Pinky Blaster: Child Bite album packaging

Posters & Packaging: Pinky Blaster

Pinky Blaster: Child Bite album packaging
Pinky Blaster: Child Bite album packaging

Shawn Knight, a.k.a. designer and illustrator Pinky Blaster, has created art and music since an early age. Followers of the Detroit music scene may recognize his name – previously of the band New Grenada, Knight now performs in the high-energy punk band Child Bite. The band is notorious for its wide range of instruments, humorous live performances, and its members’ impressive facial hair.

While in high school, Knight began playing in punk and metal bands.  These two genres influenced him heavily while he was growing up; he notes both Black Flag and The Dead Kennedys as significant influences. Knight got his start designing local band fliers and posters, and he continues to use live music as an opportunity to expose his artistic skills — though now at a national level.

Pinky Blaster: Faith No More
Pinky Blaster: Faith No More
Mike Patton

Mike Patton: Anomalous Vocalist Tackles Italian Orch-Pop

Given identifiable credits such as Faith No More, Tomahawk, and Mr. Bungle, the words “Patton” and “incognito” don’t seem to follow each other. But Mike Patton‘s newest project, Mondo Cane, stems from just such a union — with Patton disguising his American accent and assimilating to a new culture.

Weekly Music News Roundup

Serengeti and Polyphonic sign to Anticon; Isis, Tera Melos, and The Dead Kenny Gs announce tour dates; a release date is announced for the Bygones album; Ben Folds goes a cappella; Bastard Noise releases a five-disc CD set.  This and more in the roundup…

Weekly Music News Roundup

Over the past week, we caught news of a mini Soundgarden/TAD live jam, a new Kayo Dot album, a new/streaming Trash Talk EP, another Mars Volta album, another Zach Hill project, and a release date for the new Tortoise album.  Read about this and more after the jump.

Weekly Music News Roundup

The long-rumored Faith No More reunion has been confirmed (!!!).  Vocal heavyweight Mike Patton keeps busy with a feature-film soundtrack, MF Doom drops half his name and a new album, Dengue Fever provides accompaniment to The Lost World, hip-hop duo Themselves returns, and much more.

AlarmPress.com’s 12 Favorite Posts of 2008

As we enter 2009, here is a look back at our favorite posts from last year — including Q&As and interviews with Tuareg freedom singers, Japanese-infused prog metallists, and a regretful folk rapper as well as columns, top-ten lists, Lollapalooza coverage, and our DIY venue spotlight.

Faith No More

The Top 10 Songs by Faith No More

Faith No More didn’t revolutionize the rock landscape, but for much of its tenure, its members created some of the genre’s best mainstream songs while courting radio success. Along the way, Mike Patton and crew peppered other styles into their expanding repertoire, wedging lounge sounds, incoherent squeals, and even an angelic choir into songs that ran alongside pummeling rock tunes.

There is a kitschy guilty pleasure to pre-Patton songs such as “We Care a Lot,” but respectfully, they can’t compete. So with apologies to the Chuck Mosely era, here is our list for Faith No More’s best songs.