Puscifer

All Music Guide:

While one might imagine Maynard James Keenan would have enough going on to keep him busy as a frontman with the groups Tool and A Perfect Circle, in 2007 he decided to record an album under yet another name with Puscifer. Described by Keenan as "the space where my Id, Ego, and Anima all come together to exchange cookie recipes," Puscifer first appeared as the name of a fictional band Keenan fronted in a cameo on the HBO sketch comedy series Mr. Show in 1995. It wasn't until 2003 that Keenan actually recorded under the name, when he teamed up with Danny Lohner for a track called "Rev 22:20" for the Underworld soundtrack, and it wasn't until four years later that he set to work on an entire Puscifer album. Organized less as a traditional "rock band," and more as a musical collective in which Keenan could work with a rotating lineup of likeminded artists, Puscifer's early recording projects featured a large cast of noted musicians, including Tim Alexander from Primus, Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk from Audioslave and Rage Against the Machine, former King Crimson member Trey Gunn, violinist Lisa Germano, pop singer/songwriter Jonny Polonsky, and actress and vocalist Milla Jovovich.

The first product of Puscifer's new life was a single issued in early October 2007; the A-side was "Cuntry Boner," a gleefully offensive song originally recorded by Electric Sheep (a short-lived punk band featuring Adam Jones and Tom Morello years before they would respectively join Tool and Rage Against the Machine), while the flip side was a cover of the Circle Jerks' "World Up My Ass." Later the same month, Puscifer's debut album, V Is for Vagina, was released; like the single, it was released in the United States by Keenan's own Puscifer Entertainment label, and it featured ten original songs, many of which were dominated by slow but potent dance grooves rather than Tool's prog metal textures. Keenan has said the group has no immediate plans to tour, but he is collaborating with several filmmakers on short movies based on the songs, which could be shown at live performances. In April of 2008, a remix album of V Is for Vagina titled V Is for Viagra: The Remixes was released and featured contributions from members of Nine Inch Nails, Telefon Tel Aviv, Ministry, and Slipknot, among others. Keenan returned the following year with the EP "C" is for (Please Insert Sophomoric Genitalia Reference Here) before releasing the full-length, Conditions of My Parole, in 2011. An EP, Donkey Punch in the Night, arrived in 2013 with a pair of new tracks, as well as covers of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" and Accept's "Balls to the Wall."

Wikipedia:

Puscifer (pron.: /ˈʊɨər/) is a side project of Maynard James Keenan, known for his work with the bands Tool and A Perfect Circle. As Keenan is the only permanent member and he considers the project to be his "creative subconscious", Puscifer could also be considered a pseudonym for his solo work.

Background [edit]

Puscifer's original name was Umlaut, "a premiere improvisational hardcore band". The name "Puscifer" was first publicized as a fictional band in the first episode of Mr. Show, including Keenan and Adam Jones as members. Jones is not associated with Puscifer otherwise, although artwork by Jones has been featured on Puscifer apparel (the "Your Mom's a Bitch" shirt, specifically). Keenan describes Puscifer as "simply a playground for the various voices in my head, [...] a space with no clear or discernible goals, [...] where my Id, Ego, and Anima all come together to exchange cookie recipes." Keenan has reportedly been working on short films with Ford Englerth and Jeffrey Brooks from Red Rock Entertainment Development that may be shown on an upcoming tour. These shorts are done in a similar manner to that of Mr. Show and Tom Waits' Big Time.

Puscifer is "as much a clothing line as it is a band", with the clothing items produced in limited numbers. Keenan collaborated on a leather jacket with Paul Frank. On September 16, 2008, Keenan updated the puscifer.com blog, revealing that the first ever Puscifer store would be opening "hopefully" by October 1 in Jerome, Arizona. Occupying a small space above a tattoo parlor, the store opened on October 3, 2008. In addition to the merchandise available on the band's online store, Keenan has also made available locally-roasted coffee, art, and an ever-changing list of limited edition collectibles.

Don't Shoot the Messenger [edit]

Don't Shoot the Messenger is a four track EP released by Puscifer on October 9, 2007.

"V" Is for Vagina [edit]

On April 10, 2007, Keenan posted on the official website that a release would be aimed for mid-October. A newer post on June 25, 2007 stated that Joe Barresi mixed the first song, which would have a music video, as well as an alternate version of "Cuntry Boner", and would likely be released as a CD single with bonus tracks. Further mixing would be done by Keenan and Alan Moulder by August.

