Best known as the lead singer of Faith No More, Mike Patton [ tickets ] has juggled a variety of projects since that band broke up in the late 1990s. He continued his work with Mr. Bungle and started the new bands Fantomas, Tomahawk and Peeping Tom. A San Francisco-area resident, Patton is even delving into decades-old Italian pop.

But he's currently celebrating the success of the Will Smith post-apocalyptic flick "I Am Legend," in which Patton "stars" as the creatures' vocals. He has done voice-over work in the past but this project was particularly challenging, Patton said.

"It's related to what I do, but in a very different environment," Patton said during an interview with LiveDaily. "It's challenging and a little bit intimidating. But I'm stimulated by things like that. It keeps me going--especially doing this 'I Am Legend' thing.

"It was really hard. They put a screen up in front of me, showed me the scene once and then said, 'Go.' Basically I could do whatever the hell I wanted. It was like improvising to a silent film. I tried to mimic every movement and every piece of action that was coming off the screen with my mouth. It was kind of a bitch. But it was very, very, very fun. And it's great to be in situations like that. I'd love to try it again if the opportunity arose."

He'll have to juggle voice-overs in with his mounds of other projects. In March, Patton is releasing his first soundtrack score on his own label, Ipecac. The 20-minute film noir, "A Perfect Place," focuses on a pair of bumbling friends trying to dispose of a body. The film was shot in anamorphic black and white.

"It's a short film, but we're putting together a really cool package with the DVD and the soundtrack, like a special edition-type thing," Patton said.

While Patton's film work is relatively new, he's previously appeared in 2005's award-winning independent film "Firecracker" and has already provided vocals to several video games including "The Darkness" and "The Portal." The year 2008 will see him as the lead in video game "Bionic Commando" and contributing vocal effects to "Left 4 Dead."

In late 2008, Patton, using the pseudonym Mondo Cane, will showcase his versatility by releasing a collection of '50s and '60s Italian pop songs.

"It's something I've been wanting to do for awhile, having been there and been a fan of that music," Patton said. "I just wasn't sure how to pull it off. Then an opportunity arose eight years after I had the idea. I performed the songs with a 40-piece orchestra and a nine- or 10-piece band. So there were 50, 60 people on stage. We did a few concerts of it. I recorded them all and now I'm kind of tweaking them in the studio. I think there's a record there."

Also on his plate for his label, Ipecac are new Fantomas and Peeping Tom records in 2009.

"I'm going to start putting the Peeping Tom record together midway through next year," Patton said. "But I don't think it'll be out next year because of a bunch of stuff I'm doing.

"They're all on the stovetop, some move to the front burner and some get cycled to the back. Some may be still be alive but currently not active. I'd put the Fantomas in that category. Yeah, we're going to do another record, but all in due time."

Skipping between film, video game, songwriter and singer duties keeps Patton energized.

"It would be easy to curl up in a ball and write rock songs for the rest of my life. It's not what floats my boat. These are the kinds of things that keep me getting up in the morning."