Faith No More drummer Mike Bordin discussed Mike Patton’s departure from the band on Dean Delray’s Let There Be Talk.
“We’d [Faith No More] been rehearsing for six months for these dates [in September/October 2021]. We’d been rehearsing instrumentally, and we incredibly sounded phenomenal,” Bordin said. “I mean, the bass player said, ‘I’ve never heard us sound this good. This is how these songs sounded in my mind.’ And we’ve never gotten that on album, on live, whatever. I mean, we were ready, we were prepared.”
“And it came to pass that when the gear was in the truck, when it was rolling to Chicago, 36 hours before we were supposed to be on stage, and our guy [Mike Patton] doesn’t show for the rehearsal, the one rehearsal that we’re gonna do,” he continued. “And we go to go see him and see what’s going on. ‘What the hell’s going on here? Our gear’s rolling already to the gig.’ And it was very clear that he was unable at that point to physically do it.”
“We made the decision that, ‘Look, we’ve gotta support our guy.’ It’s gonna be a sh*t storm canceling f*cking 75 shows, but none of us wants to be the guy that breaks his back and forces him to do something that he’s not in the position to be able to do,” Bordin explained. “It wasn’t even an argument.”
“The only argument was, ‘How the f*ck did we logistically do this? Because we have to.’ I mean, we did support him in our way, and whether that’s perceived or not is beyond — I can’t control it. So we pull these shows and just wait to see,” he added.
“Hopefully, things are better, and try to find out what we can around the edges. But ultimately, shows get started to get booked with another band, and that’s continued to this day,” Bordin shared.
“So it’s my take, my position, my statement on it is that he’s gone from being unable to do the shows to clearly being unwilling to do shows with us. And that’s heavy. That’s a big difference. That’s a big difference. And we haven’t really had much dialogue on it,” he stated.
“It doesn’t feel great to me. It honestly kind of hurts my feelings a little bit, but that’s personal. That’s a private thing. It’s business. We were never gonna force somebody to do something that they weren’t able to do. And now, as I say, it looks like it’s more really about being willing to do it,” Bordin concluded.
The statement follows Faith No More’s indefinite hiatus after canceling their scheduled shows in September/October 2021.
Bordin’s recent statements illuminate the band’s perspective. The situation stems from Patton’s personal struggles during the pandemic period.
Louder Sound revealed that Patton received an agoraphobia diagnosis during the COVID-19 pandemic. This condition severely affected his ability to perform and interact with people.
His condition reached a critical point in September 2021. Metal Injection reported that Patton’s anxiety about social interactions intensified just before Faith No More’s scheduled tour.
“I got freaked out by being around people. The pandemic exacerbated my mental health issues,” Patton had explained in his own words.
The PRP noted minimal communication between Patton and his bandmates since the tour cancellations. The band’s future remains uncertain, with no clear timeline for resuming their collaboration.
