"I've wanted to do something with him forever"

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Mike Patton's latest venture still finds him tripping along the offbeat path
BY ROSS RAIHALA
Pop Music Critic
TwinCities.com-Pioneer Press
Article Last Updated:

In the time since Faith No More broke up nearly a decade ago, Mike Patton has followed his own twisted muse, recording bizarre metal albums, collaborating with John Zorn and Bjork and running a record label that caters to his own very offbeat tastes.

With his latest project, Peeping Tom, Patton took yet another unexpected turn. He made a pop record - or at least as pop as this guy is going to get.

"In my language, maybe it is," Patton said during a recent phone interview. "But where it fits into the world at large is really anyone's guess. Anything I do usually is eventually going to fit comfortably in some little crack somewhere."

Patton created the album, which bounces from hip-hop to bossa nova, via e-mail with a line of collaborators ranging from rapper Kool Keith to Brazilian chanteuse Bebel Gilberto to superstar singer/songwriter Norah Jones. The process was so rewarding, he plans to make at least two more Peeping Tom records in the future.

In anticipation of Patton's Monday gig at Trocaderos, we asked him how he pulled it all off:

On his decision to make the album: "From the first note of the first (Peeping Tom) song I wrote, I realized it wouldn't fit anywhere else. I was writing these pretty linear songs, with verses and choruses and not too many deviations. I had no real direction or idea, but as more time passed, it became pretty obvious to me that I needed to slap a name on it and create a new little universe."

On soliciting collaborators for the project: "I tried not to get my hopes up too high. It's a long shot when you contact someone out of the blue, you know? I never assumed anyone was familiar with me or what I've done. And I never expected to get all the collaborators I did. The one that I didn't get that I was a little upset about was Lauryn Hill, but rumor is she's a little crazy."

On who surprised him along the way: "Massive Attack. They changed the whole chemical makeup of the tune. When I wrote it, it was slow and depressing, and they turned it into an uptempo, feel-good song. It was a complete left turn, but they made it into something very special."

On the live Peeping Tom lineup: "I put together an eight-piece band that basically makes all the sounds I need. There's a keyboard player, a DJ, three singers, guitar, bass and drums. With that many people in the band, it allows me to sit back and just sing, which is a rarity. It's a really fun band; it's kind of like a vacation for me."

On who he'd like to work with next: "I don't want to give it all away, because they may not happen. But one person I'm crossing my fingers for is Burt Bacharach. I've wanted to do something with him forever, and it'd be amazing to write with him or have him write a song for me. If there's a target on anyone's back, it's his."

Ross Raihala can be reached at rraihala@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-5553. Read more about the local music scene on his blog, "The Ross Who Knew Too Much," at blogs.twincities.com/ross.

Who: Peeping Tom, with Pigeon John and Dan the Automator

When: 8 p.m. Monday

Where: Trocaderos, 107 Third Ave. N., Mpls.

Tickets: $20

Call: 651-989-5151

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Mike Patton performed the beautiful, Theremin-driven version of "She's Gone Away" on the "Great Jewish Music: Burt Bacharach" collection. He's an interesting guy, but I really can't see Burt working with him unless Burt thought Patton could offer him a hit. Burt doesn't strike me as a guy who thinks much of the avant garde music scene.