Everything you need to know about Maynard James Keenan
Brush up on your knowledge of the Tool frontman
From army trainee to Grammy award-winning alt-rock superstar to renowned winemaker, Maynard James Keenan's life and career so far has been unique. The Tool, A Perfect Circle and Puscifer frontman is also known for being one of the most enigmatic artists in rock music and often shuns the spotlight - quite literally at live shows.
From his music career to his passion for martial arts and wine, keep on reading to find out more about Maynard James Keenan, including all the details about Tool's upcoming UK tour dates in 2024.
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Who is Maynard James Keenan?
Maynard James Keenan, whose real name is James Herbert Keenan, describes himself as a 'world-class multitasker, winemaker and entertainer.' He is most famous for being the frontman of heavy metal band Tool, but is also in bands, A Perfect Circle and Puscifer.
When he was still in high school, Keenan would write poems and draw illustrations of a fictional character named Maynard. He decided that this would make the perfect stage name and started using it as a nickname when he was still in the military.
How old is Maynard James Keenan?
Maynard James Keenan was born on the 17th April 1964 in Ravenna, Ohio, making him 59-years-old at the time of writing.
Where is Maynard James Keenan from?
Maynard James Keenan was brought up Ravenna, Ohio during this early childhood before moving to Scotsville, Michigan to live with his father after his mother had a stroke. He now resides in Jerome, Arizona.
Was Maynard James Keenan in the military?
Yes. After being inspired by Bill Murray's character in the 1981 movie 'Stripes', Keenan joined the United States Army in 1982. After finishing his advanced training, Maynard was invited to attend West Point, a highly selective school renowned for creating top military leaders. It was then that he realised he didn't belong there and decided to leave in 1984.
Maynard James Keenan's rise to fame
Maynard James Keenan developed his unconventional vocal rhythms when he was running cross-country in high school. Rather than breathing in and out like most people, he found himself breathing in time to his footsteps, which would later help him to develop his impressive vocal range.
Keenan joined several bands including Children of the Anachronistic Dynasty during the '80s and was even considered as a potential vocalist for Rage Against The Machine (he later sang on their 1992 single 'Know Your Enemy'). In 1990, Maynard met Adam Jones, who loved his unusual vocal style after hearing it on a demo and the duo decided to form the band Tool along with drummer Danny Carey and bassist Paul D'Amour.
Tool's first two albums, 'Undertow' (1993) and 'Ænima' (1996) helped the band break into the mainstream, with the latter reaching Number 2 in the UK charts upon its release. Since then, Tool have released three more albums, sold 13 million records in the US alone and won four Grammy-Awards for Best Metal Performance and Best Recording Package.
Whilst on a brief hiatus from Tool in 1996, Maynard also started the band A Perfect Circle with Billy Howerdel and released their first album 'Mer de Noms' in 2000, followed by 'Thirteenth Step' in 2002. Both albums have since been certified platinum and helped make Maynard James Keenan an even bigger household name.
In addition to this, Maynard James Keenan has also collaborated with huge artists such as David Bowie, Alice In Chains, Thirty Seconds To Mars, Rage Against The Machine and Deftones over the years.
Can he play any instruments?
Even though he is most well known for being a vocalist, Maynard James Keenan can play multiple instruments including the guitar, keyboard and piano. Before Tool was formed in 1990, he played bass in a band called TexA.N.S and has previously played guitar during Tool's live shows.
Does he write his own songs?
Maynard James Keenan is the writing force behind the majority of Tool's songs but the band maintain that the writing process is initially a collaborative one. The band will discuss the topics they would like to discuss, which have previously included death, spirituality and self-identity, and then Keenan sets about writing the lyrics.
Keenan's writing style has often been described as highly personal, deep and intelligent. The song 'Lateralus' is particularly clever because the number of syllables per line corresponds to an arrangement of the Fibonacci numbers. He's also written songs about his Mother's passing, including A Perfect Circles' 'Judith' and Tool's 'Jimmy' and 'Wings for Marie'.
Is Maynard James Keenan married?
Maynard James Keenan and his wife Lei Li, who is a Caduceus lab manager, were married in 2012. They share a daughter, Lei Li Agostina Maria who was born on 25th July 2014 and her name, which is the same as her Mother and Grandmother, means 'night nocturnal'.
Keenan also has a son, Devo Keenan with former fiancée, Jennifer Brena Ferguson. Devo was born on 5th August 1995 and is now a musician like his father. The pair have performed on stage together on multiple occasions, usually with Keenan's band Puscifer.
Are Tool going on tour?
They are. After cancelling a number of live shows due to the pandemic, Tool returned to live performances in 2022, embarking on their 'Fear Innoculum Tour'. Then, in November 2023, Tool announced that they will be embarking on a UK and European tour the following year.
Tool's 2024 arena tour will include three dates in the UK - these being at Birmingham Resorts World Arena on Thursday 30th May, Manchester AO Arena on Saturday 1st June, and London The O2 on Monday 3rd June – the same three venues they played when on tour in May 2022.
