An Evening With Puscifer: "Normal Isn’t" & the Art of Creative Freedom

Under the stars at LA’s historic Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Allison Hagendorf sits down with Puscifer — Maynard James Keenan, Karina Round, and Matt Mitchell — for an intimate screening party and the first-ever listen of their new album, Normal Isn’t.

Fresh off hearing the record come to life for the very first time, the band opens up about what makes Puscifer different: no rules, no fixed lineup, total trust, and the freedom to follow ideas wherever they lead even when that means comedy and heaviness living side by side.

The conversation dives into:

⚡️ Experiencing Normal Isn’t for the first time with an audience

⚡️ Puscifer’s 20+ year evolution and ever-rotating creative family

⚡️ Why “anything goes” is the band’s true mission statement

⚡️ Balancing humor, intensity, and instinct

⚡️ Making records in hotel rooms, studios, and on the road

⚡️ The album’s sonic palette, guitars, synths, and aggression

⚡️ New characters, storylines, and the expanding Pusciverse via graphic novels

⚡️ What Normal Isn’t would taste like… if it were a wine 🍷

This is Puscifer unfiltered, playful, thoughtful, uncompromising, and deeply human.

Subscribe on Substack for more behind-the-scenes from our magical night

👀 Watch next: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwh7qo7VAe4&list=PLl6dGiHr9hXCBsHHe9qR0PiTgxkpdjRyI&index=2

🎧 Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts: https://play.megaphone.fm/sxhb2ibzrw-vle8ombutpa

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00:00 – Intro

02:55 – Hearing Normal Isn’t With an Audience for the First Time

03:55 – Puscifer Backstory (20+ Years In)

04:52 – Why Revolving Musicians Matter

06:30 – The Core Dynamic of the Band

07:04 – The Mission Statement: No Rules, Anything Goes

08:45 – Friendship as the Foundation

09:59 – How Puscifer Has Evolved

10:40 – Balancing Comedy and Intensity

12:08 – The Meaning Behind Normal Isn’t

12:58 – The Album Process (Arizona, LA, On the Road)

14:35 – Sonic Identity & Musical Palette

16:07 – New Characters & The Graphic Novel Universe

19:55 – If Puscifer Were a Wine… (Tasting Notes)

21:20 – Fan Questions

27:46 – What Inspires You Most About Each Other?

31:51 – Outro

#Puscifer #MaynardJamesKeenan #NormalIsnt #RockCulture #MusicInterview #HollywoodForever

An A-Game Production

Co-Produced by Raw Content & Ones To Watch/Live Nation

Raw Content

Directed by: JT Boehme

Shot by: Ben Feldman

Sound by: Jimmy Ward Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices