Mike Bordin is the co-founder and drummer of rock band Faith No More. He is also known for playing with Ozzy Osbourne. As a left-handed drummer, he notably plays with a right-handed kit with his ride cymbal on the left. He is noted for his distinctive long dreadlocks, and for playing in shorts while shirtless at concerts.
Background
Mike Bordin is widely regarded to be one of the finest drummers in all of heavy metal/hard rock, as evidenced by the resumé of artists he's played with over the years.
Bordin became obsessed with rock music as a teenager (especially such heavyweights as Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin) and began playing drums at the age of 14, when he and a high school friend who had just picked up the bass -- future Metallica member Cliff Burton -- began to jam together.
Education
In the late 1970s, while still in high school, Mike Bordin played in the band EZ-Street with future Metallica bassist Cliff Burton and future Faith No More guitarist Jim Martin.
Career
By the early '80s, Bordin had discovered other musical styles (including such new wave acts as Killing Joke, PiL, and Theatre of Hate) and his playing style began to absorb this variety. Shortly thereafter, he founded the similarly styled outfit Faith No Man, along with bassist Bill Gould, which by the mid-'80s (and several bandmember changes later), would transform into alt-metallists Faith No More.
In 1981, Bordin formed Faith No Man with bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist Wade Worthington, and frontman Mike Morris. A year later the group replaced Wade Worthington with keyboardist Roddy Bottum, removed Mike Morris, and changed their name to Faith No More. Faith No More released their first album, We Care a Lot, in 1985. In 2009, Faith No More reformed and performed a series of festival shows in Europe, leading to several shows in select American cities.
In 1997, Bordin began performing with Ozzy Osbourne's band.
After Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward was unfortunately plagued with health issues during tour, Bordin had a brief stretch playing with the other original members of Black Sabbath. Notably he played the closing segments of Ozzy 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 (whose part was re-recorded by Robert Trujillo) for unpaid royalties.
Bordin and Faith No More (which included keyboardist Roddy Bottum, guitarist Jim Martin, and singer Chuck Mosely) issued a pair of albums, 1985's "We Care a Lot" and 1987's "Introduce Yourself", which created a loud buzz in the underground. But it wasn't until newcomer Mike Patton replaced Mosely as the group's frontman that Faith No More began to infiltrate the mainstream, issuing a string of now classic hard rock releases that have influenced countless other bands in its wake: 1989's "The Real Thing", 1992's "Angel Dust", 1995's "King for a Day, Fool for a Lifetime", and 1997's 'Album of the Year". Despite rumors throughout FNM's career of friction amongst the bandmembers, the band managed to remain together until 1998. Bordin (who had previously filled in for Bill Ward as part of a reunited Black Sabbath at the 1997 edition of Ozzfest) began playing with other heavy metal acts immediately after FNM's split, including work with Ozzy Osbourne's solo band (with whom Bordin has toured with several times and played on 2001's Down to Earth), Korn (briefly filling in on tour for injured drummer David Silveria), an unreleased effort by former Guns N' Roses bassist Duff McKagan (1999's Beautiful Disease), and former Alice in Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell's sophomore release.
In 2000, Bordin toured with KoЯn when their drummer David Silveria was injured.
Bordin also performs on Jerry Cantrell's 2002 album, "Degradation Trip".
In 2001, Bordin competed on television game show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire". He missed the $32,000 question, walking away with $1,000. Former bandmate Robert Trujillo, now of Metallica, attended live.