Aperfectool

ABOUT THE BAND AND IT'S MEMBERS Building the perfect tool is never easy regardless of what kind of tool it is. But when your talking about putting four guys together to try and duplicate the very complex style of a band called Tool, the task at hand becomes more difficult than ever. Bass player Mike Rehmer found that out first hand when the idea was first conceived on the couch of his living room in 2012. The following bios are his perception of how it all began...….. Gary DeSanti - LEAD VOCALIST Gary was the last member to join the band. Thank God he just popped up one day just about the time we thought there was no hope that anyone could replicate the many sounds and styles of MJK. After many grueling auditions with singers who claimed to be the next coming and having our first singer quit after about 4 practices, our hopes had diminished ten fold. We were all just about ready to go back to our top 40 cover bands and call it a great effort. After being bashed over the head by screamers, thrashers and punk rockers I got a Facebook message that said "I here you're looking for a singer for your Tool tribute......I don't look like Maynard but I can sing like him. Hit me up if you're interested". Being a veteran at auditioning people you condition yourself to not get too excited about over confident musicians, they tend to be the ones who traditionally suck. I responded "Sure why not, I don't look like Justin Chancellor either" in a smart ass cynical tone. When I told the other guys they responded the same way but what did we have to lose? We had already come this far so why not subject ourselves to one more painful audition? Gary told me about being the singer with the "Sludge's Build a Band" which was put together by a local DJ in the same fashion as American Idol. Of course I did my usual Google research to find out what I could and my bleak outlook became a bit brighter. Audition day came and in walks this guy that looked like a rock star by the way he dressed, hip looking clothes and a pair of pointed toed shoes that made me think.... "I want those F@#king shoes so if he sucks we're stealing them from him". He had his cheat sheet in hand and ready to go. It had become customary to start with Sober, it was a good tune because of the vast amount of fluctuation that the vocals have in it. When he started the first verse I was thinking.... "I want those damn shoes". When we got to the "Jesus won't you F@#king whistle, Something but the past and done" I thought... he can keep those damn shoes. At that point I looked at Ed and got the Ed wink and nod. Which meant "I think we found our guy son". We didn't really look at Greg, he was way too busy breaking sticks and throwing them at the back of our heads, but we could tell he felt the same way by the was he was playing. Finally, the pieces were brought back together and communication had been rediscovered. Greg Thompson - DRUMMER Greg was the third man to jump into the fire storm. I call it that because he undoubtedly has the most difficult gig in the band. Not only because Danny Carey is one of the most if not the most renowned drummers in the world, but every show other drummers and musicians load up their critique pistols ready to fire at every move he makes. You can always tell who the drummers are.... they're the guys who start in the back of the room with their arms folded ready to be "Mr. Critical" but by the end of the show they're right in the front and have their iPhones out shooting video. Finding Greg wasn't as painful as the singer auditions. I had previously played with him in an Ozzy Tribute, but I still wanted to put a Craigslist ad out and hopefully con jour up some sort of drum god or something. After hitting "post your ad now" I heard nothing but crickets. Nobody in town had the guts to stick their neck out on the proverbial musical chopping block. We had one other audition that wasn't the right fit, but other than that nothing. This was a make you or break you opportunity and I guess nobody wanted to be broken. So with only one response to the ad I called Greg up and said "I know Tool is your favorite band how about just giving it a shot" after a little delay and silence he said "I don't think so, I really don't think I could do it any justice and don't want to make a fool of myself trying" I asked again "please just give it a chance" then with a another moment or two of silence I thought "that f@#ker hung up on me" when from the heavens a voice responded with an "Ok what songs do you want me to learn? I'll give it a shot." Greg's loose cannon approach to everything he does is the engine that makes this train go down the tracks. Don't get offended if he flips you off in the middle of a set or his shirt flips you off, he might even say something derogatory about your mother but it's all in the pursuit of just having a good time, no harm meant. Also when Greg is playing "beware of flying objects leaving the field of play". He has a suggestion to keep you all occupied.....Learn to swim! Ed Price - GUITAR Ed was the first player to answer the initial ad. After several email conversations we met at my house, had a couple beers and jammed to two or three tunes. It's alway a bit awkward having someone you have never met come to your house and jam but I think we were both surprised at each others potential. I say potential because I remember it being a little rough with a few bright spots. Ed has also been through the trenches of auditioning people with other bands and as I said before you learn not to get your expectations up until you see for yourself. As we talked we both agreed that playing Adam Jones guitar lines is more about texture, technique and being a master with your effects. We didn't need EVH or The Satchman we needed an artist not a shredder. That quality is hard to find in a guitar player, they tend to play too loud and too much. Although Ed can rip he sticks to the task of painting the picture that AJ created on all Tool recordings. Ed took the baton and ran collecting some effects that most guitar players don't have in their everyday arsenal but were essential to recreating the sound. Every little nuance can make the difference. Ed is the only musically educated musician in the band and at times he's not shy about bringing that up. I still owe him ten bucks on a bet we made about a certain note in a song that he insisted was wrong, turned out he was right. His analytical demeanor serves as a good balance between the other personalities in the band. We might dress in some outlandish outfits and crazy get ups, a t-shirt and jeans or an occasional button up shirt is where Ed is most Comfortable. Ed's the shadow shrouding every step we take. Mike Rehmer - BASS Having spent my entire life as a guitar player playing in everything from top 40 bands to an Ozzy Tribute I had no idea my music career was going to take a drastic change. For years my brother-in-law would try and make me listen to Tool almost desperately trying to get me to jump in the Tool box. I liked it, I appreciated it, but wasn't a huge fan. July 21, 2009 my nephew asked me if I wanted to use an extra Tool ticket he had, being a musician you know who they are, you know how good they are, so why not go and see what all commotion was about. After seeing the show that night I thought to myself......"I've been under a f@#king rock for the last 20 years". Everybody was raving about how great the show was but they seemed a bit bummed that they didn't play this song called "The Pot". For the first time in years my musical intellect and knowledge was inferior to these people who didn't even really play any instruments but were huge Tool fans. The next day I hunted down this amazing song everyone loved and I had never heard of. Loaded it into iTunes and hit play.....Maynard's voice at the beginning made the hair on my tool stand straight up, but when that growly baseline kicked in I hit stop, went and got my bass that I had for recording. I needed to know how to play that plain and simple, I didn't even need to hear the rest of the song. From that point on I was in the Tool box with the lid shut and locked. For the next couple years I would drop little hints to players I knew "hey we should start a Tool Tribute nobody else is doing it" time and time again I'd get the proverbial laugh and a "yeah right". If I knew then what I know now my response to all the neigh sayers would have been "Who are you to wave your finger....You must have been.......so high We are a tribute to Tool and A Perfect Circle