"Naps are so invaluable. That's one thing I've learned as I've gotten older." That's Mike Patton, vocalist extraordinaire for punk supergroup Dead Cross, alt-metal legends Faith No More and bizarro-thrash wizards Mr. Bungle — plus way too many other bands and projects to list. He's here to speak with Revolver about Dead Cross II, the appropriately titled second album from the band he's in with former Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo, the Locust vocalist-bassist Justin Pearson and Retox guitarist Michael Crain.
But first? The sweet science of naps. "It helps if you have two French bulldogs like I do," he says. "They're almost like a sleeping pill. The snoring is insane, but as soon as I lay down with them, I have to set my alarm so I only nap for an hour. Otherwise, I'm out."
Four-legged sedatives aside, the pandemic years haven't been easy on Patton or his collaborators. In 2021, the singer canceled Faith No More and Mr. Bungle tours citing mental health reasons — he's been in therapy and feeling better these days — but that wasn't all. When it came time to record Dead Cross II, Crain was diagnosed with cancer. Somehow, the guitarist pushed through and recorded his parts while receiving treatment. By the time the album was finished, original Dead Cross vocalist Gabe Serbian — Pearson's longtime friend and bandmate in the Locust — passed away suddenly.
"I don't think anybody saw that coming," Patton says. "Gabe was someone I always wanted to work with. Forget about vocals — he was a drummer for the ages. I had a soundtrack project I wanted to hire him for, but it didn't work out. It was like, 'OK, we'll do it next time.' But that next time never came. There's a lot of regret there. He was a fucking great guy."
In the wide-ranging interview that follows, Patton discusses soldiering through pandemic-era challenges, using music to confront "Trump nonsense," the similarities between being Faith No More and Dead Cross' "replacement singer" and more.
THE MUSIC ON THE FIRST DEAD CROSS ALBUM WAS WRITTEN BEFORE YOU WERE INVOLVED. THIS TIME, IT WAS UNDERSTOOD THAT YOU WOULD BE THE VOCALIST BEFORE WORK EVEN BEGAN. HOW DID THAT AFFECT THE PROCESS?
MIKE PATTON I don't know if it affected the way the music was approached, but it definitely affected my approach. I'd been a replacement singer another time, with another band. [Laughs] That was Faith No More, and our first record took off. It was a great success. Then, once I dug my teeth into it on the second record and integrated better, that's when we found our collective voice. And I would say the same with this band. The first record was like, "Here's the music — go!" That's not to say it was a rush job, but this one was a lot more thoughtful and methodical. And it took a lot longer due to the pandemic.
THE PANDEMIC HAS AFFECTED EVERYONE, BUT HOW SPECIFICALLY DID IT AFFECT YOU GUYS?
Oh, many levels. I can only start by saying that our guitar player had COVID, and then he got diagnosed with cancer. That was really rough. But the trooper that he is — I'm talking about Michael Crain — he pushed through it. He'd be going to treatments and then coming to the studio. I wasn't there because I did my vocals in San Francisco, and they were recording in L.A. But the fact that he did that… I think you can hear every bit of pain, frustration, anxiety and anguish. He's one of the principal songwriters, so the fact that he pushed through that was totally amazing and inspiring.
WHEN YOU FOUND OUT ABOUT HIS DIAGNOSIS, WAS THERE ANY PART OF YOU THAT THOUGHT, MAYBE WE SHOULDN'T BE DOING THIS NOW?
Yeah, of course. I think we all said, "Your life is a little more important than this fucking record." But he was intent on doing it. It was his therapy in a way. And it healed him — it really did. But he was very headstrong about it. He said, "I'm gonna do my best, and we're gonna get through this." And he did. Looking back on it — this is a couple years ago — it really made me think I had to step up my game. This guy has cancer and he's doing the record anyway. I wouldn't have. I would've been like, "See ya later!" I wouldn't have had the balls. So, it was inspirational and courageous and just kind of incredible. Hopefully you can hear that in the music.
AND HE'S RECOVERED NOW?
He's totally fucking cured. Somehow, maybe the music helped him. I don't know. I'm not a doctor. But he looks great, and he sounds great. I think that made this record what it is.
AS YOU KNOW, ORIGINAL DEAD CROSS VOCALIST GABE SERBIAN RECENTLY PASSED. HAS THAT CAST A SHADOW OVER THIS RECORD AT ALL?
It's absolutely awful. The record was done before we got the news, but … I don't know. It's hard to really put into words. Me replacing him and him dying, and me replacing Chuck Mosley [in Faith No More] and him dying… It's like, "What am I, the grim reaper?" It really made me think about myself in that way. It's awful. But ultimately, neither had anything to do with me, I hope, but it's really hard, for sure. I made one record with Dead Cross and then Gabe's dead? What the fuck? I could not believe it.
LET'S TALK ABOUT FUN STUFF NOW. DEAD CROSS II'S OPENER, "LOVE WITHOUT LOVE," HAS ONE OF YOUR GREATEST LYRICS EVER: "I LOVE YOU SO MUCH THAT I COULD SHIT/HOTTER THAN A BRANDING IRON, COLDER THAN A WITCH'S TIT/LIKE BILLY JOEL, I'LL BE MOVING OUT!" WHAT OR WHO INSPIRED THAT?
