Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan donned a wig and prosthetic breasts for the band's performance at Welcome To Rockville in Florida over the weekend. Of course a good chunk of the media assumed this was a shot at Florida governor Ron DeSantis and his generally anti-trans agenda, though that's not quite the case.
According to Keenan in an interview The Messenger, the costume was simple one that's been waiting in the wings for a little while. Keenan also bashes media outlets that reported the story, saying he's been "been cross-dressing since long before these clickbait-junkie dupes were out of diapers."
"I'm not a political fella — had nothing to do with Florida," he said. "I've been cross-dressing since long before these clickbait-junkie dupes were out of diapers. It's pretty crazy the technology and the prosthetics nowadays, how they've come along, and I just was considering bringing the look back.
"It's amazing to me how every single thing you say or do is twisted and conformed into some fundamentalist far-right or far-left agenda."
Keenan also addressed the fact that he technically violated Florida's new law preventing minors from attending drag shows (Welcome To Rockville is an all-ages festival), saying that nobody's actually enforcing it anyway. "They just do that and they throw it out there to shore up their base for an election year," he added.
And while not getting too political, Keenan did mention that he feels the state's laws are a little ridiculous. "I think limiting people's access to anything is absurd. Good parenting allows you to teach your kids how to be reasonable and reason and puzzle things out and decide for themselves what the fuck they wanna see or not wanna see."
Tool is expected to announce a North American tour sometime soon for later this year. Though all we've gotten thus far is a tease from guitarist Adam Jones.
