The cryptic, multifaceted singer of Tool, Maynard James Keenan, recently joined forces with Flaming Lips member Steven Drozd to record a cover of Elton John’s hit “Rocket Man” for the soundtrack to the new film “The Heart is a Drum Machine.” The rest of the original score was written by Drozd.
“The Heart is a Drum Machine,” which premieres on February 6 at the Phoenix Art Museum, was directed by Christopher Pomerenke and produced by Ryan Page, Joe Mundo and Hans Fjellestad of ZU33 Pictures. The movie explores music’s role in shaping human history, the profound connection people have always had to music, how it has shaped our experiences and its involvement in our daily lives.
“The Heart is a Drum Machine” features appearances by Keenan, Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante, funk forefather George Clinton, MTV staple Kurt Loder and KCRW’s Nic Harcourt and scientists such as Carl Carl Sagan’s widow Ann Druyan.
Following the screening at the Phoenix Art Museum, there will be a reception at which Keenan will keep the wine flowing from his Caduceus vineyard and actress Juliette Lewis will perform a DJ set.
Additional screenings of “The Heart is a Drum Machine” will follow in other cities.
Keenan is also looking forward to the first ever shows by his project, Puscifer, February 13 and 14 in Las Vegas at the Pearl in the Palms Casino. Expect friends and collaborators to include multi-instrumentalist Jonny Polonsky; Stolen Babies drummer Gil Sharone and bassist Rani Sharone; guitarist/Chapman stick player Trey Gunn; King Crimson drummer Pat Mastelotto; and Primus drummer Tim Alexander. Additional participants may include the inventors and stars of the HBO comedy series “Mr. Show,” David Cross and Bob Odenkirk and “SpongeBob SquarePants” alum Tom Kenny (voice of SpongeBob and other characters) and Jill Talley (voice of Karen).
“If we pull this thing off correctly first time around it’s gonna open up the door for other people to be involved in the future events,” Keenan says. “We’re gonna be doing some performance stuff in kind of like a ‘Mr. Show’ setting — ‘Monty Python’-style sketches with a band involved. But we know that music and comedy only work to a point. Tenacious D was amazing in a small theater setting. When it went to stadium rock level, you’re kind of like, ‘Well, this is the thing you’re making fun of.’ It works better when you’re in a 300 seater pretending to be in an arena. So, mostly, it’ll be music, and we’re hopefully going to completely reinterpret the songs every night. We’ll sticking to the format for some of the shows, but maybe one night might be completely country and one night might be completely dub. The most important thing is for it to be a different experience every night.”
