Photo credit: Lauryn Schaffner for AlternativeNation.net
A Perfect Circle guitarist Billy Howerdel discussed recording Eat the Elephant with Maynard James Keenan, who also fronts Tool, in a new Denver Westword interview.
“I think I’ve learned over the years. Not to get too touchy-feely about it but…I meditate when I can or just kind of try and look at the big picture, and letting go of your ego is part of it, I think. And, no, that wasn’t always the case for me. Because at a certain point, I have to stand my ground and prove that I can do this. But I’m also terrified that what I’m presenting isn’t good enough. I imagine that’s pretty common. Your ego can turn you into an asshole. It can turn you inward and then never let your voice be heard. And I guess it just got to the point where I kind of established what it is that I do, and Maynard is brilliant at what he does.”
He later said, “I trust Maynard’s taste so much and his talent so much, I don’t really worry about those things. I might work with someone else that I might second-guess…but I very, very rarely have that with Maynard, where I question something. I can think of, like, two songs out of forty that we’ve done that I would be like, “Eh, I’m not quite sure about this” and then right at the end, it’s like, “Okay, it’s awesome.” I always have to go on faith that this is just going to happen, and it’s not something to be concerned about. So in the end, I just have to get his best work out of him.”
