“There’s really not much to say,” Geoff Tate politely says when asked about the Queensryche drama of a few months ago. It’s understandable that the voice of the thinking-man’s metal band would now rather talk about things of a more up-beat nature. The separation from the band he helped mold has been a painful trek and he is more than ready to turn his attention to the more positives in his life.
For one, he has a new solo album titled Kings & Thieves being released tomorrow, November 6. Second, he has a successful wine company called Insania. And third, his gypsy nature to travel has him already out on the road in support of his latest modern-times opus. Now if only his tour bus would cooperate. Hunkered down at a shop in Montana, “One of the brake drums seized up and got overly hot and caused one of the tires to blow,” Tate explained when he called in for our interview. “We got the tire fixed this morning and now we’re getting the brakes looked at and inspected before we take off again. We’ve got a lot of road to cover.” (laughs)
Tell us about Kings & Thieves. It’s a pretty powerful album.
Well, you know, I honestly believe that people hear music differently and experience music differently; typically based upon their own unique life experience. You relate to a song because the song is talking about something you’ve been through or you’ve experienced or you’ve thought about so therefore you experience that song. I don’t like to presume what people experience or what they think or what they want to think or what they’re into. I can just tell you what I’m into and I was into making a solo record. I made one before and I’ve been wanting to make another one for many years but really couldn’t find the time that it takes to make it. Queensryche was always my priority to throw all my energies into.
So last New Year’s I was sitting around with friends and family and everybody was making toasts and talking about their New Year’s Resolutions and I thought, you know, I’m going to do it this year, I’m going to make a record; no matter what, I’m going to make a record. So I began in earnest on January 2nd and actually finished it July 15th and actually accomplished my New Year’s Resolution, which I’ve never done before (laughs). So I feel pretty good about that.
But I had a really great time making it. It was probably the most enjoyable record I’ve ever made. And I try to figure out why but I think it’s because I made it at my own pace. I didn’t have to wait for anybody else, I didn’t have to operate with my hands tied behind my back. I could do what I wanted to do. And the people I used on this record were kind of in the same mindset as myself. Everybody came on board with a very positive, creative outlook, and there was lots of brainstorming and lots of talking about the project and everybody was really into it. And that makes a big difference too. When you have to drag people along to do something it doesn’t make for a fun experience. So this was really, really enjoyable and quick too. All these songs were began in January and ended in July, a very short time to make a record and put it together. And I think it’s because it was just flowing so nicely.
It’s pretty organic. I didn’t want to make an overly-produced, slick, polished record. I wanted it to be emotionally raw. So what you hear on the record is a lot of just-written material, unrehearsed, played for the first-second-third time maybe and recorded. And that was the kind of vibe I was going for, to create a very immediate of-the-now sort of record. So I’m really happy. I never made a record like that before; a very different direction in process for me.
It’s like you’ve got your finger on the pulse of the world right now, lyric-wise.
I try to write what I know. I come from that kind of attitude and so songs are typically written about what I live through, the experience that I have, my general outlook on things, that kind of thing. I think it has a timely feel to it.
How did you discover rock & roll?
Well, I grew up in that magic time, the 60’s and the 70’s, where music was really original, rock music especially. And I just became very influenced with what was happening. The Beatles and the Stones were happening and Jefferson Airplane had the first song that actually got me. When I heard that song “Somebody To Love” and I heard that guitar riff, I said, “That’s what I want to do.” And that just got me into it. Then once you’re introduced to music you find that there’s just that amazing world that opens up for you that you can just experience. So I started listening to everything I possibly could get my hands on and my musical palette kept growing and growing over the years. I fell in love with it, the passion of it, and that’s what really struck me about it. And the older I’ve gotten the more experience I have. I’m always fascinated by the puzzle of songwriting and putting a piece together. It’s like a big crossword puzzle and I enjoy the mental exercises.
How long have you been writing songs?
I guess I started in my teens so forty-something years, I guess
Was it easy for you to write?
Sometimes it’s really easy. Sometimes it just flows out of you and you get everything you need in a half hour. And other times it can take months. It just depends on what you’re doing and what you’re trying to achieve. Sometimes little bits of pieces of music and songs come to you and some you have to work at. There is no one way. It’s all pretty varied and unique.
When you did Operation:Mindcrime, did you feel in your bones that it was going to be as groundbreaking as it ended up being?
No. I never feel that way about anything (laughs). It’s impossible to know that kind of stuff. You just write from your heart and you write what’s important to you and what you feel passionate about. And then you share it with the world and the world will do with it as the world sees fit. When that album came out, it was universally criticized. People didn’t get it and it didn’t sell any records and it was considered by our record company at the time, and our management at the time, as, “Ok, nice try, let’s go in the studio and make another record cause this one’s done now.” And so it didn’t really take off, so to speak, until MTV did the video for it and then all of a sudden it went gold within a week.
