A Perfect Circle

A Perfect Circle

A Perfect Circle in 2004. From left to right: Josh Freese, Jeordie White, Maynard James Keenan, James Iha, Billy Howerdel
Background information
Origin Los Angeles, California, USA
Genres Alternative rock, alternative metal[1][2][3][4]
Years active 1999-2004
2008-present
Labels EMI, Virgin
Associated acts Ashes Divide, Nine Inch Nails, Puscifer, Tapeworm
Website www.aperfectcircle.com
Members
Maynard James Keenan
Billy Howerdel
Josh Freese
Past members
Paz Lenchantin
Troy Van Leeuwen
Tim Alexander
Danny Lohner
James Iha
Jeordie White

A Perfect Circle is an American rock supergroup formed in 1999 by guitarist Billy Howerdel and Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan. The original incarnation of the band also included Paz Lenchantin on bass, Troy Van Leeuwen on guitar, and Tim Alexander on drums. The latest line-up featured Marilyn Manson bassist and former Nine Inch Nails bassist Jeordie White; former guitarist for The Smashing Pumpkins, James Iha; and session drummer Josh Freese, who is best known for his work with Nine Inch Nails, Devo, and The Vandals. Despite having a varied cast since inception, the stylistic content of the songs has remained consistent with Howerdel as composer, and Keenan penning the lyrics.

A Perfect Circle has released three albums: Mer de Noms, Thirteenth Step and Emotive. A CD-DVD set, Amotion, has also been released and contains thirteen music videos in addition to a number of song remixes created by Danny Lohner. The group has not recorded, toured or released any new material since its hiatus began in 2004. Since then band members have worked on other projects; the most notable being Keenan's work on Tool's 2006 album 10,000 Days, and Howerdel's founding of the band Ashes Divide.

In a 2008 interview, Keenan announced that he and Howerdel have been working on new material, officially ending the group's hiatus. The extent to which Iha, White, and Freese will be involved is unknown.[5]

Contents

History

Mer de Noms (1999–2001)

A Perfect Circle was conceived by Billy Howerdel, a former guitar technician for Nine Inch Nails, The Smashing Pumpkins, Fishbone and Tool. Howerdel met singer Maynard James Keenan in 1992 when Fishbone was opening for Tool, and the two became friends. Three years later, Keenan offered Howerdel, who was looking for lodging, a room in his North Hollywood home. This provided Howerdel the opportunity to play demos of his music for Keenan. Pleased with what he heard, Keenan remarked, "I can hear myself singing [those songs]."[6] Although he originally desired a female vocalist, Howerdel agreed that Keenan would be a good fit, and A Perfect Circle was formed a short time later.[7] They were then joined by bassist and violinist Paz Lenchantin, former Failure guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen, and the previous drummer for Primus, Tim Alexander. The band played their first show at LA's Viper Club Reception on August 15, 1999. After playing shows in L.A., the band entered the studio to begin work on their first album.[8] Alexander was soon replaced with session drummer and member of The Vandals, Josh Freese, but Alexander's performance can still be heard on the album version of the song "The Hollow".

The band's debut album, Mer de Noms (French for "Sea of Names"), was released on May 23, 2000. The album is distinctive in that it is the highest ever debut for a rock band, selling over 188,000 copies in its first week, and appearing at number four on the Billboard 200.[9] Howerdel had been working on some of the music, including tracks "Hollow" and "Breña", as far back as 1988.[10] Soon after recording for the album was finished,[11] the band began touring. Initially, they served as the opening act for Nine Inch Nails on the 2000 Fragility v2.0 tour, but they then embarked on a number of headlining tours all over the world, including the Canadian festival, Summersault.[12] As Keenan was well known through his other band, he would often wear long wigs on his otherwise bald head when performing, to distinguish himself from his Tool persona.[13] Mer de Noms went certified platinum by the RIAA on October 31, 2000, while the band was on tour.

The album produced three singles: "Judith", "3 Libras", and "The Hollow". As is the case with a great number of bands, A Perfect Circle added hidden touches to their songs. "Judith" is distinctive because it is named after, and about, Keenans's mother who suffered a stroke and was left paralyzed when he was 11.[14][15] The song "Renholdër" is a reference to guitarist and sound engineer Danny Lohner and reads Re:D.Lohner backwards. Lohner did not know the song was about him despite his first name being sung—albeit in a distorted fashion—in the song.[16]

