During a new appearance on Bert Kreischer’s Bertcastpodcast, Maynard James Keenan responded harshly to a fan who told him to just write songs.
Keenan is involved in many activities outside of music, like wine-making, jiu-jitsu, and co-owning a record store. He recalled a comment from someone who criticized him while he was helping at his store.
“Here’s the thing buddy — I have written, recorded, released, and performed more songs than you ever f*cking will. In fact, from this day forward, I will be writing, recording, releasing, and singing more songs than you ever f*cking will, ever,” the singer said.
He added, “But you can’t say that, because then you’re engaging and you’re getting sucked into the hole. But just the idea of going out of your way to go… I just can’t understand how he types with his knuckles!”
Keenan also said he avoids responding to negative comments online. He doesn’t understand why people post them. The musician is also working on two new projects: gin and chocolate. He has a gin recipe ready and plans for packaging, but he hasn’t shared much yet. He started working on chocolate after being told that wine and chocolate go well together.
Last year, Maynard teamed up with Caduceus Cellars and Merkin Vineyards to open a new ‘ventura room’ in Old Town Cottonwood, Arizona. He had been working on this project for 20 years.
“In the many years I’ve been working towards this moment, one of the things I discovered when it comes to bridging the hurdle of exposing people to Arizona wine is context,” he said at the time.
Keenan went on, “By putting a place like this in the middle of Cottonwood with five acres of vines, to winery facilities with a full greenhouse and a full kitchen, all the context becomes visible, and you kind of break down the barriers of whatever preconceptions you have of Arizona wines.”
Last month, Keenan and his wife Jennifer opened a new vinyl cafe near Phoenix, Arizona. Queen B Vinyl Cafe is a rebranded version of their previous business, Puscifer The Store. The cafe combines a record store, wine bar, barber shop, coffee roaster, and ramen house. It will also host concerts by bands like Thou and Galactic Empire.