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Maynard James Keenan (born April 17, 1964, as James Herbert Keenan) is an American rock singer. He has been a member of the bands Tool since 1990 and A Perfect Circle since 1999.

Biography

Keenan was born to a Baptist family in Ravenna, Ohio, on April 17 1964. He joined the Army in 1982. By that time he had lived in Ohio, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas. He studied at West Point Academy prepschool from 1983 to 1984; however, he eventually left the military to study art at Kendall College of Art and Design in Grand Rapids, Michigan, which eventually landed him a job in Los Angeles "applying spatial design concepts" to pet stores. Before his years with Tool, Keenan sang for Children of the Anachronistic Dynasty, and played bass guitar for TexAns.

In the 1980s Keenan moved to Los Angeles, apparently to work in interior design. He formed Tool with guitarist Adam Jones and bassist Paul d'Amour (later replaced by Justin Chancellor). The lineup was not completed until Keenan's neighbor drummer Danny Carey agreed to join.

They released the Opiate EP in 1992 and toured with friendly bands Fishbone and Rage Against the Machine. Shortly thereafter, the U.S. saw the release of Tool's 1993 debut album, Undertow, which eventually launched the band into success. Keenan's lyrics and vocals were melodic, grim, and angst-ridden. However, as Keenan continued to record with Tool, his lyrics evolved into increasingly introspective and spiritual works that focused not only on anger but on the positive benefits of transcending it.

Keenan has repeatedly used his voice to advance issues which are of special interest to him, among them being an appearance at a benefit concert for Tori Amos' RAINN (the Rape, Abuse, Incest National Network) on 1997-01-23 at the Madison Square Garden in New York City.

So this is one of my dearest friends. This is Maynard from Tool, and uh, I call him up when I'm feeling terrible and he sings me lullabies. So I asked him to come and sing tonight. (Tori Amos, introducing Keenan to the audience at the RAINN benefit concert)

After the release of Ænima the band would find themselves in a prolonged legal battle with their label Volcano Records (formerly Zoo Records). Following this legal battle, which resulted in a new three record deal, the members of Tool decided to take some time off. (The frustration of this legal battle led to the writing of the song Ticks and Leeches) During this period, Keenan found time to work with Billy Howerdel (a guitar tech known to the band) on a different project. The band they formed, A Perfect Circle, began performing in 1999 and released its first album Mer de Noms in 2000. They eventually released a successful follow-up, Thirteenth Step in 2003. In 2004 they released an album comprised mostly of covers titled "Emotive".

In February, 2005, Keenan appeared as a surprise vocalist at a Seattle benefit concert for victims of the recent tsunami in southern Asia, performing with the partly reformed Alice in Chains in place of the deceased vocalist Layne Staley on the songs "Them Bones", "Man in the Box" and "Rooster."

Keenan is unmarried and has one son named Devo (born August 5, 1995). He was engaged to Jennifer Fergusson, but they broke up before marrying. The song "Breña," by A Perfect Circle, uses her middle name, while another song bears the name of Keenan's mother, Judith.

Keenan's newest project is winemaking. He owns Merkin Vineyards and Caduceus Cellars, based in the unincorporated area of Page Springs/Cornville, Arizona, southwest of Sedona.

In 2003, Keenan surfaced under the moniker "Puscifer" on the soundtrack for the movie Underworld. Puscifer is a cover name for non-Tool related work with Danny Lohner, former member of Nine Inch Nails. They contributed the song "REV 22:20". In 2006, Puscifer contributed a song to the Underworld sequel, Evolution. This track is called "The Undertaker (Renholder Mix)". That same year Keenan explained in an interview conducted by French magazine "Rock Hard", that his band A Perfect Circle is not only on hiatus due to the release of Tool's fourth full-length studio album, but finished.*

Keenan and Comedy

Bill Hicks

Keenan became friends with legendary comedian Bill Hicks in the early 1990s. Keenan did stand-up comedy on improv nights in comedy clubs in Los Angeles during that time, delivering - according to a friend of Hicks - inspiring comedy.They got to know each other and eventually, Bill Hicks opened some Tool concerts. Best known is a routine Hicks did on Tool's Lollapalooza tour in 1992, when he asked the audience to look for a contact lens he'd lost. Thousands of people complied. [http://www.fadetoblack.com/interviews/billhicks/13.html Keenan so enjoyed this joke, he repeated it on a number of occasions.

Mr. Show

Keenan is featured in several segments of Mr. Show most notably in the Ronnie Dobbs sketch in the first season. In one scene he is seen being arrested with Ronnie Dobbs, then later on in that sketch he is featured wearing a wig as the lead singer of a fictitious band "Puscifer," defending Ronnie (pictured to the right with co-starring bandmate Adam Jones). He also appears in episode 2.6, "The Velveteen Touch of a Dandy Fop," as one of the viewers of "Coupon: The Movie," saying "Now is not the time" and waving the cameras away in disgust after walking out of the theatre. He also appears in the "music video" "sex" scene on the straight-to-DVD feature of the Mr. Show incarnation Run Ronnie Run.

Finding Jesus

On April 1 2005 Keenan announced as an April Fool's joke - to the shock of many of his fans and friends - that he had "found jesus *" and would be abandoning the recording of the new Tool album temporarily, possibly permanently.

Kurt Loder of MTV contacted Keenan via email to ask for a confirmation and received a very nonchalant confirmation. When Loder asked again, Keenan's response was simply "heh heh". Loder also noted that Keenan had not capitalized Jesus, uncommon for someone who had just converted to Christianity. The announcement was most likely inspired by Brian "Head" Welch's 2005 decision to leave his band KoЯn to dedicate his life to Christianity.

On April 7, the official Tool site announced that the gag was up with the statement; "Good news, April fools fans. The writing and recording is back under way." When approached for comment on his recent encounter with the "Son of God", Keenan said, "That guy's a punk!"

Discography

With Tool

With A Perfect Circle

As Puscifer

Releases featured

and (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding (Live))

Other appearances

Trivia

External links

1964 births | American male singers | American rock singers | Tool | United States Army soldiers | Non-graduate alumni of West Point | Critics of Scientology | People from Ohio | Ohio musicians | Living people

Maynard James Keenan | Maynard James Keenan | Maynard James Keenan | Maynard James Keenan | Maynard James Keenan | Maynard James Keenan | Maynard James Keenan | Maynard James Keenan | Maynard James Keenan | Maynard James Keenan | Maynard James Keenan | Maynard James Keenan

 

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