Attention Deficit Delirium

Operation: Wine Time.
(Photo credit: Sarah Prout Photography.)

Just prior to Christmas, Queensrÿche singer Geoff Tate discussed his wine brand Insania for a story I was working on for Grammy.com ["Eat, Drink & Rock and Roll"]. He also offered plenty more to ADD about his group’s recent tour supporting the American Soldier album, his exploits in the wine business, his former vegan ways, the rigors of modern touring and the proposed Operation: Mindcrime musical for Broadway. As always, he was an engaging, fun interview.

Here is Part Two of my chat with Tate.
Part One can be found here.


The last two tours were conceptual, and the Building Empires tour was obviously a big hit with people back in the day. Do you think the fans still crave that kind of experience from you?
Oh yeah. In fact, this tour was really a testament to that because we had three albums [that we played] on this tour, and we would play seven or eight tracks from each record in a row. The fans were not familiar with the new album — it hadn’t embedded itself in their psyche yet — and they were all very patient and interested in watching and listening. That’s what we always talk about within the band, that when you have a new album you have to sell it — not just over-the-counter, but musically every night. You’ve got to sell that song to an audience that’s not familiar with it. You’ve got to make them feel what you feel as the writer, and you’ve got to push it every night. You cannot exist riding on the coattails of success you’ve had in the past. You’ve got to keep trying and keep pushing. That seems to work for us for some reason. Many people feel the conviction from the band when we play that [new stuff].

Tate basking in the adulation of the crowd at the Moore Theatre in Seattle, 2007.
(Photo Credit: Greg Watermann.)

I don’t think I could handle not writing new material. I wouldn’t do it anymore if I couldn’t put out records and present them. I’m not interested in reliving the past. In fact, none of us listen to the old records at all. Once we do a record, that’s it, we’re done with it and move onto the next thing. We were getting ready to do this American Soldier tour, and the plan was to focus on and play the three albums [American Soldier, Rage For Order and Empire]. Everybody was supposed to listen back to the old records and familiarize themselves with the songs, and then we would start rehearsals. So the date rolls around and we get in there and are ready to play, and it comes out that none of us have listened to the songs. [laughs] We could have stopped to take an extra couple of days to get everybody to do their homework or just launch into it and see how far we got. But you know, it’s funny, when you write something it just stays with you. We remembered almost everything and played the songs fine. There were a couple of little things that we hiccuped on, but it was just really easy stuff. The bulk of everything was cemented in the brain somewhere, and when you’re actually on the spot and have to hit that A Minor chord, it just comes out. It’s a really weird thing. I don’t remember other people’s lyrics very well. I was at a party last night with a band playing, and they asked me to sing a song. I had to decline. I said, if you give me a lyric sheet I could muddle through it, but I just do not remember other people’s lyrics. Maybe a sentence here or there, but I have a hard time with that. I just ended up playing saxophone, so that was fun. I had a good time. I can remember musical lines, no problem. We did a tour with Dream Theater a couple of years ago where the encore was all of us coming out and playing each other songs. It took me two weeks of using cheat sheets onstage to remember the lyrics to their songs.

Armed with brass and dangerous.
(Photo credit: Christa Titus.)

Weren’t you a vegan at one point?
I was a vegan for 10 years. I enjoyed it at the time, although it was incredibly frustrating on tour at that point because vegetarianism and veganism were kind of unknown things to the masses. You just couldn’t find anything to eat except steamed vegetables. Nowadays it’s much more widespread. As a touring musician you eat out every day at all these different restaurants, so I’ve really seen it grow. You can go to supermarkets now and they have organic sections and vegetarian sections. It’s really a lot easier now to eat if you want to maintain that lifestyle. I started eating fish again, and my wife [Susan] is a meat eater. She kind of got me back on the meat thing. I eat beef now and then. I have to say that we both really changed around our diet a lot in the last year. We’ve noticed that as Americans, as a population we’re really overweight. You go to other places in the world and they just don’t have that kind of obesity rate. I think it’s really about portions. We eat platters of food here. We eat a plate of food that can feed a family of four for one serving. We just started sharing everything. That seems to help us keep the weight off and keep a little bit slimmer figure.