In the album review by Rolling Stone, Pat Blashill wrote that Keenan "added an almost operatic angst to Howerdel's songs" and concluded that "A Perfect Circle sound like a desperate dream of what rock used to be. Maybe that's the point."[17] Allmusic's review expressed that "there's little question that the addicting combination of Keenan's aching voice and Howerdel's accomplished songs and production skills made for one of 2000's best splashes in whatever was left of 'modern rock'."[18]

Thirteenth Step (2002–2003)

During the recording, release and tour for Tool's previous album Lateralus, from 2000 to 2002 the band experienced a considerable amount of downtime. This made the band extremely dynamic in terms of its members. During the recording of Thirteenth Step, A Perfect Circle lost two of its members, Paz Lenchantin & Troy Van Leeuwen. Lenchantin left to join Billy Corgan's new band Zwan in April 2002,[19] while Van Leeuwen left to handle touring duties as the new guitarist for Queens of the Stone Age. Ex-Marilyn Manson bassist Jeordie White, formerly known as Twiggy Ramirez, replaced Lenchantin on bass in January 2003, with Danny Lohner taking the reins on guitar.[20] However, Lohner did not quite fit as a second guitarist, and former Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha eventually replaced him.[21]

The band released their second album, Thirteenth Step, on September 16, 2003. With the new album came a new sound. While Mer de Noms had a heavier, deeper sound, Thirteenth Step was more melodic and straightforward.[22] After the release of the album, John Lappen from The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "They were never a band who beat the listener over the head with metal brutality, but now they're even more song-oriented than before—a move that illustrates that the band has a knack for writing instrumental hooks that show off a melodic talent that was not as apparent on the first album."[23] This different sound can be heard in the three singles that came off the album: "Weak and Powerless", "The Outsider" and "Blue". Following the release of the album, the band toured throughout the U.S. until the year's end.[24] Then, in January 2004, the group left the country to play shows in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. They headed home in mid-March and finished touring in mid-June.[25]

The album received mostly positive reviews. Allmusic's review stated the album "is the sound of a musical and lyrical maturity that normally doesn't occur until a band's third or fourth albums".[26] The review by Yahoo! Music expressed that the album "has its share of anthemic moments, but the real passion spills over in the moody overtures where menacing danger feels seconds away".[27] Rolling Stone wrote in an attempt to summarize the album that it "sounds more like the dusky thrum of Disintegration-era Cure than it does any of the members' previous bands", and continued "Thirteenth Step doesn't bludgeon listeners into submission—it lulls them with droning guitars, dub-deep bass and simmering vocals."[28]

Emotive and Amotion (2004)

A third album, Emotive, was released on November 2, 2004 (election day in the United States), and contains covers of anti-war songs by artists such as John Lennon ("Imagine") and Joni Mitchell ("Fiddle and the Drum"). Emotive was recorded with current and former members of the band, but is mostly the work of Keenan and Howerdel. The single "Passive" was adapted from the defunct band Tapeworm, a project composed mainly of Keenan, Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, and Danny Lohner. "Passive" first appeared under the title "Vacant" at a show played by A Perfect Circle in Portland, Oregon on January 31, 2001, notably, without the blessing of Reznor to play the song.[29] The song remained unreleased by any artist until it appeared on Emotive as the song "Passive".[30]The single "Passive" can also be heard in the 2005 movie Constantine when John Constantine (Keanu Reeves) enters Papa Midnite's office in his club in the second half of the movie. The song "Counting Bodies Like Sheep" is used in the trailer for The Taking of Pelham 123. The song "The Outsider" (Apocalypse Mix) is used in the trailer for Resident Evil: Afterlife.

The album received mixed reviews. An Allmusic review stated the album "falls flat and fails to raise the bar set so high by the quality of their previous two releases".[31] Rolling Stone praised half the album while criticizing the other,[32] as did The Guardian which stated "cover versions are often hobbled by the artist's inability to step outside the original and find a fresh perspective, but some of these treatments verge on the visionary."[33] Ken Micallef of Yahoo! Music wrote "the band builds on the power of the previous Thirteenth Step, applying hypnotic arrangements, brooding melodies, and droning rhythms to a collection that sounds absurd on its surface, but is woven together by A Perfect Circle's heavy and dark-lidded instrumental approach."[34]

On November 16, 2004, the CD-DVD set entitled Amotion was released. The DVD contains music videos for six singles; previously unreleased videos for other songs, including three contest runner-up videos and the winning video for "Blue"; and three trailers for Bikini Bandits.[35] The CD is composed entirely of remixes of the singles from Mer de Noms and Thirteenth Step. The songs were retooled by Danny Lohner, Joshua Eustis, Massive Attack, and James Iha among others.[36][37]

Hiatus (2004–2008)

