Phil Freeman of "The Wire" groups Patton with Tom Waits, Frank Zappa and Brian Wilson in what he calls 'California Pop Art' - artists from that area who adapted unconventional sources into their music and created pieces to then hire musicians capable of realizing them. Several writers have likened Patton to Zappa (as well as their bands Mr. Bungle and Mothers of Invention) because of the quantity of their work, wide-ranging influences and recurrent use of humor. Patton is averse to that comparison, but he admitted that one of the few records he enjoyed from his parents' collection was from Zappa. Freeman believes that besides superficial elements, their music does not hold many similarities.