your question

02/17/2020 Zach

Hey Trevor!
Firstly, I want to say that you guys killed it at Brooklyn Steel on the 11th. Thanks for putting on a great show! Also, thanks for doing what you do in the first place. In middle school, I was a sexually frustrated outcast who had trouble connecting with most people, so the self titled Mr. Bungle album scratched all the right itches. It was probably the only album I could fully relate to at the time. I also quite like all your work beyond that (all you Bungle guys have extremely impressive careers outside of Mr. Bungle), but that first album forever holds a special place in my heart. I have a couple questions as well!

1) How much does that first Mr. Bungle truly reflect the mood you guys were in back then? The album is certainly extreme in style and subject matter. Were you guys okay? It seems like it came from such a dark place.
2) What do you think of the philosophical ideas Trey has been exploring over the last couple decades? Is your own philosophical worldview vastly different, or has any of it rubbed off on you? Was there any conflict during the recent tour with Trey being an Orthodox Christian now?
3) Are you into King Crimson at all? Two of my favorite bass players (John Wetton and Tony Levin) were in the band and I was wondering if you enjoyed their work. Some of my favorite bass work, specifically, is on that trio of Larks' Tongues, Starless and Bible Black, and Red.

my answer

1. I would say 100%. It is very dark and we were children of metal so searching for extremes, in language and in tempo. Honestly I think at a young age, thanks to our curiosity in a soulless world and thanks to certain teachers recognizing something and thus encouraging it, we were Existentialists. Those who weren’t “ok” are probably still up there, or gone for good, but I think by the mere fact that we have moved on proves we were and “are” “ok”.
2. Trey and I see eye to eye on many things even if we express those things differently. To be quite frank, I’m not aware of Trey’s religious beliefs. We can talk for hours about philosophical topics, trying to break things down, get to the roots. Our personal choices (and when I say “our” I should really mean everyone) don’t come into play. No one is trying to sell anyone anything, we are observing and we learn from each other’s observations. I would say ideas have been rubbing off each other for many years.
3. I never really got into that earlier KC. I was a fan of Discipline for sure but it has a certain pop element I like not so present in the heavy prog stuff. For some reason it’s harder for me now at this age to have patience for prog and fusion.