Wasn’t Eddie a vegetarian at one point?
Eddie is such a weird eater. I can’t keep track of what he eats and what he doesn’t eat. He is very strange. He doesn’t like Chinese food when it’s prepared. He likes to eat it two days later. He’ll order a Chinese meal, then leave it in the box and stick it in a refrigerator and eat it a couple of days later. It’s pretty bizarre. He’s never gotten food poisoning.





How much do you keep up with new music as you get older?
You’ve mentioned keeping up with every crappy band that comes out. I’m in the same position. The older I get, the less I’m interested in what young bands do. They’re just not speaking to me, especially lyrically. What’s some guy in his twenties going to say to me? I’m 50. God, I’ve already done that. I’ve been through those things. For an audience, I think it might be the same thing. When most new musicians start out they’re pulling so heavily from their influences. You can hear them in every chord that they play. The older they get, hopefully they’ll start branching out and develop their own thing and become more unique. For starting out, there’s not a lot of interesting stuff there that I haven’t already heard.

Insania uncorked.
(Photo credit: Sarah Prout Photography.)

Of course, when Queensrÿche first came out there were probably older listeners who thought it sounded like earlier hard rock or metal. At the same time, as many bands get older, it can be a little strange to see some of the things they do, like Green Day launching a Broadway musical.
I’m glad they’re doing that. It’s another avenue to play and do whatever it is that they do. I think Broadway really needs a shot in the arm. Some of that stuff, it’s so schlocky.

I tend to favor the plays more than the musicals on Broadway. Wicked and Avenue Q are great musicals. If Queensrÿche were to do something on Broadway, would you be worried that it would tarnish or negatively impact your legacy in any way? Would you like to see Operation: Mindcrime done as a musical?
Actually, there’s a guy working towards that right now. Adam Pascal, who was a singer in Rent, is working on a Broadway production of Mindcrime, and I can’t wait to see what he comes up with. I had a meeting with him when I was in Tokyo a couple of months ago, and he was outlining his whole plan for it. I haven’t seen anything about it yet. But to answer your question, I would be happy to do something like that. I’m not too concerned with the legacy. Other people’s perceptions of what we do don’t really count with me. I’m more interested in if I think it’s cool and if I like it. That’s the game plan that we’ve always followed in the band. Do we like it? Does it pass our committee? Okay, then that’s Queensrÿche.

A serious Geoff Tate circa 2009.
(Photo Credit: Greg Watermann)

So what’s coming up for Queensrÿche in 2010?
We’re not planning on going out again until sometime in the summer, at the least. We’re working on a new studio record right now, so we’re in the studio every day slaving away. We started working on it a few months ago. We like new music, so we are always working on the next thing.

Is there anything you can say about it?
It’s a conceptual piece and is kind of
a social commentary. I’m really, really
excited about it because it’s something
very different for us that we haven’t
done before, but I can’t really tell you
any more about that.



Geoff Tate: Professional singer and avid wino.
(Photo credit: Sarah Prout Photography.)

For hard rock and metal fans, Geoff Tate needs no introduction. The dynamic, dramatic frontman for Queensrÿche — who have now been making music for nearly 30 years, believe it or not — has influenced scores of singers, sung on classic albums like Rage For Order and helped elevate metal into a thought-provoking art form. And he’s always a fun interview.

Just prior to Christmas, Tate discussed his wine brand Insania for a story I was working on for Grammy.com ["Eat, Drink & Rock and Roll"], and he offered plenty more to ADD about his group’s nine-month tour supporting the American Soldier album, their next release, his exploits in the wine business, his former vegan ways, the rigors of modern touring and the proposed Operation: Mindcrime musical for Broadway. (Read Part Two here.)


It’s good to hear that Queensrÿche’s recent tour did well, especially given our shaky economy.
I know a lot of media outlets have been talking about live music and saying that the whole scene is dead and that nobody cares about live music anymore, but I think that’s really false. It might be true in certain isolated places or in the country that they’re writing from, but I have to say that more people want live music. They love it. It’s not something you can replace with digital recordings. The biggest problem about live music is letting people know that it’s happening. It’s so difficult for people to find out what’s going on because the way so many websites are constructed is so convoluted, and there’s so much information, it’s hard to navigate. And there are hardly any papers anymore. That’s what I see.

