A Perfect Circle Discusses Its Origins

Guitarist-composer Billy Howerdel, formerly a "behind the scenes" guy, is now riding high on the success of A Perfect Circle, the guitar-driven side project formed by him and Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan.

The group's first album, "Mer De Noms" (Virgin), recently debuted at No. 4 on Billboard's Top 200 album chart, and the David Fincher-directed ("Fight Club," "Seven") video for the album's first single, "Judith," is enjoying steady airplay on MTV and M2. The band--which also includes drummer Josh Freese, guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen (ex-Failure) and bassist Paz Lenchantin--now holds the opening slot on Nine Inch Nails' summer tour.

Howerdel--a Protools editing and programming guru who also produced "Mer De Noms" and co-mixed it with Alan Moulder (Nine Inch Nails, Smashing Pumpkins, U2)--met Freese and Keenan while working on their respective projects, the forthcoming Guns N' Roses album and Tool's "Aenima."

"Billy was doing some work with us during that recording process," Keenan says. "We had a lot of downtime in the studio, and he had a lot of music already written, stored on his computer. I really liked what I heard, and I could see a lot of potential in the way he approached everything."

While Keenan supplied the finishing touches, lyrical and otherwise, the bulk of "Mer De Noms" came from Howerdel. "Songwriting comes pretty naturally," Howerdel says, "but it's also almost an obsession with me. I have to have an outlet for my writing or I would go crazy. A lot of this music was written in different places all over the world, in different countries where I was working with different bands."

"Billy's an ex-guitar tech," said drummer Freese. "He tech-ed for Billy Corgan, Trent Reznor, Fishbone and Tool. He's actually one of those guys who is way too smart and talented to be setting up someone else's gear. Someone should be setting up his gear, you know?"

When it comes to favorite songs on the album, Howerdel doesn't hesitate. "'3 Libras' is my favorite song on the album," Howerdel says, "and always has been. It's a very simple chord progression, but whenever I pick up my guitar, it's pretty much the first thing I play. That piece seems to almost represent who I am as a guitar player."