Early years Regarding his ancestral background, Bordin said in a 1990 interview with Australian publication
Smash Hits "My grandfather came from Russia [and]
Kyiv. That side of my family is Russian and Welsh. The other side is Italian, Hungarian and i think some Polish too. I'm a real mongrel.". Billy Gould also mentions Bordin's Jewish descent. In the late 1970s, while still a student at
Castro Valley High School, Bordin formed his first band EZ-Street with future
Metallica bassist
Cliff Burton. The two recruited local metalhead and future Faith No More guitarist
Jim Martin to complete the trio. In 1981, Bordin left EZ-Street because of frictions with guitarist Jim Martin. He joined up with a San Francisco post-punk outfit going under the name of Sharp Young Men. Faith No More released their first album,
We Care a Lot, in 1985. After releasing several more albums, including the Grammy-nominated
The Real Thing, Faith No More disbanded in 1998. In 2009, Faith No More reformed and performed a series of festival shows in Europe and Australia, leading to several shows in select American cities. In 2015, Faith No More released
Sol Invictus, their first album since
Album of the Year, and first since their reunion. It met considerable critical attention, and the band embarked on a worldwide tour.
Collaborations with Primus Bordin has worked closely with
Primus on several occasions. He first provided guest vocals on two songs from Primus' 1990 album
Frizzle Fry; "John the Fisherman" and "Sathington Willoby", credited under the Fart Sandwich Posse band. In 1991 he provided guest vocals and drums on the song "Los Bastardos" which was released on
Sailing the Seas of Cheese. Finally, he played drums on the song "Choked", a collaboration with Primus'
Tim Alexander and
Tool's
Maynard James Keenan, released on the 1997 compilation ''Flyin' Traps''.
Ozzy Osbourne In 1996, Bordin began performing with Ozzy Osbourne's band. Due to
Black Sabbath drummer
Bill Ward's health issues during tour, Bordin had a brief stretch playing with the other original members of
Black Sabbath. He played the closing segments of Osbourne's 1997 headlining concerts during the
Ozzfest tour. Bordin re-recorded the drum tracks on Osbourne's solo albums,
Blizzard of Ozz and
Diary of a Madman, for the controversial remasters released in 2002. The re-recordings were the result of a lawsuit brought by original drummer
Lee Kerslake and original bassist
Bob Daisley for unpaid royalties.
Korn In 2000, Bordin filled in as
Korn's live drummer for approximately 7 months and nearly 100 shows. At the time of his joining, Korn's fourth album
Issues had been nominated for two
Grammys in March 2000 and had already achieved triple-platinum certification by the RIAA since its release five months earlier, in November 1999. Korn's
Sick and Twisted Tour began on February 18, 2000, to promote the full-length. On March 10, 2000, only 14 dates into the tour, Korn drummer
David Silveria's right wrist gave out on the night of their concert at the
Fargodome in
Fargo,
North Dakota. The band went out on stage and Silveria announced to the audience that the concert had to be postponed because of his inability to play. The injury was allegedly caused by Silvera's left ribs, and the same limp wrist condition had previously occurred the year before, causing the band to cancel the last two shows of their tour with
Rob Zombie. Three Midwest dates in Madison, Wisconsin, Minneapolis, Minnesota and Moline, Illinois had to be rescheduled while the band found a replacement. Korn returned to California for a few days and called on Bordin to fill in while Silveria recovered. The band invited Bordin because he was apparently the only drummer they could think of who could perform in the style they wanted. Faith No More had been a major inspiration when Korn started out in the early 1990s, and the band later went on to record a cover of
We Care a Lot in 2005 for a proposed covers' album titled
Korn Kovers. Korn spent 5 days (March 11–15) teaching Bordin an initial 12 songs at their rehearsal space in California, with Silveria present to guide him. Throughout the rest of the year, Bordin learned an additional 10 songs, which were added to the set list. On March 16, the band flew out to Illinois for their first show with Bordin on drums at the
Allstate Arena in
Rosemont. Bordin remained with Korn for the rest of the year, which also included
The Summer Sanitarium Tour with
Metallica in June and July. He also traveled with Korn to Europe to promote
Issues. Silveria returned to Korn in the fall of 2000 to start writing their fifth album, later released as
Untouchables.
Other appearances On January 21, 2001, Bordin competed on the television game show
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. He missed the $32,000 question, winning $1,000. His appearance on the show was not on the celebrity edition, but a normal edition with the jackpot raised at $1,810,000. Coincidentally, his wife Merilee had been the contestant right before him. She also reached the $32,000 question and missed. Former Ozzy Osbourne bandmate
Robert Trujillo (now of
Metallica) attended in the audience.
Personal life Mike Bordin was married in 1994 to Merilee Ann Bordin (née Hague) after dating for 10 years (since 1984). She is a classically trained chef and food stylist who studied at the University of California, Berkeley. Mike and Merilee have two daughters, Abby and Violet. Bordin's eldest daughter was born in 1997 when he was touring for Faith No More's
Album of the Year, and Violet is an artist who designed poster art for the band. == Equipment (2009) ==