California (Mr. Bungle album)

The album's 1999 press kit by Warner Bros. Records states, {{quote|California explores an ambiance new to the band, conjuring up the surly dance moves of Cyd Charisse and Fred Astaire; digging through the graveyard of riffs to find English pop, Elvis, Neil Diamond and Michael Jackson. The album is sure to alienate those expecting weird meter-changes and heartless vulgarities. To be sure, this is Western music, chockful of backbeats, strings and vocal harmonies. But like the original 49ers, the listener is headed into a desert land of drought and famine — the dark side of the California Dream.[http://www.pattonmad.com/Mr%20Bungle/Pages/MrBungleCaliforniaPressPackUSA.html Press Kit for Mr. Bungle's California ] Warner Bros. Records, 1999}}

The songwriting process for California was much less collaborative than the band's previous albums.{{Cite web|url=http://www.trevordunn.net/cali.html|title=CALIFORNIA|website=www.trevordunn.net|access-date=2018-10-13}} Despite having a more accessible sound than prior releases, saxophonist Clinton McKinnon has stated, "It wasn’t some attempt at reconciling how much we’d previously tortured our audiences with white-noise [...] it wasn’t some conscious attempt to normalise our music or make it all the more palatable." On the album's writing and sound, Trevor Dunn stated in a 2017 interview that, "[we] never discussed our projected direction. We never sat down and said, 'ok the last record was like that so now let’s attempt this.' Instead we individually brought things to the collective table that somehow coalesced without premeditation."{{cite web|url=http://www.faithnomorefollowers.com/2017/08/mr-bungle-trevor-dunn-talks-about.html|title=MR. BUNGLE - Trevor Dunn talks about the making of 'California'.|website=www.faithnomorefollowers.com|date=August 5, 2017 |access-date=August 6, 2017}} He goes on to state that "the recording of California was a bit of a nightmare. We attempted frugality by recording a lot in our rehearsal space which [our guitarist] Trey [Spruance] had partially turned into a recording studio. But we also spread the work out over various outside studios with a number of engineers as well as additional musicians. In the end we had two 24-track tape machines and two ADAT machines linked. That record would have been much easier to manage had Pro Tools come along a bit sooner."

Regarding the album's title, drummer Danny Heifetz said in 1999, "More than anything, that title really sums up sonically what's going on on the record. It's very pleasant at times, and then there are a lot of little disasters that come up and present themselves, then blow over and go away like a storm. I would tend to explain it more like that, rather than, "Oh, California is this very deceptive place; it's bright on the outside and a really dark place on the inside." I mean, let's let the Chili Peppers do that."{{Cite web|url=https://www.fnmfollowers.com/post/mr-bungle-california-was-released-21-years-ago|title=Mr. Bungle 'California' Was Released 21 Years Ago!|first=Faith No More|last=Followers|date=July 13, 2020|website=FNM Followers|access-date=July 29, 2020}} Trey Spruance, who had recently covered the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations" with Secret Chiefs 3 for the album Smiling Pets, said that the work of Brian Wilson (particularly Smile) was "definitely" an influence, "especially when it comes to the Faustian scale of it."{{cite web |title=TREY SPRUANCE 'CALIFORNIA' 20TH ANNIVERSARY INTERVIEW |url=http://www.faithnomorefollowers.com/2019/07/trey-spruance-california-20th.html |website=Faith No More Followers |access-date=June 25, 2020 |date=July 17, 2019}}

