A Perfect Circle

A Perfect Circle formed in 1999 with principal members Billy Howerdel (Ashes Divide) and Maynard James Keenan (Tool, Puscifer) creating a fluid band where line-ups were free to shift with each ensuing album. The band's 2000 debut album, Mer de Noms, found Howerdel and Keenan joined by drummer Josh Freese, Troy Van Leeuwen (Queens of the Stone Age, Sweethead) and Paz Lenchantin (Zwan). A Perfect Circle released Thirteenth Step in 2003, featuring the band's biggest single to date "Weak and Powerless." Joining Howerdel, Keenan and Freese for the remainder of the first wave of A Perfect Circle albums and tours were Jeordie White (aka Twiggy from Marilyn Manson) and James Iha (Smashing Pumpkins). The band's third release, eMOTIVe, arrived in November of 2004 and boasted a wide-ranging collection of covers which reflected the year's political climate (John Lennon's "Imagine," Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" and Devo's "Freedom Of Choice" were among the songs included) as well as a pair of original songs penned by Howerdel and Keenan (with a co-writing credit for "Passive" going to Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor). A self-imposed hiatus ensued shortly thereafter and lasted until the fall of 2010 when A Perfect Circle announced fourteen live dates (all sold out in under one minute) in the Western U.S and a performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live. The band followed with a North American tour in the summer of 2011, which once again sold out immediately and included a performance at Lollapalooza. In 2013, A Perfect Circle played the Soundwave Festival in Australia and a made a South American trek with stops at Lollapalooza Brazil and Chile. A Perfect Circle's current line-up is Howerdel, Keenan, Iha, Jeff Friedl and Matt McJunkins (Ashes Divide, Puscifer).