The music that was always the most important to Billy Howerdel is the kind that he couldn’t necessarily classify.

"It was the kind of music where you could get lost in the song as a whole. I’ve always tried to see the big picture as far as music goes," says the guitarist and one of the creative forces of A Perfect Circle.

The Cure and Pink Floyd were part of that picture for him. "They kind of take you away to another place. I admire that and the biggest goal to me is someone else feels moved in the same kind of way by our music."

A Perfect Circle (APC) is an experimental artistic marriage, with Howerdel and Tool vocalist Maynard James Keenan at its core, the results of which was once hailed by their record company as "creatively ‘un-categorizable’ modern music."

That experiment continues with "Thirteenth Step," the follow-up to A Perfect Circle’s (APC) 2000 debut CD, "Mer de Noms." ("Sea of Names" in French).

From the onset, Howerdel and Keenan, who got together during downtime in a Tool recording session, wanted APC to be a positive experience. "But even with that there has to be a Yang with Ying. Even this new record has some destructive songs, but sequenced with construction in mind; gravity being the strong message we want to convey.

"It’s not just ‘Let’s have a party and have a good time’ band. There’s nothing wrong with that. But our music is trying to get inside your head and figure out what’s going on."

He is grateful that enough people have supported APC’s vision to allow it to continue. "I think it’s great some people could consider it more challenging than the cookie cutter formula that might be more popular and mainstream. In pop, you want something catchy and immediate that does not necessarily have longevity."

APC tries a different approach, he says. "I feel lucky people have given us enough attention to stick around for a while and hear what we have to say at our live shows. Selling records is nearly impossible now days, but there is some good support at live shows. We have taken a step up into half arenas."

Howerdel started as a guitar tech for Faith No More, did computer programming for Guns’N’Roses, and went on the road as guitar tech for Tool, the Smashing Pumpkins, David Bowie, Nine Inch Nails and others.

He recalls NIN as one of his best work experiences. "It was very challenging, but I think Trent (Reznor) is a mentor to me in his work ethic. His theory is he never expects any more from anyone than he would do himself. He’s an incredibly hard worker who makes the bar pretty high. I really like that. I can see the results in his live shows and albums."

He admires Keenan’s willingness to try something different. "It’s probably even different than he feels inside. He might be more normal than he wants people to believe. He has a different persona for every different time period of his life," Howerdel says. "I admire the fact he has a role model like Bowie who will do that kind of thing. He is always trying to change and evolve."

In APC, a part-time project between Tool’s work, Keenan writes the lyrics and Howerdel is responsible for the music. "I feel it’s my job to loosen people up emotionally (he laughs) and it is Maynard’s to drive the message home. If we work as a team, I’m trying to open the door and he is greeting people."

He views "Thirteenth Step" as definite growth from "Mer de Noms." "I certainly don’t see it stopping here. It’s definitely a work in progress as far as the work goes," he adds.

He also looks at A Perfect Circle as a legitimate group rather than a two-person engine with sidemen. "When we started off we said it was Maynard and I doing this. Creatively, for the most part, it’s the two of us. But we will always have other hands involved with it. We kind of make the final decision on things. It’s a band."

Guitarist James Iha, bassist Jeordie Osbourne White and drummer Josh Freese complete that band. "The guys really fit in well," Howerdel says.

How does he and Keenan make APC work, especially with Tool competing for Keenan’s attention? "I’ve been focusing on this band. It’s been my baby for a while, and Maynard goes back to Tool and everyone else goes back to things. I will try to take the leap (on a solo project) this time. I would like APC to be fulltime, but I know it’s not set up that way.

"I think we have a hard road ahead of us forever because of the Tool thing with Maynard. People cannot get their heads past the reality that Maynard is going to do more than one thing."

Howerdel says from the first time he saw Tool he was attracted to "this dark band that had something different to it." He couldn’t quite determine what it was, and he still can’t. "It’s a great, dark, heavy band I can’t exactly put my finger on what they do, but they do it really well. It’s simple but complicated. They take you to another place."

Helping forge soundtracks for the lives of listeners is part of the motivation for him. Those soundtracks – "great records that were a theme to a certain year of your life and having that feeling (again) from listening to music" – were important to him while growing up. "Sometimes you get a more acquired taste. For me it just came from wanting to create that music," he adds.

The way that creativity expresses itself on stage is different than on the CD. "Don’t expect what you see on the album cover. The driving force of this band is humor, probably inside humor that nobody gets. And we always tried to take great care to have a compelling light show and visual experience as well. It was less focus on us and more on the overall look of it."

The chemistry of the crowd is an integral part of the effectiveness of a concert, he suggests. "You can’t say every night will be good because the crowd will always be different. For the most part, if the crowd is receptive (the experience will be a good one). It’s like any other relationship or friendship. It depends on the chemistry."

When the chemistry is good at a concert, you can open up and be anything you want, Howerdel explains. "You will find yourself doing things you wouldn’t normally do. The coolest part about it for me is you can become something more than you even thought you could be. It’s more than the sum of the parts, the way I view it."