To support the album, Mr. Bungle embarked on a large scale tour covering North America, Europe and Australia.{{cite web|url=http://anaussiemusicfan.com/mrbungle/mb1999.html|title=Mr. Bungle - Gig Database - 1999|publisher=An Aussie Music Fan|access-date=January 23, 2017}}{{cite web|url=http://anaussiemusicfan.com/mrbungle/mb2000.html|title=Mr. Bungle - Gig Database - 2000|publisher=An Aussie Music Fan|access-date=January 23, 2017}} They also notably appeared on the 2000 edition of the SnoCore Tour, which featured Incubus, Puya, and System of a Down. The members of Incubus and System of a Down have both cited Mr. Bungle and Patton's other band Faith No More as major influences on them.{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevebaltin/2018/08/08/part-2-incubus-brandon-boyd-and-system-of-a-downs-serj-tankian-on-life-on-the-road/|title=Part 2: Incubus' Brandon Boyd And System Of A Down's Serj Tankian On Life On The Road|first=Steve|last=Baltin|website=Forbes}}{{cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1424497/fear-factory-kittie-frog-brigade-set-for-snocore-tours/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202013044/http://www.mtv.com/news/1424497/fear-factory-kittie-frog-brigade-set-for-snocore-tours/|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 2, 2017|title=Fear Factory, Kittie, Frog Brigade Set For SnoCore Tours|website=MTV|access-date=January 23, 2017}} According to Dunn, Mr. Bungle were "completely out of place" on the SnoCore Tour. He remarked "We were sort of the grandpas of the tour, so we started really messing with the audiences. We dressed up like the Village People and acted super gay which really pissed off the metal kids."{{cite web|url=http://rocknrollcocktail.com/tomahawks-trevor-dunn-on-oddfellows-mike-patton-and-his-favorite-moment-touring-with-mr-bungle/|title=Tomahawk's Trevor Dunn on Oddfellows, Mike Patton, and His Favorite Moment Touring with Mr. Bungle|date=March 3, 2013|access-date=August 6, 2017}} Guitarist Trey Spruance reflected on the SnoCore tour in 2002, recalling "some of us were going, 'Well … I guess … this’ll be an … adventure?' And that was the whole spirit we went into it with. You know, there’s this thing of, 'Yeah, man, we’ll reach all these other people! We can expand the audience!' I didn’t fucking believe that for a second. That kind of logic—it doesn’t get you anywhere; it doesn’t work. It’s a recipe for failure and disaster."

name="TS2002">{{Cite web|url=https://thatwasthenthisisyesterday.wordpress.com/2014/10/23/interview-trey-spruance-april-2002-pt-2/|title=Interview: Trey Spruance (April 2002), Pt. 2|first1=Interview: Trey|last1=Spruance|first2=Pt 1 | That Was Then/This Is Yesterday|last2=said|first3=on|last3=October 23|first4=2014 at 12:22|last4=PM|date=October 23, 2014|access-date=July 16, 2020}} When asked about the hostile audiences the band were subject to during the SnoCore shows, Spruance said, "those can be just magic moments. That’s definitely when Mike is at his best." Dunn recalls at one Snocore show in Myrtle Beach, the crowd were so angry towards Mr. Bungle that he thought they "might actually kill us." At the Myrtle Beach show, Mike Patton simulated giving his microphone a blow-job in an attempt to trigger the crowd, which angered them so much that they started throwing coins and other objects at his band.{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3sqO8rkbik | title=Conan Neutron's Protonic Reversal-Ep195: Buzz Osborne & Trevor Dunn (Melvins, Fantomas, Mr. Bungle) - YouTube | website=YouTube }} The members of Incubus and System of a Down were supportive of Mr. Bungle when they were met with harsh audiences, and cheered on Patton when he got into confrontations with the crowds.

A controversy with the Red Hot Chili Peppers developed during the album's release, reigniting Patton’s feud with Red Hot Chili Peppers lead singer Anthony Kiedis. It was scheduled to be released on June 8, 1999, but Warner Bros. Records pushed it back so as not to coincide with the Red Hot Chili Peppers similarly titled album, Californication, which was to be released on the same day. Following the album release date conflict, Red Hot Chili Peppers vocalist Anthony Kiedis had Mr. Bungle removed from a series of summer festivals in Europe. As a major headlining act at the festivals, Kiedis and his band had a say in which bands could appear.{{cite web|url=http://www.bunglefever.com/faq.html|title=Mr. Bungle Frequently Asked Questions|website=www.bunglefever.com|access-date=August 6, 2017}}{{cite web | last = Canak | first = Danny | title = Bungle No More? Mike Patton Interview | publisher = Absolut Metal | date = July 2, 2003 | url = http://www.absolutmetal.com/PattonInterview.htm | access-date = May 5, 2007}} The reasoning behind his actions have never been explained, although he had been involved in a public dispute with Mike Patton and his former band Faith No More a decade prior, where he accused Patton of stealing his style.{{cite web|url=http://www.laweekly.com/music/do-faith-no-more-and-the-red-hot-chili-peppers-still-hate-each-other-5508133|title=Do Faith No More and the Red Hot Chili Peppers Still Hate Each Other?|first=Chaz|last=Kangas|date=April 21, 2015|access-date=August 6, 2017}} According to Mr. Bungle themselves, Kiedis didn't know anyone involved with the band, aside from Mike Patton. Patton himself stated, "the rest of the band doesn't care. It's something to do with Anthony."{{cite web|url=http://www.faithnomorefollowers.com/2016/08/faith-no-more-vs-red-hot-chili-peppers.html|title=FAITH NO MORE VS RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS|work=faithnomorefollowers.com|date=August 24, 2016 |access-date=February 11, 2017}}

