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It has been nearly two decades since Operation: Mindcrime hit the top of the charts in 1988. The saga is now complete in 2006, Queensryche released the much anticipated sequel entitled, "Operation: Mindcrime 2. In 2006, Queensryche also embarked on one of the most important tours of their career. In their hometown of Seattle, Queensryche capture their theatrical stage performance and surreal sound, and all the intensity of both Operation: Mindcrime and Operation: Mindcrime 2 in a new double disc and double DVD with,"Mindcrime At The Moore" on Rhino Records available now. Queensryche also appear on the latest Metal Mania Stripped Volume 3 release. For More info check out www.metalmaniastripped.com You can also purchase a CD right here at the Glammetal.com store. Look for SIGN OF THE TIMES: THE BEST OF QUEENSRYCHE (CD and Deluxe CD Collector's Edition) on Capitol/EMI this August.
You may ask, why did Queensryche wait twenty years to unveil the powerful sequel to "Operation: Mindcrime"? In retrospect, it may not be 1988, but the climate of politics, and certain state of the world surely reflects in the current sequel, as it if were 1988 over again. Geoff Tate has brilliantly embellished the torment of Nikki, and the sinister Dr. X. to perfection, delivering a heart wrenching performance of emotion and politically correct ambiance.
2007 is shaping up to be one of the most exciting years of Queensryche career. Over the years, the band has garnered a whole new generation of fans. Although this time around, on their upcoming tour, the band is opting for a more stripped down stage performance, one thing is for certain, their music will take center stage, and it will be exciting to see 3 legendary bands appear on the same stage together. On September 5th, Queensryche will join forces and embark on a world tour opening for Heaven and Hell and Alice Cooper. In this Exclusive interview, for GlamMetal.com, singer Geoff Tate unveils Exclusive details regarding the upcoming Fall Tour, the unveiling of "Operation: Mindcrime" 2, the State of our political nation today, and why Queensryche has remained at the top of their career for over 20 years.
www.myspace.com/queensryche
Geoff, Thank you so much for checking in with Glammetal.com. First of all, let's begin the interview with the exciting news. Queensryche will be opening for Heaven and Hell and Alice Cooper in September. Are you excited about the tour?
Well, we are very excited to be part of it. We pretty much dropped everything we were planning on doing at that point in time so we could be part of the tour. It is monumental for us. We were all very influenced by that Black Sabbath line-up. That particular line-up for me is some of the most influential rock music. I can't wait to see it live. I haven't seen the show yet. I am very excited about Alice Cooper. Alice Cooper was the first rock show; I ever saw when I was a kid. I saw the Billion Dollar Babies tour in 1973. I thought that was all rock shows were supposed to be like. (Laughter) I think it very much influenced my ideas of staging and production. Because of that. So we are every excited on different levels to be part of it.
It is so exciting that you did mention what an influence that Alice Cooper had on you, as a kid growing up. I truly believe myself that Alice Cooper and David Bowie were the first theatrical people that put thought and production into shows back then.
Yes, absolutely.
I did get to see Heaven and Hell on their past tour. You are going to love it. They had a very big stage show. It brought me back to the 80's, when they had massive production. Tell me a little bit about the tour. How big a stage show will Queensryche be bringing out with them?
First of all, we are opening for the two bands, Alice and Heaven and Hell. So, no we will have a very sparse set-up production wise. We are pulling from all of our different records for this tour. We are going to be playing different sets every night. Different set ups, so we kind of rotate some of our songs around. So fans that come to multiple shows can see a different show and a different set from us.
Do you think you will find it hard to pick out the songs every night?
Yes, it is always difficult to put together a set list. I don't know why. It is difficult on one level because, well we have a lot of songs. We have over 135 published songs to choose from. Not all of that work very well live. But quite a few of them do. It is always a challenge to pick what is going to be in the set.
Actually, you worked with Ronnie James Dio on Operation: Mindcrime 2. He was Dr. X. How did this transpire?
I called him up. I played him the song, over the phone. He really likes it. He said send it to me, and I let me wrap my head around it. He called me back, and said,” Let’s do it." That is how it all happened.
