During a candid appearance on the Let There Be Talk podcast hosted by rock comedian Dean Delray, FAITH NO MORE drummer Mike Bordin opened up about the band’s status—over three years after abruptly canceling their fall 2021 tour dates.
The cancellations, announced just days before the tour was set to begin, were due to vocalist Mike Patton’s mental health struggles, which were exacerbated by the pandemic. Bordin revealed that the band had spent six months rehearsing for what was shaping up to be a triumphant return—only to have everything fall apart just before the opening show.
“All I can say is… we’d been rehearsing for six months for these dates [in September/October 2021]. We’d been rehearsing instrumentally and we incredibly sounded phenomenal,” Bordin said. “It came to pass that when the gear was in the truck, when it was rolling to Chicago, 36 hours before we were supposed to be on stage, and our guy [Mike Patton] doesn’t show for the rehearsal… it was very clear that he was unable at that point to physically do it.”
Rather than push Patton to perform, the band made a unanimous decision to cancel the shows in support of their frontman.
“We made the decision that, ‘Look, we’ve gotta support our guy.’ It’s gonna be a sh*t storm canceling f*cking 75 shows, but none of us wants to be the guy that breaks his back and forces him to do something that he’s not in the position to be able to do.”
However, as time passed, the situation changed—and so did Bordin’s perspective.
“Ultimately, shows get started to get booked with another band,” Bordin said, referring to Patton’s return to the stage with Mr. Bungle over the past couple of years. “So… he’s gone from being unable to do the shows to clearly being unwilling to do shows with us. And that’s heavy. That’s a big difference.”
“It Honestly Kind of Hurts My Feelings”
For Bordin, the silence and lack of collaboration from Patton feels more than just professional—it feels personal.
“It doesn’t feel great to me. It honestly kind of hurts my feelings a little bit, but that’s personal. That’s a private thing.”
Still, he emphasized that no one in FAITH NO MORE would ever force a bandmate to do something against their will, and he remains grateful for everything Patton contributed to the group.
“I’m grateful for what [Patton has] given to us. I mean, we’re blessed to have been blessed by such a gigantic, enormous talent,” Bordin said. “And the future? I don’t know. Will he be willing to do stuff or not? It’s not for me to say.”
In reflecting on the band’s journey, Bordin struck a note of acceptance and gratitude.
“I tell my kids… appreciate what you have and don’t really trip on what you don’t have… certainly am I grateful for the time with Mike Patton? Yeah, because my life would be very different without it.”
He wrapped the conversation by clarifying his intentions.
“I don’t wanna be controversial. I’m not looking for a f*cking headline — I’m really not. I’m just trying to tell you sort of what it looks like from here.”
