YOUR QUESTION:

07/01/2021 Paige Omidi

Hi Trevor,
I'd like to get your insight as to why certain musicians, who are painstaking when it comes to their mastering on the CD format, often don't have the same quality control with their vinyl versions.
For instance, I've seen many examples of even homemade albums, where it's still clear that they put considerable effort into the mixing and mastering process (and it produces beautiful results), but then they issue vinyl versions of those same records, I find myself disappointed with the sound quality and comparison. I realize not all musicians have access to a perfect analog mastering process, but it doesn't seem like it's completely an economic decision, so I was curious if you could explain this to me a bit. Thank you

MY ANSWER:

I can’t answer that for you but I can speculate. Firstly, vinyl, as much as I love it and still collect used copies, just doesn’t sound as good. There’s always going to be less accuracy and more noise with vinyl. It’s quite possible some musicians don’t realize that vinyl needs a separate treatment in mastering. Musicians aren’t always known for their economic decisions. But maybe I’m skirting the point here. Depending on the music, some vinyl sounds amazing, but I gotta be honest and say that I don’t totally understand the fairly recent resurgence of vinyl. It’s still a pain in the ass to lug around, for one. Anyway, ultimately, I can’t speak to why some masters sound worse than others. I think mastering engineers are underappreciated and it’s important to hire the best.

YOUR QUESTION:

06/25/2021 Sophia

Hello Trevor,
Seems like things are picking up now, how excited are you to get back performing on larger stages for more people? Did you ever get used to ‘lockdown’? Was it a needed break to reassess? Thanks for taking time to answer & good luck with everything! L8Rs S8R

MY ANSWER:

Even over a year after this question was initially posted, I wouldn’t say things have totally picked up. It’s not the same, and life isn’t the same for me. There is actually something I miss about lock down — the quiet, the empathy, the realization that I don’t need to get on a plane so often (I certainly don’t miss that). I wouldn’t say I ever got used to it. Who could? Everything was always up in the air. Is it ending now? When? How do I stay protected? What news or opinions do I take seriously. Reassessing is always a good idea. I try to do that daily.

YOUR QUESTION:

06/25/2021

Some time has passed & things have changed, would you still go out on a date with me?

MY ANSWER:

Sure. Water under the bridge.

YOUR QUESTION:

06/16/2021 Reclusive

Hi Trevor,
Do you listen to hip hop at all and if so, who do you listen to? Many hip hop artists meld genres in interesting ways that I think glide on the same wavelength as some of your work (Eyedea's jazz-freestyle side project Face Candy comes to mind, as well as his rock band Carbon Carousel).
Thank you for your awesome contributions to music!

MY ANSWER:

I tend to go for older stuff like Rakim or Missy Elliot or Method Man, but I also try to keep my ear out for interesting trap stuff. I flit around with Nikki, some Earl Sweatshirt, this and that.

YOUR QUESTION:

06/07/2021 Jimmy Monack

Hi Trevor. I hope you are well.
I was in a bar in St. Louis not long ago wherein a band was doing the standard fare; "Ain't no Sunshine" "Who'll Stop the Rain?" "Stand by Me" "(Sitting on) The Dock of the Bay" etc. They were quite good, I must say.
Then I wondered, given your level of sophistication and talent, are you still capable of going to the bar, having a couple of drinks, and find yourself saying, "Duuuude! I frikin love The Eagles! Who doesn't?!" or something like that?
Thanks for all you do.

MY ANSWER:

Hm, well, sometimes bands like that hit too close to home as I spent four years in a pretty crappy bar band when I was in college (it was better than rolling out pizza dough at 9am!). But yeah, I can get excited about some pretty basic or classic stuff. A few stiff drinks always helps.

