Mike Bordin

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Michael Andrew Bordin (born November 27, 1962) is an American musician, best known as the drummer for the rock bandFaith No More. He has amicably been known as "Puffy", "Puffster" or "The Puff", in reference to the afro hair style he wore in the early 1980s. The nicknames were coined by Faith No More guitaristJim Martin, and they stuck around even after he grew out his hair and tied it indreadlocks, a trademark look he has worn for most of his career.

Mike Bordin
Bordin in 1990
Background information
Birth name	Michael Andrew Bordin
Born	(1962-11-27)November 27, 1962 (age 62)
Genres	Alternative metal funk metal alternative rock heavy metal hard rock experimental rock
Occupation	Musician
Instrument	Drums
Years active	1979–present
Member of	Faith No More

Bordin was one of the three founding band members of Faith No More in 1983 and was the band's only drummer throughout its span, remaining with the group until its initial breakup in April 1998. He rejoined Faith No More when the band reformed in 2009. Bordin has also performed withOzzy Osbourne,Black Sabbath,Korn,Black Label Society,Jerry Cantrell,Primus, The Chickenfuckers and Pop-O-Pies. Some of his pre-Faith No More bands include Faith. No Man., Sharp Young Men and EZ-Street. Bordin has played alongside all threeMetallica bassists over the years; he played withCliff Burton in EZ-Street and withJason Newsted andRobert Trujillo with Ozzy Osbourne and Jerry Cantrell.

Biography

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Early years

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Regarding his ancestral background, Bordin said in a 1990 interview with Australian publicationSmash Hits "My grandfather came from Russia [and]Kyiv. That side of my family is Russian and Welsh. The other side is Italian, Hungarian and i think some Polish too. I'm a real mongrel.".^[1] Billy Gould also mentions Bordin's Jewish descent.^[2]^[3] In the late 1970s, while still a student atCastro Valley High School,^[4] Bordin formed his first band EZ-Street^[5] with futureMetallica bassistCliff Burton. The two recruited local metalhead and future Faith No More guitaristJim Martin to complete the trio.

In 1981, Bordin left EZ-Street because of frictions with guitarist Jim Martin. He joined up with a San Francisco post-punk outfit going under the name of Sharp Young Men.^[6] Sharp Young Men was fronted by Mike Morris (also on guitar), withBilly Gould on bass and keyboardist Wade Worthington.^[7] After playing a few shows for a year, the band decided to change its name because it didn't like the image it gave off. In late 1982, Sharp Young Men became Faith. No Man., a name that Bordin suggested, meaning "Faith In No Man".^[8]

Faith. No Man. recorded a two-song 7" single in early 1983, followed by a three-song demo tape in the summer. In between those two recordings, keyboardist Wade Worthington left and was replaced by Billy Gould's childhood friendRoddy Bottum. In the late summer, Bordin, Bottum and Gould quit Faith. No Man. because of frictions with Morris, and formed a new band,Faith No More. Faith No More played its first show in October 1983. Bordin's former EZ-Street bandmate Jim Martin later joined the band in the summer of 1984.^{[citation needed]}

Faith No More

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Faith No More was founded inSan Francisco in the 1980's.^[9] Faith No More released their first album,We Care a Lot, in 1985. After releasing several more albums, including the Grammy-nominatedThe Real Thing, Faith No More disbanded in 1998. In 2009, Faith No More reformed and performed a series of festival shows in Europe and Australia, leading to several shows in select American cities.In 2015, Faith No More releasedSol Invictus, their first album sinceAlbum of the Year, and first since their reunion. It met considerable critical attention, and the band embarked on a worldwide tour.^[10]

Collaborations with Primus

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Bordin has worked closely withPrimus on several occasions. He first provided guest vocals on two songs from Primus' 1990 albumFrizzle Fry; "John the Fisherman" and "Sathington Willoby", credited under the Fart Sandwich Posse band. In 1991 he provided guest vocals and drums on the song "Los Bastardos" which was released onSailing the Seas of Cheese. Finally, he played drums on the song "Choked", a collaboration with Primus'Tim Alexander andTool'sMaynard James Keenan, released on the 1997 compilationFlyin' Traps.

Ozzy Osbourne

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In 1996, Bordin began performing with Ozzy Osbourne's band.^[11] Due toBlack Sabbath drummerBill Ward's health issues during tour, Bordin had a brief stretch playing with the other original members ofBlack Sabbath. He played the closing segments of Osbourne's 1997 headlining concerts during theOzzfest tour. Bordin re-recorded the drum tracks on Osbourne's solo albums,Blizzard of Ozz andDiary of a Madman, for the controversial remasters released in 2002. The re-recordings were the result of a lawsuit brought by original drummerLee Kerslake and original bassistBob Daisley for unpaid royalties.^{[citation needed]}

Korn

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In 2000, Bordin filled in asKorn's live drummer for approximately 7 months and nearly 100 shows. At the time of his joining, Korn's fourth albumIssues had been nominated for twoGrammys in March 2000 and had already achieved triple-platinum certification by the RIAA since its release five months earlier, in November 1999. Korn'sSick and Twisted Tour began on February 18, 2000, to promote the full-length. On March 10, 2000, only 14 dates into the tour, Korn drummerDavid Silveria's right wrist gave out on the night of their concert at theFargodome inFargo,North Dakota. The band went out on stage and Silveria announced to the audience that the concert had to be postponed because of his inability to play. The injury was allegedly caused by Silvera's left ribs, and the same limp wrist condition had previously occurred the year before, causing the band to cancel the last two shows of their tour withRob Zombie. Three Midwest dates in Madison, Wisconsin, Minneapolis, Minnesota and Moline, Illinois had to be rescheduled while the band found a replacement.

Korn returned to California for a few days and called on Bordin to fill in while Silveria recovered. The band invited Bordin because he was apparently the only drummer they could think of who could perform in the style they wanted. Faith No More had been a major inspiration when Korn started out in the early 1990s, and the band later went on to record a cover ofWe Care a Lot in 2005 for a proposed covers' album titledKorn Kovers. Korn spent 5 days (March 11–15) teaching Bordin an initial 12 songs at their rehearsal space in California, with Silveria present to guide him. Throughout the rest of the year, Bordin learned an additional 10 songs, which were added to the set list. On March 16, the band flew out to Illinois for their first show with Bordin on drums at theAllstate Arena inRosemont. Bordin remained with Korn for the rest of the year, which also includedThe Summer Sanitarium Tour withMetallica in June and July. He also traveled with Korn to Europe to promoteIssues. Silveria returned to Korn in the fall of 2000 to start writing their fifth album, later released asUntouchables.

Other appearances

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On January 21, 2001, Bordin competed on the television game showWho Wants to Be a Millionaire.^[12] He missed the $32,000 question, winning $1,000. His appearance on the show was not on the celebrity edition, but a normal edition with the jackpot raised at $1,810,000. Coincidentally, his wife Merilee had been the contestant right before him. She also reached the $32,000 question and missed. Former Ozzy Osbourne bandmateRobert Trujillo (now ofMetallica) attended in the audience.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life

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Mike Bordin was married in 1994 to Merilee Ann Bordin (née Hague) after dating for 10 years (since 1984).^{[citation needed]} She is a classically trained chef and food stylist who studied at the University of California, Berkeley.^{[citation needed]} Mike and Merilee have two daughters, Abby and Violet. Bordin's eldest daughter was born in 1997 when he was touring for Faith No More'sAlbum of the Year,^[13] and Violet is an artist who designed poster art for the band.^[14]