In a recent interview with Greg Prato of Alternative Nation, FAITH NO MORE co-founder and keyboardist Roddy Bottum poured cold water on the idea of another reunion, saying he doesn’t see the band ever getting back together.
Bottum, who’s currently promoting his upcoming memoir The Royal We, was asked if he’d consider playing shows again with his bandmates. His response was blunt: “I don’t think so. No.”
Pressed on why, Bottum explained that it’s not just him who’s hesitant: “It’s not just me. I don’t think anyone’s sort of up for it at this point. We had a bunch of shows that we were gonna play, and they got canceled, just for various reasons. But I don’t think the course that we were on has fixed itself. I just don’t see it happening again, honestly. I think we did a really good job. We played a bunch of reunion tours, and I think we did what we kind of set out to do. So I don’t think anyone’s upset about it or anything. But I mean, for sure, getting back together would mean a big paycheck, but I think all of us are pretty good with what we did, sort of just, like, artistically with the band and committing to ourselves and playing with each other. I think we’re all pretty good with the decisions that we’ve made up to now, and I don’t see what could really happen more getting back together and doing more shows.”
FAITH NO MORE hasn’t performed live since 2016. The band initially reunited in 2009 after a long hiatus, following 1997’s Album of the Year, and later released Sol Invictus in 2015 — their first studio album in nearly two decades. Their planned 2021 comeback shows were scrapped after frontman Mike Patton cited mental health struggles, which were partially exacerbated by the pandemic.
Reflecting on the 2009 reunion, Bottum recalled how surreal it felt to return after so many years apart: “When we did the first reunion tour, we had broken up for like… almost 15 years. And it was kind of, like, I used to have dreams when I was younger — I get to school and, ‘Oh my God, I forgot to study for the test.’ And then the test is right then, and I’m, like, ‘Oh my God, I’m gonna fail.’ At some point after FAITH NO MORE broke up, I kept having these dreams that I would show up, ‘Oh my God. FAITH NO MORE was doing a reunion tour, and I forgot to learn the songs.’ It became this thing that sort of replaced that dream scenario for me. So, I kept having these dreams.
He continued: That was a nightmare I kept having. And then we structured a whole tour and learned the songs and played the songs and did the tour, and it’s, like, I was able to address that nightmare in a real, actual physical sense. And I think it was key in moving forward in my life in some weird way. Plus, it was just really fun. Billy [Gould, FAITH NO MORE bassist] and I have been friends since we were, like — I don’t know — nine or 10 years old. So, it was fun to sort of tap back into that friendship and just hang out.”
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