YOUR QUESTION:

06/06/2021 Alex

Hey hello Mr. Trevor Dunn, so earlier today I was listening to Mr. Bungle’s third studio album “California” and something caught my ear that I had never really noticed before, that being the bass tone. I was wondering, what equipment do you used to get that twangy surf tone? Any specific pedals or EQ settings I should know about? Thanks!

MY ANSWER:

I used a variety of basses, amps and pedals for that record so I can’t recall exactly. For the surf twang I probably used a cheap Vox bass we had lying around that had flat wound strings on it. I might have even played that through a Fender Twin, utilizing the spring reverb. And I likely used a pick, close to the bridge, while palm muting.

YOUR QUESTION:

05/26/2021 Byron Dunbar

As an Oingo Boingo fan who has gone on record as not really being a fan of Danny Elfman's work as a film composer or outside of Oingo Boingo, did you listen to Big Mess and if so, what did you think of it? I listened to a few tracks and it wasn't terrible, but I wasn't interested in listening to the full album. Sounded too much like a Nine Inch Nails clone for me.

MY ANSWER:

I haven’t spent time with that record yet; sometimes I find it hard to revisit artists that have been ingrained in my psyche from the beginning. I still go back and listen to those early OB albums.

YOUR QUESTION:

05/11/2021 Leto Nicolas

Dear Mr Dunn,
Would there be the possibility of considering a reissue of the album "The Fantômas Melvins Big Band - Millennium Monsterwork 2000" on vinyl?
We created with my wife a micro label (Jelodanti records) dedicated to experimental rock and make vinyl by hand (Goz of kermeur, Thinking Plague, The Work), we work with Cuneiform records or Recommended records.
We understand that our request may seem out of place but we love this "album" and would love to be able to offer it on vinyl, but maybe ipecac records has plans to do so.
Would there be a possibility and what would be the conditions ?
We wish you a nice day,
Warm regards.
Clara & Nicolas

MY ANSWER:

You’d have to speak to someone at Ipecac about their plans and conditions. I have no idea! Glad you enjoy that record though.

YOUR QUESTION:

05/10/2021 1No, Anarchy up YOUR anus!

Who or what is a Ponus?

MY ANSWER:

Ponus is a cross between penis and Cronos

YOUR QUESTION:

04/28/2021 Jane

What's a good comeback for being ridiculed for liking Mr Bungle...

MY ANSWER:

What’s your relationship like with your mother?

YOUR QUESTION:

04/23/2021 Hey Man, Nice Penis!

I'm really digging the new Tomahawk record - a lot. Query - is that band a collaborative effort, or more of a Denison / Patton collaboration? I love that you have Stanier in there as well - which leads to query #2 - What are your thoughts on Battles and/or Don Caballero? I love Battles - they seem to have a singular and very original approach to music, and it seems to be pretty got-dang polarizing among my friends. Are you on a side?

MY ANSWER:

Duane writes everything then gives it to Patton, who mostly comes up with the vocal melodies and most of the lyrics. Duane also has input there. I love Battles. Great tunes. Great live band. I’ve never listened to DC, believe it or not. I’m not sure why.

YOUR QUESTION:

04/18/2021 Justin Marchese

Dear Trevor,
Years ago I read an interview with you in which you referenced a cartoon you had seen involving mice, maybe a frog, a large rock (maybe carried by the frog), maybe a doll house or bird house, some sad things happen, and some violence. I am about ten years younger than you, and when I was a child, I saw the same cartoon on HBO, though as you can tell I can barely remember it. In the interview, if I recall correctly, you mentioned wanting to know the title of this cartoon so you could watch it again. I feel the same way as it made an impression on me. Well, did you ever discover the title and if so would you please share?
Thanks buddy

MY ANSWER:

I did discover it! I can’t remember how, but it’s called The Mouse And His Child. I watched it again recently and it’s still amazing. Very existential and melancholy. Very sad at times. It was originally a book by Russell Hoban. Highly recommended.

