News today via Twitter that Josh Freese has pulled the plug in his participation in A Perfect Circle:
After 13 years, I’ve decided to leave @aperfectcircle with no plans of returning. Apologies to those inquiring about the upcoming shows.
Sad news, but not entirely unexpected. Josh didn’t play with the band on their last tour and was replaced by Jeff Friedl. I expect Jeff will be confirmed as the new permanent drummer in due course.
As you said, not really surprising. Now APC and Puscifer are officially pretty much the same band.
Also, am I reading too much into it or does it seem like it may not have been a nice parting of ways?
I guess the circumstances behind this will come out eventually. It is probably reading too much into it to presume it wasn’t “nice”. Chances are Billy & Maynard asked Josh to commit, and due to other constraints he couldn’t Rather than string people along he decided to leave, and I expect Jeff will be asked to replace full time.
In regards to APC & Puscifer being the same, that’s somewhat true I guess, but I believe the main creative forces behind each band are still quite different.
I’m not sure when the last MJK quote about new APC music has been, but last I remember was that he and BH were planning on just releasing a song here and there (digitally, soundtracks, ep’s, etc). A few random songs and one-off performances probably doesn’t warrant a guy like Josh, Mr. Million Projects, to keep his schedule open for recording/playing with APC if it’s not going to be the album and touring cycles we saw for Mer de Noms and 13th Step. Just my $.02.
If APC isnt going to make a proper 3rd album, than maybe they all should quit.
All i care is that Tool makes their final album, so i can stop caring or waiting ever again.
NO, what the fuck! I’m bummed as shit about this…
Freese was totally a pillar of the band. Maybe I’m looking into it too much, but that announcement does read with an acrimonious vibe to me… a little bit, but maybe its just because of what he didn’t say.
I wonder if that is actually the case, that the guy is so opposite of A Perfect Circle with his jammed schedule and their scattershot dates that he just made the decision to leave and give them a drummer with more flexibility than he could offer them.
Bummer, man.
NO, what the fuck! I’m bummed as shit about this… Freese was totally a pillar of the band. Maybe I’m looking into it too much, but that announcement does read with an acrimonious vibe to me… a little bit, but maybe its just because of what he didn’t say. I wonder if that is actually the case, that the guy is so opposite of A Perfect Circle with his jammed schedule and their scattershot dates that he just made the decision to leave and give them a drummer with more flexibility than he could offer them. Bummer, man. Yeah, no… Read more »
I don’t think any of us are reading too much into it. Putting “with no plans of returning” into the statement makes it pretty obvious that it was a bad split. Come on guys…lets get real here…A Perfect Circle means nothing more to MJK and Billy Howerdel than a payday at this point, that much is very obvious. Also, A Perfect Circle’s status/pull also guarantees Puscifer a slot on festivals like Lollapalooza in Chile and Brazil. Similar to how Tool’s involvement in the Rivers Edge Fest guaranteed Puscifer a slot on the same festival. My guess is Freese wasn’t even… Read more »
Not saying you guys are wrong, I just don’t see much point in reading into something that isn’t there. Twitter is hardly the medium for explanations as to why Josh would leave the band. Feel free to speculate though.
Also, not sure that a guy who drums for acts like Paramore could really get to worked up over the APC/Puscifer cross promotion thing without feeling more than a little hypocritical…
But that’s the thing though, he DID announce it on twittter. Like as an “oh by the way” thing. APC is no Tool and a band of medium importance overall, but I’d think one of its major founding members leaving would deserve more than a tweet.
