365 Days of Mike Patton: “Kool Aid Party,” Team Sleep (2003 or 2005)

Before today, I’d never heard of Team Sleep. I’d never heard of “Kool Aid Party.” I never knew Mike Patton and Deftones singer Chino Moreno had worked together on a project. And there’s probably a good reason for that.

Because this song was left on the cutting room floor of Team Sleep’s first and only record.

Team Sleep was a side project for Moreno, and he explained it as “droney” and “ambient.” “Kool Aid Party” certainly reflects that.

The original album was supposed to be released in 2003 but was delayed two years after some of the tunes were prematurely leaked online (damn you, internet!). During my cursory attempt at researching this track, I couldn’t figure out why Patton’s track was left off the album (I actually dig the song quite a bit).

But it’s no surprise why Moreno would have wanted Patton. Faith No More, after all, was a large inspiration for much of the nu metal community, and Deftones were certainly a part of that world.

“Angel Dust was the record that made me think, ‘This is one of the sickest bands,’” Moreno said, via FNM 2.0. “The first album had a couple of good songs, but Angel Dust sounded savage to me. It sounded way more like a Mike Patton record.”

And perhaps Moreno didn’t want Team Sleep to sound anything like a Patton record. Maybe that’s why he ended up locking “Kool Aid Party” in the vault.

To follow along on the 365 days of Patton, click here for a list of each day’s post.