Maynard James Keenan has distinguished between his fans and the music industry professionals he blames for his departure from Los Angeles, telling Louder Sound that lawyers, agents and bookers seeking financial gain were responsible for his exit.
Keenan addressed the difference between fan behavior and the pressure from industry figures around Tool’s success. He clarified that obsessive fans, while sometimes unusual, were not the reason he left the city.
“Not stalkers, but we had a lot of lawyers and agents, bookers… people trying to get into us,” Keenan said. “All these vampires that wanted to financially benefit from a safe relationship with successful artists.”
He continued with a direct assessment of what drove him away. “Those vampires drove me out of LA, not the fans. There’s nothing wrong with the fans – there’s some obsessed ones who can get a bit mathy and weird, but that’s the nature of the fan. Fanatics. My exit from LA was because of this parade of vampires.”
Keenan made these comments in discussion about the impact of industry professionals on his life and work in Los Angeles.
Keenan’s decision to leave Los Angeles was part of a larger shift in his life priorities. The singer, who is also a writer, artist, winemaker and Arizona resident, moved to Jerome in 1995 seeking a different kind of existence away from the entertainment industry’s pressures. He has lived in Jerome since 2005, operating a vineyard, a tasting room, multiple restaurants and a pair of Brazilian jiu-jitsu dojos.
Despite his departure from Los Angeles, Keenan has continued his music career with three active bands: Tool, Puscifer and A Perfect Circle. Tool, formed in Los Angeles in 1990, has maintained its prominence through decades of touring and releases. The band released their 2019 album Fear Inoculum after a 13-year gap since their previous studio album, and according to drummer Danny Carey, Tool are working on a new album with a tentative 2027 release date.
Keenan’s Arizona base has become central to his broader business ventures. In 2026, Keenan and his wife Jennifer relocated Puscifer the Store from Jerome to Cottonwood, transforming it into Queen B Vinyl Cafe. The new venue combines multiple functions: a record store, wine bar, coffee roaster, ramen house, barber shop and concert venue that opened on October 23, 2026.
