Happy Birthday today (April 17) to Maynard James Keenan. The Tool frontman is 53.

Tool formed out of Los Angeles in 1990. The band’s lineup features Maynard James Keenan on lead vocals, guitarist Adam Jones, drummer Danny Carey, and bassist Justin Chancellor. Chancellor joined the band in 1995 replacing Paul D’Amour. The band came onto the heavy metal scene with the 1993 album Undertow and would later be a big part of the alternative metal movement.

Keenan is also lead singer for A Perfect Circle and his other project, Puscifer. He spoke to Phoenix News Times about working on a book in Jan. 2013 and said, “I think there are a lot of misconceptions with some people that, all of a sudden, I was born when my first band came out. I actually had a life before that, and there were a lot of accomplishments. [The book] will kind of chronicle why it is I got to where I am, and why I got to where you knew about me.” An autobiography entitled A Perfect Union of Contrary Things was released last year. Tool will play the Boston Calling Music Festival over Memorial Day Weekend May 26-28 (Tool perform Sunday, May 28), they'll be in Rochester, NY at Blue Cross Arena May 30, and the Governor's Ball Music Festival on Randall's Island in NYC June 2-4. (Tool perform Sunday, June 4).

I've been a Tool fan going back to high school when the band released their first album Undertow. I remember the principle making me turn my Tool shirt inside out because she found it offensive. F**K Censorship! Well, I guess I just censored myself there.

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