The future of A Perfect Circle remained uncertain and wobbled between "done for now"[38] and "alive and well."[39] The band became inactive after they played their last show in Denver, Colorado on June 13, 2004. Keenan left to work on Tool's then-upcoming album 10,000 Days while Howerdel began work on a side-project with Josh Freese that flourished into Ashes Divide.[40] In addition to Keenan's work with Tool, his side-project Puscifer released its first album, V is for Vagina on October 30, 2007. The rest of the band also went their separate ways. Freese once again took up the reins as drummer for Nine Inch Nails.[41] White moved on to rejoin Marilyn Manson at guitar under his pseudonym Twiggy Ramirez,[42] and while there was talk of Iha joining Billy Corgan for the Smashing Pumpkins reunion tour in 2007, this idea was rebuffed and he instead began work on a solo record.[43]

Both Howerdel and Keenan discussed the future of the band in various mediums from 2006 through 2008. During a February 2006 interview with Rock Hard, Keenan remarked, "I think [APC] is over. ... We pushed this project as far as it could go, and I see ourselves playing again together only in a few years to make one or two songs, nothing more."[44] Howerdel's thoughts on the reunion of the band were similar to those of Keenan in a May 2006 interview with MTV.[38] In a November 2007 issue of Spin featuring Keenan, when asked "Will there ever be another APC album," he reiterated his comments from 2006 replying, "Um, no. Maybe, someday, a song on a soundtrack. But an album? No."[45] Despite these comments, in an interview with Revolver the following month, Keenan discussed the other members of A Perfect Circle's recent activities and also hinted at the possibility of a reunion. During the interview, Keenan stated:

The real problem with running Tool and A Perfect Circle at the same time was they both operate the same way. They're both live touring bands with a label, still working under the old contract mentality. So I thought it was time to let A Perfect Circle go for now and let Billy explore himself. It's tough for a guy who went from being a guitar tech [for Tool] to being in a band with a pretentious, famous singer and having to live in that shadow. It was important for Billy to go and do his own thing and really explore his own sound and let people hear what he has to say and how he would do it on his own, and then we'll get back and do some A Perfect Circle stuff.
—Maynard James Keenan, Revolver, December 2007[46]

Although the band's official website had offered no insight as to whether or not the group would reunite,[47] news continued to arrive through Keenan about the existence of the band. In Puscifer's May 2008 newsletter, Keenan remarked on the status of A Perfect Circle: "As many of you may have heard, Billy and I are engaged in our own little projects for the moment. His is called ASHES DIVIDE and mine is called PUSCIFER...Please be advised that A PERFECT CIRCLE and TOOL are still alive and well. This is simply MORE."[39]

Return (2008 onward)

On December 9, 2008, blabbermouth.net reported that Keenan had announced on The Pulse of Radio that he and Howerdel have been writing new music for A Perfect Circle. However, Keenan also said that the band has no plans to resume full-scale touring, or even to write and record a new album. Instead, they will focus on "one or two songs at a time", which will most likely be released via the Internet, rather than on compact disc. Keenan jokingly mentioned that CDs have become "plastic discs that no one cares about anymore."[5]

On September 17, 2009, Keenan confirmed that new material from A Perfect Circle was on the way during a live radio interview with BJ Shea on Seattle rock station KISW.[48]

On June 10, 2010, Keenan revealed that he is working on a fourth LP for A Perfect Circle [49] On July 16, 2010, the news section of their website read: "Stuff... is happening". Three days later, their official website's news section was updated with, "Movement - Subtle stealth movement. Keep eyes and ears peeled for clues thru all channels involving Ashes Divide and Puscifer." On August 2, 2010, a Twitter account was started with the lone message, "It's On."[50]

On August 3, 2010, Howerdel stated at his Twitter account that "The APC dust is shaking off!". Later on, Josh Freese posted via Facebook "I'm happy to report that A Perfect Circle is waking up from it's 6 year slumber...and we're going to be "doing stuff" soon." The official A Perfect Circle Twitter then posted an update saying "Go tell Aunt Rosie... The old grey goose is dead not" with links to the Twitter accounts of Billy Howerdel, Josh Freese, Troy Van Leeuwen's band Sweethead, Matt McJunkins, Danny Lohner, Paz Lenchantin and Maynard James Keenan. A later tweet was also directed towards James Iha. All of them were past members or contributors to A Perfect Circle with the exception of Matt McJunkins, who was a touring member of Howerdel's other band, Ashes Divide, and Keenan's Puscifer project.

