Maynard James Keenan (born April 17, 1964, as James Herbert Keenan) is an American rock singer. He has been a member of the band Tool since 1990 and A Perfect Circle from 1999-2005 (hiatus).

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 Green Jellÿ and 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 the 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. Henry Rollins, singer for Black Flag and Rollins Band, appeared on Undertow.

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.

During the 1980s the future members of Tool, guitarist/bassist Paul d'Amour, drummer Danny Carey, guitarist Adam Jones and singer Maynard James Keenan coincidentally moved to Los Angeles. Both d'Amour and Jones wanted to enter the film industry. Carey became a professional drummer playing for Carole King, Pigmy Love Circus and Green Jellÿ.

Tool appeared on the 2nd stage Lollapalooza in 1993. Jones, Keenan and Carey are pictured from left to right, performing "Sober". Keenan, along with d'Amour and Jones, started their own band at the end of the decade. Carey was introduced to Jones by Tom Morello, an old high school friend of Jones. In 1990 when Carey, then a neighbor of Keenan, joined their rehearsal, Tool was formed. The next year Tool began touring with Rollins Band, Skitzo, Fishbone, and Rage Against The Machine.

Tool received immediate recognition for their first commercial release, Opiate (1992), which borrows its name from Karl Marx's famous quote: "Religion is the opium of the people." The six-song EP included the "hardest sounding" songs the band had written to that point, among them the singles "Hush" and "Opiate." A music video for "Hush" was created by Failure's Ken Andrews, with the band members appearing naked and their mouths covered by duct tape, symbolically protesting censorship. Ironically, due to FCC regulations requiring the censorship of genitalia, the video eventually showed the band's genitalia covered with parental guidance stickers.

Tool were quick to release their first full-length album, Undertow (1993), soon after Opiate, because many of the songs on Undertow had already been written at the time Opiate was released. Eventually, they were hired to play the 2nd stage at Lollapalooza in 1993, where they attracted great attention. The band was quickly moved to the main stage because of their "presence, prowess and power." This helped to boost the popularity of Undertow and before long, the album was certified gold by the RIAA. The album was later certified double platinum on May 14, 2001.

After Justin Chancellor came on board, Tool finished the already-begun Ænima, which was subsequently released in October of 1996. Once again, a single had difficulty gaining airplay; this time it was "Stinkfist." MTV renamed the music video of the song to "Track #1" because of the offensive connotations, and multiple radio edits were made to both shorten the song and change its lyrics. However, an overwhelming fan response compelled most radio stations to play the track uncut. In addition, Matt Pinfield, the host of MTV's 120 Minutes, responded to fan complaints by waving his fist in front of his face on air while explaining the reason for the name change as he introduced the video. Ænima would be Tool's last studio album release for five years.

Ænima was dedicated to satirist Bill Hicks who died two-and-a-half years before its release. Some clips of Hicks' performances are included on both Ænima and Undertow, including multiple sketches about psychoactive drugs and a sample of a bleating sheep. The lenticular casing of the Ænima shows California falling into the Pacific Ocean, and the chorus of the song "Ænema" features the lyric "Learn to swim, I'll see you down in Arizona Bay"; these are references to another popular Hicks sketch about his hatred of Los Angeles. Eventually, "Ænema" would win Tool their first Grammy Award.

That same year, Volcano Records alleged contract violations by Tool and filed suit. Tool looked at offers from other record labels, an action not allowed by the contract, according to Volcano. After Tool filed a counter suit stating that Volcano failed to use a renewal option in their contract, the parties settled out of court. The parties later agreed to a new contract and a three-record deal. This legal battle put a great strain on the band and delayed work on their next album.[18] During this time, Keenan founded a new band, A Perfect Circle, with long-time Tool guitar tech Billy Howerdel.

At this point, rumors that Tool were breaking up were beginning to spread, until the band released the box set Salival in 2000, effectively putting an end to the rumors. The box set featured one new original recording, "Merkaba", as well as recordings of unique live versions and B-sides, including a cover of Led Zeppelin's "No Quarter", a Peach cover called "You Lied" and a new version of "Pushit" which became extremely popular among fans. Also included in the box set were four of the band's videos, "Stinkfist", "Ænema", "Prison Sex" and

In January 2001, the rumor mill surrounding the band gained new life when Tool announced their new album, Systema Encéphale, along with a tracklist full of esoteric and obscure words such as "Numbereft", "Encephatalis", "Musick", and "Coeliacus." As anticipated, file-sharing engines such as Napster became flooded with bogus files disguised with those titles. During that time, Tool members were outspokenly critical of engines like Napster due to the negative impact on smaller artists that are dependent on success in record sales to continue their career. Keenan had this to say during an interview with NY Rock in 2000:

"I think there are a lot of other industries out there that might deserve being destroyed. The ones who get hurt by MP3s are not so much companies or the business, but the artists, people who are trying to write songs."

