Maynard James Keenan Names Three ’90s Bands He Thought Would Be Huge (But Weren’t)

Tool‘s Maynard James Keenan was coming up as a musician during an interesting period and during an appearance on the comedian Bert Kreischer’s Bertcast, the singer recalled some of the bands he thought would be huge at the time that never quite made it.

What Bands Did Maynard James Keenan Think Could Be Huge?

The topic of which bands he thought might have been huge but weren’t came up as part of a bigger discussion with Kreischer talking about Keenan’s beginnings in Los Angeles and the bands that he was into in the early part of the ’90s. Keenan first shared his love of Nirvana that actually preceded their Nevermind breakout.

When speaking about the bands that didn’t pan out, Keenan commented, “There were a bunch that were around at that point. There was a band called Dead, White and Blue, Dumpster, Liquid Jesus.”

Dead, White and Blue were a Los Angeles alt-rock band active in the early ’90s. They released one album, Heads, in 1992. Preceding that, they also issued the “Play It Safe / Something to Do” and “Ego” 7″ singles.

Dumpster actually formed in the late ’80s after the members all met in Los Angeles. Drummer Keilli Scott would later find fame with Failure. Some of the band’s music has been posted through OurStage.

Liquid Jesus may have had the highest profile of the bands Keenan named. The experimental rockers fused elements of blues, jazz, metal and psychedelia into their sound and they signed to Geffen Records in 1991. The band issued a self-titled album, a live album titled Live and the studio albums Pour the Sky in 1991 and Mirrors for the Blind in 1994. They also secured a coveted spot covering Sly and the Family Stone’s “Stand” on the Pump Up the Volume soundtrack.

Why Didn’t It Pan Out?

Though not speaking specifically about any of the three individual bands ultimate downfall, the singer offered a broader explanation of why things didn’t work out for many bands at that time.

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Keenan continued, “It’s Hollywood, so there’s all the stuff that ends up infecting it. There’s the stuff around town of like, ‘You’re gonna be huge, so you should do this now. Hire that guy and do this,’ and it just kind of imploded because of the external and internal pressures kind of colliding.”

“They didn’t focus on probably what was the most important part which is don’t listen to any of those voices, just make your music and play your show,” adds Keenan.

Maynard’s Own Experience Starting Out

When Kreischer asked about how difficult it is for young bands not to succumb to the outside forces, Keenan recalled, “Early on we had a guy talking to us and he said in this industry you’re going to meet a manager who is going to introduce you to the lawyer who is going to introduce you to the agent who is going to introduce you to the merchandiser who is going to introduce you to blah, blah, blah just round in a circle.”

He added, “All these people you’re all going to meet, they know each other and you’re new here and they’re going to compliment the fuck out of you. And anytime they say anything that’s a compliment, you have to replace it with ‘dumb’ and ‘naive.’ ”Oh my God, I saw you guys play last night and you were so dumb and naive. I’ve never heard anything so dumb and naive.’ He said, ‘Just replace it with dumb and naive in your head and picture them with bunny ears.”

“It kind of levels what’s being said,” admits Keenan. “At the end of the day, we write the songs, we play the songs and what are we talking about right now? What do you want?”

Maynard James Keenan Guests on Bert Kreischer’s Bertcast