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Mike Patton Legally Declares Himself Dead So He Can Play His Own Memorial Tour
June 10, 2025 – Eureka, CA
In a move that’s both bizarre and brilliantly on-brand, avant-garde music icon Mike Patton has reportedly legally declared himself deceased in order to launch what he’s calling the “I’m Dead, Aren’t I?” Memorial Tour.
According to a statement released through his label Ipecac Recordings (typed entirely in Morse code), Patton filed the necessary paperwork in a small Nevada county known for “creative bureaucratic flexibility.” The filing legally lists his cause of death as “terminal experimentation,” and notes: “This death is artistic, not physical. Please do not send flowers unless they scream.”
The tour — set to begin in Transylvania, Pennsylvania — will feature eulogies delivered by distorted voice samples, holograms of himself in different eras, and a live reading of his fake obituary written by Mr. Bungle bandmate Trey Spruance. The setlist reportedly includes deep cuts, unreleased demos, and a 17-minute noise suite titled “Flatline Funk.”
Patton, in a video recorded from a coffin-shaped recliner, stated:
> “You’ve gotta die to be appreciated. I figured I’d skip the waiting.”
Fans and fellow musicians are both stunned and amused. Maynard James Keenan tweeted, “Finally, someone took the resurrection gimmick seriously.” Meanwhile, legal experts are baffled as to how someone can headline a tour while legally dead — though ticket sales have skyrocketed.
Despite the macabre setup, sources close to Patton say this is less about publicity and more about freedom. “He wanted to create without the burden of being alive,” said a bandmate. “Also, he just thought it’d be hilarious.”
Whether this tour is performance art, satire, or the next stage of Patton’s ever-mutating legacy, one thing’s certain: only Mike Patton could headline his own funeral and sell out the afterlife.
