Mr. Bungle will reunite for their first live performances in 20 years this February for a trio of shows. Dubbed ‘ Mr. Bungle Plays The Raging Wrath Of The Easter Bunny ‘, the band’s Mike Patton , Trevor Dunn and Trey Spruance will be joined onstage by Anthrax , etc. guitarist Scott Ian and Suicidal Tendencies / Dead Cross drummer Dave Lombardo at the stops. Together they will play the band’s “ The Raging Wrath Of The Easter Bunny ” demo. The shows in question include:
02/07 Los Angeles, CA – Fonda Theatre
02/08 San Francisco, CA – Warfield Theatre
02/10 Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Steel
Tickets will go on sale this Friday, August 16th, at 10 AM local time. A press release states that there will not be any additional dates added to this run. The musicians involved all commented separately on the upcoming shows, here’s what they had to say:
Trey Spruance :
“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 re-visiting 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.”
Trevor Dunn :
“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.”
Mike Patton :
“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!”
Scott Ian :
“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 crap 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.”
Dave Lombardo :
“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.”
Mr. Bungle ‘s Patton , Dunn and Spruance also spoke of being joined by Ian and Lombardo at the shows:
Trevor Dunn :
“They are a significant percentage of ‘The Big Four’, all of which had a major impact on us. Aside from their obvious skills and –for crying out loud, INVENTION of this genre– there’s nothing like being in a band with those whom which you have rapport. If we are going back to the source with this stuff we might as well go ALL THE WAY back.”
Mike Patton :
“To have Scott and Dave with us on this suicide mission is more than an honor. THEY are a big part of the reason we wrote this stuff in the first place, and to realize it 30+ years later with these maestros is an absolute miracle… we can finally play this teenage nonsense correctly! A total catharsis for us.”
Trey Spruance :
“At our very first show, at the Bayside Grange Hall, Nov. 30, 1985, we played Slayer ‘s ‘ Chemical Warfare’ and a S.O.D. cover. I mean, are you kidding?? We WORSHIPPED those guys! And now they’re gonna PLAY in our band?”
