Bestselling author, journalist, editor of Bass Guitar Magazine, and writer for several music magazines and newspapers, Joel McIver is one busy fella, yet he took time out to have a chat with us about one of his favourite bands, Faith No More....
So when did you first discover FNM? JM: It would have been in 1989, when I went to university. I got into The Real Thing through metalheads that I met there and I also jammed ‘We Care A Lot’ in a band that I was playing bass in at the time. I couldn’t get enough of TRT and still think it’s one of the best albums ever recorded, of any genre. Bill Gould was an instant hero because of the effortless way he inserted funk riffs into bass-lines which I thought owed much more to post-punk than to rock or metal. It’s funny to think now of the niche they occupied back then: a kind of meathead, California Man-style genre that was much less sophisticated than the territory they moved into a couple of years later.
So would you say it was love at first listen then? I remember when I first heard TRT it took me a good few listens to, as I had been used to Chuck on vocals. I remember thinking that they had lost some of the edge that Chuck brought.
JM: Definitely love at first listen. The songs on TRT are so hooky, they were the perfect way to pull in new listeners and set them up for the darker, more complex stuff on Angel Dust. I liked the Chuck-era songs but the production was a bit murky, compared to which The Real Thing sounded like shiny pop music.
Oh yeah, I definitely agree with you that those songs are hooky, and that whole album was just so refreshing when it came along. How did you feel when a lot of the media at the time just seemed to focus on the song epic and put them in the ‘funk metal’ catagory? I mean to me I just couldn’t see the funk metal thing, sure Epic was a funky song but the album as awhole?
JM: I understood it to an extent, perhaps because I’m a bass player and the funk in FNM came largely from Bill’s bass. The bigger picture is that the media, or at least the heavy metal magazines of the time – because they were the only publications covering FNM in any depth – were staffed by people who didn’t really have a sophisticated view of non-metal music. No disrespect intended to the many fine editors and writers operating back then, some of whom are friends of mine today, but I don’t think any of them really knew at the time what vintage, Sly & The Family Stone and Parliament-Funkadelic funk meant in the sense of drums being in a deep pocket, chickenscratch guitars, horns and so on. But they heard Bill doing the odd bit of slap and pop, although it really wasn’t a large part of FNM’s overall sound, and needed a label, so the funk-metal tag was invented. It suited the Red Hot Chili Peppers better, although ‘funk-punk’ would have been a more accurate term in their case. I do think a genre label was required, though: I can think of quite a few metal (or at least hard rock) bands with slap bass players, Living Colour and 24-7 Spyz among them.
And then Angel Dust came along and totally messed with their heads!
Well, by then metal had diversified quite a bit and was looking over its shoulder at grunge, and at the same time Metallica and the Chili Peppers had completely redefined what heavy music was about, so there was an air of change and chaos around. This made Angel Dust a bit easier to understand in the context of the day. That’s a deep record though: it’ll never give up all its secrets, no matter how often you listen to it.
Absolutely! And is also considered by many a FNM fan to be their greatest album to date. Did you ever interview the band around the time AD was released?
JM: I can never decide which of those two albums I prefer. I love TRT from start to finish but AD has my favourite FNM tune of all, ‘Everything’s Ruined’. Sadly I never got to interview any of them until 2002, when I did an emailer with Jim for my Metallica book. Then I interviewed Bill several times over the next decade for various mags, including the cover of Bass Guitar mag, and Patton, Bordin and Roddy a couple of years ago. Nice guys with interesting stories, all of them.
Did you hear the story about the video forEverything’s Ruined? They made it look as cheap as they could because Warners spent all the budget on the videos for Midlife Crisis and A Small Victory! So what is your take on the whole Jim Martin saga that went down through the making and touring of AD?
JM: I loved that story! As for the Jim tale, I got it from Billy last time I interviewed him and from what I understand, there is no animosity on the band’s part towards him: it was simply an issue of differing personalities. But you should really ask them about that rather than me. I hope they play together again someday.
How did you view the music post Jim?
JM: I enjoyed it. Obviously it wasn’t as accessible as the earlier stuff, but like most diehard FNM fans I was completely sucked in by Angel Dust and was committed to the ride from then on. I also liked Tomahawk and most of Bill’s Kool Arrow releases.
Speaking of Bill, you have interviewed him many times and as a bass player yourself will have a special appreciation of what he does, where do think he stands in the world of bass players?
JM: He’s highly appreciated for several reasons. Without meaning to get too geeky, he has a signature tone and style which is uniquely his, and that’s a rare thing for a musician. Normally musos sound like other musos: a small number have evolved their own method, and that’s exactly what he has done. But he’s not a selfish player: his bass parts serve the songs perfectly, whether they’re on a single repeated note or a melodic riff like ‘King For A Day’. The easiest way to explain this is to show your readers this video I took of Bill on stage at Brixton a couple of years ago. The audio is a bit messy because I was using my phone but you’ll get the picture.
And the fact that he is so versatile as a player too, the fact he can just go from FNM to playing with Chilean band Como Asesinar A Felipes to House Of Hayduk, Mexican Dubwiser etc. The list goes on! JM: Yes, he’s adept in various situations. The same is true of the other bandmembers, in particular Bordin with Ozzy’s band and Sabbath. I’m very interested to hear the new music FNM have been working on.
Only a few months to wait on that one Joel, it will be interesting to see where the music goes on this new album. You mention Bordin there and I’m interested to know your thoughts on the man, with him not being on social media and not many interviews (recently at least) circulating on the web the fans don’t get to hearmuch about him.
JM: Actually he gave me a great interview a couple of years ago for Drummer magazine. We talked a lot about the Cliff Burton book that I wrote a while back: I think he was mildly peeved that I hadn’t contacted him when I was doing it! I explained that at the time I wrote that book, FNM hadn’t yet reformed and I had no way of getting hold of him, so he was cool with me after that. We talked for at least an hour and he told me all kinds of crazy stuff. A very interesting guy.
Anything you can share with us?Sadly not!
Haha, I tried! So, have you ever considered writing a FNM book?
JM: Yes, absolutely, but Steffan Chirazi did a good job of one back in the day and I think the band aren’t interested in doing another right now. Maybe one day, when they’re old and grey.
Yes, Steffan’s book was an excellent read and warmly received by fans of the band, it just seems a shame that FNM fans only really have that book to cling on to. So we will hold you to that Joel...
JM: My fingers are crossed too!
So can we expect any features of the band from you anytime soon? Or when the new album drops?
JM: I’ll interview all of them, hopefully, when the next album comes out.
That’s great to hear! I know you’re super busy Joel, so finally, what’s next on the agenda for yourself?
JM: Plenty going on here! As well as editing an issue of Bass Guitar Magazine every four weeks, I have several books at various stages, whether in research phase or being promoted because they’re actually out. I’m currently finishing off press for four books: the autobiographies of Max Cavalera of Soulfly and David Ellefson of Megadeth, which I co-wrote with those guys between 2010 and last year, plus a biography of Rage Against The Machine and also the official biography of Cannibal Corpse, which came out recently and is titled Bible Of Butchery. My Metallica, Black Sabbath and Queens Of The Stone Age books have all been updated this year. After that I have three more books in progress for 2015 and 2016, all books by or about rock stars that you know. I also write for a bunch of newspapers and magazines, I have a family and I like to rock out to a moderate degree with my friends at weekends, so let’s just say that I never get bored.
.jpg)
