A Perfect Circle Hungary

Dátum: .2004.04.30.
Szerző: Steve Morse
Forrás: The Boston Globe

A Perfect Circle is more of a fluid circle these days. The group has a different cast and has quietly become a “supergroup,” to use an old rock phrase. The core is still Maynard James Keenan (who also sings with industrial rockers Tool) and guitarist Billy Howerdel, who writes the music. But the new members are guitarist James Iha (Smashing Pumpkins) and bassist Jeordie White, formerly known as the infamous Twiggy Ramirez when he toured with Marilyn Manson.

“It does feel like a totally different band from having two new members. The last band feels like a lifetime ago,” says Howerdel, whose ad hoc group headlines the Worcester Centrum Centre tonight.

The personnel changes haven’t hurt record sales. A Perfect Circle’s first album, the heavier “Mer de Noms,” sold 2 million copies, and the latest, the more moodily atmospheric “Thirteenth Step” (which deals with addiction and recovery from it), has sold close to 1 million sparked by two hits, “Weak and Powerless” and “The Outsider.”

“We took more of a chance with the arrangements this time,” Howerdel says. “There are more challenges on this record, even though the mainstream seems to be going toward more of a power-pop format.”

The addition of new members Iha and White has also fortified the band in concert. “To think that they’re playing your music is flattering,” Howerdel says. “These guys are obviously professionals and have been around the block, but they have something fresh and different to offer. And they have different personalities in this band than they did in their other bands. It’s important for people to grow and adapt and change.

“I’d say Jeordie has changed the most,” he adds. “He used to shave his eyebrows and wear white makeup and a dress onstage, but now he dresses like a preppie nerd. I don’t know if either one is his real personality, but it’s different, and it’s been a shock to people who come expecting him to be Twiggy from Marilyn Manson.”

White came onboard after A Perfect Circle drummer Josh Freese met him at a New Year’s party. Iha was an old Howerdel friend from the days when Howerdel was a guitar tech for Smashing Pumpkins.

The foundation of the band is still the chemistry between Howerdel and Keenan, who writes the lyrics and came up with the theme for “Thirteenth Step.”

“We have a lot of friends and peers around LA who have been through it,” Howerdel says of 12-step recovery programs. “But no one in the band has gone through it.”

After A Perfect Circle’s tour ends June 13, Keenan will return to Tool, and the others will disperse for various projects. Howerdel plans a solo album and isn’t sure when A Perfect Circle will regroup or who will be in it. “You never know what’s going to happen,” he says. “I just want to let it come together organically.”