One of the vital musically-versatile rock bands of the ’90s additionally occurs to be one of many extra influential ones. In fact, 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, steel, rap, funk, experimental, simple listening, Center Japanese, and many others.
And because of this, the band discovered themselves on payments with all kinds of artists: Soundgarden, Voivod, Robert Plant, Billy Idol, Weapons N’ Roses, Metallica, and many others. And subsequently, being listed as an affect from many famend artists (Korn, System of a Down, Deftones, Slipknot, Dillinger Escape Plan, and many others.).
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 prepared to debate the e-book, 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 embrace a full Religion No Extra biography.
Various Nation: Now that it’s been a number of 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 had 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 type 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 an enormous a part of that report, and plenty of it’s type of a testomony to his type 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 after I was youthful – I get to high school and, “Oh my God, I forgot to check for the take a look at!” After which the take a look at is correct then, and I’m like, “Oh my God, I’m gonna fail!” In some unspecified time in the future after Religion No Extra broke up, I stored 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 type of changed that dream state of affairs for me. So, I stored having these goals. That was a nightmare I stored having.
After which we structured a complete tour and discovered the songs and performed the songs and did the tour, and it’s like, I used to be capable of handle that nightmare in an actual, precise bodily sense. And I believe it was key in transferring ahead in my life in some bizarre method. Plus, it was simply actually enjoyable. Billy and I’ve been mates since we had been, like, I don’t know, 9 or 10 years outdated. So, it was enjoyable to type 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 think about taking part in exhibits once more with them if the chance arose?
Roddy Bottum: I don’t suppose so. No.
Various Nation: Is there a selected cause why you wouldn’t?
Roddy Bottum: It’s not simply me. I don’t suppose anybody’s type of up for it at this level. We had a bunch of exhibits that we had been gonna play, they usually acquired canceled, only for numerous causes. However I don’t suppose the course that we had been on has fastened itself. I simply don’t see it taking place once more, actually. I believe we did a extremely 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 suppose anybody’s upset about it or something. However I imply, for certain, getting again collectively would imply an enormous paycheck, however I believe all of us are fairly good with what we did, type of similar 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 may 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 occuring. I imply, we had been such a bizarre band. I don’t actually see an enormous establishment like that taking us on. We had been very offbeat and bizarre and unorthodox, and we by no means performed by the foundations. I don’t see an establishment like that accepting us into their type of spectrum.