Mention the band Tool, and you’ll notice widely different reactions.
One person will shrug and act indifferent.
Fans who hear the names will react just the opposite; their eyes will light up at the mention. And those same fans say the sound of Tool is something that can’t be replicated.
“They can’t be compared,” said East Lansing resident Reif Grossman. “No band has the same sound, message or is even in the same genre.”
The devoted will have that hunger satiated and the uninitiated can learn what the fuss is about when Tool comes to Breslin Center at 7:30 p.m. Sunday.
The band has stayed vital while many of its contemporaries fell by the wayside, such as Rage Against the Machine and Soundgarden. Tool hit it big during the alternative-rock breakthrough of the early ’90s with a spot on Lollapalooza. The seminal tour featured bands such as Nine Inch Nails and Pearl Jam.
With exposure from Lollapalooza and unique stop-animation music videos that received rave reviews from such pop culture critics as Beavis and Butthead, Tool broke onto the national scene.
But like many other artists of that era, Tool scorned the spotlight. The scurrying puppets of its videos can be considered not only an artistic choice, but possibly a conscious shield against publicity.
Before the trek to stardom, the members of Tool moved from their separate Midwestern roots to Los Angeles. But music wasn’t their first pursuit while in Hollywood. Guitarist Adam Jones worked for Stan Winston as a special effects artist for films such as “T2” and “Jurassic Park.” Singer Maynard James Keenan pursued an interest in feng shui.
Drummer Danny Carey played in various bands including Green Jelly, which was a one-hit wonder with “Three Little Pigs.” Maynard also was part of Green Jelly, which had 74-members throughout its history.
While in Los Angeles, Maynard, Jones, Carey and original bassist Paul D’amour met through mutual friends and circumstances and began jamming together. Tool recorded parts of its first EP, “Opiate,” in Green Jelly’s studio loft in 1991.
Bassist Justin Chancellor joined the band after D’amour amicably left in 1995. Chancellor does not share his bandmates’ Midwestern origins - he’s British and met the members of Tool while playing with them while he was in his old band, Peach.
Tool has shown a love-hate relationship with its adopted hometown. On 1996’s Ænima,” one track pined for Los Angeles to sink into the ocean. The lyrics in Ænima” say, “Learn to swim, I’ll see you down in Arizona bay.”
That mixture of morbidness and black humor fills Tool’s art. Concertgoers say Tool’s live shows are no different.
“A weird concert,” said English senior Mike Toth, who saw the band during one of its Ozzfest performances in 1998. “A wide screen with disturbing images. Eyes being pried open and stuff.
“The drummer was just going mad.”
Despite its success, Tool hasn’t always faced smooth sailing. Nearly five years passed between the release of Ænima,” and its latest album, “Lateralus.” The band went to court with its record label, Zoo Entertainment, and also was sued by its former manager.
Rumors of a breakup surfaced when Maynard joined former Tool guitar tech Billy Howderdel as a part of A Perfect Circle. Its debut, “Mer de Noms,” had the best-selling debut for a rookie rock band and went platinum.
But even during the years when there was very little new movement in Tool-land, there was plenty of movement on record shelves.
When Tool’s breakthrough album, “Undertow,” was first released in 1993, it achieved platinum status within a year. But the cult of Tool grew and the album was certified multiplatinum the day before “Lateralus” was released in 2001.
The consistent sales of Tool’s earlier albums pushed “Lateralus” to the top of the Billboard charts when it debuted.
For a band known for songs dealing with sodomy and videos with claymation puppets running through haunted houses, Tool’s rider for the Breslin show is surprisingly sedate. A rider is a series of requests from the band to the proprietors of the venue at which they are playing.
Many performers are known for requesting unusual foods or drinks before their performances. But not Tool.
“(There was) nothing like, ‘No brown M&Ms,’” said Gavin Smith, director of operations at Breslin.
Tickets are still available and are $35. For more information call (517)432-5000 or (800)968-BRES.
