Last week Blair posted the Tool newsletter on ToolBand.com featuring an update on Tool’s long awaited new album:
I have some very sad news to report in this March newsletter – news that I was planning to include in next month’s issue, but after careful consideration (and not wanting it to be dismissed as an April Fool’s prank), I have decided to pass it on to fans of Tool at the present time. Okay – here goes: While visiting the band’s loft a couple of weeks ago, when I went to get a bottle of water from the vintage Pepsi machine/cooler, I noticed that a brand new mini-fridge had been placed where the bottle chest cooler had sat for nearly 30 years. Somewhat shocked, when I turned towards Danny for an explanation, he solemnly informed me that the Pepsi machine/cooler had finally died.
Although there had been warning signs for several months – intermittent loud noises from the area around the fan motor and not so subtle vibrations from its stainless slider (without a service manual to consult, these were often fixed by applying pressure and/or stuffing a towel underneath the unit), I could tell from the grave expression on Danny’s face that he was still in the grieving process. To those of us close to him, this was not hard to understand. After all, with its embossed logo and other nostalgic aesthetics, the rusted Pepsi-Cola chest had been a fixture at the loft several years before Tool as a band was formed in 1990. In those early days it had severed as Danny’s sole source of refrigeration, chilling orange and cranberry juice mixers and gallons of milk for boxes of Quisp cereal, while also preserving for days leftover Thai food and a half-eaten foil containers of Dos Burritos # 5. (Hell, if I had a dollar for every beer that I fished out of the bottom layer of slime over the past 30 years, I would go to Vegas!)
From what I had been told, the Pepsi machine/cooler had died peacefully from natural causes during the night – probably the result of a burnt out compressor. When one of the band members went to get a Red Bull during a recent writing/arranging session, they noticed that it had stopped humming, and that all of the energy drinks (and tour rider leftover goodies) inside were warm. After checking to see if it was plugged in came the stark realization that the Pepsi cooler no longer worked. So, that was it. The machine that had bore witness to every single Tool composition while faithfully keeping their favorite beverages properly chilled when they paused to discuss a particular riff or chord progression was now lifeless.
After a short deliberation it was unanimously agreed by the band members – as a tribute to its many years of commendable service – to continue with the day’s session. Afterwards, there was some discussion about getting it repaired, or perhaps even a full restoration. However, until any technicians are called or any refurbishing gets under way, it is uncertain how the machine’s absence will affect any future Tool tunes? Personally, I don’t believe that it will change much, especially at this stage of the writing/arranging process, in which, I believe, there are only a couple of ‘shorter’ songs left to complete(?), along with a segue or two or three. (Of course, we need to keep in mind any changes that might be needed to accommodate the vocals, etc., once all of the arrangements are finished.) Even so, I still don’t think the departed Pepsi machine will change in any significant way any new material created by the band. But if it does, someone might want to start looking for cooling unit parts…
HAPPY TRAILS
