Maynard James Keenan

Maynard James Keenan
Maynard James Keenan
	Keenan performing as part of A Perfect Circle in 2018
Background information
Birth name	James Herbert Keenan
Born	April 17, 1964 (age 60); Ravenna, Ohio, United States
Origin	Los Angeles, California, United States
Genres	Progressive metal, alternative rock, industrial metal, hard rock, experimental
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, bass guitar, keyboard instruments
Years active	1985–1987, 1990–present

Maynard James Keenan (born James Herbert Keenan on April 17, 1964) is an American rock singer, songwriter, musician, and producer. He sings in the band Tool, and also in the band A Perfect Circle. He has a side project called Puscifer.

Early life

James Herbert Keenan was born in Ravenna, Ohio on April 17, 1964. His mother is Judith and his father is Michael, who was a high school teacher. Keenan's parents divorced when he was three years old, and Michael moved away. Keenan did not see him very much for the next 12 years. Later, his mother married someone else. He was mean and did not allow Keenan to be creative.^[1] When Keenan was 11, his mother, Judith, had a brain aneurysm that paralyzed her. Two years later, she told Keenan to move to Michigan with his father.

The Army

Keenan's photo in a United States Military Academy Preparatory School yearbook (class of 1984)

Keenan joined the United States Army after he graduated from high school. He wanted to use the G.I. Bill to go to art school. He joined the United States Military Academy Preparatory School (West Point Prep School) where he picked up the nickname "Maynard".^[2] He did very well in his training,^[3] but said no to an offer to stay in the Army and work at West Point. He decided to start his music career instead.

Art

After being honorably discharged from the Army, Keenan went back to Michigan to go to art school. Then, in 1988, he moved to Los Angeles, California to help design the inside of pet stores.^[4] He was fired from this job and then worked creating movie sets.^[5] He also played bass guitar in a band and sang for another band.

Music career

Keenan started playing music soon after leaving art school. He and Adam Jones formed Tool. Keenan formed A Perfect Circle in 1999. They had 4 albums: Mer De Noms, The Thirteenth Step, eMOTIVe and Eat the Elephant. He then left again to be with his family. He now has a vineyard where he makes wine but still takes tours for his working side project; Puscifer. Tool released an album in 2019 named Fear Inoculum.

Tool

Keenan met Adam Jones in Los Angeles. They started the band Tool in 1990. The band's line up later became Keenan as singer, Jones playing guitar, Danny Carey playing drums, and Paul D'Amour playing bass. When D'Amour left the band, Justin Chancellor took his place.^[6] Tool signed to Zoo Entertainment in November 1991.

Maynard James Keenan Media

Keenan performing with Tool on December 12, 2006
A Perfect Circle performing in 2018
Puscifer performing in 2011
Keenan at Lollapalooza 2011
Maynard James Keenan's Caduceus branded wines

References

↑ McAlley, John. (December 2007). "I, Puscifer Archived 2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine". Spin, pp.82-86. Retrieved on July 23, 2008.
↑ Loder, Kurt. "Maynard James Keenan: Not Yet A Legend, Not Yet Dead". MTV News. Viacom. Retrieved January 19, 2008.
↑ Varga, George (October 31, 2004). "Fired up and emoting on the state of politics, and more". The San Diego Union-Tribune. http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20041031/news_1a31varga.html. Retrieved January 19, 2008. "A standout soldier, he received an appointment to West Point, making him one of the few current musicians in alternative-rock who was poised for a career as a military officer.".
↑ Dolan, Jon (August 2006). "33 Things You Should Know About Tool Archived 2008-05-09 at the Wayback Machine". Blender. Retrieved on February 11, 2008.
↑ Burgess, Aaron (November 30, 2006). "Interview: Maynard James Keenan Archived 2008-01-11 at the Wayback Machine". A.V. Club. Retrieved on January 16, 2008.
↑ Turman, Katherine (May 31, 1994). "A Sober Look At Tool". Circus Magazine. Danny Carey, was an accomplished drummer who agreed to sit in with them. Someone who knew both Jones and original bassist D'amour introduced the two, and soon D'amour completed the line up of the soon to be named band, Tool.

Other websites

MaynardJamesKeenan.com, currently redirecting to the Puscifer website
Maynard James Keenan on IMDb
Wine Spectator Online Archived 2008-07-04 at the Wayback Machine, where Maynard maintains a running blog about wine collecting and winemaking.

[McAlley-1] McAlley, John. (December 2007). "I, Puscifer Archived 2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine". Spin, pp.82-86. Retrieved on July 23, 2008.

[legend-2] Loder, Kurt. "Maynard James Keenan: Not Yet A Legend, Not Yet Dead". MTV News. Viacom. Retrieved January 19, 2008.

[Varga-3] Varga, George (October 31, 2004). "Fired up and emoting on the state of politics, and more". The San Diego Union-Tribune. http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20041031/news_1a31varga.html. Retrieved January 19, 2008. "A standout soldier, he received an appointment to West Point, making him one of the few current musicians in alternative-rock who was poised for a career as a military officer.".

[Blender-4] Dolan, Jon (August 2006). "33 Things You Should Know About Tool Archived 2008-05-09 at the Wayback Machine". Blender. Retrieved on February 11, 2008.

[AV-5] Burgess, Aaron (November 30, 2006). "Interview: Maynard James Keenan Archived 2008-01-11 at the Wayback Machine". A.V. Club. Retrieved on January 16, 2008.

[circusmagazine-6] Turman, Katherine (May 31, 1994). "A Sober Look At Tool". Circus Magazine. Danny Carey, was an accomplished drummer who agreed to sit in with them. Someone who knew both Jones and original bassist D'amour introduced the two, and soon D'amour completed the line up of the soon to be named band, Tool.

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