Maynard James Keenan has revealed that he finds old Tool songs too physically demanding to perform live these days.
The Tool frontman - who will be turning 59 this month - discussed his struggles while in conversation on Steve-O’s Wild Ride podcast, noting that most musicians past a certain age are unable to put their bodies through the same vigorous on-stage routines as they did in their youth.
While explaining that he is able to do “some” of the older songs - such as the heavier, faster and more technically challenging tracks from 1993’s Undertow and 1992’s Opiate - he says he won’t ever be able to do a full set of them again at this point.
“…Old cars… 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 brea,k” he begins.
“Some hing is… Ya know, you just can’t do that. So 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.
“So 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.”
Elsewhere, Keenan discusses his love of wine-making, the controversy surrounding Puscifer‘s debut album V Is For Vagina, and how he recently ordered a new pair of prosthetic breasts to wear during his live performances.
Listen to the full podcast episode below.