What was the hardest part about this particular tour in terms of reaching out to people?
Just that, letting people know that the band is in town. It’s always the toughest thing, and I think other artists experience that same thing, too. We always talk about it when people get together. People are always saying to all musicians, “Oh, I didn’t know you were in town.” Great. Thank you, promoter!

Tate turning over the spotlight to guitarist Michael Wilton. (Photo Credit: Greg Watermann.)

Do you think that age also plays a factor in this? Even though I’m in the media, I find it hard to keep up with everything that’s going on because there’s so much information out there. I figure as people get older they don’t follow things as much, especially those who are outside of the business. They wait for other people to come to them and tell them what’s happening.
Yeah, that’s very true, too. A lot of people get their information off TV nowadays. So unless you’re a TV star nobody knows about you.

So the American Soldier tour did well overall?
It went great. It was really a knuckle biter at the beginning because there wasn’t a lot of pre-sold tickets, and we base all of our internal economy on touring. It slowly started building, and I have to say it was a really successful tour this year. I’m very happy about that.


You have your own brand of wine called Insania that you created in conjunction with Three Rivers Winery. Have you always had an affinity for wine, or is it something that has developed throughout your life?
It’s normal in our house to drink wine, and I really discovered through touring and traveling to different countries where they have a wine culture that I had a taste for and interest in it. Over the years I got a little more interested in it and tried several different wines. My wife and I just got back from France. We were touring the wine areas and sampling different types of wine and familiarizing ourselves with smaller wineries around the country, and we had a great time. The interest just keeps growing, and we have quite a wine collection now. In fact, I have to build a bigger place to store everything I’ve got because it’s stuck in corners and closets. You’ve got to keep stuff at the right temperature or your investment goes bad.

When you fly overseas, given that you cannot take liquids on planes anymore, how do you bring everything back?
You have to ship it back. But it is difficult.

A deluge of Insania.
(Photo credit: Sarah Prout Photography.)

Do you have to use specific importers to bring wine back?
Yes, you have to go through importers and people with licenses. It’s a big, convoluted mess. Our liquor laws in the United States are Prohibition-era wine and alcohol laws, and slowly state-by-state they’re trying to repeal things and upgrade them to the 21st century, but it’s just slow going. Our state, Washington, is the second largest wine producer in the country, and we just recently had some changes in our import laws and shipping laws. It took this long. California is way ahead of us on that. Unfortunately we’re a Puritan-based society that is really stuck on religions, so it kind of flies in the face of that. Other countries don’t have that kind of background and have more of a wine culture, like France, Spain and Italy. They’re so far ahead of us in what they do. We have the resources here in this country, and there are a lot of great wine producing regions in the country, but we’re just now getting a hold on it. American wine has made quite a mark internationally. You can go to fine restaurants in Paris and see American wines on the menu, which is great. When we travel we try to spread the word about what we do, not only our wine but other people’s wines as well that are based in the country.





How seriously do people take a wine brand from a rock star? When people find out that they’re drinking something from the singer for Queensrÿche, what is the first reaction that you get?
I think very interested, until they taste it, then they go, “Wow! This is serious.” It’s a very well done wine, very elegant. In fact, we just had a really interesting experience. The band played a cruise ship that went to the Caribbean [around November], and they had these events planned. They asked us if they could do a wine tasting, and I said sure. I brought some cases of it onto the ship, and had this big wine tasting for all the guests of the ship. It was a fantastic event, then afterwards the captain invited us to have dinner with him. It was this beautiful gourmet meal, and they served Insania as the wine for the meal. On this Italian-based cruise ship, they had a master sommier. There are a handful of guys that have this title, and they’re incredibly well-trained wine connoisseurs. After a couple of courses of wine, my wife said I should get the master to sample the wine and tell us what he thought. I said, “Oh honey, this guy is a huge pro. What if he doesn’t like it?” They had all these guests there, like 75 people. She had a few drinks and got her courage up and asked him to sample it and tell us what he thought, and he loved it. He gave it a rave review in front of everybody, and we were just sitting there sweating. He’s from Italy, and they have this centuries-old wine industry. He was very kind and loved it. He finished his glass and asked for another one.

Queensrÿche circa 2009.
(Photo Credit: Greg Watermann.)

