YOUR QUESTION:

02/02/2021 ASTOR

Hi Trevor!, How are you? I was searching de interwebs for any info about SpermChurch, and found out your partner Sannety died las april. Sorry to hear that man. Im really looking forward to that project. Also very eager to listen to your sonwriting album and the new TrioConvulsant.
Any plans of releasinng the other covers that Bungle recorded last year? Or the outtakes from the WB albums?
Hope you doing well and that the world spins again so you can with any of your bands to Argentina. I saw you with Zorns Moonchild, Tomahawk and Mondo Cane.
SALUDOS!

MY ANSWER:

I’m doing alright, thanks for asking. And thank you for the condolences. No plans for Bungle releases at the moment. Releasing some new stuff of my own in the very near future. Follow the socials! Saludos!

YOUR QUESTION:

01/31/2021 Cheqalo

Have you seen Arto Lindsay's cameo in Desperately Seeking Susan (1985) starring Rosanna Arquette and Madonna?

MY ANSWER:

I guess I did when I saw that movie, when it came out! Should I watch it again? Does it hold up? Rosanna Arquette is pretty damn cute.

YOUR QUESTION:

01/30/2021 Maggie MaeSo,

you played keyboards for Scourge! What are your memories of that particular project? Do you remember the halloween costume you wore in the Arcata concert? Did you use the same Ensoniq SQ80 that was used in the Mr. Bungle self titled album for the keyboard pad parts? The world wants to know!

MY ANSWER:

We only did a handful of gigs. We rehearsed in some converted chicken coops where Bungle would also rehearse — the same place Dead Good was conceived mostly as an improv. I don’t remember wearing a costume, but it was something cryptic. Yes, same Ensoniq, Trey’s baby.

YOUR QUESTION

01/28/2021 Paul Z

Hi Trev!
Where's the goddamn drum machine? I left the m*er with Dunn! You Dunn, what are we going to do now? Let me bust that Van Halen album one more time
On a serious note - big fan of your work, especially your humbly persona. I've browsed the whole site, basically reading your answers only in the end.
I've spent a lot of time on "pointless drumming" and then I've found that practicing rudiments for couple of months, profits very much. Yet it's not as fun as playing the kit (in the beginning). Now I enjoy playing on an electronic kit, since I do not play in a band anymore.
Do you have any tips for a drummer, as a bassist? What do you want from a drummer in order for the rhythm section to 'click'?
Love you and sending huge amount of hugs from Poland

MY ANSWER

Fundamentals, rudiments, all that stuff, is absolutely important. What I want from a drummer is control of the instrument; to have limitless creativity unhindered by physical properties. I want their personality to come through and for us to be able to have a conversation without saying a word.

YOUR QUESTION

01/28/2021Francesco

Dear Mr. Dunn,
I appreciate a lot your work, especially those with Mr. Patton.
I am a bad amateur bass player but in my free time (which is extremely limited because of work and kids+wife at home) I try to study your riffs.
With just the help of my limited playing and listening ability I am not able to replicate them correctly and in a satisfactory way.
My question is: do you plan to publish your music sheets?
If not, may I ask you to share with me at least the the music sheet of Goodbye Sober Day? I really love this song!
Thanks a lot

MY ANSWER

I don’t plan on publishing any of my bass parts, though maybe that’s not a bad idea. A lot of the music, for Bungle especially, was never written down. I don’t have any sheet music for Goodbye Sober Day. Transcribing bass parts is a great way to learn though, so I’ll give you that job. You should also transcribe James Jamerson, Bobby Vega and Paul Jackson.

YOUR QUESTION

01/25/2021 CJ Matherson

Hey Trevor,
Just wanna say you were a big reason I picked up the bass, and I'm truly looking forward to all your future projects. This is kind of random, But did you watch the Pixar movie Soul? As on the nose as some of these kinds of movies can be, I really appreciated its message. During truly one of the worst years so far for me, it really helped me put things back in perspective. Throughout my life, I've always been more focused on end goals.Taking for granted the process, and blinding myself by the destination. I should be enjoying the little things a lot more. Do you ever find yourself guilty of this? What do you do about it?
Lots of Love

MY ANSWER

I have yet to see that film but have heard good things about it. Yes, I have to remind myself fairly frequently that life is a process and there is no goal. Mindfulness and meditation help. Take a walk, sit on a bench and look around. Hear what’s behind you, focus on your surroundings. You can do this in musical contexts, too.

YOUR QUESTION

01/24/2021 Gordo

Hey Trevor.
Covid Era not included... When not traveling and gigging, what does a day in the life of Trevor Dunn look like besides practicing? Also, when was the last time you had a non-musician job... age or year... job description - blah, blah, blah. I'm curious.

MY ANSWER

I worked at a Shakey’s Pizza franchise run by Born Again Christians when I was 18. Getting that job was the reason I cut off all my ‘80s metal hair. A few months later I joined a local bar band and never looked back to the 9 to 5. A day in the life for me includes oatmeal and tea at a leisurely pace, an hour at the gym and then a varying order of writing, practicing, recording, reading, and working for a living.