As a result of the concert removals, Mr. Bungle parodied the Red Hot Chili Peppers on Halloween 1999, in Pontiac, Michigan (the home state of Kiedis). Patton introduced each Mr. Bungle band member with the name of one of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, before covering the songs "Give It Away", "Around the World", "Under the Bridge" and "Scar Tissue", with Patton deliberately using incorrect lyrics, such as "Sometimes I feel like I'm on heroin" and "Sometimes I feel like a fucking junkie" on "Under the Bridge". Patton impersonated Kiedis by wearing a blonde wig and speaking with a lisp, and while pretending to be Kiedis, mockingly said to the crowd: "Don't you call me Mike, my name is Anthony. How dare you make that mistake. Mike has been ripping me off for many years."[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sT0WSwgHLc Mr. Bungle - Clutch Cargo's, Pontiac, MI, USA (1999)] The other members of Mr. Bungle, amidst their on-stage antics, satirized many of the mannerisms of the band and simulated heroin injections, as well as mocking deceased guitarist Hillel Slovak and deceased friend of the band River Phoenix. In between "None of Them Knew They Were Robots" and "The Air-Conditioned Nightmare", Dunn (dressed as Flea) walked up to Spruance (dressed as the ghost of Hillel Slovak) and simulated injecting him with heroin, which Patton interrupted by shouting "You can't shoot up a ghost!".

Regarding the Halloween show, Trey Spruance said, "It was pretty weird, having been fans of the first two RHCP albums, realizing that somehow something personal had gone amiss somewhere. So amiss that a decade and a half after we’d liked this now hugely popular band’s music (and hadn't thought much about since), we'd be dealing with the fact that they were unmistakably trying to bury us. Why keep quiet? I remember drawing everybody’s tattoos. James Rotundi our touring keyboardist knew the band's more recent music, and he's a great guitarist, so he did those duties."{{Cite web|url=http://www.faithnomorefollowers.com/2016/11/trey-spruance-halloween-interview.html|title=TREY SPRUANCE HALLOWEEN INTERVIEW|date=November 2016 |access-date=July 16, 2020}} Dunn reflected "We had a member of the tour crew buy the most recent album of them (Californication) and then we proceeded to learn it in the back of the stage before the show. It wasn't hard. The hardest part was copying his tattoos with a permanent marker. I remember it was very funny to ridicule them without thinking about whether they would be aware or not. We were pretty pissed off for all the financial and personal damage that they caused to us based on their egos and freaks of power. We should probably have sued them."{{Cite web|url=http://www.faithnomorefollowers.com/2019/07/a-series-of-interviews-about-mr-bungles_18.html|title=A series of interviews about Mr. Bungle's 'California' PART 2|date=July 18, 2019 |access-date=July 16, 2020}}

Kiedis responded to the Halloween parody by having Mr. Bungle removed from the 2000 Big Day Out festival in Australia and New Zealand. He said of the festival shows, “I would not have given fucking two fucks if they fucking played there with us. But after I fucking heard about [the] fucking Halloween show where they mocked us, fuck him and fuck the whole fucking band. I hope they all die”.{{cite web|url= https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-feud-between-mike-patton-anthony-kiedis/?amp|title=The feud between Mike Patton and Anthony Kiedis|date=December 9, 2021 }} Patton went on to claim that Kiedis' actions had "ruined" Mr. Bungle's career during a 2001 interview,{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3FHXXP5T3U| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140311193531/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3FHXXP5T3U&gl=US&hl=en| archive-date=2014-03-11 | url-status=dead|title=Mike Patton (Fantômas) on Anthony Kiedis|last=Penny L|date=2001|access-date=January 23, 2017|via=YouTube}} while Trevor Dunn remarked, "It really screwed us up. It screwed up my life in a personal way."{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBHBALR8Uko |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211213/FBHBALR8Uko| archive-date=2021-12-13 |url-status=live|title=Mr. Bungle Radio Interview with WQFS, Greensboro, NC|website=YouTube|access-date=July 16, 2020}}{{cbignore}}

