Publication: The News Tribune
Date: November, 2001
Transcribed by
Christina (Christinastenstrom@hotmail.com)
Christina (Christinastenstrom@hotmail.com)
page: 1,4 title: Tool Time author: Ernest A. Jasmin Tool time Vocalist's return puts British band back in business Ernest A. Jasmin; The News Tribune The other members of Tool were apprehensive at times as frontman Maynard James Keenan pursued his side project, A Perfect Circle. But that's understandable. Tool - Thursday's headliner at the Tacoma Dome - was in the midst of a five-year hiatus that ended in May with its latest album "Lateralus." Meanwhile, Keenan was busy racing up the charts with A Perfect Circle, largely on the strength of that band's first single, "Judith." Sure, Keenan kept in touch with his Tool mates. But the question lingered in the back of their minds: Would he ditch the band that made him famous for his successful side project? "The fact that the Perfect Circle thing did pretty well, there were a few moments of insecurity when you weren't sure, is he coming back or what?" bassist Justin Chancellor said last week in a phone call from a San Antonio tour stop. As it turned out, the band's angst was for nothing. "It ended up being kind of a healthy, cathartic thing for (Keenan)," Chancellor said in a polite-sounding British accent that belied Tool's grim image. "I think if you feel you need to go and express yourself in a different arena, it's important to go let yourself do that. You've got to stay happy, you know. It's kind of like he got something out of his system and was really excited to get back to doing what we were doing before." The bassist said he knew next to nothing about Keenan's other side project - one that may greatly overshadow A Perfect Circle if it lives up to the buzz. Tapeworm - a supergroup that also includes Nine Inch Nails leader Trent Reznor - has collaborated in secrecy for months. Reznor criticized Keenan on Nine Inch Nails' official Web site after the Tool singer unveiled a Tapeworm song called "Vacant" in January while touring with A Perfect Circle. "I have to admit I find it mildly irritating for ("Vacant") to debut in this fashion before it has been properly realized," Reznor wrote. That aside, Tool is unified and back on track. "We're on Tool time now," Chancellor said. "People can do their own things, but people are pretty much focused on Tool right now." While Keenan was away with A Perfect Circle, Chancellor, drummer Danny Carey and guitarist Adam Jones worked on reinventing Tool's sound. "We really wanted to come up with something that kind of surprised ourselves even. We just decided to take as long as it took to do it," Chancellor said, downplaying other distractions that kept Tool out of the studio for years. Turmoil at the band's old label, Zoo, and a $5 million lawsuit filed by the band's former manager also slowed the creative process and gave Keenan incentive to pursue other creative outlets. Whatever the reasons, Chancellor said the wait was worth it: "I think it worked out. I think we were all pleased about it, and we didn't lose too many supporters." Last spring, the intricate, creeping bass riff that drives "Schism," the first single off "Lateralus," provided a sharp contrast to the heavy, brooding sounds of "Sober" and "Prison Sex" - the hits that, along with the grotesquely artsy videos that accompanied them, landed Tool in heavy rotation on MTV. "Lateralus," as a whole, showcases music that's more complex, free-flowing and subtle than much of the material on Tool's previous studio albums, "Opiate," "Undertow" and "Aenima." Fans will also notice that the band has downshifted emotionally from the rage expressed in earlier work. The title track of 1996's "Aenima" epitomizes the nihilistic vibe that runs through many of Tool's songs. On it, Keenan yearningly sings of an apocalyptic event that will wipe out his hometown, Los Angeles. One great big festering neon distraction I've a suggestion to keep you all occupied Learn to swim, learn to swim 'Cause mom's gonna fix it all soon Mom's comin' 'round to put it back the way it oughta be Chancellor put the sentiments in context: "LA's a pretty bizarre place," he said. "I think when you're trying to create something unique you tend to butt your head up against all the things that are trying to prevent you from doing that - the normal (stuff) that really drags you down. ... Everyone's suing everyone. Everyone wants to be an actor or an actress. It's kind of a lot of talk, you know, and not so much action. "On 'Opiate' and 'Undertow,' I think there was a little bit more of that frustration and releasing of that aggression. ('Aenima' is) kind of like the final release. We started feeling a little different and just a little more settled with things ourselves and (felt like) moving forward to more positive themes." These days, a more well-adjusted Tool works at refining its live sound. During the first leg of Tool's "Lateralus" tour, which stopped by