Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan recently admitted that he can no longer do a full set of early Tool songs. He explained that instead, he tries to pepper them in among less vocally demanding pieces.
In a new interview with Steve-O on the “Wild Ride!” podcast, Maynard touched upon the 30th anniversary of Tool’s debut album “Undertow”.
Maynard James Keenan talks about signing old songs
When the “Jackass” star asked him about his approach to performing the heavier, faster-paced material characteristic of Tool’s earliest days today, Maynard delivered what could easily be described as a wake-up call to aging musicians — and fans who still expect them to sound like they did decades ago (via ThePRP):
“Ya know, just like an old Barracuda, man, just tearing up the streets. You try to do that with an old Barracuda now, and it’s gonna break. Same thing… Ya know, you just can’t do that. I think with age you find ways to sing the thing where it’s not creating damage. You can actually recreate it without having to pick a scab, emotionally, and literally, like hurting yourself.
“I think my writing has changed over the years, and I can do some of those songs. I can’t do a whole set of those songs. I can pepper them in, so I can still do some of those things, but you can’t… If you’re actually sitting down and thinking about it, you can’t expect some of those dudes, [from] back in the day, to do the thing they did… 30 years ago, 40 years ago. You can’t expect that out of that body. Your body doesn’t do those things forever.”
He drew similarities with pro boxing legend Mike Tyson’s 2020 return to the ring as Maynard added:
“That [fight] is an absolute expiration date. Your body is not going to allow you to perform the way you used to perform at certain ages. You can apply that to pretty much anybody.”
