Intro:
For me, Mike Bordin is one of the bigest and most powerful metal/rock drummers of the past 25 years and i'm sad that we don't speak more about him in the specialized press and websites.. That's why i've to create this fan page on his name!
Vinch
San Francisco California native Mike Bordin has established himself as one of the great heavy rock drummers of his generation. Mike began playing the drums at the age of fourteen and was completely obsessed with Rock music. His early influences were such legends as Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath.
In High School, Mike jammed with fellow classmate and friend Cliff Burton through his teens; Mike began to expand his influences to bands such as PIL, Killing Joke and Theatre of Hate. With a Heavy Metal and Punk Metal background, Mike connected with bassist Bill Gould and in the Mid-1980s he helped form the groundbreaking band Faith No More.
Mike Bordin played in Faith No More for 16 years (from the birth to the death of the band), and sold numerous records. He has toured internationally and depended heavily on the drums and hardware to develope a personal sound.
Following the break-up of Faith No More, Mike went on to play live and record with many notable artists including former bassist for Gun’s N’ Roses, Duff McKagan and former Alice in Chains guitarist, Jerry Cantrell. Mike also filled in for an injured David Silveria when he spent most of 1999 and 2000 on tour with Korn.
It should come as no surprise that Bordin, who has pounded skins for ironic metallists Faith No More, classic metallist Ozzy Osbourne, and millennial metallists Korn, draws from many sources. "The drummers I worship as gods among men are guys like Art Blakey, Tony Williams, John Bonham. But I dont try to be some of the drummers I look up to. I just take them with me wherever I go."
With Faith No More, Bordin pioneered an innovative style that emphasized full-kit, tom-driven grooves over tight kick-and-snare patterns;an approach, he says, that was a direct outgrowth of his studies with West African master drummer C.K. Lapzekpo. Many other heavy drummers gravitated toward a similar style during the 90s. Does Bordin ever feel they jumped on his bandwagon? Its not my bandwagon, he shrugs. I jump on somebody elses bandwagon, and somebody else jumps on mine. Its a continuum.
Bordin, says he didnt consciously modify his style when he started performing with Ozzy in the wake of Faith No Mores 1997 dissolution, but that some mental adjustments were required: "Faith No More had heavy songs, but we werent comfortable being a straight metal band. But playing Goodbye to Romance and Crazy Train with Ozzy had none of that irony. Its just straight-up, white-boy metal. My challenges were to play it faithfully and make it interesting. You've got to be open to doing whatever you have to do to make the music work, rather than saying, Im going to do it my way or else."
Does Korn, with whom Bordin has toured, triangulate between those two attitudes? To some extent, yes, he says. When I joined Korn, I definitely perceived common starting points, so I felt pretty comfortable. But Korn takes everything to greater extremes. Its like the difference between a Model a Ford and a Porsche Turbo Carrera. It was an exciting time to play with those guys, because they were a little vibed about playing in front of 70,000 people each gig opening for Metallica. But they stepped up to the plate, and they were amazing.
Asked about his influences, drummer Mike Bordin mimics Marlon Brando in The Wild Ones: Influences? Whaddaya got?
One unvarying aspect of Bordins style is his unconventional setup. Im left-handed, he says, but I use my right foot and play with the hi-hat on the left like a right-handed person would. But my ride and China cymbals are also on the left, while the toms are arranged right-handed.
Another constant is Yamaha drums. Im a good Yamaha boy, grins Bordin. Ive always played them. All Yamaha drums are totally hand-made. Most other companies start with pre-made shells and Taiwanese hardware, but Yamaha makes the shells and hardware themselves. Its quality stuff.
Live, Bordin usually uses a large Birch Custom Absolute kit, but he strips things down in the studio. I usually use just one 24 kick, one 15 rack tom, and a 16 as a second rack or floor tom, he says. Yamaha has also been making me other drums I sometimes use, like a 22 kick and 12 and 13 toms. And I love their 13 x 7 Akira Jimbo snare, a big beech drum with an open sound. Its as loud as a handgun,even though I dont think it was originally designed to be a big rock snare."
HIS GEAR:
Acoustic Drums:
BBD-1024T 24 x 18 Bass Drum
BBD-1022 22 x 16 Bass Drum
WSD-13AJ 13" x 7" Akira Jimbo Sig. SD
SD-655RH 14" x 5.5" Roy Haynes Sig. SD
BTT-1012 12 x 10 Tom
BTT-1013 13 x 11 Tom
BTT-1014 14 x 12 Tom
BTT-1015 15 x 13 Tom
BTT-1016 16 x 14 Tom
BFT-1016 16 x 16 Floor Tom
BFT-1018 18 x 16 Floor Tom
Hardware:
2x SS-940 Snare Drum Stand
5x RS130-5 Super Rack Bars
4x CS-945 Cymbal Boom Stands
1x HS-940 Hi-Hat Stand
2x FP-9310 Foot Pedals
Mike's signature model Yamaha SD-6465MB Cooper shell snare
