Geoff Tate: The Bring Back Glam! Interview

Bring Back Glam! recently spoke with Geoff Tate, lead singer of Queensryche. During the chat, Geoff talks about the band's new greatest hits album, working again with Chris DeGarmo, the lengthy process of making studio albums, and why we should all get off the treadmill of life. Transcription follows.   

Bring Back Glam!: Let's talk about your two new albums. Sign of the Times which just came out, and your cover album (Take Cover) that’s due out later this fall. Why did you decide that Queensryche needed another greatest hits package?

Geoff Tate: There’s so much stuff. It’s (Sign of the Times) a two disc set, and it’s pretty cool actually. The first disc is songs most people would be familiar with…and our second disc is demos and unreleased material. Plus, there’s a new song on there that we wrote with our former guitar player Chris (DeGarmo, original guitarist) this summer. It’s called “Justified.” And the artwork is very cool. It’s Hugh Syme, he’s done some work for us before…it looks fantastic.

BBG: How did the new song with Chris come about?

GT: We meet for coffee pretty regularly. When we have coffee, our conversations usually turn toward events that are going on with either ourselves, or the world. With him it sort of lead to a studio session.

BBG: So Chris wanted a separate career, but he still enjoys making music?

GT: I guess so. He doesn’t really like the touring aspect of being in a band. He does like the physical making of the music. We work together whenever we can.

BBG: Do you think you’ll get together and make another album with Chris?

GT: I think the two of us probably will.

BBG: But not an entire Queensryche album – just a solo work?

GT: Right.

BBG: Is it likely that Chris will ever join Queensryche on stage for a live performance again?

GT: I would never say never, but it doesn’t look too likely at this point.

BBG: How did you select the songs for Take Cover?

GT: We picked songs that we liked. Everyone got to pick a few songs, and the rest of us were forced to use those songs. We tried to find ways of appreciating them, which was actually a pretty neat exercise. A lot of times when you hear a song, or you know a song, perhaps it doesn’t move you. Hearing it from one of your band mates, you get their take on it and what they find interesting about it, and use that as a gauge. So you find yourself appreciating things you wouldn’t normally appreciate.

BBG: So if everyone got to pick their own songs, which are your selections?

GT: I picked the song “Odissea” which is an opera song. I got to sing Italian, and that was a challenge. I also picked the Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young song “Almost Cut My Hair.”

BBG: Do you have any formal opera training?

GT: Yes and no. A little bit here and there, but was so long ago…

BBG: Do you consider Queensryche a Metal band or a Progressive band?

GT: That’s all too category driven for me. It doesn’t make any difference. Categories are defined different ways for different people. Music is something that everyone interprets differently and nobody’s wrong. It is what it is. I don’t think there is a good or bad piece of music. Music is art. It’s expression. It’s emotion. It’s not a sporting event.

BBG: How long does it take Queensryche to record a new album?

GT: There’s no formula for it really. It’s something that happens, when it happens. You can’t regulate, or put limits, on creativity. Sometimes a song will take five minutes to write. Sometimes it takes five years. It’s all so…subjective. Hit and miss. You can’t corral the whole thing. That’s what makes it great, keeps it interesting, keeps it human. Otherwise we could just program a machine to write a song for us.

BBG: Do you credit your band’s evolving sound to the human experience?

GT: Making a record is…each record is very different in its own criteria. For instance, when you write a record like (Operation) Mindcrime, it’s a story. We felt we had to set the story within the context of a soundscape. So then we had to create a sound for this character to operate within. And so, to do that, you try to find certain core combinations to create a certain atmosphere, and then you utilize those core combinations in different ways. So that you don’t lose that atmosphere when you tell the story. It’s very challenging to write a record like that. On the other hand, you might have a record that’s a collection of individual songs and you want that to be a very different movement from song to song. You want the atmosphere to change. Again, that’s a hard way to make a record too: to not have any consistency or theme, or anything like that. It just depends. You use different studios, engineers, every room sounds different. There’s different ways to mic instruments – all that adds to the unique soundscape of a record.

BBG: Is Queensryche currently working on an album of all new material?

GT: Well, we began a new studio record a couple months ago, and we’re in throes of recording now. We took a little break to record the cover album and to do the tour we’re on now. It’s our dream tour. We’re touring with Black Sabbath with Ronnie James Dio singing and Alice Cooper. These two bands were incredibly influential to us when we were staring out. Black Sabbath with Ronnie did three incredible records that really were the catalyst for Queensryche getting together. That was the music that we all discussed, talked about and referenced and listen to. It was all very inspiring to us at that point in our career.

BBG: Do you have a title for the new album?

GT: No, it’s not to that point yet. The only thing I can really say about it is that it’s a concept album. It has a central theme, and all the songs relate to that theme.

BBG: Since you just started…do you have a target release date?

GT: Gosh, I hope it’s out by next summer. Either summer or fall would be nice.

BBG: Are you planning a major tour to support that album?

GT: Yes.

BBG: You did a solo album a couple years ago. Do you have any plans for more solo releases?

GT: Yes. I actually have two in the works right now. They are in various states of completion, or disorganization. It depends on how you look at it.

BBG: Why disorganized?

GT: Oh, you know I’ve got so many things going on. When Queensryche beckons – it’s my first priority – I have to put other things on hold. We’re working very diligently, so my solo stuff kind of sits on the back burner, boiling away.

BBG: Can you tell me a little of what you’ve got in the can so far for either solo album?

GT: I’ve got two and they are very different. One is a collection of individual songs and the other is theme record.

BBG: You interest me with your “theme records.”

GT: It’s like putting together a puzzle. Finding the pieces that work, then creating a soundscape and the lyrical direction. You know, paint a picture. I find it interesting, because usually a subject will have totally different facets to it. I think it’s great to approach each different facet with a song. You can kind of get a real… more of a feel for the idea or theme when you approach it from a number of different angles.

BBG: What’s been your career highlight with Queensryche so far?

GT: Every day is a highlight. I have to pinch myself. It’s really incredible. I hate to say it. We’re so incredibly fortunate. We tour and sell records in 26 different countries around the world. We get to visit amazing places and see incredible things and experience a life that most people don’t. I wish everyone could pick up and go traveling, and not get locked into the whole commercial that we get sold and so many of us buy. You know, “go to work, get up. Go to work, get up.” That treadmill of life -- I call it drudgery. It’s such a complex thing, too. You get locked into obligations and responsibilities and it happens at such a young age. You get that pressure from your parents to go in a certain direction, and at an early point in your life, you don’t know what you want to do. The whole “I’ve gotta have this, and the stuff costs this much, so I have to work this hard…” Then you’re on the treadmill, and you get locked in. Before you know it, you realize all that stuff owns you. Get rid of it all, it doesn’t mean anything anyway.

BBG: How old were you when you realized you wanted music as a career?

GT: Well I was nine when I really discovered music. That’s when I started on that pathway, I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I heard this song by Jefferson Airplane. “Somebody, uh--”

BBG: “Somebody to Love?”

GT: Yes! That’s it! I heard that guitar riff, and it just got me. I started thirsting for the music. I wanted to see what was out there. It sort of set me on a life path that I really didn’t realize until I was in high school. That’s when I started singing in a band and really got the bug. Then I started writing songs, and that sort of sprung me into action.

BBG: I would imagine your parents were fairly supportive, especially after hearing your voice.

GT: No, they were not. My parents came form a generation of people that really were not thinking outside the box. My dad was from a military background, they do what they are told. That was kind of his way of thinking. I was not of that ilk at all. I definitely had my own ideas and I wanted to pursue things, so I did it all without their approval or support. I did it on my own. After, of course, it became successful and they realized it was something I was good at [and] I could make a living doing it; they were O.K. with it at that point. They’ve come to accept it, and it’s not big deal. At the time, it was kind of a stressful tension between us all.

For more information, please visit www.queensryche.com

Bring Glam back to your dish hd dvr with the dish network satellite finder from InternetLion.com!

The Video Music Awards Are a Waste of Time

Tonight in Las Vegas, MTV will roll out of the red carpet for their annual Video Music Awards show. In my childhood, the VMAs were a huge deal: I would look forward to the show for at least a month. The VMAs are always over the top, and they (used to) feature some really amazing performances.

If you don’t recall or didn’t have cable way back in the day, MTV launched their first award show in 1984.

Tonight, the nominee list is completely lackluster. It makes me wonder why bands and labels even spend the money on music videos these days. MTV never plays them, and the best way to get them aired it seems is on Myspace.

Here’s the sucktastic list of nominees for best group:

Fall Out Boy
Gym Class Heroes
Linkin Park
Maroon 5
The White Stripes

The categories for awards are now stupid. “Best Rock Video” is a defunct category, replaced with such worthless titles as “Most Earthshattering Collaboration,” "Quadruple Threat of the Year,” and “Monster Single of the Year.”

Give me a break.

So, tonight while half the teeny boppers in the world are watching MTV, I’ll be using my precious TV time on something else.

Now, this isn’t to say that past VMA shows were a complete waste. The 1992 show had some killer performances, including Guns n’ Roses with Elton John and the Nirvana incident when bassist Dave Grohl smacked himself upside the head with his own instrument. Plus, Nirvana and Axl Rose got in a big fight during the show which stirred some controversy.

When Guns n' Roses were still a new band, they won the award for Best New Artist in 1988 for their video in support of “Welcome to the Jungle.” The band's performance during that show is now regarded as classic.

Most amusing is the infamous Poison debacle when C.C. DeVille showed up to the 1991 show completely blitzed and couldn’t even pull it together long enough to play the right song. Bret Michaels slugged C.C. offstage after that mess, and suddenly Richie Kotzen was in the band. If I had a time machine, I would suck myself back to 1991 (yes, at about age 11) and watch that incident from side stage.

Also in 1991, Queensryche won the Viewer’s Choice award for “Silent Lucidity.” The band was nominated for a slew of Moonmen in 1991, and were a featured performer at the awards show.

In 1996 Van Halen (with David Lee Roth) presented an award, fueling reunion speculation. Of course it didn’t happen. Much later in 2002, Sammy Hagar and David Lee Roth also teamed-up to present an award.

Here’s Van Halen (with Hagar in happier times, at the 1991 VMA show)

Update on Thursday, September 20, 2007 at 09:44PM by Allyson B. Crawford

This article contains an (unintentional) error. The bassist for Nirvana was, in fact, Krist Novoselic -- not Dave Grohl. Instead of simply correcting the error, I want to prove that the glam mistress doesn't lie about mistakes. Thanks to commenter Chey for pointing out my blunder.

Two on the Floor (Well, Almost)

Well, I did it.

I waited patiently for Van Halen tickets to go on-sale at a concert venue closest to my home. This morning, I purchased two seats to the Indianapolis tour stop.

Eric and I will drive 100 miles each way for the show, and I hope it's worth it. The seats were exceptionally expensive. In fact, if you want to talk straight ticket prices, it's costing Eric and I more to see the reunited VH than it did for four days of Rocklahoma this past July. (Don't worry though, inflation hits everything and when I renewed my Rocklahoma seat license for next year, the price rose three-fold).

I *think* my Van Halen seats are good. We're almost on the floor without buying the (nearly) illegal Live Nation promotion.

I'm very excited. I've been talking about buying my Van Halen tickets all week. I'm sure my coworkers are sick of hearing about it all.

Here's a really cool video I found of Van Halen performing "Hot For Teacher" in the UK on their 1984 tour. At the start you can hear the wind whipping from Diamond Dave swirling his big cape. Plus, there's some nut job that rushes the stage.

Queensryche Giveaway

Want a copy of the new Queensryche greatest hits package?

To celebrate this new release, Bring Back Glam! is giving away two copies of Sign of the Times: The Best of Queensryche. Yes, this is the deluxe edition, two disc set. Disc one is all the famous songs you know and love. Disc two is rare, unreleased material and live cuts.

So, how do you win?

Simply send me an email to allyson@bringbackglam.com telling me in 25 words on less why you want this disc but can't afford the purchase. Money should never be a barrier between fans and good music.

Please submit your entries by 8 p.m. EST tonight (September 7, 2007).

That is all. Good luck.

It's All In Your Head

Bring Back Glam! recently spoke with Jacob and David Lynam of Birmingham, Alabama-based Lynam. The band is hard at work, putting finishing touches on their new album Tragic City Symphony. After three independent releases, Lynam jumped to the major leagues and signed with DRT Entertainment. In 2006, the band released Slave to the Machine, and hit the road with some of the biggest bands touring America today. During the interview, Jacob and David talk about their rock philosophy, their connection to Bon Jovi and joining the Motley Cruise -- just don't call them an 80s band. Transcription follows.

Bring Back Glam! I just recently learned of your band. How are you gaining such a strong following?

Jacob Lynam (vocals and guitar): We released the record (Slave to the Machine) nine or ten months ago on DRT, it came out everywhere, so that was the first time a lot of people had heard of us other than the south east states, then we went on tour with Hinder, and played shows with Cinderella, RATT and Poison. We also went out with Godsmack, Puddle of Mudd and Saliva – and that opened up a lot of people’s eyes to who we are and what we do. It’s definitely been a building process.

BBG!: How long have you had your new album Tragic City Symphony in the can?

David Lynam (drums): Like a week ago, we wrapped production on the last song.

Jacob: We may do some more songs. We’ve had the songs for awhile. It’s one of those things: like a lot of bands will write ten songs when they are making a record, and say that’s enough for a record. Then, if you listen to those ten songs, maybe only two or three of them are worth a shit. Just because you write ten songs doesn’t mean the album is done. We sent them to our manager, and we get together with our diehard fans and we sort out everyone’s favorite songs. Every now and then, there will be a song we fall in love with, but once we play it live and listen to it recorded we’re like “You know what? That’s not a very good song, and we could do better!” There was a couple songs on Slave to the Machine that we felt that way about. We loved them when we wrote them, but when we recorded them, we felt we could do better. It turns out that management and the label and other people liked the songs, so they ended up going on the record anyway. Different strokes for different folks. Everyone has different tastes.

BBG!: So how do you explain the sound of your upcoming album?

Jacob: Our sound has evolved. We personally like big rock n’ roll. That doesn’t necessarily mean Motley Crue and Def Leppard – of course we like Motley Crue and Def Leppard – but when I say big rock n’ roll, I’m also talking about Green Day. Their most recent record American Idiot sounds like one of the biggest arena rock records I’ve ever heard. The reverb on the drums, the songs are so big sounding…it could mean Alice in Chains, Dirt. That’s a big sounding record, thanks to production and reverb. A lot of times when we talk about our sound and we say we like big arena rock, people automatically say “Oh, they’re like an 80s band.” We love 80s music, don’t get me wrong, but we hate when people automatically put that label on us because we like big rock. A good song is a good song. Big rock is what we’re all about. That’s what we strive to achieve. When you listen to our songs…a lot of critics and industry people that don’t know anything about music… they look at the way that we look: we definitely have a rock star image. We don’t want to go out with flannel shirts and jeans on. Critics look at our picture and see that our influences are Motley Crue and Def Leppard, they decide we are an 80s band. Just for the record, we never said we were an 80s band.

BBG!: What’s the first single for your new album?

Jacob: We’re not sure.

BBG!: Do you know the street date?

Jacob: We don’t know. We’re still listening and making sure we are completely happy with everything. We’re thinking it will be out early 2008.

BBG!: Is “Tragic City Symphony” a song on the album, or is that just a random title?

Jacob: Birmingham is known as the Magic City. It’s always been the slogan. We just changed it kind of because the new record is wide open with song matters. The topics of the songs are all over the place. The songs tell a lot of stories, kind of like a symphony or opera would. We’ve got a lot of strings on the new stuff.

BBG!: How did you hook up with Tom Keifer of Cinderella?

Jacob: Our manager also manages Cinderella and Nickelback. There’s always been an awareness of Lynam in the Cinderella camp because of our manager. When we actually played with them, we gave Tom our Slave to the Machine CD and he called and said it hadn’t been out of his player in like a month. He loved it so much, (and) he said our songs sounded so good that he wanted the guy who mixed our record to mix some songs for his solo album. I just told him how big of fans that we are, and always been…He told us he lived in Nashville, and we live in Birmingham which is only a three hour drive, so we asked him if he would play on our record. Literally, the next week he called and we got together and hung out. He’s an awesome human being.

BBG!: What is the name of the song he is on?

Jacob: He did one song, called “Enemy.”

David: Anytime you hear slide guitar in that song, it’s him.

BBG!: Does he provide any vocals?

Jacob: No.

BBG!: Your video for “Tanis” (from Slave to the Machine) is so good. Why did you remix that song?

Jacob: The record company made us. We liked the original version just fine, but hey, they are the ones spending all the money on a video and sending it to radio, so if it makes them feel better for the remix, so be it.

BBG!: Do you recall the video getting much airplay?

Jacob: I saw it on Vh1 twice, but it wasn’t the actual video. More like the commercial for the album twice. I know we were the download of the day on Fuse. On the Indie charts, we hit number one on both mainstream and active rock. It’s pretty cool to have a number one song on both charts in the country.

BBG!: Jacob, did you win an award for writing a Christian song?

Jacob: Um, yes.

David: (Laughs). I don’t even know about that!

Jacob: Last year I actually won - from Billboard magazine - I won first place in the Christian music category...

