Puscifer mixes music with sketch comedy

By JOHN BENSON

entertainment@vindy.com

When it comes to rock singers, Tool’s Maynard James Keenan is easily the most intriguing and enigmatic. Known for his dark, convoluted lyrics and instantly recognizable vocals, the Arizona-based singer has expanded his musical output over the past decade.

First there was A Perfect Circle, and now it’s the experimental-performance act Puscifer, which is supporting its 2007 full-length debut, “V is For Vagina,” with an inaugural Midwest tour that includes a show March 21 at Lorain’s Palace Theater. Make no mistake, Puscifer is unlike anything else Keenan has done before. In his mind, it’s a sketch-comedy troupe that also performs songs.

The Vindicator talked to the somewhat press-shy Keenan, a Ravenna native who lived there until the eighth grade, about his memories of Northeast Ohio, his choice of local Cleveland act Uncle Scratch’s Gospel Revival to open his tour and his vision for Puscifer.

Q. Looking back to your childhood, what memories do you have of the Buckeye State?

A. I haven’t been there in so long. I couldn’t tell you how to get from Ravenna to Cleveland at this point. But I really liked the snow as a kid. You hate the snow as an adult, but as a kid I just remember super-deep snow you can make caves out of and the drifts were so high you could build forts in it and have a lot of fun outside. That’s a fond memory of all that stuff. So the things you think of being negative now, you look at your kids and they’re probably enjoying it.

Q. You handpicked local Cleveland band Uncle Scratch’s Gospel Choir to open the current Puscifer dates. How did you learn of the country-blues-punk act?

A. They were at this thing called “The Smoke Out” (in Arizona), which is a biker kind of convention that goes around. I’m not really a huge motorcycle guy but just seeing some of this machinery was pretty impressive. A friend of mine, the ex-Chief of Police and City Manager of Cottonwood, Arizona, took me down there and Uncle Scratch was playing on the stage. And it turns out, his son’s fianc e was the one who suggested the bike convention call them to play.

Q. In terms of Tool and A Perfect Circle, Puscifer stands out as being different, most notably not hard rock. More so, reviews of the live show have been positive. Are you surprised critics are receptive?

A. I’m not surprised at all. Pretty much everything I do takes about seven years for people to catch up with it. We started Tool in 1990 and it wasn’t until 1996 or 1997 that people were really starting to come out. Up until ’96 or ’97, I was still living on $500-a-month allowance. We had two platinum records under our belt. People don’t quite get this is the type of commitment we put into these things. It was the same thing with A Perfect Circle. That started in 1999 and people were beating on the door in 2006 and 2007 asking, “Where is it? What’s going on? We want more.” It could be the same thing with Puscifer.

Q. As far as the Puscifer live show, it features theatrical vignettes between songs. Is it safe to say this is sketch comedy?

A. Oh yeah, absolutely. That’s why I’m mentioning “Saturday Night Live,” “The Sonny & Cher Show” and “Hee-Haw” (when describing it). This is going to be fun.

Q. Finally, even though you are touring under the name Puscifer, what would you tell fans of yours who will come out to Lorain expecting to hear Tool or A Perfect Circle songs?

A. If they’re really expecting A Perfect Circle or Tool, they probably shouldn’t come. It’s not that. This is like more going to see a “Saturday Night Live,” “Monty Python,” “Kids in the Hall.” It’s not a rock show.