GOT MY PUSCIFER TICKET

I stood in line with the scalpers and fanatics earlier today to get a ticket to see Puscifer at the Pantages in April. Puscifer is the side project of Maynard James Keenan from the bands Tool and A Perfect Circle. I thought I'd have no problem soliciting friends to come, but as the music on his debut "V is for Vagina" suggests, Puscifer appears to be a departure for MJK.

I did find a willing concert partner and after reading an interview he did with the Denver Westword about the project, I feel justified in my claims that the show will simply feature "Maynard being Maynard":

WW: There have been times during your musical career when you didn't seem that into theatricality - shows with Tool where you stayed out of the spotlight. Does your approach with Puscifer represent an evolution? Or is it more than this approach is right for this group?

MJK: I think your observation about the sense of the theatrical would be incorrect. I think all projects that I've done have always had a sense of the theatrical. If you do a little Google search on photos, you'll find me with a Peg Bundy wig and fake tits. And a long wig for another project. It's always been there. Just because you can't see me doesn't mean the presentation isn't of a theatrical nature.

WW: Is that one of the common misperceptions about projects you've been involved in? That it's all about you, when it's never been all about you?

MJK: We're not politicians. We're entertainers. So in some way, we're entertaining you. But if it doesn't in some way involve us at that particular moment, we're artists, and we're still expressing ourselves.

WW: You obviously could be playing bigger shows with Tool. So what makes the time for a Puscifer tour right? What makes the concept most enjoyable for you now?

MJK: It's hard to describe without seeing the show. It's more than just a band. There's a lot more going on. I think it's just taken a while for us to have enough focus to put time into it and really present it. It's not just like four guys jumping on a stage and presenting songs. There's a lot more to it. And I think now is the time to present it just financially. It makes more sense, because ten years ago, you couldn't possibly do some of the animation we've done for the band for any reasonable budget. Because of the digital age, the costs have come down so much. You can record yourself really well, good and solid recordings, in your bedroom. You can present films and animation that you've recorded and edited on your laptop. You couldn't do that ten years ago.

It wasn't really financially feasible. The technology wasn't there. And now with all the record labels and the industry basically failing overall, in the big picture, it's allowed more independent people to kind of sink their teeth into doing things on their own. Really getting back to what matters to them rather than being seduced by the big record deal or the idea of getting famous. Kind of getting back to what's really important, which is creating the art.

Check out the entire interview HERE. Hope to see you all at the circus in April!!!