Tool and Pusicfer frontman Maynard James Keenan is out doing press for the new Puscifer single "Apocalyptic" and it's been interesting to hear his thoughts on the current pandemic. Earlier this week, Maynard hypothesized "I feel like this is the beginning. Things shifting, climate change, adjustments, readjustments, realignments." In a new interview with Revolver, he shared some more deep thoughts.
Here are some highlights.
On how the current pandemic has been politicized:
People can't help themselves. In conversations online, in social media — there'll be someone on Twitter just making a statement, like, "You know what? We're gonna make it through this. And if you don't think so, fuck you!" That's how everybody starts conversations now — you start with the fight, rather than, "Hey, what can we do to help each others?" We claim to be better human beings than we used to be several thousand years ago — let's prove it. Let's take the high road not just to be right, but to actually be better people and help each other. I don't know. Those are romantic words, but when it comes down to it, it's like, "Fuck you — I want that toilet paper!"
The biggest curve ball in all of that is that there's a significant portion of the population who doesn't believe there's anything — or if there is, it's not enough to be reacting to. And again, you've spent the last decade liking and not liking feeds, so the only thing you're gonna see in your world is what you believe. If you're one of the people who think this is a problem, that's all you're gonna see. If you're one of the people who thinks there isn't a problem, that's all you're gonna see. It's so difficult to sort through facts or even partial truths so you can make an intelligent decision based on knowledge and science rather than gut and mob mentality. So I really couldn't tell you. We might find out in December that this is all a global hoax, but I can't imagine … I mean, if you've ever had a task force put together for a focus group to do something … or try to even manage 12 people … have you ever done that?
Maynard goes on to joke "I mean, a global conspiracy? I can't even get a couple of chefs to try a recipe."
Kind of, but that makes me sound like a prepper. Really I just lived in Michigan and we had gardens. You always had the impending blizzard or snow coming that's gonna lock you in your house for a while, so that's something I've done with my family for my whole life — with the understanding that sometimes you get locked in your home for a solid week because of snow. I've always had that mentality, so to come out to a place like this [Arizona], where there's a lot more space, you can expand that idea and it just made sense. So it's not a paranoid, fear-based prepper kind of thing. It's more like, "Why would I rely on the grocery store for onions and carrots and lettuce?" It doesn't make any sense. You can plant it right there.
He added that the reason Puscifer music is coming out now is because of Tool's hiatus, and the original plan was for Pusicfer to put out music next year.
