Publication: San Diego Union Tribune
Date: October, 2001
Transcribed by
John Schroeder (jschrojr@yahoo.com)
John Schroeder (jschrojr@yahoo.com)
page: title: author: George Varga THE TOOL MAN | Blistering band's frontman puts his mind to the world's problems The San Diego Union - Tribune; San Diego, Calif.; Oct 25, 2001; George Varga; Abstract: "They're a huge influence," [Maynard James Keenan] said of Crimson, whose guitarist, Robert Fripp, joined Tool on stage at their joint SDSU show. (Tool's Carrey had earlier drummed with Crimson for its closing number.) Tool's first album, 1994's "Undertow," quietly sold a million copies, which was 997,000 more than its 1992 EP, "Opiate." The band's second album, 1996's "Aenima," sold more than 2 million copies, thanks to such galvanizing songs as "Useful Idiot," "Stinkfist" and "Hooker With a Penis," a blistering and funny rebuttal to a trendy fan who accused Keenan and Tool of selling out. 5 PICS; 1. (Maynard James Keenan) 2. JUSTIN CHANCELLOR - - BASS (NIGHT & DAY-6) 3. [Danny Carey] -- DRUMS (NIGHT & DAY-6) 4. [Adam Jones] -- GUITAR (NIGHT & DAY-6) 5. MAYNARD JAMES KEENAN -- VOCALS (NIGHT & DAY-6) Full Text: Copyright SAN DIEGO UNION TRIBUNE PUBLISHING COMPANY Oct 25, 2001 For information box see end of text. Maynard James Keenan is the mystery man of rock, as reclusive as pop tart Britney Spears and her ubiquitous navel are overexposed. As the singer, lyricist and frontman for Tool, one of the most intense and uncompromising bands around, he rivals Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor as a charismatically brooding frontman and heroic antihero. But while Reznor regularly consents to interviews, Keenan rarely does. A search of the Lexis-Nexis data base, which includes more than 9,000 newspapers, magazines, wire services and radio and TV transcripts, came up with an average of just two Keenan interviews a year since Tool's national emergence in 1992. Accordingly, a request to speak to the press-wary singer, who performs here with Tool on Halloween night at SDSU's Cox Arena, was swiftly turned down by the band's New York publicist. So it was surprising when a scheduled interview with Tool drummer Danny Carey was switched, at the last moment, to one with Keenan. Perhaps even more surprising, the eloquent vocalist freely spoke about a wide array of topics. They ranged from his opposition to U.S. bombing of Afghanistan and his three-year stint in the U.S. Army to his earliest musical influences (the Jackson 5, Roberta Flack, Joni Mitchell and Black Sabbath) and Tool's efforts to avoid becoming like a fast-food commodity. Indeed, the battle to achieve individual self-expression in an increasingly monolithic society has been a cornerstone of Keenan's songs since Tool's inception. This focus makes Tool's fiercely independent music and themes of alienation and transcendence all the more relevant in this time of explosive global conflict. "Absolutely," said Keenan, speaking from a recent concert stop in Memphis. "The source of most of our music is from some quiet space, an introspective realm. We kind of get into that Zen space within our rehearsals. ... So in light of the (current) conflict that we're experiencing, the elements of communication definitely come into play, or the lack of communication, the lack of compassion, the lack of understanding, the fanaticism." Keenan, 36, momentarily hesitated. "I can't say anything right now," he said of the U.S.-led war against terrorism. "No matter what you say, it's construed by someone as an anti-American statement -- even when it's the same thing you've said all along (in Tool), which is: `Think for yourself, and question authority.' "The more we'll talk about this, the more I'll shoot off my mouth and end up in (`Politically Incorrect' TV host) Bill Maher's shoes. Every now and then, you get people who tend to forget what this country is about, which is a melting pot of races and cultures and freedom of speech. And as soon as you open your mouth and speak freely, (stuff) gets thrown at you. ... I just don't think that murder is an option to figure out a way to punish the guilty." Keenan is quick to stress that Tool is not a political band, per se. But he acknowledged that his group provides an outlet for listeners in search of sonic and emotional release. He also acknowledged that some Tool fans don't share his views on the current world situation, or