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By far the strangest ritual

2012 with Richard Kingsmill

By far the strangest ritual I have ever had to go through to get an interview was with Maynard James Keenan of Tool. In April 1997, when Tool was touring Australia, I asked him, via his record label, to select his Hi5 five songs that had changed his life and to talk about them. The response back from the record company was essentially positive provided I agree to have lunch with Keenan first. I usually have a few hundred things to get through each day, and having lunch is a luxury I often bypass. Plus I don't 'do lunch'. Horrible concept. When I suggest that I'll meet him after lunch, that's refused. I offer to interview him first, then he can go get lunch himself. No. He wants to meet me, eat with me. And then, if I'm lucky, he'll speak with me. I want this interview to happen, so I grudgingly agree.

The venue is one of the most expensive seafood restaurants in Sydney, located on the foreshore at Watson's Bay. When I arrive, Maynard and a record company rep are sitting at a table. I'm introduced, but he doesn't shake my hand. In fact, he barely shows any sign that I've even arrived. For the next hour and a half, he says nothing except for 'lobster' (the most expensive item on the menu) and 'cafe latte'. I wasn't there to make friends. Lester Bangs said (or at least his character in Almost Famous did) that musicians were the enemy, and becoming their friend was the worst crime a journalist could commit. I'm a little from the same school, though quite a few rungs down the ladder from the late, great Bangs. I'll be friendly when social situations require, but befriending any band member is usually last on the list of a day's activities for me.

The record rep and I talk to break some of the tension. Maynard sits opposite, staring. Never does it look likely that he's going to participate. His stare burnt holes through both of our cheeks. We were under Mr Chatty's microscope. With silence having descended for what seemed like an hour, there's a sudden burst of activity. Maynard finishes his coffee, wipes his mouth, and stands. 'Let's go,' he says. His directness breaks me out of a fast approaching coma. We walk silently towards a nearby park. At the closest bench, I start setting up my microphone. The record rep tells Maynard where she'll be waiting. I'm figuring she'll see him sooner than she thinks. I have no idea if this guy is even going to speak. Still not knowing what songs he wants to talk about, I tentatively start the machine. Lo and behold, the measured and soft voice of one of rock's most powerful singers nearly knocks me off my seat.

MAYNARD JAMES KEENAN: Let's dig out an album by Joni Mitchell called Hejira [1976], featuring bass playing by Jaco Pastorius. One song in particular is 'Black Crow' but the whole album is worth listening to from beginning to end. As well as her entire catalogue, actually. But this one in particular kind of strikes a nice note in me.

RICHARD KINGSMILL: Can you tell us a bit more about why it means so much to you?

MJK: No, not really. I think it's more important that people just kind of hear the title of the song or hear the name of the album and go out and pick it up and experience it for themselves. I don't want to go into too much detail 'cause trying to explain music. You shouldn't really have to explain it. You should be able to hear it, and it either moves you or it doesn't.

RK: What's next?

MJK: I'd like to see if we can dig out an album by Swans. Actually it's two albums, because they came out simultaneously. They're called Holy Money and Greed [1986]. One Cyber Monday UGG Boots Outlet of the songs in particular would be 'Coward'.

RK: Can you tell us a bit more about Swans? I know them as being a band based in New York. Do you know much of the history of the band?

MJK: Michael Gira started doing stuff back in '80, '81, '82. I think the first actual release was in '82, and he's gone through quite a lot of transforming over the years. The mid to late '80s were probably his most brutal period. And deconstructionist, I guess. Very minimalist.

RK: And it became a bit mellower as the years went on?

MJK: Yeah, but he's still kind of maintained his minimalist approach to music making, really driving home and sitting on particular riffs. But for me the most moving period that Swans had was in the mid to late 80s and, in this particular case, the song 'Coward' from the Holy Money album.

RK: You don't find the Swans' music too doomy or gloomy at any point?

MJK: Yeah I do. I think the danger of delving into some areas is that sometimes you can get so far into UGGs Cyber Monday it you Cyber Monday UGGs For Cheap can't really find your way back out. I think maybe Michael's fallen into that trap a little bit in some of his stuff. In his decadent approach. But, in that Cyber Monday UGG Boots he's gone that far out on a limb, he's certainly come up with some art that's been unsurpassed.

RK: It's an interesting one, isn't it? When you're delving deep within yourself there's that line that you're dangerously close to of just being indulgent.

MJK: Right.

RK: Cyber Monday UGG Boots Sale As an artist, how do you pull yourself back from that? How do you know when to not take that one Cyber Monday UGGs step too far?

MJK: Well, I don't think you really concern yourself with that. You just go with your heart. If you go too far then you've gone too far. But that's pretty the goal of any artist I think, to follow his heart.

RK: And then, of course, it's someone else's job to judge whether you've gone too far or not.

MJK: But then again, that's just somebody else's opinion. I'm sure Michael's very happy with the work he's done. He's fine with it. And as far as where other people are, or where I am when I hear it, some parts I take, some parts I don't. That he follows his own heart and his head, I can respect that. And I'll listen to anything that he ever does, just because I know he's doing some searching. He's doing some personal work. So I'll consider anything he's done decent work, because he's following his heart.

RK: OK, what shall we hear next?

MJK: Let's ramble on to Led Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti [1975], most specifically the song 'Kashmir' which, if you haven't heard it, I air max 95 sale uk think you'll see why. And if you have, you know what I'm talking about. I don't really need to say much about it.

RK: I'm not namedropping here, but I actually did get the chance to interview Robert Plant in the last couple of years and he felt completely overwhelmed by that song.

MJK: Oh absolutely. That song definitely is more than the sum of the parts that recorded it. Certainly it's moving into a whole new area, I think.

RK: With all that Eastern influence?

MJK: Yeah. That, and Led Zeppelin it's classic rock. Some of it still kind of holds up, mainly because it borrowed a lot of blues and it's a heavier version of that. And it's reminiscent of all that's intense and heavy 'grind your hips' and all that kind of stuff. That's why I think 'Kashmir' is a song that just popped out without them even realising that it was going to pop out. That's why it's a powerful 2013 Cyber Monday UGG Boots song.

RK: The thing that I like a lot about Led Zeppelin is that at a time UGG Boots Cyber Monday when a lot of bands were doing extended jams and extended songs, they did that too. But they did it with economy in mind. They didn't have any wasted parts within the tracks.

MJK: Right, they definitely arranged their songs. Like Swans and Joni Mitchell, Led Zeppelin are a band that you really have to hear the whole picture. They're not necessarily something you throw on while you're vacuuming the rug or having a party. They really are a band that you have to open up your heads and open up your hearts and really make an effort to listen to the whole picture. Otherwise, don't waste your money. If you want pop hits go listen to Green cheap air max sale uk Day or Oasis or something.

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