YOUR QUESTION

01/23/2021

Are you related to Jennifer Dunn, drummer of Mindless Self Indulgence?
Thoughts on MSI?

MY ANSWER

Yes, she is my step-aunt. Her mother wrote Geek Love and my uncle is Duck Dunn the bassist. I’ve been trying to get her to quick that horrible band forever.

YOUR QUESTION

01/19/2021 Miguel P.

Hi there,
I just saw you mentioned 'trolling' referring to the Sex Pistols. But I always thought that Mr. Bungle was (now IS) the ultimate troll - in a good way - band. Sometimes when I'm rocking Bungle's debut (something happening too often lately, for some reason) I laugh my ass off trying to picture those guys on Warner Music listening to it for the first time and saying something like "well, we have to sell this".
So the question is, do you actually know what kind of reaction they had on WB when they got the record?
Do you think there was some kind of "let's do this so we keep the Faith No More guy happy" vibe (Patton himself pointed something like that) or they actually got it at the first hearing?
That's it. Thanks for the laughs, the inspiration, and the terrific music!

MY ANSWER

I’ve mentioned this before but no one at WB ever cared. I think they had misguided hopes that we would crank out a FNM style hit; that they had a double weapon with a certain singer. I have no idea what their reaction was. We were a tax write-off. I can almost guarantee though that they never “got it”.

YOUR QUESTION

01/18/2021 Justin James

Trevor -
Huge fan! Just wanted to say that I absolutely love your tone on RW. I hate to admit this, but I rarely get to JUST LISTEN to music anymore... I haven't had a work commute in 13 years and I have 3 kids and I'm constantly working. So please forgive me if I didn't realize just how amazing RW actually sounded until a long car ride yesterday! Everyone in that lineup is just throwing so many notes out as quickly as possible, it can be tough for the bass to shine through, and you manage that trick adroitly.
I was wondering what your secret is for that? I know your gear, it makes sense to me, but between song composition and stuff that happens in the recording studio and gear choice, there's obviously a difference between a bassist who blends into the background on a thrash disc (say, Araya) and one who cuts through with a clear and distinct voice (you, Dave Ellefson). Would love to get your take on that, and how you stand out in the crowd.
Thanks, and much appreciated!

MY ANSWER

Thanks for noticing! I think the problem with most bassists in metal scenarios is that they are using too much saturation. Leave that to the guitars. If you want the natural, metallic grit of the bass tone to be present, keep it clean —well, not totally clean. I like a tasteful level of tube distortion. But saturation sucks the low end out and then you’re essentially just playing another guitar. The other secret weapon is to have an engineer who is also a bass player. Jay Ruston killed it in the mix of that record and I am forever in debt. I use a couple distortion boxes in a live setting, but mostly I rely on pushing air through cones and maintaining the traditional roll of what low frequency instruments are there for.

YOUR QUESTION

01/17/2021

01/17/2021 Traviz Gartzeea

Hi Trevor. An honour to have this little chat with you. I had just discovered that a commercial metal band (or at least sounded/looked like that) did a cover from Retrovertigo. That freaked me out a lot! Also made me curious show did you feel about that and if you received any profit/royalty fee or similar as composer of the song or WB swallowed it... Thanks in advance and sorry for my weird/poor english...

MY ANSWER

I was honored to have that song covered although I thought it could have been treated differently. I like the way Cat Power rewrites the covers she chooses. She finds the essence and makes it her own rather than just saying, here’s my karoake take. Fortunately Bungle and the individual writers retain our own publishing rights so we do see royalties for that.

YOUR QUESTION

01/12/2021 doctor fiu-ci-vohi

Trevor, first of all let me thank you for the music. Bungle's debut record literally changed my life when i was a teenager, but your later ventures (MadLove in particular) are lovely - if this is the right word for some of them ;) - as well.
i'd like to ask what is your favourite chord change or/and whole progression? both as a listener, composer and instrumentalist (because it may vary, as it does in my case)? my bet would be on something with at least one tritone interval :)
a side question: what is your opinion on Metheny/Mays collaborations? i know they have a bad rep for being a smooth, cafe jazz, at least here in Poland, but i think there's a LOT of substance to be found beneath the thin genre surface.
stay cool and be well in these tough times!

MY ANSWER

I don’t have one favorite chord change, it really depends on context — setting up surprises, creating tension. Tritones are, of course, a fundamental part of traditional tertian harmony. Some of my favorite progressions happen in Elliot Smith and Alan Parsons songs.
There is definitely substance in Metheny/Mays collaborations. Both musicians are brilliant and their pop references are finely crafted. Sometimes people get distracted by the packaging and forget to hear what is really taking place. You could re-orchestrate that smooth jazz into something less cheesy and those haters would loose their shit.

