How Joni Mitchell became Maynard James Keenan’s biggest influence
You’d be mistaken for thinking that fans of metal, or indeed artists who deal in the genre, set out a degree of exclusivity and only ever listen to music that feels closely aligned to their niche. Despite its abrasive nature, the metal community has always largely been an inviting space where people are invited to express themselves in whatever way they please. In the case of Maynard James Keenan, he’s far less likely to spend his time away from his own musical projects, indulging in other metal projects, but can instead probably be found soaking up the jazz-inflected folk of Joni Mitchell.
When you think about it, the complexities in Keenan’s projects, whether that’s with Tool, A Perfect Circle or Puscifer, are not worlds away from what Mitchell demonstrated throughout the many stages of her career. While there were plenty of changes between styles throughout her career that saw her experiment and push folk to its outer limits, Mitchell always incorporated unusual structures, time signatures and rhythms in her song – and that’s without even touching on her ability to carve an otherworldly melody.
Keenan’s predilection for bizarre time signatures and obscure displays of music theory that most wouldn’t dare to touch isn’t too distant from what other metal acts produce, but it’s clear that Tool, above all of his projects, have always displayed a sense of interest in other genres, and Keenan’s childhood influence from Mitchell is one of the things that has helped drive the band’s sound in more surprising directions.
He first expressed his love for the Canadian singer-songwriter in an interview with MTV’s Kurt Loder early in his career, where he outlined which artists he found the most inspiration from in his youth. Having been introduced to her music by his aunt, who was shocked by the fact that, as a teen, he was getting into Black Sabbath and Kiss, he was immediately impressed by what he heard. “I think everything Joni Mitchell did for music was big,” he told the interviewer.
Years later in a 2006 interview, he expanded on how this influence worked its way into the music of Tool. “The melody is what I gravitate to,” Keenan shared. “It’s my job to listen to what’s happening when those guys go down these staccato, rhythmic, insane mathematical paths. It’s my job to soften it and bring it back to the centre so you can listen to it without having an eye-ache.”
This ongoing love for her work is something that Keenan has brought up time and time again in interviews, and he has even had the pleasure of conducting an interview with her in a 1995 issue of Hypno Magazine. During the conversation, the duo both enthused at great lengths about expanding their horizons through the use of different song structures, harmonies and instrument tunings, and it’s palpable that the two held a great deal of interest in what the other had to say.
There’s no reason why other metal artists can’t fall for much softer music, but it’s completely understandable that Keenan has always held a deep-rooted respect for Mitchell, and it’s the sort that will live with him for the rest of his career.
