Roddy Interview with Antigravity
Roddy Bottum has been speaking to New Orleans based magazine 'Antigravity' about the reformation of Faith No More and new album 'Sol Invictus', here follow a few cuts from the interview.
How has the newfound freedom changed the band dynamic, if at all? Has it impacted the songwriting process?
Just given the fact that we’ve all matured some 17 years apart from each other, we tend to give each other more space these days. That provides for a more well-balanced output. We used to only know how to scream over the others to be heard, to give our opinions. Now we’re all better listeners. That’s changed the songwriting.
How much did you contribute to the songwriting on Sol Invictus? Which of the songs did you write on this one?
We all kind of added our parts. I contributed a bulk of songs to the process but only two made the cut on the final product, “Rise of the Fall” and “Motherfucker.” There was a cool dance one that sounded like Daft Punk and another rhythmic song with strings that sounded like “Kashmir” that I really liked.
What’s the deal with the matching white attire and the floral stage set? Whose idea was that?
We all kind of came together on that one. It was a statement that kind of went against the grain of all-black rock look that was prevalent in the realms that we were associated with. I think the first time it happened was at a French festival. We were aware of all of the “rock” acts and all of their black attire and skulls, and it made sense for us to go the other direction and go bold in white. The flowers suggested a hippy cult thing that we were keen on exploring as a visual.
![]()
In your time off from FNM, there have been major advancements in the acceptance of and rights granted the LGBT community. There was a lot of confusion over the true motivation behind the disparaging remarks people were making over the picture you posted of yourself with Rob Halford, and whether they may have been “gay-bashing ” or not. Other than that incident, have you found people more supportive or encouraging this time, or are you still, in 2015, faced with ignorance and adversity?
People are constantly surprising with their support and encouragement. And that Rob Halford photo incident got blown out of proportion. There were some comments that regarded his “health” or “look” in the photo as unsavory. It wasn’t necessarily anti-gay and it’s funny to me that people seemed to assume that that was the issue. It wasn’t really. It was just mean-spirited comments. Just because said photo was of two gay men, it doesn’t mean that the talked-about unsavory banter was homophobic. It was just plain mean and I didn’t want to put it out there. That man is a legend. People in general, though, yes, way more supportive and encouraging. It’s funny to hear people kind of nostalgic for a time when oppression still stung. It was a lot more dramatically charged, coming out in the ‘90s. It’s become sort of a non-issue, which is what we all aim for, but it’s created a flat line of drama.
![]()
Jon Hudson Interview with Gibson
Jon recently spoke with Anne Erickson at Gibson.com about 'Sol Invictus and his beloved Gibson Les Paul's. Here follows a few cuts from the interview
It’s been about 18 years since the release of your last studio album, Album of the Year. What was the catalyst for Faith No More to put out this latest set, Sol Invictus ?
There were a couple of decisions. I would say the first was just to get back together and play the music again and all the existing material. That was six years ago. I think everybody had to go their separate directions and figure out what it was they wanted to do on the new album. After 1997 or 1998, the band needed a break, and it made sense for the band to call it quits. They had to get everything else out of their system before coming back to play again. That was a sound decision in that there wasn’t any external pressure to go out and play again. We wanted to do it. For recording, it was the same idea. We would work on stuff if we wanted to, but not because we had to. After playing the old songs for years, we started asking ourselves, “What’s next?”
What are your go-to guitars on the road?
I’m traveling with four right now, which to me seems crazy, because growing up, I wouldn’t have imagined owning that many guitars. With this band and the way we have to travel, sometimes it’s not feasible to have a couple of guitars, because we have to fly our gear around. I have three Les Paul Standards, pretty much stock. Then, I have an older Les Paul Custom, as well, that I bring with me. I’m totally set at that point. But I rarely play more than one guitar in a set. I might swap one out for one or two songs, but I use a main Standard throughout the set.
What draws you to the Les Paul design?
It’s the construction and sound of it. With this material, the wood and neck construction and scale length really yields a different sound all together, and I just gravitate towards that. I pretty much get everything I want with it, so I’m very satisfied.
Billy and Mike B Interview
EMP Rockinvasion caught up with Billy and Mike for a chat about Sol Invictus