One of the crucial musically-versatile rock bands of the ’90s additionally occurs to be one of many extra influential ones. After all, I’m speaking about Religion No Extra, who on such ’90s classics as Angel Mud and King for a Day…Idiot for a Lifetime took on a myriad of types: different, metallic, rap, funk, experimental, straightforward listening, Center Japanese, and so on.
And in consequence, the band discovered themselves on payments with all kinds of artists: Soundgarden, Voivod, Robert Plant, Billy Idol, Weapons N’ Roses, Metallica, and so on. And subsequently, being listed as an affect from many famend artists (Korn, System of a Down, Deftones, Slipknot, Dillinger Escape Plan, and so on.).
Bottum spoke with Various Nation simply earlier than the discharge of his autobiography, The Royal We, on November 4, 2025 by way of Akashic, and was keen to debate the ebook, his profession, and what it was like for FNM to tour with a band like G n’ R again within the day. That is half 1 of our multi-part interview, which can embody a full Religion No Extra biography.
Various Nation: Now that it’s been just a few years for the reason that launch of Religion No Extra’s final album, Sol Invictus, what do you consider it now?
Roddy Bottum: I haven’t listened to it for some time. I believe, like possibly 4 years in the past, we have been going to do some reunion exhibits that didn’t occur…or some simply common exhibits that didn’t occur proper on the onset of Covid. I began listening to it once more, simply to kind of put together myself, and rehearse the songs on keyboards, and get my a part of it collectively. And I favored it – I favored that report. I just like the piano on it fairly a bit. Billy [Gould] wrote a giant a part of that report, and quite a lot of it’s kind of a testomony to his kind of like, prowess. However yeah, I prefer it.
Various Nation: What do you recall about Religion No Extra’s reunion exhibits?
Roddy Bottum: Once we did the primary reunion tour, we had damaged up for like…virtually 15 years. And it was sort of like, I used to have goals once I was youthful – I get to highschool and, “Oh my God, I forgot to check for the check!” After which the check is true then, and I’m like, “Oh my God, I’m gonna fail!” Sooner or later after Religion No Extra broke up, I saved having these goals that I might present up, “Oh my God. Religion No Extra was doing a reunion tour, and I forgot to study the songs!” It turned this factor that kind of changed that dream state of affairs for me. So, I saved having these goals. That was a nightmare I saved having.
After which we structured an entire tour and realized the songs and performed the songs and did the tour, and it’s like, I used to be in a position to deal with that nightmare in an actual, precise bodily sense. And I believe it was key in shifting ahead in my life in some bizarre means. Plus, it was simply actually enjoyable. Billy and I’ve been associates since we have been, like, I don’t know, 9 or 10 years previous. So, it was enjoyable to kind of faucet again into that friendship and simply hang around.
Various Nation: Are you in contact along with your FNM band mates?
Roddy Bottum: Positive.
Various Nation: Would you take into account taking part in exhibits once more with them if the chance arose?
Roddy Bottum: I don’t assume so. No.
Various Nation: Is there a particular motive why you wouldn’t?
Roddy Bottum: It’s not simply me. I don’t assume anybody’s kind of up for it at this level. We had a bunch of exhibits that we have been gonna play, they usually received canceled, only for varied causes. However I don’t assume the course that we have been on has mounted itself. I simply don’t see it taking place once more, truthfully. I believe we did a very good job. We performed a bunch of reunion excursions, and I believe we did what we sort of got down to do.
So I don’t assume anybody’s upset about it or something. However I imply, for positive, getting again collectively would imply a giant paycheck, however I believe all of us are fairly good with what we did, kind of identical to, artistically with the band and committing to ourselves and taking part in with one another. I believe we’re all fairly good with the choices that we’ve made thus far, and I don’t see what might actually occur extra getting again collectively and doing extra exhibits.
Various Nation: What about if the day comes that Religion No Extra will get into the Rock and Roll Corridor of Fame?
Roddy Bottum: I don’t see that taking place. I imply, we have been such a bizarre band. I don’t actually see a giant establishment like that taking us on. We have been very offbeat and peculiar and unorthodox, and we by no means performed by the foundations. I don’t see an establishment like that accepting us into their kind of spectrum.
