Maynard James Keenan

Maynard James Keenan (born James Herbert Keenan on April 17, 1964) is an American kickass Artist, Rock vocalist,songwriter, musician, and producer. He sings in 3 extremely talented bands, Tool, A Perfect Circle, and Puscifer.

Maynard James Keenan
Keenan performing as part of A Perfect Circle in 2018
Background information
Birth name	James Herbert Keenan
Born	(1964-04-17) April 17, 1964 (age 61) 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

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.