Chuck Mosley & VUA - (ex-Faith No More) - Discography (2009-2013)

Singer Mosley left Faith no more back in 1988 and shortly thereafter he band hired Mike Patton as a replacement. Rather quickly they went from cult band to MTV and radio darlings. Mosley had a short stint with the Bad Brains in the early 90's. Then he got to watch as a number of other acts picked up on the metal/rap approach. Whether or not you think Mosley deserves credit or blame for his cotribution to that style depends on how much you like that sound. Mosley admits that he learned how to sing in tune since being ousted from Faith no more over two decades ago. That certainly shows on this album, but not so much that it takes away form the personality that he always been able to bring to his sound. Mosley does a decent job of mixing up the styles here with far more variety than I was expecting. There are some heavier tracks and several much more mellow songs as well. I don't think the slow songs work nearly as well as the heavier tracks. Joining him for this outing are such guest artists as Jonathan Davis (lead singer of Korn), John 5 (formerly of Marilyn Manson and currently of Rob Zombie), Michael Cartellone (current drummer for what’s left of Lynyrd Skynyrd), and even former Faith no more alumnus Roddy Bottum. This is not an album that is not going to appeal to everyone. Chuck Mosley aims for a wider a range than he had ever done before and it's more hit than miss, but it probably would have turned out better if he had stuck to the heavier songs that are his strength.

Sunday, October 04, 2009
Original: Chuck Mosley and VUA-will rap over hard rock for food

Times are tough for everyone. Even former Faith No More frontman Chuck Mosley. He’s been so impecunious recently that he’s announced he Will Rap Over Hard Rock For Food, which also happens to be the title of his latest solo effort. Don’t let the title fool you: the album goes above and beyond the rather limited boundaries that that Will Rap Over Hard Rock For Food implies. And frankly, that’s a good thing — especially considering the fact that the musical stylings of the aforementioned “rap” generally has me rolling my eyes and shouting “Learn how to play a chord, will ya!”

No, instead, Will Rap Over Hard Rock For Food takes a wide variety of genres and successfully mixes them together for one impressive (but easily forgettable) album. Joining Chuck for this outing are such guest artists as Jonathan Davis (lead singer of Korn), John 5 (formerly of Marilyn Manson and currently of Rob Zombie), Michael Cartellone (current drummer for what’s left of Lynyrd Skynyrd), Leah Lou (whom I have never heard of before), and Roddy Bottum, another Faith No More alumnus.

Personally, I enjoyed the sounds of Will Rap Over Hard Rock For Food. It had a lot to offer musically, from the expected rap/rock track “The Enabler” to a rather upbeat pop duet with Lou (“Nameless”), and finally to the haunting acoustic balladry of “Sophie.” Alas, as I briefly mentioned before (in parentheses), the album is easy to forget. Most of the tracks simply just don’t have a whole lot of “oomph” to ‘em. Fans of Mosley (and his guest artists) will probably enjoy the album more than the average listener (especially anyone who picks it up hoping for rap) — but even they may have to play it repeatedly in order to get any of the tunes stuck in their head.

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lthough the Mike Patton-led line up of Faith No More conquered the charts, it was the Chuck Mosley-led incarnation that made the group a college radio favorite during the mid to late 1980s. But apart from a pair of short-lived gigs - fronting Bad Brains and '90s alt-rockers Cement - Mosley has stayed largely out of the spotlight.

This should all change soon, however, with his new band, Vandals Against Illiteracy (V.U.A.). "The album we're working on and trying to finish is called 'Will Rap Over Hard Rock for Food'," Mosley tells Billboard.com. "It's more kind of my style - more noisiness, but there's some rapping over hard rock. There's more screaming and singing - some short punk rock songs, some harder ones, acoustic jammies."

Joining Mosley in V.U.A. is Cobra Verde guitarist Tim Parnin, bassist Ed Stevens, and "A guy named Eric. I can't remember his last name, he plays drums - he was in Pro-Pain," he says. In addition to handling vocals, Mosley also supplies some guitar.

With Mosley at the helm, Faith No More became one of the '80s' leading underground bands on the strength of 1985's "We Care a Lot" and 1987's "Introduce Yourself." Despite exiting the group in 1988 under less-than-friendly circumstances, the Ohio-based Mosley is now friendly with most of his former FNM bandmates. In fact, keyboardist Roddy Bottum appears on the new album's remake of the title track from "We Care a Lot."

"He put keyboards on it. We have the original going in the background, so you get the other guys on the chorus and Roddy's organ sound," Mosley says. "But we play it slower, so it's matched up to them, and we do our version over that. And all new lyrics - way more updated."

Other cuts set to appear on "Will Rap" are "Tractor," "Punk Rock Movie," "The Enabler" and "Sophie," named after Mosley's youngest daughter. "It's a 'baby ballad,'" he says.

V.U.A. has already played live gigs, but Mosley took the band off the road until the forthcoming debut is completed. "Hopefully it will be out this year," he says. Label and distribution deals are pending.

With a multitude of modern day rock bands listing Faith No More as a major influence, one renowned group has already voiced its approval of V.U.A. "The last time Korn was out here with Ozzfest, I met those guys - they've given me a lot of props. I gave them my demo, and they played it before they went on. They were like, 'Yeah, it's cool, send us [a copy].' I was like, 'Hopefully it will be done in a month,' and that was two years! I don't want to get ahead of myself anymore, so I'll just wait until we get it totally finished."
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