Clinton "Bär" McKinnon (born December 24, 1969) is an American musician, perhaps best known for being a saxophonist in the San Francisco-based band Mr. Bungle.
Bär, pronounced "bear", is a childhood nickname given to him by his older sisters. In 1989, Bär joined Mr. Bungle and studied music at Humboldt State University, where he met Trevor Dunn and Trey Spruance. His primary instrument is the saxophone, and he plays a number of other instruments, including flute, keyboards, guitar, drums, percussion, bass, and other assorted woodwinds.
He was a member of Mr. Bungle from 1989 to their disbandment in 2000 and has written and performed with Secret Chiefs 3, Dieselhed, and Humboldt County hip hop/reggae/rock fusion band Lakota. He has also appeared on the Melt-Banana album Charlie, on the Carl Hancock Rux record Rux Revue, on the Ray's Vast Basement disc On the Banks of the Time, on Eyvind Kang's The Story of Iceland, and the Barefoot Hockey Goalie album One Part Thomas Edison. Bär McKinnon performs around Melbourne with his band Umläut and contributes to a remote supergroup formed in 2020 by the name of High Castle Teleorkestra.
Mr. Bungle
Mr. Bungle's lead singer, Mike Patton, had by the start of the 1990s achieved success in mainstream rock and metal with his other band, Faith No More, which ultimately helped secure Mr. Bungle a record deal with Warner Bros. The group released a self-titled album (produced by John Zorn) in 1991, followed by Disco Volante in 1995. Their third record was California. As a multi-instrumentalist, Bär provided a distinct style, both as a player and songwriter, most notably on California. The album takes inspiration from Burt Bacharach and The Beach Boys, influences close to Bär's heart. The album allowed more freedom for all members of Mr. Bungle in the songwriting process. California blended lounge, pop, jazz, funk, thrash metal, Hawaiian, Middle Eastern, kecak, and avant-garde music. The band did five tours to support this record. For the most part, perhaps with the exception of the Sno-Core 2000 tour, where they were often booed, the band did have success attracting an audience. The main three members of Mr. Bungle (Patton, Spruance, and Dunn) reunited in 2020 to record a fourth album, which McKinnon did not take part in.
UMLAUT
Umlaut (also stylized as Umläut) is an experimental progressive band based out of Melbourne, Australia. It is the culmination of years of work for McKinnon. Umlaut's eclectic musical stylings reside in the same vein as McKinnon's previous bands, Mr. Bungle and Secret Chiefs 3—injecting an energetic and whimsical blend of pop, jazz, avant-garde metal, symphonic atmosphere, and electronica into its sound.
When Mr. Bungle officially disbanded, Bär was left with material he had written for the band, so he decided to apply it towards a solo venture. Many of his Umlaut bandmates found him based on his prior music affiliations. According to McKinnon: "Melbourne is a very hip place as far as music and musicians and there's no shortage of good musos, so I'm super lucky that I ended up here; it just made the most sense. Musos sought me out, perhaps on the back of Bungle's notoriety. I mean, who knew a Mr. Bungle member was living in Melbourne?"
Umlaut has seen many incarnations and lineup changes through the years.
The band has accompanied comedian Neil Hamburger, as well as Secret Chiefs 3, on their various tours in Australia.
Band members
Bär McKinnon – tenor saxophone, flute, clarinet, keyboards, guitar, lead vocals
Angus Leslie – guitar, backing vocals, keyboards
Olaf Scott – keyboards
Hudson Whitlock – drums, percussion
Julian Langdon – bass
Shane Lieber – bass
Gareth Thompson – drums
John Myatt – bassoon
Rob McDonald – vibraphone
Pieta Hextall – bassoon
Guest performers
Mike Patton – vocals ("Atlas Face" – 2009) Matt Lieber – drums (Umlaut – 2009) Jeff Lieber – guitar (Umlaut – 2009)
Albums
Umlaut
Release date: October 10, 2009
Label: Orchard
The album's single "Atlas Face" features Faith No More frontman and fellow Mr. Bungle bandmate Mike Patton on lead vocals.