Watch Maynard James Keenan on Community, Creating ‘Pink Floyd Wines’
Tool‘s Maynard James Keenan discussed the importance of community for creative pursuits in the third installment of Revolver‘s web series, “The Art of Work.”
“You live in a world with lots of different people – that communication, that commerce, is important,” Keenan explained. “There’s many things you can’t do on your own. You have to work with people. As an artist, you’re responding to stimulus, you’re observing, interpreting and reporting. You have to do it for yourself, but you have to understand there’s a community around you. And that community around you, if they’re inspired by your actions, they can build on that, whether it’s writing songs or farming or cooking.”
Consequently, Keenan wants to build up the community in Jerome, Arizona with the Merkin Vineyards Osteria, the Four Eight Wineworks collective and the Puscifer general store and barbershop. “We’ve set up a scenario where people come in, they’re just looking for a job,” he said. “But hopefully by the time they leave, they’ve made a connection with the Arizona wheat, the Arizona grapes, the Arizona produce, the interaction and the conversation with the barber. There’s commerce and communication that spirals out from there and hopefully we can build on that.”
Though Keenan mostly stays away from discussing music in the latest segment of “The Art of Work,” he does lean on his rock background to articulate the type of wine his vineyard produces. “Rather than making Metallica or Slayer wines, we’re making Pink Floyd wines,” he said. “You’re not gonna get ’em in 15 seconds. It’s gonna take a whole experience with friends and food – time, investment, focus, presence.”
On the previous two installments of “The Art of Work,” Keenan discussed the similarity between wine-making and lyric-writing and the importance of building a legacy.