his aim of making Tool's concerts something far more lofty than mosh-pit frenzies. "Our shows are `gatherings,' as we call them," Keenan said. "They are much more of a sacred ceremony, like watching a film or attending a vigil. They are about seeking truth. But if people need to gather together in some way that resembles a pep rally or a football game, I can't really judge it." No regrets An Ohio native, Keenan enlisted in the Army in 1982, in what he now regards as a misguided effort to underwrite becoming an artist on the GI Bill. He views his military service with mixed emotions, but has no regrets about his decision to not become an officer. "I was in the Army for three years," he said. "I received an appointment to West Point; I'm probably the only musician in my peer group who can say that. So `anti-American' is not a label you can put on me. I received a distinguished graduate certificate from my basic training and advanced training. And if I'm `the model soldier,' then we have problems. "You learn how to co-exist in the Army, how to survive, and how it's all about relationships. You walk into a situation with prejudices and unjustified hatred, and then, when you sit in a tent with someone in middle of the desert, doing training, you learn about each other and learn you're all in this together." In 1990, Keenan co-founded the Los Angeles-based Tool, after playing in two earlier bands, TexAns and Children of the Anachronistic Dynasty. With drummer Carey, guitarist Adam Jones and bassist Paul D'Amour (who was replaced in 1995 by Justin Chancellor), he established Tool as a welcome anomaly: a blistering, hard- rocking band that thinks as hard as it rocks. The group refuses to appear in its videos, which instead feature the same nightmarish animation employed at Tool's concerts. Tool's tension-and-release-filled music draws from neo- heavy- metal thunder, alt-rock textures and Goth-like moodiness. It also aspirers to the polyrhythmic intricacies of King Crimson, the pioneering English prog-rock band that was Tool's special guest for part of its summer tour this year, which included a sold-out show at SDSU's Open Air Theatre. "They're a huge influence," Keenan said of Crimson, whose guitarist, Robert Fripp, joined Tool on stage at their joint SDSU show. (Tool's Carey had earlier drummed with Crimson for its closing number.) "The beauty of what they have to offer," Keenan continued, "is they've always kind of said: `We're merely a stepping-stone. Just take what we've done, and go to another level with it.' "And, hopefully, thats what's happening with people who are responding to what we're doing. I hope they're hearing where we came from and where we may end up, but also where we went wrong and what we're missing, so they can push things farther." Tool's first album, 1994's "Undertow," quietly sold a million copies, which was 997,000 more than its 1992 EP, "Opiate." The band's second album, 1996's "Aenima," sold more than 2 million copies, thanks to such galvanizing songs as "Useful Idiot," "Stinkfist" and "Hooker With a Penis," a blistering and funny rebuttal to a trendy fan who accused Keenan and Tool of selling out. The band's third and latest album, "Lateralus," hit No. 1 on the national Billboard album charts earlier this year. Its release was delayed by a protracted legal battle between Tool and its record company, and by Keenan's work with A Perfect Circle, the band he formed a few years ago with guitarist- composer Billy Howerdel. Many of Tool's songs deal with bleak subject matter. But the fury of its lyrics and music ultimately provide a form of catharsis. "I guess that's what it's mostly about," Keenan said. "If we can get to some core moment, or a realization or observation that rings true in our (Tool's) truth, then certainly it will help someone else work through something, or see something more clearly." And what about humor, a less overt but important Tool ingredient? "I think the humor gets overlooked quite a bit," he said. "We're very big fans of the Kids in the Hall, Mr. Show and old Monty Python and Steve Martin stuff. So it's difficult for us to not go directly to the advanced sense of humor in these stark times, if nothing else for release. You have to laugh, or you'll cry." DATEBOOK Tool, with Tricky 7:30 p.m. Wednesday Cox Arena, 5500 Canyon Crest Drive, SDSU $35 (619) 222-TIXS [
Posted to t.d.n: 11/09/01 13:28:12