Band members

Current members
Former

Discography

Studio albums

References

  1. ↑ Frey, Tracy. A Perfect Circle Biography. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2008-12-28.
  2. ↑ A Perfect Circle Biography. MusicMight.com. Retrieved on 2008-12-28.
  3. ↑ Roper, Chris (December 19, 2003). "Thirteenth Step: A Perfect Circle's sophomore effort is a much more somber affair". IGN. Retrieved on 2008-12-28.
  4. ↑ A Perfect Circle Biography. NME. Retrieved on 2008-12-28.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 (December 9, 2008). "New Music From A PERFECT CIRCLE On The Way?". blabbermouth.net. Retrieved on 2008-12-12.
  6. ↑ Summers, Jodi (2004). Making and Marketing Music. Allworth Communications, Inc.. p. 16. ISBN 1581153872. 
  7. ↑ "ASHES dIVIDE official website I". Island Records. http://www.islandrecords.com/site/artist_bio.php?artist_id=680. Retrieved 2008-08-23. 
  8. ↑ McIver, Joel (2002). Nu-metal: The Next Generation of Rock & Punk. Omnibus Press. p. 27. 
  9. ↑ "A Perfect Circle Storms Onto Chart with Highest Debuting First Album Ever From a Rock Band". NY Rock. June 2, 2000. http://www.nyrock.com/worldbeat/06_2000/060200.asp. Retrieved 2008-09-03. 
  10. ↑ Corp, Hal (2002). Guitar World Presents Nu-Metal. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Hal Leonard. p. 91–94. ISBN 0634032879. 
  11. ↑ Kielty, Tom (June 22, 2000). "New on disc; A Perfect Circle Mer de Noms Virgin". Boston Globe: p. Calendar; 8. 
  12. ↑ Zahlaway, Jon (December 8, 2000). "A Perfect Circle lines up winter headlining tour". LiveDaily. http://www.livedaily.com/news/2305.html. Retrieved 2008-03-29. 
  13. ↑ Moriates, Chris (February 8, 2001). "A Perfect Circle captivates audience at UCI Bren Center". Daily Bruin. http://www.dailybruin.ucla.edu/news/2001/feb/08/a-perfect-circle-captivates-au/print/. Retrieved 2008-08-23. 
  14. ↑ McAlley, John (November 3, 2007). "I, Puscifer". Spin. http://www.spin.com/features/magazine/2007/11/0712_ipuscifer/. Retrieved 2008-01-16. 
  15. ↑ Cook, Dave (December 24, 2004). "Amotion; DVD Reviews". The Age. p. 9. 
  16. ↑ "Renholder: the Danny Lohner interview". Movement Magazine. http://www.movementmagazine.com/1103/music_danny_lohner.htm. Retrieved 2008-08-24. 
  17. ↑ Blashill, Pat (June 8, 2000). Mer de Noms Album Review. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2008-12-12.
  18. ↑ Raggett, Ned. Review: Mer de Noms. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2008-12-12.
  19. ↑ Kaufman, Gil (January 22, 2003). "Billy Corgan In Search Of Personal 'Jesus' On Zwan Debut". MTV.com. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1459600/20030121/zwan.jhtml. Retrieved 2008-08-26. 
  20. ↑ MTV News staff report (February 19, 2003). "For The Record: Quick News On Mariah Carey And Busta Rhymes, DMX, A Perfect Circle, Limp Bizkit, P.O.D. & More". MTV.com. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1470033/20030219/carey_mariah.jhtml. Retrieved 2008-08-26. 
  21. ↑ Kaufman, Gil (August 3, 2003). "Iha Steps into Perfect Circle: A Perfect Circle". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/aperfectcircle/articles/story/5936064/iha_steps_into_perfect_circle. Retrieved 2008-09-02. 
  22. ↑ Allen, Ryan. "A Perfect Circle Biography". Musician Guide. http://www.musicianguide.com/biographies/1608004481/A-Perfect-Circle.html. Retrieved 2008-08-28. 
  23. ↑ Lappen, John (June 8, 2004). "A Perfect Circle". The Hollywood Reporter. http://www.allbusiness.com/services/motion-pictures/4923457-1.html. Retrieved 2008-08-28. 
  24. ↑ Zahlaway, Jon (October 16, 2003). "A Perfect Circle rounds up more tour dates for fall outing". Live Daily. http://www.livedaily.com/news/5633.html. Retrieved 2008-08-26. 
  25. ↑ "Tour info". aperfectcircle.com. http://www.aperfectcircle.com/tour_present.php. Retrieved 2008-09-09. 
  26. ↑ Jurek, Thom. Review: Thirteenth Step. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2008-12-12.
