1990-Maynard James KeenanVocals
Adam JonesGuitar
Paul D'AmourBass-1995
Justin ChancellorBass1995-
Danny CareyDrums
A Tool is a term used at West Point Military Academy to describe someone who follows rules and regulations to the letter, simply because they are rules. Tools do not think for themselves and as a result, are often manipulated into doing the dirty work of others. Keenan spent 2 years at West Point.
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Bob - Tokyo, Japan
Jones has worked on the make-up effects in Jurassic Park (1993) and Men in Black (1997). He has also has worked in special effects on several movies including Terminator. He's applied his talents in this area to their unique music videos, most of which he directed.
Chancellor replaced D'Amour after their first full-length album, Undertow (1993). Chancellor had been a member of the British art metal band Peach, which had toured with Tool several times.
Carey began taking snare drum lessons when he was 13. He continued to study percussion, among other things, at the University of Missouri at Kansas City.
D'Amour has since gone on to work with bands like the Replicants and Lusk.
They gained lots of publicity when they got a spot on the Lollapalooza '93 tour. They co-headlined the tour with Korn in 1997.
Keenan formed a side project, A Perfect Circle, which released an album in 2000 to favorable reviews and much commercial success.
Jones began studying the violin, then gradually moved to the guitar.
Danny Carey has a passion for learning about the occult, and has also written a book.
Keenan had a small role in the obscure movie Bikini Bandits Go To Hell, in which he played Satan.
Carey was neighbors with Keenan and would often fill in for them on drums because nobody was turning up for their auditions. The rest is history.
Jones was good friends with Tom Morello (of Rage Against The Machine) in High School where they were in a band together. Their band was named Electric Sheep.
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Aimee - Auckland, New Zealand, for above 4
On their
Undertow CD, If you detach the black trey which holds the CD from the jewel case, you will find a nice surprise... you have to do it to find out what it is.
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Damon - san jose, CA
Carey is very into occultism and collecting antique synthesizers (www.danneycarey.org).
Maynard has a son named Devo.
All the stuff that the band says about lachrymology (the study of crying) is false.
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Joel - Vernon, TX, for above 3
The band appears in only 2 of their videos. They are in their first video for "Hush" (very rare) as well as a very fast part in "Sober" near the end.
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Max - Edmonton, Canada
The 2002 motion picture
The Powerpuff Girls Movie (2002) features an unnamed character who speaks extensively using the titles and lyrics from Van Halen songs.
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Jeff - Haltom City, TX
Maynard is a wine connoisseur. He owns over 2000 bottles and owns a vineyard in Arizona, outside of Sedona called Merkin Vineyards.
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steph - Richmond, VA
In 1994, Danny Carey said the band name stands for how they want their music to be a "tool" to aid in understanding lachrymology. Lachrymology is the art of crying as a type of therapy. However, this was just another rumor they started (as many bands do) to keep us (or them) entertained. Part of Danny's statement is true. They do want their music to be a tool, but a tool to aid in helping others understand an alternative way of thinking.
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Opiate - Tucson, AZ
They never write the lyrics in the CD sleeve (it's the same with Maynard's newer band A Perfect Circle). In an interview with MTV, Maynard said this is "Because I think reading is a thinking process, and I would prefer that people FEEL the album first, and just let it sink in because you might get something out of the music that you might not get from thinking about it, and watching the words go by." Maynard puts the lyrics online a month or so after the release of the album for this reason.
In the mid-'90s, Maynard created the FREE FRANCES BEAN T-shirt in response to the numerous requests for Tool to perform benefit shows with such slogans as "Free Tibet." He said in an interview that "Just watching that tornado that is her mother" (Courtney Love) was his inspiration in this case. Courtney, apparently, hates Maynard too, and once called him a "media whore," to which Maynard responded, "Isn't that great? I have the distinction of being called a media whore by Courtney Love!"
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Indre - Wollongong, Australia, for above 2
Danney Carey is an avid basketball fan. He had some offers to play at small colleges before moving to Los Angeles and forming Tool.
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Bob - Tokyo, Japan
In a February 1997 interview with
Modern Drummer magazine, Carey said the band got its start when he heard Maynard James Keenan yelling at his neighbors across an alley and thought he would make a good singer.
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Bob - Tokyo, Japan
Maynard James Keenan is an atheist. This reflects in several songs, especially when his mother is concerned: she was paralyzed from a stroke when Maynard was 11 years old and died 27 years later (almost 10,000 Days later, hence the album title 10,000 Days. In "Wings for Marie" he sings: "10,000 Days in the fire is enough, you're going home"). Maynard struggles to understand why his mother stood by her faith after the stroke. In the A Perfect Circle song "Judith," he sings: "F--k your God. He did this to you. Pray for one who left you broken down and paralyzed. He did it all for you."
Maynard has at several times launched April's Fools jokes. During the recording of the
Lateralus album, the band spread a message on their website stating that "Maynard found jesus" and that the recording of the album had been put on hold and may never be finished. This was a joke of course and referred to the conversion of a former KoRn bandmember. However, some people took it seriously. A journalist (who noticed that the message cited jesus without a capital letter, which is very uncommon for newly converted Christians) got suspicious and emailed Maynard to ask if he indeed become a Christian. Maynard gave an unclear response, so the journalist asked again, and Maynard replied to this email with "heh heh." A few days later the band published on their website, "Good news April Fool's fans! The recording of the album is back underway." Maynard, who clearly never converted to Christianity, was asked about his so-called encounter with Jesus, and answered, "that guy's a punk!"
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Gerrit - Belfast, Northern Ireland, for above 2
Adam Jones' friendship with Tom Morello dates back to their schooldays. The Rage Against the Machine guitarist's mom, Mary Morello, was Jones' high school homeroom teacher.
Keenan has been training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu since the 1990s. He received his coveted jiu jitsu black belt on January 6, 2024.