Travis Shinn SATURD TURDAY, JUNE 18 LIVE! ARENA | ARLINGTON ATURDAY JUNJUNEUNE 18 FREE SHOW 21+ FOR TABLE RESERVATIONS: [email protected] 21+ PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY. We talked to Maynard James Kennan of Tool and A Perfect Circle, ahead of his June 16 show in Dallas with his other band, Puscifer. B-Sides from p19 to learn,” Keenan says. “If you can under- stand how to learn and discern simple situa- tions and determine what is truthful versus what is factual — they’re different.” According to Keenan, “facts” are just sets of data, information without the involuntary bias of the person recounting the information. “A long time ago, there was this movie Dallas’ Largest Selection of ADULT NOVELTIES including adult toys, intimacy items & vapes! SMOKE PLEASURE IS OUR BUSINESS CBD AVAILABLE! LIQUIDS 12045 Shiloh Rd. 214-327-0551 20 1966 W. NW Highway 972-869-1098 1720 W. Mockingbird Ln 214-638-0765 www.sexysite.com • Open 24/7! 2 ACCESSORIES YOUR where every time this dude flushed the toi- let, somebody was actually ringing the door- bell,” Keenan begins. “So, for him, just coincidentally, that’s truth. ‘When I flush the toilet, a bell rings in the living room.’ That’s truthful. That’s not actually factual. It was just coincidental, those things lining up. So truth can be something based on a coinci- dence that in your world that lines up. But it’s not necessarily factual.” The subject comes up about whether con- stant worry is responsible for the mass de- pression and anxiety in young people. Keenan says he chooses a productive lifestyle. “I live in the middle of an orchard and a vineyard, and I have ducks and quail, and I have to take care of them every day,” he says. “So, if you’re actually gathering eggs every morning, and feeding animals, tilling fields, tending to your herbs outside and planter beds, like there’s some kind of a grounding to that thing. And I find that when the when the drama wheel starts turning, I don’t have time for it because I’m busy feeding the ducks, literally. “I’m not even aware of it, so it’s not af- fecting me. But if you’re staring at your phone and you’re just doom-scrolling, that’s where your dread is coming from. Just turn that thing off and go outside.” The no-phones policy has been a staple of Puscifer shows for the better part of the band’s existence, as it has been for Tool and A Perfect Circle, much to many fans’ cha- grin. Keenan says phones are a distraction from the real world, and there’s no place for that in concerts. [pullquote-1-center] “It’s always been the policy,” he says. “You put your cell phones away at our shows. You do not pull them out. You will be escorted out. You’re here for one fucking reason. We have a show to present you. Strap in. It’s going to be fun. On the last song, we’ll pull your cell phone back out to get your stupid souvenir.” At one show in Europe, Keenan says, af- ter the band allowed people to take pictures for the final song, someone told him that a woman in the crowd spent that last song googling pictures of him — while he was on stage in front of her. “I’m right there on the fucking stage!” Keenan says with a frustrated laugh. “The fuck is that? What’s wrong with you? It’s the dopamine, it’s like taking OxyContin, it’s the same reaction in your body. There’s a chemi- cal thing in your body that you have to con- tinually look at this fucking thing. We need an EMP [electrmagnetic pulse] or a solar flare. Unplug all that shit for a bit.” Outside of waxing on life’s many nui- sances, Keenan does actually have a little time to talk about music for a bit. He speaks highly of drummer Sarah Jones, who plays drums on the majority of Existential Reckon- ing, and is perhaps most widely known as the drummer for English sensation Harry Styles. Keenan says Puscifer’s primary in- strumentalist Mat Mitchell was responsible for bringing Jones into the fold. “I think [artist] Bat For Lashes was his first exposure to her,” Keenan says of Miitchell. “Somehow they became friends, and she played on ‘Man Overboard,’ on one our re- cords. She’s an incredible, incredible drum- mer, and I really want to at some point I want to tour with Sarah. I think the only way to do that is going to be to break Harry Styles’ legs.” When asked if an alternative, more peaceful solution could possibly be a joint Harry Styles/Puscifer tour, Maynard pauses for a moment before answering. “That’s not nearly as fun as my idea,” he says. JUNE 16-22, 2022 DALLAS OBSERVER CLASSIFIED | MUSIC | DISH | CULTURE | UNFAIR PARK | CONTENTS dallasobserver.com MONTH XX–MONTH XX, 2014 DALLAS OBSERVER | CLASSIFIED | MUSIC | DISH | MOVIES | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | FEATURE | SCHUTZE | UNFAIR PARK | CONTENTS | dallasobserver.com THINGS UP! SPICE