The band officially split in 2004, although they had been on hiatus since playing their final concert on September 9, 2000 in Nottingham, England.{{cite web|url=http://www.setlist.fm/setlists/mr-bungle-23d6b0d7.html|title=Mr. Bungle Concert Setlists|website=setlist.fm}}{{better source needed|date=January 2017}}

File:MB 2000 AUG.jpg On his personal website, Dunn later wrote, "Everything you've ever heard about the Red Hot Chile Poppers [sic] screwing us is true. I'm not sure why they did it other than a non-singer's jealousy. They kept us off of festivals in Europe, Big Day Out in Australia and they had the release date of our record postponed while they released Californication. Ultimately they screwed ME out of a lot of money for which I will forever harbor anger. The best part is they had full support from their record label."{{Cite web|url=https://www.trevordunn.net/mr-bungle-california|title=Mr Bungle - California|website=Trevor Dunn|access-date=July 29, 2020}}

On previous tours, Mr. Bungle were known for their characteristically unconventional stage shows, where the band members would dress up in costumes and masks. The 1999-2000 shows in support of California usually featured Dunn dressed as a blonde girl resembling Goldilocks or The St. Pauli Girl,{{cite web|url=http://www.nypress.com/mr-bungle-beats-queen-neil-young-under-the-stars/|title=Mr. Bungle Beats Queen; Neil Young Under the Stars - Manhattan, New York, NY - News|work=nypress.com|access-date=February 17, 2017}} although for the other members this period was largely devoid of masks and outfits due to the increased demands of the music.{{cite journal |last=Gadino |first=Dylan |title=Leap from Faith: Mike Patton Strikes Again with Mr. Bungle |journal=Rockpile |url=http://nirrosive.tripod.com/articles/article21.txt |access-date=September 2, 2012}}

As with the previous "Disco Volante Tour", songs from the group's self-titled debut and independent demos were largely absent, with the exceptions of "Quote Unquote", "My Ass Is on Fire" (reworked with electronic elements), and several of the band's early independent death metal songs, which were featured as part of a medley along with the Disco Volante song "Merry Go Bye Bye".

{{Album reviews

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score ={{Rating|4|5}}{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/california-mw0000667688 |title=California - Mr. Bungle : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards : AllMusic |last=Huey |first=Steve |work=AllMusic |access-date=August 22, 2012}}

| rev2 = Alternative Press

| rev2score ={{Rating|4|5}}{{cite journal |journal=Alternative Press |date=August 1999 |page=93}}

| rev3 = NME

| rev3score = 6/10{{cite web |url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/mr-bungle/1677 |title=NME Album Reviews - California |date=December 7, 1999 |work=nme.com |access-date=August 22, 2012}}

| rev4 =Pitchfork

| rev4score = 7.3/10{{cite web|url=http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/m/mr-bungle/california.shtml |title=Mr. Bungle: California: Pitchfork Review |last=Mirov |first=Nick |work=Pitchfork |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010129012200/http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/m/mr-bungle/california.shtml |archive-date=January 29, 2001 |access-date=August 22, 2012 |url-status=dead }}

| rev5 = Spin

| rev5score = 7/10{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yjh_OmCmm-0C&pg=PA188 |title=Primus - AntiPop / Mr. Bungle - California |date=November 1999 |work=Spin |last=Norris |first=Chris |access-date=August 22, 2012}}

}}

California was well received by critics. A positive review came from Pitchfork, who called it "one of those albums that you can't believe a major label had anything to do with", writing, "the more I listen to California, the more I'm convinced that Mike Patton is really the devil on holiday." Steve Huey of AllMusic similarly remarked that the album "[will] make you marvel at the fact that such a defiantly odd, uncommercial band recorded for Warner Bros." In 2017, Canadian site Exclaim! cited it as an essential album in Mike Patton's career discography, claiming "California maintained the strange stylings that Mr. Bungle fans had come to love by that point, but remains beautiful and melodic to this day."{{Cite web|url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/an_essential_guide_to_faith_no_more_mr_bungle_and_the_world_of_mike_patton|title=An Essential Guide to Faith No More, Mr. Bungle and the World of Mike Patton|website=exclaim.ca|access-date=July 16, 2020}}

