The My Hero Project - Maynard James Keenan

Celebrate the best of humanity.

MUSICIAN HERO:

MAYNARD JAMES KEENAN

by Jessica from fredericksburg

maynard www.nnndesign.com

Maynard James Keenan is a famous singer and no doubt, my hero. His voice can carry you through various feelings there are no words for and work them out with you. He has a way of going into a person’s soul and helping them help themselves. This is what I admire about him.

I also admire his individuality. Maynard’s birth name is actually James Herbert Keenan but uses Maynard instead. Maynard is actually a condiment, a cross between mustard and mayonnaise. Whoever chooses an odd name like that is very individual.

Maynard was born on April 17th, 1964. Maynard’s family is Baptist, so he grew up that way. Maynard was a wonderful artist and during this time also went to Kendall Collage, one of the best art and design collages in his area. His senior class voted him as most artistic.

Maynard went to the army in 1982 but quit after serving two years The military influenced his skills as an artist and gave him the name for his first and primary band, Tool. Maynard moved to LA to study art. He worked in remodeling pet stores and applied the art of feng shui to his work. In LA he net Danny Carey as his neighbor. Danny let Maynard use his space for playing some music and they both became friends. They even played together a few times. In LA they formed the band Tool.

Maynard also has a side project band with some more of his friends, A Perfect Circle. The two groups are nothing alike except that they are both great to listen too. Tool has more of an edge to its music whereas a Perfect Circle has melody and is more feminine.

With Tool, Maynard sings about harsher things in life. He lets out anger into his music and if you listen to it you can really connect with his mood. Sometimes in Tool his music becomes softer, but it possesses a quality much like the calm in the eye of a hurricane before the eye wall hits again. With tool he conveys ideas and expressions of mostly guys minds, so sometimes girls can’t relate to what he says. However, for me it’s still interesting to listen too because in a way my own mind can see what a guy’s mind is like at times.

Girls aren’t left out, however. With Maynard’s other band, A Perfect Circle, the music is much softer and gives feelings that girls have more than guys do. In this Band Maynard sings about various things. Some songs are about mythical stories, and some can be about addiction. There’s much more flowing melody in this music, whereas in Tool the melodies can change rapidly and quickly. But girls I’ve met can relate to A Perfect Circle easier than they can for Tool. Both the bands are great too listen to though, for both guys and girls.

So, in conclusion, I admire my hero for his artistic and evoking ideas he projects into the world. if there were more people like him in the world, the world would be a better place.

Written by Jessica from fredericksburg

This story has been submitted by a guest user and does not necessarily represent the views of The My Hero Project or its staff.

Last changed on: 5/15/2005

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