Faith No More's Chuck Mosley overcomes the stigma of “one hit wonder”
Chuck Mosley may not be a household name. As the front man for Faith No More, he was there during the band’s “discovery” and rapid rise to success.
Unfortunately, stress and internal conflict led to his departure from the group shortly before their breakthrough commercial hit, “Epic,” and while that “almost made it” scenario has spelled the end of many a musician’s career, Mosley’s creative drive and need to perform led him to further success with pioneering hardcore band Bad Brains and beyond.
This Friday, Chuck will be performing at JJ’s Bohemia and I can say without hyperbole that it is destined to be one of the most amazing shows ever in a venue known for its amazing shows.
I’ve spent the last few hours getting to know the man behind the music and it has been hours well-spent. He is easily one of the most interesting, generous and open musicians I have ever had the pleasure of interviewing and if I had space for ten-thousand words, I might be able to encompass most of what we talked about. Since I don’t, I’ll boil it down to some basics.
First, to get it out of the way, a word on Faith No More. Despite the bevy of fabricated horror stories from a press that isn’t above making minor stories significantly more dramatic through “creative writing,” Mosley and his band mates remained friends and are to this day. Rumors to the contrary are far more fiction than fact, and that’s as much as needs be said about that period.
Mosley went on to a stint with pioneering hardcore band Bad Brains as well as a number of other highly respected gigs before taking some time off to live life and enjoy family. He didn’t tour during that era, but never stopped writing and playing music and it was inevitable that he would again answer the call of the road, this time armed with a library of original tunes and a stripped down, acoustic approach.
His music is largely defined by his propensity for marching to the beat of his own drum, a characteristic that undoubtedly grew out of being the adopted son of bi-racial parents in sixties California. Mosley found that he could easily move between groups, equally at home with whites, blacks and Latinos, but his refusal to ever adopt any particular group as his “tribe” also led to a fair amount of flak from all sides as well.
The ability to weather that is one of his defining traits, however, and informs his music and his approach to life so that what might be seen as adversity by people in love with the security of groups was really just another day for Chuck.While his musical influences are as widely varied as any, his early experiences growing up were undoubtedly a factor in his love for David Bowie.
“The first time I put on the headphones and heard Ziggy Stardust, I was blown away. Outwardly it seemed weird, but I got it. Bowie was all about alienation, which I knew very well at that point in my life. He was this voice for all the outcasts and loaners and he was a genius.”
Mosley’s music these days is largely (but not always) acoustic, with lyrics informed by hardship and adversity. Although many people describe the man as “cryptic,” his music is refreshing for its stark honesty and openness, quite a feat for a man who once described himself as introverted.
He laughs this off now, suggesting that his age and experience have left him “far more outspoken than is probably good for me,” but for his fiercely dedicated fan base, that outspoken honesty is precisely what makes him so vital a performer.
As limited as my space is here, I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge his friend and tour manager Doug Esper who has single-handedly arranged the seventy-show tour and special shout out goes to local promoter Shannon Plemmons who is going to great lengths to bring shows like this to the Scenic City.
Chuck has a number of upcoming releases, including an album written largely on the road in the last few months, slated for release by next March. Look for some advance reviews of that and two other releases here in The Pulse.
In the meantime, make sure you get your tickets NOW for a one of a kind show that will inevitably be sold out by the time the doors open at JJ’s on Friday night.