Experimental artist Igorrr was greatly influenced by the album, especially by its track "Ars Moriendi".{{cite web|access-date=August 27, 2020|url=http://www.radiometal.com/article/igorrr-laboratoire-demotions,366154|first= Nicolas|last=Gricourt|title=Igorrr : laboratoire d'émotions|publication-date=April 24, 2020|date=March 30, 2020|language=fr|website=Radiometal.com|url-status=live|archive-date=April 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200428023922/http://www.radiometal.com/article/igorrr-laboratoire-demotions,366154}} The 2005 single "Unretrofied" (from the album Miss Machine) by the Dillinger Escape Plan, who toured with Mr. Bungle in 1999, was inspired by the feelings that the song "Retrovertigo" evoked in guitarist Ben Weinman after listening to it every night.{{cite web|access-date=August 8, 2020|url=https://www.mondosonoro.com/blog-musica/california-mr-bungle-especial/|date=July 11, 2019|title=Mr. Bungle, rock alternativo experimental (Primera parte)|website=Mondo Sonoro|first=Adriano |last=Mazzeo |language=es|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200605033618/https://www.mondosonoro.com/blog-musica/california-mr-bungle-especial/|archive-date=June 5, 2020}} On June 30, 2017, the metal band Avenged Sevenfold released a studio cover of "Retrovertigo".{{Cite web|url=https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/avenged-sevenfold-releases-cover-of-mr-bungles-retrovertigo/|title=AVENGED SEVENFOLD Releases Cover Of MR. BUNGLE's 'Retrovertigo'|date=June 30, 2017|website=BLABBERMOUTH.NET|access-date=July 16, 2020}}

{{Track listing

| total_length = 44:16

| all_lyrics = Mike Patton, except where noted

| title1 = Sweet Charity

| lyrics1 =

| music1 = Patton

| length1 = 5:05

| title2 = None of Them Knew They Were Robots

| lyrics2 = Trey Spruance

| music2 = Spruance, Patton, {{nowrap|Danny Heifetz}}

| length2 = 6:03

| title3 = Retrovertigo

| lyrics3 = Trevor Dunn

| music3 = Dunn

| length3 = 4:59

| title4 = The Air-Conditioned Nightmare

| lyrics4 =

| music4 = Patton, {{nowrap|Clinton "Bär" McKinnon}}

| length4 = 3:55

| title5 = Ars Moriendi

| lyrics5 =

| music5 = Patton

| length5 = 4:10

| title6 = Pink Cigarette

| lyrics6 =

| music6 = Spruance, Patton

| length6 = 4:55

| title7 = Golem II: The Bionic Vapour Boy

| lyrics7 = Spruance

| music7 = Spruance

| length7 = 3:34

| title8 = The Holy Filament

| lyrics8 = Dunn

| music8 = Dunn

| length8 = 4:04

| title9 = Vanity Fair

| lyrics9 =

| music9 = Dunn, Patton

| length9 = 2:58

| title10 = Goodbye Sober Day

| lyrics10 =

| music10 = Patton, McKinnon

| length10 = 4:29

}}

{{div col}}

• Trevor Dunn – bass guitar, artwork concept and production
• Danny Heifetz – percussion, drums, keyboards and production
• Clinton "Bär" McKinnon – saxophone, keyboards, French horn and production
• Mike Patton – vocals, keyboards, artwork concept and production
• Trey Spruance – guitar, engineering, production strategy and production

• Bill Banovetz – English horn
• Sam Bass – cello
• Ben Barnes – violin and viola
• Henri Ducharme – accordion
• Timba Harris – trumpet
• Marika Hughes – cello
• Eyvind Kang – violin, viola
• Carla Kihlstedt – violin and viola
• Michael Peloquin – harmonica
• David Phillips – pedal steel guitar
• Larry Ragent – French horn
• Jay Stebley – cymbalom
• Aaron Seeman – piano
• William Winant – timpani, mallets, tam tam and bass drum
• Billy Anderson – engineering
• Gibbs Chapman – mixing
• Ryan Cooper – publicity
• Elizabeth Gregory – legal representation
• Josh Heller – engineering
• Malcom Hillier – sleeve photography
• George Horn – mastering
• Adam Muñoz – engineering, mixing and editing
• Mackie Osborne – sleeve layout and graphic design
• Justin Phelps – engineering
• Rob Worthington – mixing

{{div col end}}

{{Reflist|2}}

{{Mr. Bungle}}

{{Mike Patton}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Mr. Bungle albums

Category:1999 albums

Category:Warner Records albums