Publication: JJJ Radio
Date: May, 2001
Transcribed by
Ryn (ryntastic@hotmail.com)
Ryn (ryntastic@hotmail.com)
page: title: Tool J Files author: Michael Dwyer JJJ Interview by Michael Dwyer with Adam and Danny M: OK can you give me some kind of insight into the creative process, how does that work, do you start jamming or does Maynard bring in some lyrics or what? DC: It all pretty much comes from jams and kind of every song can start from a different place. We try to keep as rule free as possible about it. I mean some of them start from a little melody that M will come in humming and we all will start jamming on it. It’s mainly a jamming thing, you know it’s a pretty organic process, to see how far each little ditty will take us and expound upon it as much as possible. Keep a tape rolling while we do it and then go back and find the jewels and develop them and try to hook it together. AJ: It’s interesting too, cos like you know a riff can come in and you know, by myself it sounds one way and then once the band starts jamming to it it just completely morphs into something else and almost like changes from what it was. So there’s so many ways of um starting the process. But it’s just the four of us just kind of tearing apart ideas and then kind of patching them back together or going different avenues with them. DC: Yeah, you can’t be too precious about them cos your little babies get destroyed every time AJ: Stomped on DC: Turned into, mutated into some creature [laughs] AJ: But it always comes out good. M: You said how far you can let these ideas go, I mean they go pretty far often. I mean the length of a Tool song has become regarded as something of a statement in itself . . . DC: That’s pretty much it, we just kind of let the songs dictate in a lot of ways, you know. They take on kind of their own life and we try to make them a complete idea into themselves. Sometimes it takes five minutes, sometimes it takes 20. AJ: It’s not planned out that way at all. I mean it’s just kind of what we feel. I think it has a lot to come from where our influences were when we were kids. You know the kind of music we were all listening to, which was all very different but it was from a time when you know, stuff was on vinyl. You had artwork you could stare at, you didn’t know what the band looked like, you didn’t care how long the songs were. So I think there’s that aspect definitely influencing it, but there’s never a time when we go – right we’re gonna write a three minute song or there’s never a time where we go we’re gonna write a 20 minute song. It just happens. M: It would be – I concluded they are that long because they kind of tackle weighty subjects and weighty emotions. Do you kind of see that as being the case? DC: I don’t know, maybe just because we’re trying to do something and communicate on a deeper level than some bands do. Maybe it takes a little more time to get your point across or to be articulate about things that are a little deeper. I mean I feel like we, our music’s gotten a little deeper because we’re able to communicate with each other better. So maybe that’s a by-product, we’re getting longer songs now, maybe the next record – it’ll be one song and that’ll be it. [laughs] M: This might sound like a strange question, but um, you’re all like stunning musicians, do you find that . . . I mean is that ever actually a problem in terms of serving a song directly, is it easy to get caught up in the intricacies of playing your instrument? AJ: There’s having discipline, you know. I mean that’s the most important thing when you’re playing is listening to each other and knowing, you know . . . like I play guitar but sometimes maybe I need to play bass. I mean not physically pick up a bass but play my guitar like a bass because that’s what the song needed. Or may not play because that’s the power the song needed. So, ah . . . thanks for the compliment, you know, it’s a - DC: Yeah, I don’t know, I kind of thought like we were more kind of hack musicians AJ: Yeah [all laugh] DC: I don’t we’re all that good musicians on a lot of levels. I mean compared to like technical people . . . I had to study, I wasn’t like a prodigy type person, I had to learn from a lot of things. M: I mean you have studied, that’s a difference to a lot of rock drummers I would say. DC: Yeah, I guess AJ: I think Dan’s the most, you know um, musically directed person with his experience of growing up than any of us. But I think the element you’re talking about is what any good artist can do, you know if . . . If you see some painting that, you know, maybe the guy can’t render the human figure and make it look life-like. But, you know, his style, because it’s coming from his heart, makes it really you know, powerful. And I think that has a lot to do with what we do. There’s a lot of integrity, cos