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4 interesting facts about Maynard James Keenan
1) He's a purple belt in the martial art of Brazilian jiu-jitsu
Maynard James Keenan has been training in the popular mixed-martial art, known for its grappling technique, under the guidance of jiu-jitsu icon Rickson Gracie since the mid-1990s. He was awarded his purple belt when he was 51 years old after recovering from a series of injuries.
2) He owns his own vineyard and winery
In addition to his music career, Maynard also owns Merkin Vineyards and Caduceus Cellars Winery in Arizona, which he bought in 2009. His wife, Lei Li is the manager of the lab for Caduceus Cellars Winery and the pair sell a whole host of products, including the Puscifer Queen B Sparkling Mead and run a wine-tasting club called The Velvet Slipper Club.
Maynard also featured in the winery documentary 'Blood Into Wine' in 2010, which talked about the Northern Arizona wine industry and focused on the Caduceus wine brand.
3) He creates vegan and cruelty-free wine
While many winemakers use egg whites and a fish bladder derivative called Isinglass to filter their wines, Keenan's wines contain no animal products and go through an all-natural filtration process.
However, this was apparently unintentional. In 2016, Keenan famously posted a selfie on Instagram showing a middle finger to vegans and holding a piece of bacon. The caption read, 'To my horror I realized (the wines) were in fact vegan. So I fixed them. Bacon is life.' Despite this, his winery Caduceus Cellars continues to produce vegan and cruelty-free wine to this day.
4) His hair is not real
While many have speculated it over the years, Maynard James Keenan's long blonde locks that he often wears onstage are not real. In fact, he's been wearing wigs onstage throughout his career as part of his often outlandish stage outfits. From mohawks to mullets and ponytails, Keenan has worn them all!
As for his stage outfits, Keenan has worn bras, police riot gear, body paint and even Mexican wrestling masks during his performances with Tool, A Perfect Circle and Puscifer.
What is Maynard James Keenan up to now?
Maynard James Keenan's band Puscifer released their latest album, 'Existential Reckoning', in late 2020 and debuted at Number 7 on the Billboard US Top Alternative Albums chart upon its release. Tool, on the other hand, released their first album in 13 years in 2019, called 'Fear Inoculum’.
After headlining Download Festival UK in June 2019, Tool were set to extensively tour the US last year to promote their new album, but due to the pandemic were forced to cancel all of their 2020 tour dates. They managed, however, to reschedule these these and embark on the tour in 2022.
Tool are now set to embark on another tour in 2024, confirming a series of shows for May and June 2024 - including three UK dates.
1990: Career beginnings
After playing in several bands during the 80s, Maynard James Keenan formed the band Tool with drummer Danny Carey, bass player Paul D'Amour and guitarist Adam Jones in Los Angeles back in 1990. The name of the band is said to stand for how they want their music to be a "tool" to aid in understanding lachrymology; a religion created by the band that focuses on the "science of crying". Signed by Zoo Entertainment in 1991, Tool released their first EP 'Opiate' a year later.
1993: Debut album 'Unleashed'
Tool unleashed their debut album, 'Undertow' in April 1993, It was certified Gold after just eight months and Platinum less than a year later. In the years since it was released, 'Undertow' has sold over 2.9 million copies in the US alone.
1996: Grammy Award win
Buoyed by the success of their first album, Maynard and Tool released their second album - the progressive metal opus 'Ænima' - in October 1996. The album debuted at Number 2 stateside and the band won the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance later that year. After a prolonged legal battle with their label over contract violations in the late 90s, Tool went on a hiatus. During this time, Maynard went under the alias 'Gaylord C.' and collaborated with Primus' Tim Alexander and Faith No More's Mike Bordin on 'Choked', a song for the 1997 drumming compilation album, 'Flyin' Traps'.
1999: A Perfect Circle is formed
Whilst still on a break from Tool, Maynard James Keenan formed the band A Perfect Circle with his friend Billy Howerdel who had worked as a guitar tech for Tool. Joining forces with guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen, drummer Tim Alexander and bass player Paz Lenchantin, A Perfect Circle started to perform and released their sublime first album 'Mer de Noms' in 2000.
2001: The return of Tool
Five years after the release of 'Ænima', Tool ended their hiatus and released their astonishing third album 'Lateralus' in May 2001. Maynard was praised for his songwriting on the album and it became a worldwide success, reaching Number 1 in the US. Tool also received their second Grammy Award for the Best Metal Performance of 2001 for the song 'Schism'.
2003: Puscifer is born
In 2003, Maynard started working under the pseudonym Puscifer; a solo project that he's described as his "creative subconscious". Later that year, he recorded the song 'REV 22:20' for the Underworld movie soundtrack. Also in 2003, A Perfect Circle released their successful follow-up album 'Thirteenth Step', which is inspired by 12-step recovery programs. The album reached Number 2 in the US and stayed in the chart for a whopping 78 weeks. A year later, they released the album 'Emotive', which was certified Gold the month after its release. A Perfect Circle soon announced that they would be going on a hiatus. If that wasn't enough, Maynard also launched his own winery in 2004, which he names Caduceus Cellars.