It seems like a lot of bands have been jumping on the cruise bandwagon of the last few years. It has become the hip thing to do in the last couple of years. Is it a lucrative business? Does it feel strange to do cruises, kind of like playing Vegas?
I love playing Vegas. It’s just another avenue to play music live, and we’re all about that. We’ll play anywhere. We’ve played music on the back of a flatbed truck. We’ve played it in the middle of the desert. We’ve played it on street corners and radio stations and coliseums and soccer stadiums. Wherever you can play, that’s what you do because you’re a musician. The cruise ship thing has opened up as a venue, and the fans really love it because they save for a year to get the tickets. They go for a week and enjoy themselves and get to see their favorite bands play. It’s a really great atmosphere actually. We had a fantastic time, and I’d definitely do it again.

The Insania insignia.

Did the fans get to meet and mingle with the band on the cruise?
Yeah. You’re stuck on a boat in the middle of the ocean. It’s a big ship, but you still see everybody. You’re in the same restaurants and clubs, out by the pool or on excursions off the boat onto the islands. Sometimes you book the same event. We went on this waterfall tour in Jamaica where they took us up in the mountains. We got to swim in these beautiful, exotic pools of water and waterfalls, and there were fans with us as well. It was a really good time, I have to say. It’s no big deal hanging out with fans. We do it all the time. We do meet and greets after every show, where we have 50 to 75 members of the audience come back and meet the band, take photos and sign autographs. It’s just part of what we do. Some bands don’t like that, but for us it works great.


Last time I spoke to you, you suspected that one of your daughters or son-in-laws may have blown out your stereo system. Have you fixed that?
I’m on my third one since then. Right now one of the channels of my new amp is blown out, and I’m waiting on the holidays to get that fixed.

Whose fault is that?
I haven’t quite pinned it down. We still have a house full of kids, so it could be any one of them. Right now they’re all guilty until proven innocent.

Geoff Tate, the happy bottler.
(Photo credit: Sarah Prout Photography.)

That’s what happens when you have a lot of kids. You could do a semi-movie remake: Cheaper By The Half-Dozen, the rock star version.
That’s what my wife says — when all the kids are out of the house in a couple of years, we’re going to sell this place and get a small condo. But where are they going to go? They’re going to come back for the holidays or say, “Hey, I’ve got to move in for six months while I get my life together.” You have to have a place for them to go. I don’t think we’ll probably ever downsize. They’ll keep coming home and bringing friends, boyfriends and fiancées. Tonight is our Christmas, so having all the kids over. It’s Yule tonight, the longest night of the year, everybody comes over, we have a big dinner and everybody stays up all night.

As far as your future with wine, is this endeavor something you would plan to continue after you retire from being a rock star? Do you see that as a viable occupation?
Oh yeah. I’d love to keep doing it. It’s a challenge to make it every year and to keep making it consistent. You have to deal with Mother Nature, the kind of grapes you get and the kind of growing season it is. I absolutely love it. This year we’re adding a white, next year we’re thinking of adding a different brand, something that’s perhaps a bit lighter. We’re definitely thinking about the future.


Part Two of ADD’s interview with Geoff Tate is found here.



Rockenfield pounding the skins on the current "American Soldier" tour. (Photo credit: Christa Titus.)

As the man behind the kit for Queensrÿche, Scott Rockenfield has defined himself as a drummer par excellence, providing both rhythmic support and percussive propulsion with his signature style. A man who can make his hi-hat work as compelling as his tom fills, Rockenfield further expanded the art of metal drumming with inventive playing and showing that subtlety was just as important as aggression. Listen to the seminal rock opera Operation: Mindcrime for proof positive.

I first interviewed Rockenfield for Modern Drummer back in 1997, and since that time his work beyond Queensrÿche has expanded. He has worked on various film soundtracks, started the RockenWraps drum company and recorded and performed with the Nineties rock group Slave To The System, who finally have a second album in the works. While taking a break from Queensrÿche’s current tour in support of their new American Soldier opus, Rockenfield talked about juggling all his different endeavors and his upcoming projects.

Now that you have lived with American Soldier on the road for a couple of months, how do you feel it holds up against Queensrÿche’s other works?
We are very happy with what we were able to achieve on American Soldier, and it is translating great during the live shows. I believe we achieved our goal of really spending the time to construct songs from the stories and hearts of the American soldiers we spoke with, and to tell their tales of their lives.

Recent "American Soldier" promo shot.