YOUR QUESTION:

04/12/2021 David

Hey Trevor! How was filming the Halloween virtual show? You guys kicked ass, looked like lots of fun to film. Have a good one!

MY ANSWER:

It was a lot of fun! I’d never done anything like that. It was hard work, for sure. We rehearsed everything, did the live show, did a couple songs as alternatives, etc. Long day.

YOUR QUESTION:

04/12/2021 Darwin Cooke

Thoughts (if any) on the Yummy Fur, the Mountain Goats, and ska-punk?

MY ANSWER:

No, this is all unexplored territory. I can’t say I really get “ska punk”. Isn’t it just sort of emo punk? I just listened to a Yummy Fur song. I like it. Yay for Chester Brown!

YOUR QUESTION:

Mado-Médo

Bonjour,
Je rêve tellement de vous lire. Envisagez-vous l'écriture de poésies, de nouvelles ou de contes ? Merci

MY ANSWER:

oui, j'écris de la poésie et de la prose depuis plus longtemps que je ne fais de la musique. Les choses se profilent à l'horizon....

YOUR QUESTION:

04/08/2021 Jay

I know a girl who moved to Eureka to farm marijuana. Any recommendations on any good places to eat or cool places to go in the cultural hotbed that is Eureka?

MY ANSWER:

I haven’t spent a lot of time there in the last 30 years, but there’s a good Vietnamese restaurant down by the co-op in Eureka. Mariscos is a great Mexican seafood place, I think they moved to the lovely town of Fields Landing. Watch your back. Mostly, I would go hiking. Go to Trinidad —that part of the coast. Eat at Larrupin’s. Get a tattoo at Sailor’s Grave. Buy some records from The Works. Check out the bird sanctuary at the foot of G st in Arcata. Stay in at night! The dead live!

YOUR QUESTION:

04/02/2021 Nick

What was the story behind the one off Houdini de Sade performance from 1991?

MY ANSWER:

Right after I met Zorn when he helped us mix the first Bungle record I was initiated into his circle of musicians. I think Trey and Mike recorded Elegy, which was mostly a West Coast line up, almost immediately after our record was finished. A few months later he asked me to perform the Houdini/deSade piece at the Walker Arts Center in Minneapolis, along with Willy Winant, Patton, Joey Baron and a bunch of others— I can’t recall who. Not sure why he never recorded this “flash card” piece. I suppose he wasn’t happy with the composition as a whole? Anyway, I had no idea what I was doing.

YOUR QUESTION:

03/30/2021 Eric

Any backstory about some of the one off shows you played in the early to mid 90s. Specifically when most of Bungle played with Splatter Trio and Zorns Cobra.

MY ANSWER:

Too many one offs to mention. We all moved to SF in the ‘90s and almost immediately got involved with various branches of the music scene there. It was Zorn, of course, who introduced us to people like Larry Ochs from Rova, or a punk record store we didn’t know about on Valencia Street. I can’t think of any back stories other than making relationships with some very interesting musicians.

YOUR QUESTION:

03/28/2021 Sam Chambers

Do you think it would be possible to introduce and enforce an income bracket to stop people over a certain annual gross income from buying and listening to Bungle and other Ipecac recordings? I'm sick of the pretentious elite poseurs appropriating my music, most of them haven't even heard of Ken Loach.

MY ANSWER:

Why in God’s name would I want to control what and who buys my music. You some kind of Communist!? haha. Seriously though, rich people should buy my music in bulk! Appropriation….pfft. Once you put it out there, it’s not really yours anymore. The only way to battle that is to keep putting stuff out. Welcome to culture!

YOUR QUESTION:

03/27/2021 Volk

Hello i've been looking for the ending of dead goon for a while but i just can't seem to find it, if you could let me know where it is from that would be awesome! i know alot of people would like to know where it's from too.

MY ANSWER:

You found it! It’s on our record! That is a live DJ mix by David Shea who played turntables on that record. Hell if I know what all of that is.