Only one month later, they revealed that the new album was actually titled Lateralus and that the name Systema Encéphale and the tracklist had been a ruse much to the dismay of music magazines and commercial websites who had committed headlong to the fake title. Lateralus features songs averaging six-and-a-half minutes in length, unwieldy even for the most ambitious of disc jockeys. The length of the music video for "Parabola" clocked in at an unheard of ten-and-a-half minutes, almost condemning it from being aired on mainstream music channels.

Nevertheless, the album became a success the world over, reaching #1 on the Billboard Top 200 album charts on its debut week. Tool received their second Grammy Award for the best metal performance of 2001 for the song "Schism". During the band's acceptance speech, drummer Carey stated that he would like to thank his parents (for putting up with him) and Satan, while bassist Chancellor concluded: "I want to thank my dad for doing my mom."

After extensive touring throughout 2001 and 2002, including a 10-show mini-tour with King Crimson in August, the tour came to an end on November 24, 2002 in Long Beach, CA at Long Beach Arena. Although the end of the tour seemed to spell another dormancy for the band, they did not become completely inactive. While Keenan recorded and toured with A Perfect Circle, the other band members released an official yet fanclub exclusive interview and a recording of some of their new material. Three hundred pre-released and autographed copies of the "double vinyl four-picture disc" edition of Lateralus, which was officially released on 200

Tool's latest record, 10,000 Days, was released on April 28, 2006, in parts of Europe, April 29 in Australia, May 1 in the UK, and May 2 in the US. The album opener "Vicarious" premiered on US radio stations on April 17. The album itself sold 564,000 copies in its opening week in the US alone, securing itself the top spot on Billboard charts.[8] However, the critical reception of 10,000 Days was less favourable than its predecessor Lateralus (as indicated by a Metacritic average score of.

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Following another prolonged break, during which Keenan rejoined A Perfect Circle to record and tour, he joined his bandmates to work on a new record. After some minor details about their new material emerged, such as the influence of Lateralus tourmates Fantômas and Meshuggah, the notorious rumor mill surrounding new Tool-releases resurfaced as well, fueled by unusual incidents. One of the main controversies regarding the new release was the album title. After rumored titles such as Teleincision had been dismissed, a news item on the official Tool website eventually announced the new album's name: 10,000 Days.

Rumors regarding the new album's name continued to emerge. The news item anouncing the album's name was posted on March 3, 2006; however, it was removed that same day from the official site and left only to the fanclub exclusive area. Why it was posted non-exclusively and then removed remains a mystery. The rumors surrounding the band's activities reached a point where it was speculated that they had fabricated a "decoy" album, creating an elaborate hoax to fool audiences until the day of release. They only began to subside when a leaked copy of the album was illegally distributed via filesharing networks preceding the release date by two weeks. The record was eventually released as announced on May 2, 2006 in the US, and debuted at the top spots of various international charts. Despite being available on said filesharing networks, 10,000 Days sold 564,000 copies in its opening week in the US alone.

Current members
Danny Carey (Drums)
Justin Chancellor (Bass)
Maynard James Keenan (Vocals)
Adam Jones (Guitar)

Previous members
Paul d'Amour (Bass guitar)

1992 - Opiate
1993 - Undertow
1996 - Ænima
2000 - Salival
2001 - Lateralus
2006 - 10,000 Days

Joined by The Vandals drummer Josh Freese who currently tours with Nine Inch Nails, drummer Tim Alexander of Primus and Laundry, ex- Failure guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen, and bassist/violinist Paz Lenchantin (later of Zwan), the band rehearsed the music that Howerdel had begun and finished their debut album Mer de Noms (French "Sea of Names"). At this time Tool was tied up in negotiations with their record label, allowing Keenan much time to complete the work.

Between Lenchantin leaving the band for Billy Corgan's new band Zwan and Van Leeuwen's becoming the new guitarist of Queens of the Stone Age, the band was in need of a new bassist and guitarist for their live performances. These positions were taken over by ex-Marilyn Manson bassist Jeordie White (formerly known as Twiggy Ramirez) and ex-Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha.

The band released their second album, Thirteenth Step, in September 16, 2003. A third album, eMOTIVe, was released on November 2, 2004, which contains anti-war cover songs of artists such as John Lennon and Joni Mitchell. eMOTIVe was recorded with various different past and present members of APC, but mostly by Keenan and Howerdel.

On November 16, 2004, the band released the DVD and CD set entitled aMOTION. The set contains the music videos to the singles, as well as some previously unreleased videos, along with b-sides and remixes.

A Perfect Circle is currently on hiatus, partly due to Keenan's commitments with Tool. A Perfect Circle experienced a considerable amount of downtime during recording, release and tour for Tool's previous album Lateralus. This makes the band extremely dynamic in terms of its members. During the downtime, other members of the band seek other projects which can mean they are unavailable when APC is reformed, which was the case with both Troy van Leeuwen and Paz Lenchantin. They do not plan on returning.

As of now, Keenan is touring with Tool, Howerdel is planning a solo album, Freese and White are recording with Nine Inch Nails, while Iha is currently touring with Vanessa and the O's in Europe.

