The Minah Bird
Multi-tasker Mike Patton on creativity
For the most part I’ve learned on the job, by putting myself in compromising musical situations: by playing improv gigs, for example - where you can learn to compose, perform and listen at the same time. I usually have a clear path I want to take with any given project and I try to stick to it. Of course things change and develop along the way, but I hear the finished product in my head and just try to realise it the best I can. The process is very methodical, obsessive and somewhat boring from an objective point of view. I flirt with different genres, but I realise that everything I do will always be some sort of bastardised hybrid. I suppose everything we do and experience contributes to who we are. [Faith No More] was over a decade of my life and something I’m very thankful for and proud of. I treat all of my bands/projects with equal sarcasm and contempt. And besides, people say we’re responsible for Limp Bizkit. Does it get any better than that?
