Maynard James Keenan

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.

Maynard and Comedy

Bill Hicks

Maynard became friends with legendary comedian Bill Hicks in the early 1990s. Maynard 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.http://www.fadetoblack.com/interviews/billhicks/13.html 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 Maynard so enjoyed this joke he repeated it on a number of occasions.

Related Topics:
Bill Hicks - Improv - Routine - Lollapalooza - Contact lens

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Finding Jesus"

On April 1, 2005 Maynard 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 Ko?n to dedicate his life to Christianity.

Related Topics:
Kurt Loder - MTV - Jesus - Brian "Head" Welch's - Ko?n

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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, Maynard said, "That guy's a punk!"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~