Photography by brandon sullivan

Maynard James Keenan’s latest projects are hardly industrial. In 1995, the front man of the multi-platinum rock band Tool abandoned his rock star lifestyle in Los Angeles. Instead, he opted for more sustainable living in the Jerome area and eventually created Caduceus Cellars winery in Cornville in 2004. This spring, he hopes to debut a wine-tasting room and kitchen in downtown Jerome.
Musically, Keenan has been focusing on his newest band, Puscifer, which he says is a revolving door of ideas and musicians with one fixed piece: himself. He named a retail store after the band and opened it in Jerome last October. He hopes to add a wine-tasting room and kitchen there as well.  

Why did you move to Arizona in 1995?
I had a dream I was supposed to be in Arizona, and it looked nothing like Phoenix. At some point I realized Tim [Alexander, drummer from the rock band, Primus] was from here and I mentioned it. I told him, ‘I’ve been to Flagstaff, I’ve been to Phoenix, Tempe, but I had no desire to follow up on this dream.’ He said, ‘No, let me take you to this town.’ I got here and he showed me around, and then I went to the motor vehicle department, signed over my ID, opened up a PO box and registered to vote.

How is Puscifer different than your previous projects?
This was a going-back-to-the-basics process, almost like when a particular jazz musician would tour around the country on his own and just run into other musicians and session players in each town. It’s about crossing over ideas; it’s a multifaceted project.

Did you intend it to be such an organic process?
It all feeds off of each other. Puscifer is this constantly revolving door of ideas that ends up being kind of a label. Its not as humorous and entertaining as Gucci, but it’s certainly a brand with a soundtrack. People have criticized it. They are concerned it doesn’t have the same focus and intensity as my other projects, but that’s because they’re looking at it the wrong way. If you walk into a room, this thing happens in this moment in this room, that’s what the art is.

How does this relate to your winemaking with Caduceus Cellars?
That’s the same thing I’m trying to do with the wine. I’m trying to make it so we’re not handing you a consistent wine that tastes the same every time. We’re trying to hand you a wine that will reflect what the weather was like, where we were at, what the vines were like that year.  

Are there similarities between winemaking and music?
Absolutely. It’s like cooking, making wine. But there are cooks who are not chefs, as there are songs that are not songs. It’s the same with winemaking. There’s a lot of cookie-cutter wine out there. There’s a lot of, basically get whatever grapes into a stainless steel vat and put in some woodchips so it tastes like it’s been in a wood barrel, then stick it in a bottle and sell it for $2.

Why did Jerome strike you as the next wine country?
Sitting here on the edge of these hills, I just realized how this is the same area as places I’ve been in: Italy, Spain, Portugal. It just made sense to me – this is the perfect terrain for wine.
 
How does Arizona’s terrain affect the wine produced here?
Cleopatra Hill here is probably one of the oldest rocks exposed in the United States. This thing is older than dinosaurs. Coupling it with all the limestone that’s been pushed up over the years with plate activity has a huge influence. There are all these volcanic intrusions and chunks of lava that come through the limestone. All that shoots out of the springs. Every spot has a different effect [in the wine]. In this area, the limestone influence tends to be a stabilizer in the pH and acid levels.

Have you always had this sustainable mindset?
Ever since I moved to Arizona, basically. I’m a borderline survivalist. I don’t think any of my friends in L.A. know how to make a fire or build shelter. They have no idea where their water comes from. Where do eggs come from? The store? It just comes out of the back room, right?
The idea was to come here and actually pursue that mentality to sustain something beyond whatever might happen in a larger city. I’m glad I came here 13 years ago because what we’re establishing is the kind of thing that will survive the very changes we’re going through right now.

What are you concentrating on in the future?
Soon I’ll have a Caduceus Cellars tasting room, hopefully by spring. Our first shows are going to be in Vegas at The Pearl in February. Anything goes. We’re not doing this for everybody; we’re doing it for the people that get it.