a separate interview, “… It just kind of came out of the blue. I mean I could speculate but I really don’t know and it doesn’t bother me a bit. I got a real kick out of it to tell you the truth. I mean if he’s going to talk about me in interviews, that’s fine. It’s free press.”
Finally, Patton would say in a separate interview, “…Reading that article gave me a good laugh and it sounded like old Anthony felt a little threatened…”
Faith No More’s Inner Tension
The press wouldn’t be running with the story for too long because they would start focusing on Faith No More’s inner tension as well as their anger towards touring with Guns N’ Roses in the early 90s. The feud would seem like it was over, at least until 1999.
Patton was no longer in Faith No More at that point, and was gearing up to tour with Mr. Bungle who had their third album out called “California”.
Mr. Bungle and Red Hot Chili Peppers were both signed with Warner Records who thought it would be wise to delay the release of Mr. Bungles album by a month because the Red Hot Chili Peppers were releasing their album, “Californication”.
Mr. Bungle is Removed from Festival Bill in Australia
Mr. Bungle were told that they would be removed from a festival bill in Australia at the request of Anthony Kiedis. Mike Patton and his bandmates retaliated in the press.
Patton gave an interview saying, “We were looking at booking some Mr. Bungle shows in Europe this past summer. Some big festivals, which is something we’d never done before. We figured it’d be a good thing. We get to play in front of a lot of people who wouldn’t hear us otherwise. Our agent was in the process of booking these festivals and it became apparent that we’d landed some pretty good ones, one in France, another one in Holland. Some big-name festivals. It turns out someone’s holding a grudge,” he laughed.
“We were booted off several bills including a really big festival in Australia, specifically because Anthony Kiedis didn’t want us on the bill. He threatened to pull the Chili Peppers if Mr. Bungle was on the show. Now rationalize that one. I mean this guy is selling a million records and we’re not even a speck of dust. What’s his problem? It’s unbelievable.”
Things didn’t end there. Mr. Bungle took things to the next level at a Halloween show in Kiedis’ home state of Michigan. Mr. Bungle took the stage dressed as the Red Hot Chili Peppers and performed a medley of mangled covers. Trevor Dunn even simulated injecting heroin on stage, mocking the Peppers’ history with addiction.
“Screw him and screw the whole band.” – Anthony Kiedis
Kiedis would finally address the feud in 2004 saying, “I would not have given two effs if they played there with us,” referring to the festival dates, “But after I heard about the Halloween show where they mocked us,” he said, “Screw him and screw the whole band.”
In 2004, Kiedis addressed the issue stating with the video for “Epic” that Faith No More did as the reason for him believing that Patton tried to imitate him. He said, “I watched their video “Epic” and I see him jumping up and down, rapping and it looked like I was looking at a mirror.”
“… I have no idea what it was about then and I don’t know now but I bet we’d have a warm embrace if we saw each other now.” – Mike Patton
The most recent interview Mike Patton gave where he talked about the feud was in July of 2010 where he talked to Bazaar magazine. He finally addressed the feud once again saying, “It’s not worth talking about. I have no idea what it was about then and I don’t know now but I bet we’d have a warm embrace if we saw each other now.”
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