Keenan announced at the end of July that the album would be titled "V" Is for Vagina and, a few days later, he announced that the first single would be "Queen B." with a video released in late September. On October 1, "Queen B." appeared on the podcast on puscifer.com. This was followed by the podcast release of "Trekka" on October 7. The album was released on October 30 and debuted at #25 on the Billboard 200, as well as #1 on the Billboard Indie charts.

On October 17, 2008, an official music video for the song Momma Sed was released online via the official Puscifer YouTube channel. A new dub remix album also appeared at the official website's store completely by Lustmord, entitled "D" Is for Dubby – The Lustmord Dub Mixes.

Momma Sed also featured in the 2012 movie: "[1]" End of Watch]

"V" Is for Vagina has sold 112,000 copies.

"V" Is for Viagra. The Remixes [edit]

A remix album entitled "V" Is for Viagra was released on April 29, 2008. It contains ten remixes of tracks from the first Puscifer album "V" Is for Vagina, as well as two remixes of the non-album single "Cuntry Boner". It features remixes by Dave "Rave" Ogilvie of Skinny Puppy, Lustmord, Renholder, Paul Barker from Ministry, Telefon Tel Aviv, among others.

Two of the tracks from the album, "Indigo Children" (JLE Dub Mix) and "Momma Sed" (Tandimonium Mix), appear on the official soundtrack for the video game Need for Speed: Undercover.

"V" Is for Viagra has sold 23,000 copies.

"C" Is for (Please Insert Sophomoric Genitalia Reference Here) [edit]

"C" Is for (Please Insert Sophomoric Genitalia Reference Here) is an EP which was announced on the toolarmy.com and Puscifer websites on October 12, 2009. It was subsequently released on November 10, 2009. The EP contains six tracks; four previously unreleased songs, and two live recordings of tracks from "V" Is for Vagina, which were recorded from the Club Nokia shows on Puscifer's 2009 tour.

The EP has sold 10,000 copies.

The song "Rocket Mantastic" was later released

Conditions of My Parole [edit]

"Man Overboard," the first single from the album, became available via iTunes and other digital service providers on July 19, 2011.

Conditions of My Parole was recorded at Jerome, Arizona in spring 2011 with tracking done amidst the wine barrels from Keenan's Caduceus Cellars. The album was produced by Keenan, Mat Mitchell and Josh Eustis. Contributing musicians for the new album include the aforementioned Keenan, Mitchell, and Eustis as well as Carina Round, Juliette Commagere, Matt McJunkins, Jeff Friedl, Gil Sharone and Rani Sharone, Jonny Polonsky, Tim Alexander, Devo Keenan, Alessandro Cortini, Sarah Jones, and Jon Theodore.

It debuted at #27 on the Billboard charts with 12,111 copies sold in its first week. With street date violations added in it sits at 12,337 copies sold after one week according to Soundscan.

Donkey Punch The Night [edit]

Donkey Punch The Night was announced November 19, 2012 and released February 19th, 2013. The album was released in digital and CD formats, with a forthcoming vinyl release on March 12, 2013. A cover of Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody' is included on the EP, as well as a cover of Accept's 'Balls To The Wall'.

Live shows [edit]

In February 2009, Keenan debuted Puscifer with shows in Las Vegas. Throughout the year, he continued to perform with a revolving lineup, but limited concerts to the Southwest. However, in a November 2009 interview, Keenan stated: "Efforts to confine our beloved enigma to the Southwestern United States have been thwarted. We are compelled beyond all reason to bring the noise Eastward and share our special sauce. Although authorities suggest you be prepared for any and all possibilities, we simply suggest you arrive happy and hungry."

Keenan took Puscifer on tour again in the fall and winter of 2011 in support of the newly released "Conditions of My Parole." This tour covered a larger swath of the United States than previous West Coast-only tours.

In 2013, Puscifer will play their first dates outside of North America, with the band performing three shows in Australia as well as performances at Lollapalooza Brazil and Lollapalooza Chile.

Members [edit]

According to Keenan's MySpace profile with regards to members, the band includes

As of the latest release, Keenan has recorded material with Lustmord, Mat Mitchell, Jonny Polonski, Tim Alexander, Tim Commerford, Brad Wilk, Joey Jordison, Ainjel Emme, Josh Eustis of Black Light Burns & Telefon Tel Aviv, Carina Round, John Oliver, Juliette Commagere, Matt McJunkins, Jeff Friedl, Gil and Rani Sharone, Malhar Naik, Jonny Polonsky, Devo Keenan (his son), Alessandro Cortini, Sarah Jones and Jon Theodore as well as many other musicians.