Original Mr. Bungle members Mike Patton, Trevor Dunn, and Trey Spruance will reunite in early 2020 for the band’s first set of live shows in 20 years.
in an interesting move, the band will be joined by Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian and classic Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo.
The shows will see the group perform the 1986 demo “The Raging Wrath of the Easter Bunny.”
Here are the details:
“Ever since Trevor hatched ‘The Raging Wrath Of The Easter Bunny v.2’ idea a few years back, Patton, Lombardo, he and I had each been incubating some idea of that egg.
“Lombardo called me one day and asked me to make some guitar demos so he could learn the songs. He had this generous idea to surprise the other guys with being totally ready to go with the tunes. It just so happened that I was in Eureka at the time.
“So, I found myself revisiting all of those riffs in the same goddamned town and in the same goddamned house where I recorded all the original guitars on that demo 33 years earlier.
“There was something about actually physically working out the mania of those riffs again at Dave Lombardo’s request, in that environment — it just split my head open. It wasn’t long before the train of destiny had picked up too much speed for any of us to jump off.”
Dunn commented:
“When we recorded that demo, we were 16 and 17 years old and we were absolutely serious about the music. At the time, we were living the deluge of ’80s metal and absorbing every riff and every drum fill from every known band from Denmark to San Francisco.
“The recording and playing were amateurish (save for Trey’s video-game-solos) but the schooled composition and spirit were solid. I always felt like this music held its own and deserved to be presented in a clearer and more defined package even if it meant being 33 years later.”
Patton chimed in:
“I remember writing riffs for this cassette in my parent’s garage, with no heat, so I recorded in a sleeping bag for analog warmth, playing a one-stringed acoustic guitar that was piped into a ghetto blaster. Thank god I had Trevor and Trey to help decipher my rotten riffs into something intelligible!”
Ian said:
“When Mike hit me up about this, my brain thought he was asking me if I wanted to come to a show, him knowing I am a huge Bungle fan.
“When I realized he actually meant for me to play guitar with them, it broke my brain; I was a giggly drooling mess. Somehow I pecked out Y E S on my keyboard and holy cr*p I’m playing in Mr. Bungle. Seriously, it’s an honor and a privilege to get to play with my favorite ‘Mr.’ band of all time.”
Lombardo commented:
“I don’t know what was in the water in Eureka, California, but it certainly wasn’t clean. This is going to be a ridiculously, insane band to play with and I am honored to have been asked to join the wrath.”
You can check out the confirmed gigs below:
February 7, 2020 – Los Angeles, CA – Fonda Theatre
February 8, 2020 – San Francisco, CA – Warfield Theatre
February 10, 2020 – New York, NY – Brooklyn Steel