Maynard James Keenan Explains His Harsh Anti-Cell Phone Policy
Maynard James Keenan may be a 60-year-old man ranting against cell phones, but he actually might have a point on this one, at least somewhat. The frontman of multiple bands recently did an interview with Phoenix New Times ahead of the Sessanta tour celebrating his 60th birthday with two of his bands, Puscifer and A Perfect Circle. Keenan was asked to explain the band’s long-standing policy of restricting cell phone recording at concerts. Here’s what he had to say about cell phone usage:
“It’s rude. Not to us, I mean, I just did a whole photoshoot. I’m not afraid of cameras and I’m not afraid of phones. I’ve got mine right here. It’s a very useful tool.
“There’s no way you can actually capture what’s happening in that live moment on a phone. You’re missing the opportunity of actually absorbing in real time what’s happening. The art of storytelling. Being able to actually recount what you saw without having to record it. Training your brain to live in the moment and see the thing, but more importantly, stop annoying the person behind you. It’s annoying, it’s distracting and it’s distracting for us, too. So put it the fuck away, grow the fuck up. It’s only two hours. And at the end of the show, we usually let you film a song, so you get your souvenir.”
Typically, Keenan’s policy is that one song per set is designated for allowing fans to film on their cell phones, but otherwise taking pictures or filming with your cell phone is strictly prohibited at all of his concerts. Keenan has been pretty strict on enforcing this policy in the past, even going so far as to eject over 60 fans from an A Perfect Circle show in Pennsylvania in 2017, and as recently as 2019 Keenan’s policy has been confirmed to be in effect with ejection from the venue being a very real possibility.
While the enforcement of the policy is a bit extreme, Keenan has a point that there’s no good reason to record a concert on your cell phone. Have you ever actually looked at footage of a concert on someone’s cell phone and really been impressed with the quality or felt like you were transported into the experience yourself? Of course not. Nobody actually watches their cell phone videos of a concert later, so why even bother?
When asked in the interview if he had ever decided against letting the crowd record their one song, however, Keenan’s attitude got a bit condescending and he started talking about fans as if they were small children:
“Absolutely, if we have to throw out a dozen people because they’re being arrogant assholes, selfish pricks. You’re annoying the people around you. I know there’s all kinds of arguments, like, ‘Well, the removing all those people is annoying.’ Uh-huh. It’s called consequences. This is what happens here. You do it in a theater, you do it at a play, you do it at an orchestral performance, you get removed. You don’t get to do it. Do it at an opera, you’re leaving. It’s rude. You’re here to experience a thing. You paid all that money to be here to witness what we do, not what you do.”
So while Maynard has a bit of a point about phones here, it’s also certainly possible to take a good point way too far.
