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Gould Q&A |
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The Bill Gould Q&A website will not be accepting any additional questions. The good news is...... we have already received Bill's much anticipated response. After reading through the results, I can honestly say that Bill tells it like it is. He talks about the start-up of his new indie record label "Kool Arrow Records," some of the problems in Faith No More, and the release of his new upcoming Brujeria Album. All in all some great questions were asked, you might be surprised on how candid Bill's responses were. Thanks to Bill for taking time to reach out to the #1 fans in the world. FNM will always be remembered. Anonymous:
(We lost this persons email address, but great question!)
I have almost too many plans, music-wise. First of all, I definitely intend to continue producing, because it's a lot different from playing, but can still be a lot of fun. I've currently been producing two bands I especially like doing remixes, because I can work on my own time and really get into it. I'm also in the process of starting an indie label right now, called Kool Arrow Records. The way it's looking, it's going to be a cross-cultural label that's going to deal with American bands, Mexican bands, Mexican American bands, etc. We're looking to release a compilation right off the bat, called "Spanglish 101", that will include bands from the US, Mexico, and possibly Spain and Argentina. It will also contain new Brujeria unreleased tracks from their forthcoming album. Also,I
definitely plan on getting a band together and recording an album this
year. I've been talking with Roli Mossiman and we're going to get a battle
plan together in the next couple of months. It would be really cool to
do bass work on some projects with other people, including established
acts, but I'm not sure if I'm too interested in joining one permanently
right now.-Bill
2. What is the best way for a band to get noticed, especially in a minimal music scene like, say, St. Louis? Should the band record a CD (which is very possible), and send it to record companies, or is there a better way (with better results)? Getting noticed can be just as hard in LA, where the industry is, as in St. Louis, especially if you're not in the right crowd. FNM had a hell of a time getting noticed in the beginning. In fact, the only reason we got signed at all in the beginning was complete luck--Ruth Schwartz of Mordam Records heard our demo tape while she was record shopping (my roommate was working behind the counter). SO if you're asking me, I'm afraid all I can say through my experience is play anywhere and everywhere, forever. It may take longer than greasing palms, but the gains you make will be your own. And if you start creating a vibe in your own city, it will get to the labels much better than sending another demo tape. Contact_FullName:
Andrew Bowie
Actually,
it was a mixture of both. Patton has a very high standard, and Puffy has
a special
2) What influenced you to play the bass? Why not guitar or keyboards? Well, I began playing bass in something like 1976, when guitar was the ultimate instrument. Everyone wanted to be a lead guitarist. To me, bass felt better to play, I could get to a band level fairly quickly, and it was never hard to find people to jam with. 3) Any regrets from the last 16 years? Anything you'd change if you could do it all again? If you would have asked me that question a year ago, I would have said "yes", but with all the changes that have happened, I'm really happy the way it's all gone. Contact_FullName:
LEVI
There will be a new Brujeria album coming out soon, and I hope to produce it and release it on my new label. Contact_FullName:
steve kalogiros
Do you mean re-recording the vocals? I like them the way they are, and I think Patton does too. Contact_FullName:
Bill Mullen
He can be. He can be cool, and he can be a very tough guy to work with. 2.Do
you feel you got the promotion from tv and radio that you deserved for
Well, it was hard getting promotion on the radio, but it had less to do with the record companies that with the program directors and the radio programmers. Unfortunately, things have become pretty corporate, probably worse than in the Real Thing era, when we toured for a year and a half and didn't sell a record until MTV decided to play the video. But in my mind the worst degeneration has come in the music press, which used to take a more independent stance on things, but now will tow the corporate line completely. Contact_FullName:
Hayden Hill
It made things harder. I think of Roddy as a pretty creative guy, and I definitely would have appreciated more of his input. His sensibilities often contradict some of ours, but if we could find a way to resolve those contradictions, the music often benefitted.Not being involved just made the burden the rest of us had to carry a little heavier,and took some of the fun out of things. Contact_FullName:
Jerry Steingruber
Yes. I realize now that if AOTY had become hugely successful, the breakup would not only have been inevitable, but would have been much more personal. Contact_FullName:
Gavin Dunne
