Mando Saenz titled his first album in eight years All My Shame. But the veteran Nashville songwriter who’s had his songs recorded by Miranda Lambert, Midland, and Lee Ann Womack has nothing to regret. Despite the heaviness of the record’s title, Saenz isn’t repenting for past sins. Instead, he’s celebrating the empowerment that comes with finally knowing oneself.
“You might think it’s a shameful thing, but it’s about being yourself and knowing your flaws,” Saenz says. “Sometimes you just got to put it out there and not consider them flaws — it’s just who you are.”
Saenz, a native of Corpus Christi, Texas, cut his teeth in the Houston clubs before moving to Nashville. For All My Shame, he worked with producer Ken Coomer (Wilco), who helped him tap into dream-pop sounds and vibes on the album. There are elements of both Big Star and Radiohead in tracks like “In All My Shame” and “Talk Is Cheap.”
“I knew I had those influences just because I loved all different kinds of music over the years, including those two bands, but I didn’t realize how much infused into my writing until Ken’s production brought it out,” Saenz says. “It was good to let these songs breathe in that direction.”
While he has a hand in writing radio hits for Music Row, Saenz identifies more with Nashville’s potent indie scene. In his words, he’s a loner. “I’ve always been kind of an oddball,” he says. “When it comes to the industry part, I’ve kind of consciously put blinders on. I really don’t want to know what goes on behind the curtain. I don’t even listen to a lot of country radio.”
It’s surprising then to hear him describe All My Shame as “the most Nashville record I’ve ever made.”
“I say that because they’re mostly co-writes on this record. I’ve always written for myself, even if the song happens to get cut [by someone else]. But this was all written pretty much on Music Row with a lot of writers I’d never even met before,” he says. “But we were just trying to write songs; we’re not really chasing tails.”
But Saenz did chase, and successfully catch, something from his childhood for the album. At Coomer’s suggestion, he recorded a cover of “Rainbow in the Dark,” by Dio — Saenz’s first concert experience as a kid.
On paper, a Texas-born quasi-country singer covering a 1983 heavy-metal standard reads like a trainwreck. But by stripping down the song to just a guitar and Saenz’s haunting voice, “Rainbow in the Dark” emerges as a devastating folk ballad. Saenz has described his version as one in line with a Townes Van Zandt performance.
“It was pretty much kismet because that was my first concert ever. I was in the fifth grade,” Saenz says of cutting “Rainbow in the Dark.” “I just knew that that’s a song I had to make special — I have too many metal friends.”
He needn’t have worried. Even the late Ronnie James Dio would have given Saenz’s cover the metal-horns salute. “I was happy to see a lot of people I really trusted [liked it],” he says. “That was a big relief.”
Faith No More appear to be hinting at a return to the stage in 2027.
The influential alt-metal band have remained mostly quiet over the past decade following the release of their reunion album ‘Sol Invictus’ in 2015. After its arrival, they played what would become their most recent live performances in 2016 and later called off several touring plans in the years that followed.
Now, however, they seem to be preparing fans for something new. The group recently shared an image of a concert crowd on social media with nothing more than the text “2027” placed across it.
No additional information accompanied the post, but it quickly sparked speculation among fans, many of whom believe a full scale tour announcement could be coming next year.
After wrapping up their 2016 run of shows, the band intended to return to the road in 2020. Those plans were ultimately abandoned because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Further touring plans surfaced in 2021 as venues began reopening, but those dates were also cancelled before they could begin. Frontman Mike Patton later explained that mental health struggles were behind the decision and revealed he had been diagnosed with agoraphobia during the pandemic.
Until recently, a reunion seemed unlikely. Patton spoke about Faith No More’s lengthy break and said that he did not “see it as a sad thing”.
Speaking on the Kyle Meredith With… podcast and reflecting on whether he felt a “sense of closure” after the 2016 tour, the vocalist said: “I didn’t really think so at the time, but, yeah, maybe. I think that we all kind of felt it, but it was unspoken.”
“It’s funny: when you’ve been in a band or a musical situation for a period of time, you always, in the back of your head, you’re kind of thinking, ‘Well, maybe this is it.’ And I don’t mind that feeling,” he added. “I don’t see it as a sad thing. I see it as being present and being able to really appreciate it while it’s happening.”
Faith No More have never formally announced a breakup following the cancellation of their 2021 tour, although other members have suggested in recent years that the chances of touring again were uncertain.
Last year, guitarist Roddy Bottum discussed the band's future and admitted they were in a “really weird spot”. “I can’t really tell you what’s going on. I don’t know myself. I get different information from people… and I’m in the band,” he said.
Drummer Mike Bordin echoed similar thoughts last spring, saying that he and some of the other members were willing to perform again, but claimed Patton was “unwilling to do shows with us”.
In addition to leading Faith No More since 1989 after replacing original singer Chuck Mosley, Patton has also been involved with projects including Mr Bungle, Fantômas, and Tomahawk.
Tomahawk recently unveiled plans for their first tour in 13 years, with a series of US dates scheduled for this summer. The run begins in Nashville next month and will also see Patton and his bandmates reunite with longtime labelmates Melvins for the first time since 2003.
Patton has also recently launched his tour with Avett Brothers and teamed up with Jehnny Beth on the new single ‘Look At Me’.
