Agent from p 16 shipping. It went up because everyone is raging alcoholics now. That’s kind of good — good for business, bad for livers. But of course, the on-site, the tasting room suffered because of all the lockdown and everything. So it was a weird balance — people were buying more wine online, but they weren’t going out really, even though we did some switch-ups on how we approached the tasting rooms, so it was good.” In a 2021 Esquire article, Keenan said, “My quality of life is finding puzzles and seeing them through.” Music is a puzzle to be solved. So is Brazilian jiu-jitsu, another one of Keenan’s interests (he’s a brown belt and co-founded Verde Valley Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Cottonwood). So is wine. The key to the wine puzzle is grapes first, Keenan says, “but people think it’s what sells, what’s the label going to look like, rather than starting with the grapes and the soil and figuring out what the region wants to present, how you can get out of the way and let it happen. … In the vineyard, there’s some things you have to do, but you’re just the steward, in a way. Then, you’ve figured out your way to approach winemaking, and now every year is going to give you a slightly different puzzle.” The water crisis in the Southwest is all over the news, but Keenan isn’t worried about it — yet. “If it gets to the point where I have to worry about it, we’re all fucked. So just continue with what you’re gonna do.” That “do what you want” philosophy carries over into all aspects of Keenan’s creative life. When he made the short film “An Easter Story” in early 2021 about the ducks on his property, spring, and the cycle of life, he didn’t read the comments. (You can watch it, and other videos, on Puscifer TV on the band’s website.) The comments “aren’t really relevant. 18 Again, I’m just going to do what I want to do, and I saw inspiration in the ducks, I find inspiration in the story of Easter, and the full moon and the sun — all those things are very inspiring to me, so I’m Maynard onstage with Puscifer at 2015’s Monster Mash outdoor festival in Tempe. going to tell that story, because I just assume that there’s going to be somebody out there who resonates with it. “But I don’t want somebody who misunderstands it, latches onto one single word, and misses the rest of the point. I don’t want to end up having my process be affected by that person who grew up under a rock. There’s definitely more of that now with social media, and everybody has a voice and an opinion, as uninformed as it might be. It’s even worse now, so it’s best not to read that shit if you can, because it’s just mashed potatoes.” The Puscifer tour will take Keenan away from home for another month. In a 2012 column he wrote for Phoenix New Times, he explained why he moved here and why he loves Arizona so much. And a decade after the piece, Keenan says he still loves his adopted home just as much, “and probably more, because I’ve seen things grow and shift in positive ways. Since that article, Local First [Arizona] is far more present and people are getting into those movements more. I feel like people are getting back to their cottage industry roots. They’re getting back into growing and understanding that connec- tion with community.” After the tour, he’ll be back home, watching Marvel movies with his 7-year-old daughter, playing with his dogs, harvesting grapes, and gearing up for the release of more Puscifer pay-per-view livestreams (two are already done and waiting to be released). But now, he’s looking forward to the return of live Puscifer shows. “If all you’ve seen is a video here and there or photos on an album, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to you. But this is a live band. This is a performance piece. There’s a lot of moving parts, a lot of moving and evolving characters. So the live show is where you’re really going to catch all of the stuff.” Puscifer. With Moodie Black. 8 p.m. Saturday, June 11. Arizona Federal Theatre, 400 West Washington Street. Cost is $25 and up. Visit ticketmaster.com. JUNE 9TH– JUNE 15TH, 2022 PHOENIX NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | FEATURE | NEWS | OPINION | FEEDBACK | CONTENTS | phoenixnewtimes.com