Freese continues to work with The Vandals. They were supposedly gearing up for a new studio album, but no plans for it have been revealed. He also tracked drum performances for Black Light Burns, which features ex Limp Bizkit guitarist/From First to Last bassist Wes Borland on vocals and guitar, Danny Lohner on bass, and Josh Eustis of Telefon Tel Aviv on keyboards. Freese is not expected to tour with that lineup. He also recently recorded drum tracks for the still unreleased solo debut of former Korn guitarist Brian Welch, also nicknamed "Head". He is also scheduled to participate in the reunion of DEVO.

Iha was asked to participate in the reunion of The Smashing Pumpkins, in order to have the line-up completed, but he has not confirmed that he will join.

Keenan recently said in an interview with French magazine Rock Hard that he thinks A Perfect Circle is over for the forseeable future. Billy Howerdel confirmed this by saying there were currently no plans for a new album or tour.

The band's official website was updated 19 September, 2006 with the following: "The Sleeper Must Awaken: Peace. Sorry it's been awhile since we've posted. Been busy. Billy is hard at work on his solo project and I'm on the road with TOOL, working on the www.puscifer.com website, and making wine in between all that. No telling when Billy will be finished with his new material, but what I've heard is very promising. I forgot to post lyrics for 13th step and eMOTIVe so I'll get on that soon. Check back often. Peace out. mjk"

Stable members
Billy Howerdel - guitar, vocals, bass on several tracks on Mer de Noms
Maynard James Keenan - vocals
Josh Freese - drums since 1999, and on all tracks on Mer de Noms except "The Hollow"

Others
Danny Lohner - helps with engineering and fills in for different instruments as necessary. Has made some contribution to each album.
Paz Lenchantin - bass on Mer De Noms and nearly all tracks on The Thirteenth Step, vocals, strings, piano on Mer de Noms and eMOTIVe
Troy Van Leeuwen - guitar on Mer de Noms and Thirteenth Step
James Iha - guitar on eMOTIVe and touring musician
Jeordie White - bass on Thirteenth Step and eMOTIVe
Tim Alexander - drums for a short time in 1999, and on "The Hollow"

All members had some contribution or another to aMOTION, and all are listed in its liner notes in the above order.

2000 - Mer de Noms
2003 - Thirteenth Step
2003 - Underworld Soundtrack
2004 - eMOTIVe
2004 - Constantine Soundtrack
2004 - aMOTION DVD/CD

As Puscifer
2003 - Underworld Soundtrack
2005 - Saw II Soundtrack
2006 - Underworld: Evolution Soundtrack

Releases featured
1986 - Fingernails (Children Of The Anachronistic Dynasty) (Contributes Bass, Drum Programming, Lead Vocals, and Writer)
1987 - Never Again (TexAns) (Contributes Bass and Writing)
1992 - Rage Against the Machine (Rage Against the Machine) (Sings on Know Your Enemy)
1992 - Cereal Killer VHS (by Green Jellÿ) (Sings on Three Little Pigs)
1993 - Cereal Killer Soundtrack (by Green Jellÿ) (Sings on Three Little Pigs)
1994 - Kiss My Ass: Classic KISS Regrooved (by Various Artists) (Sings with Shandi's Addiction on Calling Dr. Love)
1995 - Replicants (by Replicants) (Performes on Silly Love Songs, a Wings cover)
1997 - Flyin' Traps (by Tim Alexander & Mike Bordin) (Sings on Choked)
1997 - Live from NY VHS (by Tori Amos) (Sings on Muhammad My Friend)
2000 - White Pony (by Deftones) (Sings on Passenger)
2001 - ...inder net...ya? (by Turtle Bend) (Sings and co-writes Who Leads You)
2003 - Run Ronnie Run! DVD (Sings with Titannica on Ass Kickin' Fat Kid)
2003 - Underworld Soundtrack (by Various Artists) (Sings on David Bowie remix track Bring Me the Disco King (Loner Mix))
2004 - Axis of Justice Concert Series Volume 1 (by Various Artists) (Sings on Where the Streets Have No Name (Live)
and (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding (Live))

Other appearances
Performed in an untitled song called "Revolution" or "Revolutionary" by fans; the nameless track is a collaboration between Rage Against the Machine and Tool.
Contributed the line "Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin" to the comedy song "Three Little Pigs" by Green Jellÿ (singer/dancer Hotsy Menshot was Maynard James Keenan's roommate, and the receiver of the death threats in the segues "Message to Harry Manback" and its sequel). Also, in the video for the Green Jellÿ song "Misadventures of Shitman," the line "For a good time, call Maynard at 1-800-555-JOCK" can be seen scrawled in a bathroom stall.
Collaborator for the now cancelled Tapeworm project (side project of Nine Inch Nails bass player Danny Lohner and vocalist Trent Reznor). "Vacant," the one track to come out of the project, was performed live by A Perfect Circle on the Mer de Noms tour. "Vacant" became the track "Passive" on A Perfect Circle's 2004 release eMOTIVe.
Also appeared on screen in Bikini Bandits (2002) in the role of Satan.
In 2005,