Laughs] I don't know. It just came out. Maybe some past relationships, something like that. But honestly? It just sounded good. And it worked. It's funny that you say it's the best lyrics I ever wrote! [Laughs] It's basically about unrequited love. You love somebody more than that person loves you. That's the bottom line of it. You put in a witch and a branding iron, and there you go.
BILLY JOEL ISN'T THE ONLY MUSICIAN YOU REFERENCE ON THE NEW ALBUM. ON OTHER SONGS, YOU NAME-DROP VINCE NEIL FROM MÖTLEY CRÜE AND PIG CHAMPION FROM POISON IDEA.
Wow, you caught that! I also mention Mr. Chi Pig from SNFU, who died during the recording of the album.
THE VINCE NEIL REFERENCE IS FUNNY BECAUSE I'VE ALWAYS KIND OF CONSIDERED YOU THE ANTI–VINCE NEIL …
What did I say again? I forget. Wasn't I kind of making fun of him? Oh, yeah: "Like a Vince Neil who sings too many songs." Yeah, like fat, old — we all know where he's at now. I'm conscious of that, and I also fear that I may become that. [Laughs] So why not talk about it?
THERE'S A LINE IN THE SONG "NIGHTCLUB CANARY" WHERE YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT "A WORLD WHERE EVERYTHING'S A REMAKE." WAS THERE ANYTHING SPECIFIC THAT GOT YOU THINKING ALONG THOSE LINES?
There was this old film noir that I saw that I can't remember the name of — an old black-and-white film. In the movie, there was a singer doing old songs, and the club owner was like, "She's just a nightclub canary." I thought that was a great title, and I never forgot it. It just means you're singing songs that are in the air already. You're not creating. You're just chirping. Which is fine. I don't mind it. But somehow it fit with the song, and I ran with it. We wanted to do a video for that song in a Sixties-style smoky nightclub with background singers and dancers — that Motown look — but I don't think we can afford it. [Laughs]
TELL ME ABOUT "CHRISTIAN MISSILE CRISIS."
That's a good one, and it's the only tune that I didn't write. Justin wrote that one. One of my objectives with this record was to involve him more as a singer, because that's a weapon. The first record is pretty much all me, so I told him and the band early on that I wanted to make this one a dual-vocal attack. I wanted us to be trading vocals, à la Suicidal [Tendencies] or something like that. And Justin is very humble. He was like, "Are you sure? You're the singer." No, no — we're both singers. I knew this record would be even crazier with us bouncing back and forth. So you hear a lot of that, especially on this song in particular.
THE LYRICS SEEM TO ADDRESS GUN NUTS.
Yeah. That's J.P.'s thing. He just sent the lyrics, and I sang 'em. [Laughs] But yeah, it seems like it's an anti-gun-crazy song.
YOU ALSO WROTE SOME POLITICAL LYRICS ON THE FIRST DEAD CROSS ALBUM, WHICH IS NOT SOMETHING YOU USUALLY DO. JUSTIN, ON THE OTHER HAND, IS NOT SHY ABOUT HIS POLITICS. DOES HE BRING THAT OUT IN YOU?
I don't know — maybe. Maybe it's the times we're living in, with the pandemic and all the Trump nonsense. There's gotta be something to say about this — good, bad or indifferent. But you can't ignore it. Out of respect to my bandmates, who are way more political than I am, it felt like a good thing to do. I don't wanna be a part of any of it. But that song, "Christian Missile Crisis," and a lot of J.P.'s views are strong. And they're good. There's nothing to argue about with me — nothing. If he had given me a right-wing song, I probably would've done it. [Laughs] I'm kidding.
YOU'RE TOTALLY UNIQUE IN THE HEAVY-MUSIC WORLD — AND MAYBE EVEN MUSIC IN GENERAL. YOU'VE WORKED WITH BANDS THAT'VE SOLD MILLIONS OF ALBUMS AND HAD GRAMMY NOMINATIONS. YOU DO UNDERGROUND PUNK RECORDS, SOUNDTRACKS, SUPERGROUPS, ALL-VOCAL ALBUMS FOR JOHN ZORN'S LABEL — YOU'VE EVEN SUNG ENTIRE ALBUMS IN OTHER LANGUAGES WITH A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT MUSICAL STYLE. I CAN'T THINK OF ANYONE ELSE WHO DOES ALL THAT. WHAT'S THE UNIFYING THEME FOR YOU?
Good question. I haven't analyzed it. I do what feels good to me. It's based on sound and aesthetic. To me, all that stuff you mentioned fits together. This is the kind of stuff that I would listen to on a mixtape. So, in a weird way, I guess my career is a fucked-up mixtape. I do what feels right and what sounds right. At the time I joined Dead Cross, I really needed to do that. Now I'm on to some other stuff. Maybe I'm a wanderer. I don't know. I just wanna do justice to every recording or concert that I'm involved in. I wanna do it the right way. Hopefully in an authentic way.