Yes, I think he was the perfect choose too. His voice fits in so well with the character and theme. Do you agree?
Oh yes, very much. It was wonderful working with him. He really gave the character of Dr. X a certain sinister quality that I don't think any one else could have down.
Now Queensryche recently wrapped up a huge North American tour. It has been almost twenty years since the debut of Operation: Mindcrime. What made you choose this period in time to unveil the sequel to Operation: Mindcrime?
As a songwriter you kind of go where your inspiration takes you. The Mindcrime sequel was originally slated to follow The Empire album in 1993 or so. We had gone off on some sort of musical direction at that point. We honestly couldn't wrap our heads around coming up with a sequel at that time. In retrospect, I am kind of glad that it took so long to come out because I think we all needed a little bit of life experience in order to conclude the story. I think too, the record coming out this time also kind of fits the circumstances of where the country is right now. Where our leadership is. It is very similar now to what it was back in the late 80's when that album was written. It is a very similar time. It is kind of strange. The kind of parallel each other along the way.
It is perfect timing. Actually, George Bush was President at the time, and now is son is President.
I know, what do you think about that?
Actually, I think the world is kind of back to where it was back then. We now have the Iraq War. It has to get better soon. Also too, both Presidents are Christian oriented. They have the same values. How do you feel about the situation?
I think you are right. It is a very similar kind of leadership with a lot of the same values. Being business takes precedent over everything else. Including the safety of the population and education of our population. That doesn't really matter much to this administration. It is a parallel time definitely. I think the story is perfect being released now.
Yes, I totally agree. Also too with everything going on with the Catholic Church these days, it was the perfect time to release the CD. Actually, Operation: Mindcrime really revolves around the church.
Yes, there are a lot of similarities, aren't there? (Laughter)
Was it hard as a songwriter to approach the songwriting and theme for Operation: Mindcrime 2? I know you said you have evolved so much since the debut release.
Well in some ways, we approached it in a very similar way. We really wanted to first and fore most to capture the mood with the songs. We wanted the songs to have a certain sound that was reminiscent of the first album. We looked at the sound as being sort of a soundscape or a backdrop to what the story was doing. We rented a lot of vintage equipment and brought it into the studio and kind of relearned how to use it all. We tried to dial up a similar soundscape so that we could set the story in it. We put together a story outline. We would sit around, and I would say this song is a bout a chase. It is about these two characters Dr. X and Nikki, who are having this argument. The argument is of course being sung, as a musical figure. The music needs to sound real energetic and needs to have sort of a conflicted feel. Everyone would throw out examples of how they felt and how the piece should sound like. We chose what we liked the best and developed it into a song. We did that for each piece.
It is exciting too, because you also had actors portray the parts too. How hard was it to find the right actors for the production?
It was kind of fun to try them out and see what worked and didn't work. The whole part about putting together a production like this is you try to explain it to people and you say this is your character and this is kind of the way we think. This is what they look like and this is what they would do if they were in this kind of situation. There is a lot of communication that takes place, where you are describing the character. Some people can really wrap their heads around that and other people have no idea what you are talking about. They didn't of course get the job. (Laughter)
Well, the sequel is a masterpiece, so you picked out everything perfectly. I am glad that you took your time and everything worked out so well. Let's talk about your new CD that is now available,"Mindecrime At The Moore" on Rhino Records. It is a live double CD and DVD featuring both Operation: Mindcrime and Operation: Mindcrime 2 in their entirety. Also there is documentary in which you discuss your work with VH1 Save The Music. Queensryche is performing in your hometown of Seattle. How rewarding is it as a musician to have this product recorded and unveiled, especially in your hometown of Seattle?
It is rewarding. It is wonderful to look at it finally finished. The project has been going on a long time. The whole Mindcrime project is 18 years old. The sequel has been bouncing in back of my head for many years. To finally see it all on film and finished is a wonderful feeling. It is kind of sad in a way that it is over. But on the other hand, I am very happy that it is over, as well so now the fans can enjoy it.