Thats also a possibility. Maybe Keenan and Howerdel haven’t even been reaching out to Freese about joining them on the latest APC dates and just making accomodations for Friedl instead, and he took offense to that and called it quits? Either that or its just a thing where the guy is so tied up with a bunch of other acts that he already knew he was going to have to miss another tour, and rather than still being considered part of the band’s key lineup but missing all these dates that he can’t honor he just chose to pass the… Read more »
rather than still being considered part of the band’s key lineup but missing all these dates that he can’t honor he just chose to pass the keys to the next guy. That’s how I see it personally. Blaming Maynard and/or Billy seems to be the easy answer, especially for those still sore over a lack of progress on a Tool album. Not to say they are blameless, but for me the bottom line for me is that if Josh wanted to be in APC, I’m sure he could have found a way to make it happen. It’s not really viable… Read more »
I’m not blaming anybody, for all we know Josh might be the bad guy here. I’m just speculating if it was a less than amicable split, which from the little information we have it seems is quite possible.
You’re all wrong. This is obvioulsy the work of Al Qaida.
regardless of why he’s out, this is really sad news. i saw apc live with jeff behind the kit and while hes talented, i never felt the same power and emotion that i felt with josh. in fact, i was often nervous that jeff would screw something up. pretty disappointed to see this happen.
And the hits just keep on comin. More shit news. Josh is ten times the drummer Friedl is. Every single piece of news lately regarding the members of Tool and their side projects has been fucking shit. We get a new newsletter with NO album update. We get an interview with Junior? Really? Junior is a solid dude but honestly who cares about the lighting setup? APC touring in South America, okay cool I guess for those of you who live there and have not seen APC, but APC without Josh IS NOT APC. Oh and you get a Puscifer… Read more »
This news makes my nuts ache with sadness. That’s really the best way I can put it.
APC seems to be pretty much dead anyway. No big deal.
^Except for the fact that they’re touring next year.
@ hellboy: lol “further the interests of the band” It should just be “interest of the band” singular, since that one thing is cash. That’s the only interest MJK and Billy Howerdel have in APC, well that and for MJK to use it to promote/get Puscifer on festival bills. APC hasn’t released any new material in almost 10 years, in that time they’ve composed and performed exactly 1 new song. I’m not saying that there is anything wrong with all of this generally…but in my opinion it’s all really lame. I expect more from these guys and their talents. Just… Read more »
Now that you mention it, maybe the band was just moving too slow for him and thats why he left. Inactive for years, no album plans, new live dates once in a blue moon. I do feel like Keenan is using APC more to market Puscifer than for its own thing too, and it manifests in everything from him spamming the band’s social network feeds with Puscifer news to billing Puscifer alongside Tool & APC, or bringing his Puscifer merch out on the road with the other acts, or the band’s lineup now being like 3/5th Puscifer members, etc…
Heh, I like how Maximus up there turns Freese quitting apc into an anti-Tool rant. They’re just a band, get over it.
@ MogusMaximus, I agree. Although I do feel a lot of problen lies with Adam holding up the progress with the album.
Bummer. I am glad that I got to see two recent APC shows with Josh behind the kit, in which he truly shone. For the record, I also dig Jeff’s drumming, but agree that there’s really no comparison between the two in terms of ability. Josh is the clear winner there.
As far as all the speculation… I don’t see the point. It will eventually come out in the wash, as usual, and some will say “I told you so” while others will likely keep their traps shut… as usual.
@Naattik – +5 on the new avatar. Literally laughing out loud. Well played.
@Ravenpig – It’s always about Tool here at FourthEye as far as I am concerned. And remember, there is no spoon.
@void – Spot on as usual.
I was pretty bummed about Josh until I read MogusMaximus’ post. Best rant I have heard about anything in years. Somehow cheered me up!
All you people bitching… Please start a band an make EVERYONE happy in the world
Haha good luck
Wasn’t registered before so I didn’t comment on this but now I’m registered! 🙂 This sucks… I really wish I didn’t have to hear this news. For those of you that commented that they are the same band (Puscifer & APC) I’ll have to chime in with this… At least the core structure in the writing process starts with Billy and Maynard. However! I saw APC when they did the album a night tour and they had the bassist from Puscifer with them at that time… I was highly disappointed in that guy as he pretty much fucked up every… Read more »