Inquire whether Puscifer having made four albums, plus various remix, live and EP releases since 2007 – a time frame resulting in just one album a piece from A Perfect Circle (2018’s Eat The Elephant) and Tool – is indicative of a less complicated working dynamic, and he alters the parameters of the question to something more manageable.
“How soon those pieces come to me, that might be what you’re asking… some of those pieces come more quickly than others in order for me to do my job. It’s all just conversations. Some conversations come more a little easier than others, but I don’t think in terms of any being an easier path.”
One thing’s for sure: none of us are on an easy path right now. While things are holding for Maynard’s businesses currently, it could be a very different story if the world’s difficulties continue for another couple of years. And what of the threat coronavirus poses to music? As a man who’s future-proofed himself with his non-band endeavours, and having weathered the storm of the industry’s many changes before, is Maynard hopeful of a way out?
“Whatever gravy train you think we’re on, it’s stopped several times in the past 15 years. Nothing is forever. The only constant is change.”
Maynard is certainly no stranger to being nudged by the fickle finger of fate, having entered the profession that’s made him famous “by accident” after moving to LA in the 1980s, assuming it would fall away at some point. More than 30 years on, then, with music such an established component in Maynard’s life, how would he feel if it were to stop as suddenly as it began?
“It would suck,” he asserts. “But I would find a way as I’m a resilient person. It’s not the end of life; it’s the end of that path. If that path is blocked, you fucking find a way around it!”
And with that Maynard distils his ethos and a key takeaway from Existential Reckoning, killing two birds – thankfully not ducks – with one stone.
Existential Reckoning is out October 30 via Alchemy Recordings/Puscifer Entertainment/BMG.
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