Seattle's Paramount Theatre in August, Tool played only a few new tunes. Since then, Tool has added more of the new songs, such as "Triad," an instrumental track from "Lateralus." "It's fairly different from what we've put on the album," Chancellor said. "Now it's kind of our opening jam song. We've been having a lot of guest drummers. It's kind of an open palette; we like to take it wherever it can go." Fans also can expect an elaborate multimedia display of "weird, bizarre" images that projectionist Camella Grace controls from offstage. "She's essentially part of the band," Chancellor said. "She's almost like a DJ. She's jamming to the music, and she can actually sync the video up in perfect time to the music." That's not to mention the outrageous costuming Keenan is known for, including white body paint, dresses, wheelchairs, bikini briefs and prosthetic breasts. When asked what sorts of fashion statements Keenan would make this time around, Chancellor said only, "Leather and skin." Chancellor alluded to other surprises for the Tacoma show, but would only provide a single, cryptic clue: "Upside down." We'll just have to wait and see. Before Tool's surprises are unveiled, the crowd at the Dome will witness trip-hop poster boy Tricky, a man who's made a solo career off of mumbling over tweaked out samples and beats since he left British dub outfit Massive Attack in the early '90s. That's not exactly whom you'd expect to open for Tool, but that's the point. "People want something in the exact same vein, but hopefully it's a little more mind-opening for them," Chancellor said. "There is always going to be a group of people who see it and are going to be turned on by it. For us that's worth it. - - - * Staff writer Ernest Jasmin covers pop culture. Reach him at 253-274-7389 or ernest.jasmin@mail.tribnet.com. - - - SIDEBAR: Tool discography Lateralus (2000): The band breaks away from its death-metal image and strays into the realm of progressive art rock. Salival (2000): A 74-minute collection of live songs and studio outtakes. Includes a DVD of the band's creepy videos. Aneima (1996): This disc marks the peak of the band's angry period. Don't be fooled by the spelling. It's pronounced "enima." Undertow (1993): The band branches out musically on this breakthrough album. Opiate (1992): Features "Hush" and other hard-rocking tunes Tool played as an opening act for Henry Rollins and Rage Against the Machine. - - - SIDEBAR: Despite dark imagery, Tool has lighter side With morbid hits such as "Prison Sex" and "Sober" and a string of videos that are grotesque enough to give Wes Craven the creeps, Tool has earned its reputation as the most disturbed band to top the pop charts. (Marilyn Manson is technically a solo act, after all.) But there's a dark little secret that might blow its brooding image: The band has a sense of humor. Case in point: The German rant on the "Aenima" track "Die Eier von Satan" sounds a lot like someone speaking at a World War II Nazi rally. But the speaker - listed as Marko Fox in the album's liner notes - is actually talking about something less sinister than world domination and genocide. "It was kind of an experiment, you know - just the idea of how languages can be misinterpreted because of their character," bassist Justin Chancellor says, chuckling at the inside joke. "German sounds real aggressive ... but it was actually just a cookie recipe. "If you look carefully there's humor in there," he says, alluding to other jokes sprinkled in with Tool's stark, high- decibel rock. "They're lost on some people, but it only takes a bit of time to figure it out." But inside jokes are just scratching the surface. Check out other evidence the band has a light side: * Frontman Maynard James Keenan and drummer Danny Carey were members of the campy rock band Green Jello, which became Green Jelly with some encouragement from the folks at Jell-O. Some may remember the goofy claymation video for "Three Little Pigs" that aired on MTV during the grunge era. Call it a precursor to Tool's love of animated videos. * Keenan and guitarist Adam Jones used to do stand-up comedy around Los Angeles. Keenan was even cast in an episode of HBO's sketch comedy series "Mr. Show." * Before the release of last year's "Lateralus" album, the band poked fun at its death-metal image by posting fake titles for upcoming songs on its Web page. They included "Encephatalis," "Coeliacus," "Pain Canal" and "Lactation." * Here's the biggest shocker: Keenan told Spin magazine that he grew up listening to Joni Mitchell's music. Wow! How do you go from listening to "Help Me" to writing songs like "Stinkfist" and "Ticks & Leeches"? - - - PREVIEW * What: Tool, Tricky in concert. * When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday. * Where: Tacoma Dome. * Tickets: $38.50. * Information: Ticketmaster (253-627-8497 in Tacoma, 206- 628-2151 in Seattle or www.ticketmaster.com). © The News Tribune 11/06/2001
Posted to t.d.n: 11/06/01 21:48:31