we’re big fans of our music. We like our music, we walk out going – yeah. So that’s a really important element, you know, and it’s a nice compliment, but I think that’s where it comes from. M: Is there much, um, does Maynard discuss his lyrics, his themes with you guys or is it all kind of unspoken, in terms of what a song is about? DC: He – we leave it up to him to pretty much write the words. But I mean, he’s always open with us suggesting that what – how he’s interpreting it. We have a dialogue that goes back and forth. But it’s his baby, definitely the words are. He’s the one that has to get up there and belt them out so it needs to really be heartfelt with him. M: But what effect did, um just to sidetrack for a little, his side project with APC, did that have any impact on Tool and what this album became? DC: I think it did somewhat at a point. Just for the fact that there were a few months went by when Maynard wasn’t in the room with us working on it, so and we were, we didn’t stop working. We kept going, you know, so, it’s bound to have some sort of an effect. It’s kind of hard to pinpoint exactly what it was . . . . We were able to maybe try a few more possibilities of arrangements and things like that since there wasn’t another cook in the kitchen, getting in the way. AJ: It’s usually that way anyway. I mean, you know, especially, it was just nice having that luxury this time. But we’ve always kind treated it like, you know, that the music has to hold up on its own. You know, with the lyrics coming across and having the frontman and then you have the band behind you. But at any time you can just feel that there are all those layers and levels there. And, um, usually, most of the time, the lyrics come last. You know, he can come up with melodies like I come up with melodies or Dan comes up with different drum beats and they don’t necessarily have to have words. Especially coming into it in that later picture, there’s that room for the experimentation to take place. So, you know, it’s not already dictated how it’s gonna go, and this is how many times I’m singing or this is how many times you’re playing the guitar. It’s more like it’s still kind of open and that’s where you get the really strong arrangement. Cos that’s what I like about our stuff is, you know, the stuff as instrumentals I think really holds up well. M: That’s something that’s really noticeable about Tool, there’s not really, I mean there isn’t a phrase that stands out. I mean the image of Tool is quite unique and comes down to a blend of the videos – the videos are more intriguing than explanatory – you don’t see a lot of faces of band members on album covers, the information’s very sparse. How important is mystery to what Tool is? DC: I would say very important. I don’t know, I mean we were saying about the bands we grew up on, there’s a lot of mystery there. Bands like Pink Floyd and stuff, you never saw interviews with them. It left a lot more up to your imagination. You would create this thing in your mind, and it made you feel like you were more of a part of it, because you had created it in your mind. It wasn’t all just laid out on a platter for you. I think that’s a real positive thing, you know. Gives it a life of its own. AJ: Especially, you know, in today’s market there’s just, there’s no mystery. There’s absolutely no mystery, you know. Everyone wants to know everything about everything and as fast as possible so I can get on to the next thing. And, you know, there’s not much room for thinking when that goes on. Especially the kind of thinking that you feel good about, you know that, leads you to be inspired or not take things for granted. M: A lot of your themes are really disturbingly dark it seems to me. Are you, how do you rationalise like the response to them – do you get some really weird fan mail, does it ever disturb you the kind of response that you get? AJ: We encourage really weird fan mail. Absolutely. Like on the website and on the albums, we have an address and we say, you know – send polaroids. [laughs] So people send us artwork and drawings and crazy letters and presents . . . and it’s nice. It just kind of reflects that that’s what they’re about too, you know, they’re trying to relate to you in that way. And it’s awesome. Instead of just getting a letter that says – you guys kick ass. You guys are great. You’re my favourite band. Love Roy, or something. To actually get something from the fan that’s actually them giving something back, it’s just really cool. And we’ve had some, ah, really interesting things come our way. [laughs] M: Anything you’ve had to turn over to the feds? AJ: No, but there’s a couple of things that, you know, you watched on video and went – that’s the last time I’ll be watching that. DC: Yeah [all laugh]
Posted to t.d.n: 05/27/02 22:53:22