Not at this point. We had to cancel some pretty good ones this summer, and some of them were headlining. 2.Could it be that FNM lost lots of fans after KFAD because the metal riffs of Jim Martin weren't there anymore? I never really considered us a metal band,though I guess we always had metal leanings. I guess it really depends on your definition of "metal". To me, a lot of Trey's and Jon's riffs were heavier than Jims, but not in the classic sense. Whether that's the reason FNM lost fans on KFAD is anyone's guess. You've gotta understand that KFAD was a vision that we were following, just as we understood that we definitely weren't going to please everybody. Contact_FullName:
Steve
Well, we're a strange band to use as an example, because we've been a success and a failure, often at the same time. Contact_FullName:
ALEX WARD
I wouldn't rule it out.I definitely respect him as a musician, but right now it's hard to say, as we only parted ways a few months ago. Contact_FullName:
Turtle
Well, my favorite places to play are the places where they don't have so many concerts. Unfortunately, it's hard to motivate an agent to book you there because it isn't cost effective to get there. And to me, that's a shame. Contact_FullName:
Scott Merrell
Scott, we just split up. Let me enjoy it for awhile, will ya? Contact_FullName:
Jason Arthur
The word "solo act" turns my stomach a little. I do plan on getting something together. My band (drone) has often been called a cross between Faith No More and Crowbar, and now we may be in need of a bass player. Would you ever consider playing with us degenerates? Being in a rock band at 35 would make ME the degenerate, I'm afraid. Contact_FullName:
Jeremy Zaimoff
Somatomax
was the name used to market GHB before it was made illegal. Believe it
or not, I used to buy it in health food stores. What a kick THAT was.
Contact_FullName:
David Graham
We used code names for everything, so that word "Arabic" has been the name for about 4 or 5 songs. I'm not sure which one you're referring to, but I would guess that it's "Smaller and Smaller". Contact_FullName:
Mikey
Well, I'm not a technically fast or proficient bass player. I like to say more with less notes, and using strength is one way to find expression without playing too much. There are ways to really hit the strings, where you can get a very solid, STRONG tone, where the bass almost sounds like it's in pain.Also, I like to play either along with, or counter to, the kick drum. That's my style, and happily, the more years I've played in this way, the stronger I've become. I can even tell a difference between the KFAD times and now in terms of power. As far as telling guitarist what to do, rather than telling him to back off, find the holes and fill them in. Even a single note in the right place can bring a whole song together. From my perspective, attempting crazy stuff just to stand out is counter productive. But feel free to disagree. How
important is band bonding? I know you guys had your ups and downs, but
I don't really know the answer to this one. Sometimes I wish I would have hooked up with different people, othertimes I feel like it was a real accomplishment to have brought all these different elements together to make the albums we did. Who knows? I don't. The day the band split, our relationships to each other changed. We don't NEED to get along anymore. Contact_FullName:
Brandice
At
this point, it isn't a band decision, but a record company one.
Contact_FullName:
Jeff gretz
We
knew that either we were going to take a long break or split. That part
was inevitable. As far as the actual split, there were two reasons why
it initiated with Puffy. First of all, how many people can you replace
and still call yourself Faith No More (and Bordin was a founding member,
and a big part of our sound)? Secondly, having to cancel a really big tour
because of him, and his "career interests" , after 17 years of working
together really killed the spirit for all of us. I feel very ashamed about
his decision.
Contact_FullName:
gusradio
Even though the video had little to do with the song, I think that Joseph Cahn, the guy who directed the "Last Cup"/Vertigo video did an amazing job capture our spirit, and sense of humor. What are you and Jon Hudson working on currently? Well, I've spoken with Jon about doing stuff, but nothing's materialized yet. I hope that something does.He’s a great guitarist, and a good guy to work with. Contact_FullName:
Jason Romano
I
was an old Peavy Mark IV amp, with a 6x10 speaker cabinet. Most of the
speakers
I read that because of the lack of American support of FNM, you broke up. I understand that you have been together along time, but did the Americans break you up?I am from Canada and I would never break you up. I hope to hear from your new projects up here. Well, it's true that the only support we seemed to get in America was from the fans themselves, but that's not what put us away. Contact_FullName:
Rich McCarthy
Well,
like I said before, we only split about 3 months ago, so it's probably
too early to really make a correct assessment. If I put my mind to it,
I could still become frustrated with some of the events that have transpired
over the last year or so. I'm increasingly becoming more convinced that
the split was the right thing to do and happened at the right time. And,
to be honest, I am really proud of the quality of our body of work. None
of it came easy, and to me, none of it sucks.