It is perfect timing. It is so ironic to, when you first released, "Operation: Mindcrime did you have in the back in your mind that you would indeed write a sequel? You definitely left the story line open.
Yes, that is exactly it. It is kind of like a two part story. Where you have your set up and character development and then you have an antagonist, which is Dr. X, and ten you have the conflict between the characters and then there is an action that happens, and then a pause or intermission. In this cause the intermission was 15 years. (Laughter) before Act 2.
Now you also are going to be having another new product out in August called, SIGN OF THE TIMES: THE BEST OF QUEENSRYCHE (CD and Deluxe CD Collector's Edition) on Capitol/EMI this August. Tell me a little bit about this compilation.
That is kind of a very unique best of collection that EMI has put together. What they did is they took different versions of some of our well-known songs and included them on this compilation. Also included our demo, renditions of these popular songs and other popular songs that we've done. There is some unreleased material on it. Our former guitar player Chris Degarmo contributed and gave us a unreleased track that was something that we wrote and didn’t quite finish and had written years ago. We are including that in this collection, as well. I was in a band before Queensryche, it was called Myth. We had written quite a few songs together. When I joined Queensryche, I brought those lyrics and melodies from those songs and make them into Queensryche songs. So songs like,” Take Hold Of The Flame", and "No Sanctuary" are done with a whole different band playing them and me singing them. So that is kind of a unique thing, as well.
As an artist, what inspires you to write a song? So much of Queensryche material is written from the heart.
Life is the inspiration. Things that happen to you. People that you meet. Circumstances that you find yourself in. World events and social politics. Everything is really fair game, when it comes to songwriting; there is so much inspiration out there.
How do you feel about the music industry today? Do you feel that there is a whole new generation of fans discovering the band for the first time?
Yes, most definitely. We have age ranges from 15 to 45. It is pretty amazing. Our fans have had children. Those children have come to the shows and they bring their friends. It is a whole new thing, in some respect. In fact, I was talking to a group of young people backstage one night after the show and I said,” What brings you to the show?" They said you guys are legends. We really wanted to see you before you are all dead. (Laughter)
That is so cool. They must haven been really young. Now you have a great family, which includes 5 girls. Have any of them followed down your path, and chosen a career in music or acting?
No, well maybe my youngest one Emily, who is ten, might be a musician or actress. She is very talented. She really has a wonderful voice, very strong and big. I think she has the potential to do that. She is in a very sophisticated ballet company, since she was a kid. She loves being onstage.
Awesome, she takes after her Dad then. How do you keep you voice in such great shape. Do you have any pre-ritual stage warm-up exercises that you do every night before you hit the stage?
I just kind of warm-up and spend time exercising. That seems to work for me.
Also you appeared on some of the Metal Mania releases including the current Metal Mania Stripped Volume 3. How do you feel about the acoustic versions of the songs? I think a good song starts with the acoustic guitar and vocal. Do you agree?
Yes, that is the basic for a song right there, the chord changes and the melody. I really love doing acoustic renditions of songs. I love stripping things down to a real basic form. It is very satisfying. Also playing acoustically, it is very different than playing with the band. In that I can hear it myself, so damn well. I love hearing the intricacies of what s going on musically. Sometimes when you get volume involved, and big distorted guitars it kind of steps on a lot of the subtleties that are going on within the music.
Geoff, you have had such an extensive career. What are you most proud of? Is it the completion of Operation: MIndcrime 2?
I am happy every day, I wake up. It is a wonderful life. It is a wonderful career. I play music with people I really love. We are very lucky to be still doing this. But also on the other hand, luck has something to do with it, but it is a lot of hard work. It takes a lot of energy and focus to get everybody together on the same page and write a record. It is hard to put together the promotion for the record and get out there and support it on the tour. It is a lifestyle that you have to dedicate yourself to.
Well, Geoff, I wish you the Best of Luck with your new releases. I am looking forward to the September tour. Thank you so much for taking take out of your busy schedule to discuss the upcoming Queensryche tour with Heaven and Hell, and Alice Cooper with GlamMetal.com. We will be out to review your show at the Mohegan.
Thank you for the support. See ya on the road.
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