YOUR QUESTION

01/04/2021 Ang

I played cello in school and always meant to get back to it. Here I am years later, no cello, and hands that are going to sh*t. First question: should I get a cheapo cello at Walmart for a couple hundred or just get a good one right off. Second question: What can I do to strengthen my hands? Read up a bit but there is so much info out there n I don't want to waste any more years thinking about doing this. Thank you 😊

MY ANSWER

If you’ve already played in the past I wouldn’t go too cheap. Bad instruments kill inspiration and getting that good feeling back in your hands probably won’t come with some beater cello. But you can find a mid-range instrument if you’re willing to spend a little more. The best thing for strength is boring old long-tones; slow practice. Metronome at 40 and eight clicks to the bow. Also, just playing scales, or anything really, at a very slow tempo while focusing on maintaining a good, even tone.

YOUR QUESTION

12/28/2020 Alex Ducote

Hey man, I just wanna say I love your playing for Mr. Bungle, your work for that band is super underrated and you're one of my bass idols. I wanna ask how you guys managed to make the sax in Mr. Bungle hearable, because I want to start a weird funk/jazz/death metal band, and I'm thinking of looking for a vocalist who can play the tenor sax, because I really like how it sounds in metal. Problem is I'm worried the guitars and drums will drown out the sound, so I'm curious what you guys did to make it sound loud, especially in live situations. Thanks for your time, you're the best!

MY ANSWER

First off, you don’t need to start a weird funk/jazz/metal band. That’s a bad idea. Saxophone has a timbre that is not dissimilar to distorted guitar so it has to be treated appropriately in the mix. Orchestration is key to individual parts being heard. It really depends on where you put it, how you can make it blend so that it doesn’t sound unnatural and EQ. There’s probably a Tape Op article about it. I’m no sound engineer and I usually leave that job up to the professionals. With large orchestrations there is always a bit of a battle and that is part of the game. The more you try things out the more apt you are to find solutions.

YOUR QUESTION

12/27/2020 Kieran

I know you love 80s Slayer. But thoughts on mid 90s to early 2000s Slayer? Divine Intervention era and of course their down tuned guitar and hockey jersey wearing Korn era of the late 90s

MY ANSWER

I don’t really feel Slayer exists without Lombardo, and frankly I sort of stopped listening to them after SITA. I did have Undisputed Attitude which I enjoy to a degree, but their importance to me is embedded in a certain era and my own history. Sometimes an artist and their audience grow apart and that’s natural. Korn has always been horrible.

YOUR QUESTION

12/26/2020 Mike Bouchet

Hi Trevor, I hope this finds you doing well.
Do you actually get paid anything when people buy your music on itunes? Do you receive any kind of payment through Amazon or other streaming services? Whats the best place for people to buy your music?
Thanks for all the great music and inspiration over the years.

MY ANSWER

Streaming services are a joke as far as payment is concerned. You’d laugh if you saw the statements which list micro-cents. 200 plays at .000000000072 parts of a dollar. The best way for people to pay for music is live shows, merch, physical copies and making payments to the label or artists (say, via Bandcamp) directly.

YOUR QUESTION

12/23/2020 Huw

Hi Trevor, hope all is well!
1. How does Zorn usually present his music to you, would there be a rehearsal before the concert/recording, or would you have to study your parts before hand and run it all at soundcheck/the concert?
2. Which do you find more technically taxing, german bow or playing the electric bass with a plectrum?
3. When time allows, how would you usually structure practicing and composing?

MY ANSWER

1. Usually I get written music in advance and work on it myself as the other instrumentalists do. Rehearsals tend to take place just before the record button is pushed or at soundcheck.
2. I think there is more involved with bow technique, probably because it is a much larger implement with more physical options, more margin for error. Bowing can also be fragile with the possibility of truly horrible tone and this is taxing to control.
3. I have a list of exercises and techniques to practice; long-tones, arpeggios, a Bach prelude, etc and, time allowing, I work on each thing for a certain amount of time. I also try to pay attention to diminishing returns and muscle pain. Occasionally inspiration rears it’s unpredictable head and interrupts my noodling so I have to pause the technical work to write down an idea, and I certainly believe it’s important to pay attention to those unpredictable moments. However, it’s also important to set aside dedicated time to compose, to sit down with only the goal of writing. Composing and practicing technique are two totally different mindsets and should be respected as such.

YOUR QUESTION

12/23/2020 lucyhi,

I've heard you've been diggin billie eilish, what's your favorite of hers? and do you think she's changing the game by going against typical girl pop star stereotype and by writing her music?

MY ANSWER

I haven’t done the deep dive, just appreciate her videos mostly, and a certain melancholy in her songs. Changing the game? Not sure I’d be that extreme. But you know me, I’m grateful for anything that goes against stereotypes. There are plenty of other female pop artists that have preceded Eilish as songwriters. I think the thing I value the most is her appeal to young people; that sort of sets the bar higher for their taste in future art, which of course, bolsters art in general.

YOUR QUESTION

12/21/2020 CT

What do you find sexy?

MY ANSWER

Psychology.