Roddy Bottum - Sexuality and His Music

Sexuality and His Music

Bottum came out as gay in 1993. He is recognized as a pioneering gay rock musician and admired as a role model for gay youth interested in music not traditionally associated with the gay community. In a 2001 article in The Advocate, Bottum stated that "I would never have thought as a gay teen I'd be in a band that would be considered heavy metal or hard rock."

One of his contributions to Faith No More was "Be Aggressive," a song about oral sex. Bottum has said in interviews that he wrote the song largely as a joke at Mike Patton's expense, enjoying the potential humiliation a straight vocalist would subject himself to onstage. "Be Aggressive" became the second most-played song at Faith No More concerts. Bottum would also describe gerbil stuffing in graphic detail to shocked interviewers.

A 1999 article in The Advocate said of Imperial Teen, "With lyrical allusions to wearing lipstick and male pronouns used to address love objects, Imperial Teen serves up a gay sensibility that ordinarily surfaces only from straight bands like Pulp or Pizzicato Five." Bottum noted "I think there's a resistance from gay artists to go that route just because it's so predictable. But it is annoying to see bands play it as safe as they do these days. That's why something that visually screams as loud as Marilyn Manson is such a breath of fresh air."

Before he came out as gay, Bottum was actually involved in a brief heterosexual relationship with Courtney Love in the early 80s, concurrent with the time she sang for Faith No More. The two remain friends to this day.