Who has been your biggest influence as a musician?
Oh, I have many, many influences, from all kinds of music. I have a pretty vast record collection. I have about 8000 records in my collection. All the way from early Jazz and rare things from the 1920’s all the way up to now. I collect everything and everything that strikes me. And it’s funny with music. It’s a world of discovery, really. You hear a song that grabs you and then you start looking up more songs from that artist and you might find three or four albums worth of material that you really love from that artist. And sometimes it’s just one album but oftentimes when you’re interested in a certain artist that music that you listen to from them will lead you to another artist. So you keep finding all these little links and breadcrumbs, so to speak, to find your way somewhere.
How do you keep your voice in such good shape? It sounds amazing. You’d think after all these years of singing it would have some little glitches in it.
Oh I Photoshopped those out (laughs). I think it’s just a matter of exercising it. The voice is a muscle and you got to keep it worked out. So I sing a lot, almost every day, for long periods of time, and it gets stronger as you go along. And I try to lead a very healthy lifestyle if I can and gargle with Listerine every morning.
Do you remember the first time you sang in front of an audience?
Yeah, I do, absolutely. It was terrifying. When you’re not playing an instrument and you’re just singing, you feel very exposed. You don’t have an instrument to stand behind or hold onto. You just have this little microphone to stand in front of or to hold in your hand and it’s very tiny, no bigger than your hand really. So you’re very exposed, very out front and you know it, right off the bat. All of a sudden you are very aware. “Oh wow, this is me, I feel naked and everybody is looking at me right now.” (laughs) I was very terrified that first time.
What did you sing?
I sang a song by a band called Emerson, Lake & Palmer called “Lucky Man” and it was in front of an outdoor audience, like on the 4th of July out on the beach, at a big concert series thing and my band played that night at the concert series.
What was the name of the band?
Oh, I don’t remember what the band was called at the time.
Do you remember how old you were?
I was like seventeen, perhaps
And you had all that hair going, I bet.
Yeah, actually I did at the time (laughs). Long hair was kind of the fashion at the time. Being the fashionable young man in the 70’s, I had long hair (laughs)
You live in Seattle. What is it like living in the coolest city in the United States, as they say?
It’s so cool (laughs) It actually is a really cool city. There is a lot to do, very beautiful, it’s planned out well. The area that the city is in is right between the ocean and a whole bunch of lakes so there are bridges everywhere and there’re distant snowcap mountains you can see that surround the city. There’s lots of emphasis on wildlife and doing outdoor sports, like people ride bicycles, sail and that kind of thing so people are outdoorsy. It’s mostly fairly mild climate. It doesn’t get super cold. It just rains a lot, kind of lightly drizzles and is misty for many, many months at a time.
And I’m sure there are lots of things dedicated to Jimi Hendrix.
They have quite a few Jimi Hendrix monuments around town. There’s a pretty famous statue that’s right downtown and it’s very nice. There’s a few murals painted on buildings and we have a wonderful music museum there called The Experience Music Museum and it was designed by a really remarkable architect who does these wacky sort of weird shaped buildings. But inside it’s really pretty interesting. They’ve got lots of multi-media presentations of music and people in music, paraphernalia. I’ve donated clothing that I’ve worn on tours and records and all kinds of guitars and you name it they got it.
You were actually born in Germany, correct?
I was, yeah
How long did you stay there before you moved to the States?
Not long. I think I was five, I guess, before we moved
So you don’t have a lot of memories of Germany then.
Well, I do but they’re not early childhood memories. They are more later-on memories. I’m still friends with people that my parents knew when I lived there when I was born that I see every time I go back. Every couple of years I have dinner with them. So I have a lot of memories that are kind of built on top of early memories, if that makes sense (laughs)
So how are you going to finish out your year?
I’m on tour now and I’ll be on tour till New Year’s, doing shows around the country and running down the road and playing songs for everybody.
Who do you have playing with you?
I’ve got my band that recorded with me on the record and is touring with me, except for Greg Gilmore, the drummer who played on the record. He couldn’t make the tour so instead of Greg we got my really old friend, Doug McGrew. Doug and I started playing music about the same time, and we were always in other bands and this was the first time we’ve ever gotten to play in a band together. So this is real fun for me.
It’s always good to have a friend with you.
Oh yeah, yeah, making music is a really personal thing and if you can make music with people that you love and people that are very close to you and that kind of thing, it makes it so much more enjoyable.
When do you start up with the new line-up of your Queensryche?
March and it’s going to be great. I’m really excited about it. Something very different and again I’m playing with old friends. Bobby Blotzer and Rudy Sarzo and I go way back thirty-plus years. We’ve been friends for that long and been talking about playing music together for that long as well, so this is really a treat.
Before Pearl Jam there was Mother Love Bone and before that there was Green River. Now Jeff Ament has another band to add to his list: RNDM. Join us next week as we chat with one of Seattle’s most popular musicians.
