Billy Gould

William David Gould (born April 24, 1963) is an American musician, best known as the bassist for the rock band Faith No More. Having started Faith No More in 1983, he and Mike Bordin are the only constant members of the band, having appeared on all of their studio albums.

Biography Early years Gould was born on April 24, 1963, in Los Angeles and is of Scottish and Hungarian descent on his father's side. He began playing bass while attending Loyola High School in Los Angeles with future Faith No More keyboardist Roddy Bottum. His first band during this time was named "The Animated," a genre-bending new wave group described as a cross between Buzzcocks, XTC, and Michael Jackson. The band also featured future Faith No More vocalist Chuck Mosley on keyboards and Mark Stewart (aka Stew) on guitar, later known for his work with The Negro Problem.

In the early 1980s, Gould moved to San Francisco to pursue his studies and became involved with several underground bands. During this period, he met drummer Mike Bordin and guitarist Jim Martin. Shortly thereafter, Gould formed a band with Bordin, keyboardist Wade Worthington (quickly replaced by Roddy Bottum), and guitarist/vocalist Mike "The Man" Morris named Faith No Man, which later became Faith No More after Morris left the group.

In the mid-1990s, Gould began working as a producer, and in 1997 he co-produced Faith No More's Album of the Year with former Swans drummer Roli Mosimann. Since then, he has become the CEO of Koolarrow Records and has worked on various projects as a producer or guest musician.

In February 2009, it was announced that Faith No More would reform for a tour and possibly new recordings.

In 2015, after their longest gap between albums, Faith No More released their seventh studio album, Sol Invictus.

Other collaborations

In the 1990s, Gould was part of the original line-up of the Los Angeles-based grindcore band Brujeria. He was also involved in several supergroups, including Shandi's Addiction (with Maynard Keenan, Brad Wilk, and Tom Morello) and Black Diamond Brigade (with Norwegian rock musicians Euroboy, Torgny Amdam, Tarjei Strøm, and Sigurd Wongraven). In addition, he performed with Wayne Kramer and Fear Factory, and produced CMX's Vainajala album. His guest appearances include recordings for the Romanian band Coma, as well as production work on Living Targets by the German group Beatsteaks, projects for Slovenia's Elvis Jackson, and the album 7 for the German rock band Harmful, with whom he also toured throughout 2007 as a guitarist.

In 2007, Gould joined the all-star band Fear and the Nervous System, formed by Korn guitarist James "Munky" Shaffer. The band also featured Bad Religion drummer Brooks Wackerman.

That same year, Gould became the bassist for Jello Biafra's new band, The Axis of Evildoers, alongside Ralph Spight (Victim's Family) on guitar and Jon Weiss on drums. They debuted at Jello Biafra's 50th birthday celebration on June 16 and 17, 2008, at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco. The band was later renamed Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine, and their album Audacity of Hype was released on October 20, 2009.

In 2011, Gould released an experimental album titled The Talking Book, a collaboration with sound artist Jared Blum, known for his various projects on the Gigante Sound label. In 2012, he worked with Charles Hayward of This Heat and Mads Heldtberg on a project and release titled House of Hayduk. Also in 2011, Gould contributed to the production of the soundtrack for the documentary The Sequential Art, directed by Norwegian filmmaker Espen J. Jörgensen.

In 2013, Gould reunited with Espen J. Jörgensen to provide synth, edits, recomposing, and beats for a "groovy and experimental" EP titled Fugly.

In 2018, Gould joined Wayne Kramer's MC50 band, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the release of the MC5 album Kick Out The Jams. This line-up also featured Kim Thayil of Soundgarden, Brendan Canty of Fugazi, and Marcus Durant of Zen Guerilla.

Koolarrow records

Since 1999, Gould has operated the independent record label Koolarrow Records, which has specialized in international acts and unconventional artists such as Los Angeles' Flattbush, Seattle's Kultur Shock, Brujeria, Hog Molly (featuring Tad Doyle), Bosnia's Dubioza Kolektiv, San Francisco's La Plebe, the German rock band Harmful, Alexander Hacke (of Einstürzende Neubauten), Como Asesinar a Felipes from Chile, the former Danish experimental group Durefursog, and Mexican Dubwiser.

Style

Gould is known for employing a wide variety of playing styles, alternating between using a plectrum, slapping, and fingerstyle. Fieldy from Korn has expressed admiration for Gould and his chemistry with his Faith No More bandmates. Kevin Feazey of The Fierce and the Dead has also spoken about Gould's influence on his bass playing.

Discography

As a band member

Brujeria 1993: Matando Güeros 1995: Raza Odiada 2000: Brujerizmo

Fear and the Nervous System 2011: Fear and the Nervous System

Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine 2009: Audacity of Hype 2011: Enhanced Methods of Questioning (EP)

Harmful 2007: Seven

Bill Gould & Jared Blum 2011: The Talking Book 2020: Talking Book II 2023: The Eclipse

Bill Gould & Espen J. Jörgensen 2013: Fugly

As a featured musician 1994: Milk Cult – Burn or Bury, "Bow Kiness Static" 2005: Fear Factory – Transgression, "Echo of My Scream", "Supernova" 2006: Coma – Nerostitele, "Mai Presus De Cuvinte" 2006: Jeff Walker und Die Fluffers – Welcome to Carcass Cuntry 2012: Angertea – Nr. 4: Songs Exhaled, "No Computation" 2012: Mexican Dubwiser – Trouble in My Soul 2014: Mexican Dubwiser – Bad Behavior 2022: Corvus Corax – Era Metallum

Remixes 1995: "Engove" – instrumental remix of "Caffeine", originally by Faith No More. Appeared on Metallurgy, Vol. 1 1997: "Pristina (Billy Gould Mix)", appeared on "Last Cup of Sorrow" single 1998: "Du riechst so gut", originally by Rammstein. Faith No More remix

As a producer 1997: Naive – Post Alcoholic Anxieties 1997: Faith No More – Album of the Year (together with Roli Mosimann) 1998: CMX – Vainajala 1999: Think About Mutation – Highlife 2001: The Beatsteaks – Living Targets 2001: Kultur Shock – FUCC the INS 2007: Harmful – 7 2009: Elvis Jackson – Against the Gravity 2015: Faith No More – Sol Invictus

Other 1999 Spazz – Crush Kill Destroy (Mastering)