Bill Gould Discusses Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Influence On Faith No More

The Faith No More bassist Bill Gould recently spoke to Guitar World about his musical influences. While mentioning many bands as his inspiration, Gould discussed Red Hot Chili Peppers‘ and bassist Flea’s impact on his music as well.

Red Hot Chili Peppers and Faith No More don’t exactly have a pretty history. Although both bands were the pioneers of the funk-metal genre in the late 1980s, they weren’t in a friendly competition. In fact, RHCP frontman Anthony Kiedis and Faith No More lead singer Mike Patton got into a heated feud over ripping each other off once, and their dispute lasted for years.

Following Faith No More’s 1989 music video for their song named ‘Epic,’ Kiedis accused Patton of copying him. While this feud didn’t last long as Patton decided not to respond to this accusation, it was reinstigated in 1999. Patton had reunited with his former band Mr. Bungle, and they announced an album called ‘California.’ While it may sound random at first glimpse, RHCP  was set to release a new album entitled ‘Californication’ at that time.

Because both bands were signed at Warner Bros., the label delayed the release of ‘California’ by a month, choosing the Red Hot Chili Peppers album over it. The reflections of the tension continued when Patton’s band Mr. Bungle dressed up as the RHCP members during a Halloween show and mocked the band’s substance abuse history.

Regardless of the conflict between the two bands, some members of Faith No More and Red Hot Chili Peppers appear to have remained on good terms, including bassist Flea and Bill Gould. As a matter of fact, Gould recently talked about RHCP’s influence on him and his band during an interview.

According to the bassist, growing up in Los Angeles significantly affected their music despite his unwillingness to become a funk player. Due to the place they started their music career, Faith No More was influenced by numerous bands from Los Angeles, including Red Hot Chili Peppers. Moreover, their bassist Flea particularly impacted Gould’s way of playing the bass.

Gould’s statement about RHCP follows:

“I never set out to be a funk player, but I guess growing up in Los Angeles had that effect on our music. There were quite a lot of funk bands and influences around in the environment, and I guess they crept in. I remember the time I first saw the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who grew up in the same area. I know Flea has different influences to me, but the LA funk and punk-rock vibe were also there.”

While certain band members have had their quarrels over the years due to being in the same industry and being constantly compared to each other, it’s nice for fans to see two bass players praising and cherishing their influence on one another.