  27. ↑ O'Connor, Rob (September 22, 2003). Album Review: Thirteenth Step. Yahoo! Music. Retrieved on 2008-12-12.
  28. ↑ Cherry, Robert (October 2, 2003). Thirteenth Step Album Review. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2008-12-12.
  29. ↑ Wiederhorn, Jon (August 6, 2002). "Nine Inch Nails, Tool Frontmen Recording Together". MTV.com. http://www.mtv.com. Retrieved 2008-08-26. 
  30. ↑ "A Perfect Circle – eMOTIVe". Sputnik Music. July 26, 2005. http://www.sputnikmusic.com/album.php?albumid=1021. Retrieved 2008-08-26. 
  31. ↑ Theakston, Rob. Emotive Review. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2008-12-12.
  32. ↑ Fricke, David (November 11, 2004). Album Review: Emotive. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2008-12-12.
  33. ↑ Sweeting, Adam (October 29, 2004). Emotive Review. The Guardian. Retrieved on 2008-12-12.
  34. ↑ Micallef, Ken (November 4, 2004). Album Review: eMOTIVe. Yahoo! Music. Retrieved on 2008-12-12.
  35. ↑ aMotion, back cover.
  36. ↑ Theakston, Rob. "AMotion > Overview". allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:3bkxu3lsanxk. Retrieved 2008-08-26. 
  37. ↑ Conte, Patti (September 23, 2004). "A Perfect Circle Cast Their Ballot With 'eMOTIVe'". Virgin Records. 
  38. ↑ 38.0 38.1 Harris, Chris (May 16, 2006). "A Perfect Circle Is Done For Now,' Says Billy Howerdel". MTV.com. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1531791/20060515/perfect_circle.jhtml?headlines=true. Retrieved 2008-01-27. 
  39. ↑ 39.0 39.1 Keenan, Maynard James (May 13, 2008). "Maynard James Keenan Says A Perfect Circle Is Still Alive". Blabbermouth.net. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=96908. Retrieved 2008-09-02. 
  40. ↑ Wiederhorn, Jon; Dave LeClaire (March 24, 2006). "A Perfect Circle Prepare For Hibernation". MTV.com. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1485998/20040326/perfect_circle.jhtml. Retrieved 2008-08-31. 
  41. ↑ Zwickel, Jonathan (July 28, 2008). "Nine Inch Nails Bring Darkness and Light to Seattle for Tour Opener". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2008/07/28/nine-inch-nails-bring-darkness-and-light-to-seattle-for-tour-opener/. Retrieved 2008-08-31. 
  42. ↑ Kreps, Daniel (January 11, 2008). "Marilyn Manson Says Led Zeppelin Is Responsible For Reunion With Twiggy". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2008/01/11/marilyn-manson-says-led-zeppelin-is-responsible-reunion-with-twiggy/. Retrieved 2008-08-31. 
  43. ↑ Goodman, Elizabeth (April 6, 2007). "Exclusive: James Iha Speaks Out Regarding His Involvement in Pumpkins Reunion". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2007/04/06/exclusive-james-iha-speaks-out-regarding-his-involvement-in-pumpkins-reunion/. Retrieved 2008-08-31. 
  44. ↑ Rivalin, Morgan (February 2006). TOOL: Jours de tonnerre. Rock Hard. 
  45. ↑ McKibbin, Adam (October 29, 2007). "Interview: Puscifer's Maynard James Keenan". Artistdirect. http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/news/article/0,,4460479,00.html. Retrieved 2008-01-21. 
  46. ↑ Wiederhorn, Jon (December 2007). "Gynormous". Revolver. 
  47. ↑ Keenan, Maynard James (September 30, 2006). "A Perfect Circle News". http://www.aperfectcircle.com/news.php?year=2006. Retrieved 2008-09-26. 
  48. ↑ [1]
  49. ↑ http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/17386/112763
  50. ↑ [2]

External links

A Perfect Circle
Josh Freese · Billy Howerdel · Maynard James Keenan · James Iha · Matt McJunkins
Tim Alexander · Troy Van Leeuwen · Paz Lenchantin · Danny Lohner · Jeordie White
Studio albums
Mer de Noms  · Thirteenth Step  · Emotive
Extended plays
Deep Cuts
Box sets
aMOTION
Singles
"Judith" · "3 Libras" · "The Hollow" · "Weak and Powerless" · "The Outsider" · "Blue" · "Counting Bodies Like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War Drums" · "Imagine" · "Passive"
Related articles
Ashes Divide · Puscifer · Tapeworm · Tool · Nine Inch Nails