BBG!: “Song For Our Life”

Jacob: Yep, “Song For Our Life” but that wasn’t for Lynam, that was for an artist named Mike Shaw. They (Billboard) got in touch with me, and I got an award and money and it was real cool. Then, the same thing happened with another one of those contests. I won first place in the Christian category – and this year, I won first place again. It hasn’t been announced yet and it’s not on the website, but I won first place in the Christian category. One of our biggest fans on the planet is Catholic priest. The person that runs Jon Bon Jovi’s fan club – backstage with Jon Bon Jovi – was Jon’s mom. She ran it for years with their priest, a guy named Father Bob. Father Bob and her ran the fan club since 1988. Just recently, Jon’s mom retired and Father Bob retired, and the fan club got turned over to Matt Bon Jovi, which is Jon’s brother. Father Bob, he is one of the biggest Lynam fans in the world, to the point that he flew all of us – he paid for it – to New York so we could watch Bon Jovi play at Madison Square Garden. He gave us fourth row tickets, total V.I.P. treatment, so it’s crazy how diverse our fan base is. It’s insane.

BBG!: How did you get hooked up with the Motley Cruise?

David: Myspace has lead so many people of the era to our music, from Jani Lane to producer Beau Hill. Vince Neil’s manager found us through Myspace.

Jacob: Yeah. What happened is that Vince Neil’s manger said he heard about us through the guy that does Motley Crue’s website. The web guy told him that he had to “check out this new band Lynam, they’re totally rock.” Well, he went and bought the CD and emailed me and said that he is a huge fan. We hear this all the time, but this guy really was. He knew deep cuts on the album, like names of the songs and what the songs are about, and he asked us if we would join the cruise on behalf of Vince.

David: Anytime you offer us a free vacation, we’re there!

BBG!: Ok, what’s the deal with your band name. Are you brothers or not?

Jacob: Meh, it’s like the Ramones or the Donnas. All our names really aren’t Lynam. It’s just one of those things that we did.

BBG!: Ok then, is it true that two of your band members have the same last name but are not related?

Jacob: Nope, that’s not true either. Everything that you read about us is always full of shit, 100%.

BBG!: Well, how much have you been lying to me during this interview?

David: We’ve been very forthright during this interview!

Jacob: We are actually telling 100% truth during this interview. We’re talking about bios and stuff.

BBG!: Well, I read the bits about your names from another interview.

David: I told them they wouldn’t be in my damn band unless they changed their names to my last name!

Jacob: What you read…When we signed with DRT, they got a guy that writes bios for everybody. There are only about six guys that write bios in the entire industry for all the major labels, and that’s why all the bios sound the same. Our official bio at www.drt-entertainment.com, it talks about name. The guy got it all wrong –

BBG!: He got it wrong, or you told him wrong?

Jacob: Well, see DRT wanted us to have a true bio…they wanted the whole story. I gave him the whole story, and he got everything mixed up. As far as the bios on our Myspace page, anything that we’ve done, that's for fun. Band bios are just boring.

David: All of them. Wait until you read our next band bio!

Photo courtesy: Allison White Studios for Lynam, via www.myspace.com/lynam

Go Ahead, Point and Laugh

Um, if you like exercises in painful experiences you might want to listen to Metal Express Radio this Friday at either 9 a.m. or 3 p.m. Apparently, I'm going to be a guest DJ, and I'll be spinning for you my top 10 favorite glam songs.

To listen, visit www.metalexpressradio.com

Tim Skold: Then and Now

Before there was Crashdiet...

Before there was Vains of Jenna...
Before there was Hardcore Superstar...

There was Shotgun Messiah. Formally Kingpin, the band moved from Sweden to Los Angeles in the early 1980s and changed their name to Shotgun Messiah. From the beginning, bassist Tim Skold was the star of the band, but he wasn't the original singer -- that was reserved for Zinny J. Zan.

After the debut, Zinny J. Zan left the band and Tim Skold took over singing duties. It was during this era that the band released the album Second Coming. After this album, the band -- and especially Tim Skold -- moved in a more industrial direction. A handful of years later, Skold found himself working with Taime Downe of The Newlydeads, and later in his current gig with Marilyn Manson.

Here's the most successful single from Second Coming: "Heartbreak Blvd."

Now, I ask you: how does such a beautiful, blonde man chop his hair and decide to go goth? Is Skold chasing trends, or is this another example of true musical evolution?

Tim Skold never had a glam voice in the vein of Sebastian Bach or even Bret Michaels. Rather, he was always more closely aligned with Taime Downe. Perhaps the gritty voice opened the doors for a successful industrial - and later - goth career?

For my money, Tim Skold did his best work with Shotgun Messiah, but that doesn't mean I don't think he's a talented musician. In fact, he's a great producer and he can play multiple instruments. Plus, there are some good qualities to Marilyn Manson, but it's just not my cup of tea.

Here's Tim Skold with Marilyn Manson:"This is The New Shit" from the album The Golden Age of Grotesque.

So, do you prefer Tim Skold with Shotgun Messiah or Marilyn Manson?