Billy Howerdel, guitarist and co-founder of A Perfect Circle, has teamed with ANALOGr for an exclusive auction of more than 120 pieces from his personal archive: instruments, recording equipment, memorabilia and rare collectibles spanning his career and the band’s history. Bidding opens November 8th and closes November 16th. A preview of the catalog, including photos and videos featuring Howerdel, is available now on the ANALOGr website.
Among the headline lots is ‘Youth Number Three (Beautiful Losers)’, the original oil painting by Steven R. Gilmore featured inside the band’s 2000 debut, ‘Mer de Noms’. Also on offer is Howerdel’s Yamaha AES 1500, primarily a studio guitar that can be heard on ‘The Noose’, ‘Vanishing’ and much of 2003’s ‘Thirteenth Step’, and that has occasionally made it onstage.
The collection also includes the Fender Tone Master head and cabinet Howerdel bought after A Perfect Circle’s first tour behind ‘Mer de Noms’ and has used exclusively in the studio since ‘Thirteenth Step’, and the Apogee PS 1000 that producer Alan Moulder persuaded him to buy, which was used extensively on the debut. Rounding out the announced items is a Gibson Goldtone GA-15RV amp, modified by Dave Friedman, which Howerdel has used in the studio from ‘Thirteenth Step’ onward, with some time on tour.
ANALOGr is presenting the lot as part of its ArtistFirst Collection series. The story behind it predates A Perfect Circle: in the Nineties, Howerdel worked as a guitar tech for acts including Nine Inch Nails and The Smashing Pumpkins. After forming A Perfect Circle with Maynard James Keenan, he launched Ashes Divide and, in 2022, released his first solo album, ‘What Normal Was’.
The auction arrives in a comeback year for A Perfect Circle. In May, the band released ‘Starless’, their first new song since 2018’s ‘Eat the Elephant’, which went to No. 1 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart, followed in September by ‘To Whom It May Concern’. “It’s exciting to finally get some new music out into the world,” Howerdel said at the time.
Later this month, A Perfect Circle head to Latin America with Puscifer, Keenan’s other band, before stops in Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Honolulu, where the run ends December 19th. Next spring, the band launch a North American tour on April 13th, 2027, in Vancouver, with Puscifer on the Canadian dates and Detroit and The Cult supporting the remaining U.S. shows through June 13th in Phoenix. The live lineup is completed by Josh Freese on drums, James Iha on guitar and keyboards and Matt McJunkins on bass.