FNM’s Gould: Music has been going backwards

Faith No More bassist Billy Gould believes the music industry has been living in the past for nearly 30 years.

And while he’s not certain if a new generation of stadium giants will appear when the current ones have gone, he feels it won’t have much to do with quality of art.

Gould tells KaaosTV: “I kind of felt we got into this era when Guns N ‘Roses came in and everything went retro. We’re still coming out of this retro thing.

“It has nothing to do with music sales or the business. It has to do with culture working in a forward direction. We went backwards for about 20 years – I’d like to see us go forward again.”

Asked about the future of stadium rock, he replies: “It’s hard today. To get to that size you need so much organisation, logistics, corporate sponsorship and stuff.

“It’s really an economic question. I don’t think it’s a cultural question.”

But Gould adds: “There’s always people that are going to have good ideas that will make people want to get together and do things – as humans, I think that’s just how we’re built.”

Faith No More released comeback album Sol Invictus in May. They’re on the road until October:

Jul 26: Austin Music Hall, TX

Jul 27: Dallas South Side Ballroom, TX

Jul 28: Houston Bayou Music Center, TX

Jul 30: Atlanta Masquerade Music Park, GA

Jul 31: Raleigh Red Hat Amphitheater, NC

Aug 01: Mann Center, PA

Aug 02: Columbia Merriweather Post Pavilion, MD

Aug 04: Boston Blue Hills Bank Pavilion , MA

Aug 05: New York Madison Square Garden,

Aug 07: Toronto Ricoh Coliseum, ON

Aug 08: Heavy Montreal, QC

Sep 06: Bumbershoot Festival Seattle, WA

Sep 08: Denver Red Rocks Amphitheatre, CO

Sep 18: Bogota Teatro Royal, Colombia

Sep 20: Buenos Aires Luna Park, Argentina

Sep 24: Sao Paulo Espaco Das Americas, Brazil

Sep 25: Rock In Rio VI, Brazil

Sep 28: Santiago Hangares Suricato, Chile

Oct 25: Monster Energy Aftershock, CA

Not only is one-time online news editor Martin an established rock journalist and drummer, but he’s also penned several books on music history, including SAHB Story: The Tale of the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, a band he once managed, and the best-selling Apollo Memories about the history of the legendary and infamous Glasgow Apollo. Martin has written for Classic Rock and Prog and at one time had written more articles for Louder than anyone else (we think he's second now). He’s appeared on TV and when not delving intro all things music, can be found travelling along the UK’s vast canal network.