Tool: Maynard James Keenan's Military Service

Today we take a look at Tool's Maynard James Keenan's time in the military.

0:00 - Introduction/Teaser
0:30 - Maynard James Keenan's Army Service
2:02 - Maynard James Keenan's West Point Offer
3:12 - How the Army Shaped His Phillosophy
3:35 - Maynard James Keenan Gets Criticized
4:38 - Maynard James Keenan Rant About Military
6:29 - Maynard James Keenan On Military Service

Photo at 4:38 Credit Alex Cason
https://www.youtube.com/AlexCasonPhotography?fbclid=IwAR2h2PbQnqoQawywpnX9_ibPWio0sO9kkZi0X_8Bi86Wc4vvIiZjkVoHBjM

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Prior to fronting the hugely successful band Tool and A perfect Circle, frontman Maynard James Kennan spent some time in the US Army. He talked about his time in the military in greater detail in 2016 after he co-authored a book titled A Perfect Union of Contrary Things. During an interview with Rolling Stone magazine to promote the book he revealed the rationale behind him joining the army claiming

He needed the money. The singer wanted to use the GI Bill which helps veterans pay for their post-secondary schooling and he had a desire to attend arts school and thought that enlisting in the military would help pay for that.
The other reason he joined was because of the Bill Murray 1981 film Stripes. He was quoted as saying: "Bill Murray's character in Stripes played a part in my decision to join the Army," "It just felt right to do at the time, and I excelled he'd say

And he was correct, he did excel as a soldier

Keenan would tell Revolver Magazine that he enlisted in the service in 1982 after graduating from high school. He did his basic training in Oklahoma, and was initially stationed in North Kansas. He would serve as a military forward observer which directs mortar and artillery fire onto enemy positions. According to same Revolver piece He also went to military preparatory school in New Jersey from 1983 to 1984 and finished out his term in Texas. The singer would tell the publication "At basic training, I received the distinguished graduate award for my battery, overall, I got a big trophy and got to shake the colonel's hand. And then for advanced training, same thing" he'd say.

Following him finishing his advanced training he was offered a chance to attend West Point, which is a 4 year military school that has produced some of the best and brightest military minds. But for the Keenan, something didn’t seem right. He would tell Revolver

"In that moment, when you're staring at this thing going, OK, is this what I want to do? Is there something else? I had an overwhelming feeling that this wasn't what I was supposed to do, "I'm pretty in touch with my intuition, and in that moment, I had to listen to it and decline the appointment."
The singer would spend a total of 3 years in the service before finally leaving..
Like a lot of people including myself and I’m sure a lot of you have asked yourself this as well. How would life be different if you would have made one different decision or chose a different path in life, and Maynard James Keenan was no different saying in the same interview:
"Recently, I reached out to an old classmate of mine from preparatory school just prior to West Point. I wanted to see where he's at. He's basically in charge of Afghanistan. He's a colonel now. And it makes me kind of wonder where I would have been had I taken a different path. Because if I had accepted my appointment and made it through the next four years, my career was set" he's say
And while he may have declined a longer career in the military, his service shaped his view of life as he would tell Rolling Stone
I feel like from an artist perspective there is that warrior’s perspective and I feel like that’s in each one of us. And if you can embrace it in some way and understand … even in terms of martial arts, when you step into that ring, on that mat, you have to kind of embrace that warrior side of you. You’re competing against yourself more than you’re actually competing against your opponent across from you.

And that’s not to say his opinions on the military hasn’t drawn criticism from some people. Back in 2016 he appeared on the cover of ballistics magazine holding a Tool inscribed rifle. The gun was given to the frontman by a soldier named Nick McGarry on behalf of one of his friends Staff Seargent Robert J Miller who died at the age of 24 in Afghanistan after being. Miller for his bravery would receive an honor few soldiers have gotten, which was the medal of honor. Miller was a huge Tool fan and would crank 10,000 days at his ou

Видео Tool: Maynard James Keenan's Military Service канала Rock N' Roll True Stories