Ministry frontman Al Jourgensen discussed giving LSD to Maynard James Keenan and former Tool bassist Paul D’Amour in a new Revolver interview. Keenan and D’Amour did not know the alcohol they were given was spiked with drugs. The new Tool album is set for release on August 30th.
“I used to live with Timothy Leary, and he had given me these bottles of liquid LSD to bring on tour,” Jourgensen told us. “I’d put two drops in my bottle of whiskey that I’d bring onstage. I’d drink about half the bottle during a show. So we were on Lollapalooza in ’92, I think it was San Francisco, and when we came offstage there were these two guys who were like, ‘Great show, dude!’
So I gave them my bottle of Bushmills, but I forgot that I had put LSD in it. So they drank it and they were tripping balls for, like, two or three days. They didn’t know what was going on and they were freaking out. They were ready to call suicidal hotlines. It turned out to be Paul and Maynard from Tool! … But he actually thanked me for that moment because he said it really got Tool going into being a psychedelic band. Pretty cosmic, right?”
D’Amour is joining Ministry as their new bassist. Tool members Adam Jones, Justin Chancellor, and Danny Carey held their first Music Clinic event in St. Paul last year. Peanut Arbuckle/cooltoolguy posted highlights on the Tool Reddit, including Tool’s members explaining why original bassist Paul D’Amour quit the band and who almost replaced him.
Q: How do the songs change when Maynard comes and writes his vocals?
A: They don’t change at all, Maynard comes in and writes vocals that fit incredibly well without changing anything or asking for any adjustments to the instruments. In the past, Maynard was involved in writing the instruments, but they have learned that it’s best to have each band member have their own clearly defined role.
Q: What is the song writing process like?
A: Adam and Justin make riffs, then they give these riffs to Danny. Danny then proceeds to completely fuck up the sound they were going for, but it often ends up working out very well.
Q: Story behind Paul leaving and Justin joining?
A: Paul didn’t like how the band was going. No more detail was provided. Adam told a funny story about Justin joining.
Adam really wanted Justin in the band, and the other option was Marco Fox of Zaum. Maynard and Danny wanted Marco, so the three members sat down for a dinner to discuss who they’d pick. Adam was prepared to fight tooth and nail for Justin. However, he discovered that Maynard and Danny both wanted Justin and they thought Adam wanted Marco.
