Maynard James Keenan
| Maynard James Keenan | |
|---|---|
Keenan performing as a part of Tool at 2006's Roskilde Festival.
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | James Herbert Keenan |
| Born |
April 17, 1964 Ravenna, Ohio, United States |
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| Years active | 1986–present |
| Associated acts | |
| Website | www.puscifer.com |
Maynard James Keenan (born James Herbert Keenan; April 17, 1964), often referred to by his initials MJK, is an American musician, record producer, winemaker, and actor, best known as the vocalist for Grammy Award-winning progressive metal band Tool. He is originally from Ohio, but spent his high school and college years in Michigan. After serving in the United States Army in the early 1980s, he attended Kendall College of Art and Design in Grand Rapids. He moved to Los Angeles, California in 1988 to pursue a career in interior design and set construction. Shortly thereafter, he formed the band Tool with Adam Jones.
Keenan is also the lead singer of A Perfect Circle. In 2003, he created Puscifer as a side project and has subsequently released three studio albums. Since rising to fame, Keenan has been noted as being a recluse; however, he does emerge to support charitable causes.
In addition to his music career, he has performed improvisational sketch comedy and ventured into acting. He currently owns Merkin Vineyards and the associated winery, Caduceus Cellars, which are located in Arizona, where he lives. Among other business ventures, he is a partner in the Los Angeles restaurant Cobras & Matadors, and also owns an organic produce market in Cornville, Arizona, which features a food court and a tasting room for his wines.
James Keenan was born into a Southern Baptist family in Ravenna, Ohio, on April 17, 1964, the only child of Judith Marie (née Dougherty; November 22, 1943, Bedford, Ohio - June 18, 2003, Dover, Ohio) and Michael Loren Keenan (born March 4, 1946, Ohio). When his parents divorced in 1968, his father, a high school wrestling coach, moved to Scottville, Michigan and Keenan would only see him about once a year for the next 12 years. His mother remarried, bringing Keenan into an "intolerant and unworldly household," where his intelligence and creative expression would be stifled. His mother suffered a paralyzing cerebral aneurysm in 1976, when Maynard was 11, which would later serve as the inspiration for creative works such as Tool's "Jimmy" and "Wings for Marie" as well as A Perfect Circle's "Judith". A few years later, she persuaded Keenan to live with his father in Michigan. Keenan considers this "the best move [he] ever made." Maynard graduated in the class of 1982 at Mason County Central High School in Scottville, where he was a member of the wrestling team. His father was one of the coaches for the team and left coaching at the same time Maynard graduated in 1982.
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