Time for a heavy-metal history quiz: What do Courtney Love and Mike Patton have in common, besides their loud mouths and California roots? If you answered "They both fronted Faith No More," then pat yourself on the back. Believe it or not, the future Hole bandleader led an early incarnation of the influential alt-metal outfit (which then comprised Mike Bordin, Bill Gould, Roddy Bottum and Mark Bowen) back in 1984 — at the tender age of 20, natch.
The gig was Love's idea. In The Real Story, Steffan Chirazi's 1994 biography of the band, Gould recalled the singer pitching her talents to Faith No More after one of their shows. "We really wanted to be agressive — make ambient music that was totally agressive," he said. "This girl Courtney came along, she saw us play, and made the huge pitch about knowing what we wanted and being able to do it." The band took Love up on her offer, and she quickly proved worthy as an onstage phenom. "She was good because she was as annoying as hell," Gould remarked, "and really aggressive."
Alas, Love's stint as Faith No More's lead singer proved short-lived: The band fired the vocalist just six months and several shows in, paving the way for subsequent frontman Chuck Mosley, and eventually, Patton. "It got to this point where things were just too much," Gould said of their split with Love. "Courtney's not the sort of person you could just be an equal with in bands — she's got to lead and tell people what's what. She was the dictator, and in our band, things were democratic."
Recordings of Love's time with Faith No More may be scarce, but they does exist, thanks to savvy fans and that wonderous thing we call YouTube. So without further ado, here's Love and Co. tearing through "Blood," off 1987's debut Introduce Yourself.
