I was 12 years old when I first picked up AENIMA at a Target store in St. Cloud, Minnesota…I believe I had heard one of their songs on the airwaves; probably “Sober,” since my mind was very open to the radio back then. I didn’t really understand Tool too much back then, but I knew that I had found something that felt comfortable to me like a new companion would…and with all the shit we go through as pre-teens, you just need it. Unlike many other musical acts over my teenage years this band continued to grow and stood the test of time…In all honesty, I can’t think of a day that I haven’t listened to one of their albums (hell, I even have the Cam Deleon eye tattooed on the small of my back). Tool has done more than just represent outstanding music that ebbs and flows like the ocean, pounding my eardrums with irregular rhythms in odd time. They have influenced my person and opened my mind to many faculties of thought, be it religion, mysticism, politics, philosophy, etc. They opened my interest to Carl Jung and his collected works about the human psyche. I purchased a Joni Mitchell album for the first time because of her striking influence in Maynard’s vocal phrasing. I got into Meshuggah through Tool, Timothy Leary, Portishead, Tori Amos, Alex Gray…to many more to name!!! Not to mention all of the bands I have sang for have definitely been standardized/compared to one of the greatest lyricists/vocalists of my generation. There is no other working band out there creating art like this besides the Mars Volta, or the late Sunny Day Real Estate.
Tool has definitely changed my outlook on life and now, at 22…I’m still searching.