Contact_FullName:
Laurence, from Belgium
The "WhoCares A Lot" CD is for the most part a record company initiated project
to include all of our better known stuff on a single CD. Right now, I'm
in the process of compiling our older, more obscure stuff, for a different
release. But the bottom line will be whether the record company will be
interested in putting something like that out or not.
Contact_FullName:
Denis
I
was asked to produce the band "Party Up" but I couldn't work it out. As
far as touring Brazil during the AOTY period, we were constantly speaking
with promoters, and even had a tentative tour set up, but if I remember
correctly, the promoters were having a difficult time with their sponsors.
Contact_FullName:
Marcin Szczap
Cracow and Warsaw are awesome cities. I can't wait to go back, even if only as a tourist. Contact_FullName:
Mike Garrett
I was a big fan of Roli's work before we chose to work with him. He's probably best known as the producer for all of the Young Gods records, but he also did interesting stuff with Wiseblood and Foetus. Contact_FullName:
CHRIS
Very good question. First of all, we've been trying to get to Greece since the Real Thing days, but for some reason, either with scheduling, or the promoter, we haven't been able to work it out. In fact, I’m pretty sure that we were trying to incorporate Athens in our tour last year, en route to Israel. In fact, I pushed hard to get us shows in Belgrade, Sophia, and Skopje and Athens, so that each show would only be a days drive from the other and we could justify a drive to Greece. I think we were all a bit disappointed that it didn't work out. Albania
is a different story altogether. I don't think it would be possible to
"tour" Albania. I was trying to organize a single free concert in Tirana.
It would have required a lot of work, but I think if we hadn't split up,
we might have been able to pull it off. You have to understand, even though
a lot of my favorite places to play are the ones off the beaten path, there's
very little money playing some of these cities, so not only is it tough
to convince an agent to go through all the risk and hassle of getting there,
but it's hard on the band because our overhead is very high and we begin
to lose money as well.
Contact_FullName:
Emily Campbell
Shame on you, you should be reading the newspapers, though they don’t give the most accurate description on what’s happening out there. Pristina, in Kosova, is a very heavy place, it has a lot of meaning to a lot of different people, and there is much suffering for it. You can learn more about how the world really works just by observing this small city. When the song came out, Pristina was a dirty little secret, ignored by the media in general. Now it cannot be ignored. Contact_FullName:
Ultraman Tiga
As far as the correlation to tempo and sales, in our case that was never a consideration. We wrote the way we wrote. I think that a lot of uptempo numbers on AOTY would have killed it's atmosphere. But I agree with you, we could have tipped the scales towards a few more uptempo numbers, and had we stuck together, that's the direction we would have probably followed. As far as playing on the recording, Roddy played a little on it, but most of it was Ron. I
don't know if the record is released in the states or not, but Sparks did
a great job with that album.
2. I felt that the singles selections from Angel Dust on were all pretty weak. Midlife Crisis is okay, but Be Aggressive could have made for a more interesting release. Evidence should have been the first single off of King For A Day, and Mouth To Mouth might have gotten a better response than the much too melancholy for radio Last Cup of Sorrow (balls to whoever bet money on that one - damn good song, of course, but not single material). The question is: "Who decides these things, and what the hell were they thinking?" In our case, the record company would say "I think this song's a single" and we would usually answer "fine, go for it". Contact_FullName:
Andrew Rogers
Ask
me that question in another year or two and I can give you a more objective
answer.
name:
T. Lund
The
only recordings I have with Courtney are horrible quality cassettes from
live shows. I've promised Courtney that I wouldn't release them, and, as
the quality is so bad, they probably wouldn't be fit for pressing anyway.
Contact_FullName:
Paul Martin
NOW. Well, I hope everyone enjoyed this as much as I did. Thanks for your participation, and to Bill Gould. Last Updated: 07/16/98
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