2005: '10,000 Days' album and Underworld soundtrack
Sixteen years after the band's formation, Tool released the 2006 album '10,000 Days', which was inspired by grief after Maynard sadly lost his mother in 2003. The album went straight to No.1 in the US and sold over 564,000 copies in its opening week. During this time, Puscifer also featured on the Underworld: Evolution movie soundtrack with the song 'The Undertaker (Renholder Mix)', which provided more exposure for Maynard's solo project.
2007: Puscifer launch a clothing line
Maynard James Keenan financed and released Puscifer's debut studio album '"V" Is for Vagina' in October 2007. The album was predominantly recorded while he was on tour with Tool and was considered a radical departure for Maynard. The following year, Puscifer became a clothing brand and opened their first retail store in October 2008. As well as merchandise for the group, Maynard also sold local art and limited edition collectibles in the store.
2009: Lollapalooza headline slot
Maynard debuted Puscifer at a handful of shows in Las Vegas, with the help of a revolving line-up. Later that year, Tool embarked on a summer tour in 2009, which included headline sets at Chicago's Lollapalooza Festival and Colorado's Mile High Music Festival. To honour the memory of his late mother, Maynard unveils his Cabernet Sauvignon "Nagual del Judith" in April 2009, which was made entirely from fruit from his vineyard. Maynard James Keenan also made a cameo appearance in the 2009 movie Crank: High Voltage.
2010: Maynard features in a wine-making documentary
In early 2010, Maynard is featured in the documentary film, 'Blood into Wine: The Arizona Stronghold' about winemaking in the Arizona Desert. The documentary's soundtrack included remixes of Puscifer songs which were later released as part of the 2010 remix album, 'Sound into Blood into Wine'. Following a six-year hiatus, A Perfect Circle reformed in 2010 with the line-up of Maynard, Billy Howerdel, James Iha, Matt McJunkins and Josh Freese and embark on a US tour. When A Perfect Circle's tour ended, Maynard released Puscifer's second album, 'Conditions of My Parole' in October 2011, which reached Number 27 on the US chart.
2013: Tool play Ozzfest
In February 2013, Puscifer released their EP 'Donkey Punch the Night', which included covers of Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody' and Accept's 'Balls to the Wall'. Following on from the EP's released the band play their first ever shows outside of North America, including performances at Lollapalooza Brazil and Lollapalooza Chile. Tool also played at Ozzy Osbourne's Ozzfest Japan in May 2013, alongside titans such as Slipknot, Deftones, Black Sabbath and Stone Sour.
2015: Maynard releases his autobiography
Maynard James Keenan and his band Puscifer release their third studio album 'Money Shot' in October 2015. An avid-martial arts enthusiast, Maynard was also awarded his purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu in 2015 after years of training. Despite being renowned for his elusive personality, Maynard released his authorised biography, 'A Perfect Union of Contrary Things' in November 2016, which offered fans more insight into his career and personal life and was written by Maynard's friend of 30 years, Sarah Jensen.
2017: A Perfect Circle return
After a few years of inactivity, A Perfect Circle emerged again in 2017 and released their fourth studio album 'Eat the Elephant' the following year. This was the band's first album in 14 years and it debuted as Number 2 in the US.
2019: Tool's first album in 13 years
'Fear Inoculum', Tool's fifth studio album was released in August 2019, their first album in 13 years. The album topped the charts in the US, New Zealand, Canada and Australia upon its release and was the third best-selling digital album of 2019. In January 2020, Tool won yet another Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance for the album track, '7empest'. Puscifer, whose line-up now consisted of Maynard, Carina Round and Mat Mitchell, released 'Existential Reckoning' in October 2020 - the band's fourth studio album which is heavily inspired by Maynard's interest in extraterrestrial lifeforms.
2021: Puscifer's global streaming event
Tool were set to embark on a US tour to promote their new album 'Fear Inncoculum', but due to the pandemic were forced to cancel all of their 2020 tour dates. However, Puscifer took part in a global streaming event called 'Billy D and the Hall of Feathered Serpents featuring Money $hot by Puscifer' on 17th April 2021. Ahead of the event, Maynard promised it would be an "otherworldly event" with the band playing hits from their album 'Money Shot'.
2022: Tool return to live touring
After not performing live at all in 2021, Tool returned in triumphant form with the 'Fear Innoculum' arena tour that kicked off in the US in January 2022. In April, they brought it to our shores here in Europe, their first full European arena tour in 15 years. We were at the opening date in Copenhagen, and were blown away by the phenomenally loud sound and dazzling visuals. Read our full review here.
2023: Tool announce 2024 arena tour
In November 2023, Tool announced an arena tour for May and June 2024. Maynard James Keenan, Adam Jones, Danny Carey and Justin Chancellor revealed that they will play a total of 15 European shows in the early summer - including three arena dates in England. The UK dates take place at Birmingham Resorts World Arena on Thursday 30th May 2024, Manchester AO Arena on Saturday 1st June, and London The O2 on Monday 3rd June.
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