Mike Patton: the influential alternative metal legend adored by Danny DeVito
I watched L.A. Confidential not long ago and was quickly alerted to two things. The first is just how great Danny DeVito is – a point that is always affirmed when watching his work – and the second is the wide variety of roles he’s delivered.
Whether it be the duplicitous journalist Sid Hudgens in the aforementioned neo-noir, The Penguin in Batman Returns, or Martin Weir in Get Shorty, it’s clear that DeVito is willing to give almost any role a go, culminating in an oeuvre that is both extensive and entertaining, as he refuses to be typecast.
Arguably his greatest character comes in the form of the hilarious but malignant businessman Frank Reynolds in the long-running sitcom, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Bar his son Dennis – the most evil figure in the show – Frank represents some of the worst facets of the group of sociopaths, with him becoming an increasingly insane force of nature over the series. Frank is a fantastic creation, with many props going to writer and star Rob McElhenney, as he practically saved the show with DeVito’s introduction.
Given just how raucous Frank Reynolds is and how hilarious some of his other performances have been, there’s no surprise that when it comes to music, DeVito is a fan of artists who are equally as individualistic. In the 2000s, when he acted as a guest DJ for Californian radio station KCRW, DeVito listed his five favourite songs from across music, which included cuts from Bruce Springsteen and Maria Callas.
However, his final pick was the most fascinating, as it told us much about how DeVito approaches art. He chose ‘5 Seconds’ by Peeping Tom, one of the many bands from Faith No More frontman Mike Patton. DeVito then proceeded to shower praise on Patton, which made a lot of sense. Patton’s music has a penchant for being just as crazed as Frank Reynolds, with ‘5 Seconds’ a fitting aural embodiment of the character, with Patton’s performance and the dynamics utterly bonkers.
The legendary alternative metal frontman has had a tremendous impression on DeVito, which was strengthened when he watched the man in action at Coachella with one of his other projects, the influential supergroup Fantomas.
“I get a lot of inspiration from my daughters and son,” DeVito said. “About four or five years ago – we usually go to a music festival called Coachella -and one year, all my son Jake could talk about was Fantomas. So a bunch of us went over to the Fantomas tent, and boy, I’m telling you, it was one of the greatest shows I ever saw. And from that day on, I’ve been a huge Mike Patton fan.”
“I’ve revisited listening to Mr. Bungle, Faith No More, and all the stuff,” DeVito continued. “Anyway, about a year or two ago, he put out a new group called Peeping Tom, and on that album is Five Seconds. The thing about that song is that you want to listen to it a lot. The words are amazing. When he says, “you are the air that I breathe,” it just blows me away. There’s kind of an angst, but a declaration of love in there.”