Did you have a different perception of the military before you recorded the album, and if so, how has that changed?
I was very educated in regards to all things military. I suppose most people could say that. Being surrounded by this and hearing these stories from them has really made me appreciate the soldiers and their lifestyle. The stories that touched me most were ones based on the longing to be home with family and loved ones. Being that I have been a traveling musician most of my life, I could totally relate to missing them.

It’s wild to think that Queensrÿche has been together for nearly 30 years. Given that you have been playing heavy rock with the group since its inception, how do you keep things fresh for yourself as a drummer? Where do you go to seek other inspiration and learn new things?
I am always grateful for the time and longevity we have had as a group. Besides my work in Queensrÿche,  I have also been composing music for film and television for the last 20 years. I recently finished a full length score to a feature horror film titled Albino Farm which is getting ready to be released. I am also set to compose the music for four other films in the coming months. Two of the films are going to be set in a crime drama/comedy [mode] such as films like Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, and the two other films happen to be set in the genre of crime thrillers such as SE7EN and Silence of the Lambs. Real creepy stuff! Besides all that, my family is my greatest inspiration.

Do you try to keep up with the latest drum gear, or are you old school at heart?
I really don’t try and keep up with gear in the drum world. I know what I like and what works for me. I have always been mostly interested in building many of my own drum kits. I currently use Ddrum shells and then customize them to my liking. I also like using mainly drum racks. Pearl is my current favorite.

You have worked with Paul Speer in the past on atmospheric instrumental music, particularly the Grammy-nominated score for the computer animation movie Televoid. Have you stayed in touch with him in recent years?
Paul and I remain friends to this day. He lives in Nashville now, and so our contact and working relationship is done [mainly] via Internet. Paul is currently working on a new solo project and also producing local artists, I believe.

Rockenfield seated behind a signature drum kit.

Did your work with Paul directly catapult you into the world of scoring for trailers, commercials and indie films, or did you find other ways to break in?
I was exploring the film score world early on in the 80′s, and when I met Paul we were naturally able to do some very inspiring work together. Breaking in is always the biggest challenge. It’s hard to explain. Just did what I had to do and still have to do. [laughs] The best way I am able to find work is through the networking I have done via my other clients, the Internet and my manager. It is a very competitive field to be scoring music for films, and so I have to always work extremely hard at getting to know as many contacts as possible.

You were initially exposed to film scoring through the late Hollywood composer Michael Kamen in the ’80s when he first worked with Queensrÿche on The Warning. What did you learn from him over the years, and what do you miss about him?
Michael Kamen was a great first inspiration to me. We first started to work together in 1984 when he spent time composing the sessions for songs like “Roads To Madness” and “Sanctuary”. I learned many “secrets” of how to approach film scores and their emotions from being around him. I miss his joyful laughter and creative endurance.

Rockenfield's soundtrack CD to the indie horror film "Albino Farm" is now available.

How challenging has it been for you to score feature films like Albino Farm? Are you going to take on more film composing soon?
Films are always a huge challenge but very satisfying. I really love scoring.  I have four more film scores being negotiated and should start some of them in the coming months. Keep posted to www.scottrockenfield.com for all further updates. My biggest challenges are really just finding the opportunities. There have been many rockers turned composers through the years — Trevor Rabin from Yes, Stewart Copeland from The Police, Danny Elfman from Oingo Boingo — so my main goal is to expand my field of writing orchestra music and present it in the best possible scenarios.

What inspired you to create RockenWraps, and how are you evolving your business in these tough economic times?
Rockenwraps was born from my desire to make my own kits unique. It worked so well that I had all these other drummers constantly wanting some of the material as well. The ones we did for the current Slipknot tour are pretty cool. We did some really great Black Sparkle wraps with a gold “S” of the Slipknot logo on all the drums. Very classy looking. The band was very happy with them. Keeping above water in these economic times is always a challenge, but fortunately we seem to survive.

Earlier this year, Geoff Tate commented to me that Queensrÿche does not make money releasing albums but through touring, merchandise and outside projects. How do you feel about this, and what advice would you give to younger musicians coming up?
Yes, we do make most of our income by touring and selling merch. My best advice to up and comers is to learn and control everything about your business — accounting, management of your affairs, business decisions, people you hire…

You have drum wraps and composing, Geoff has wine and Michael has a clothing line. Have you ever tried Geoff’s Insania brand or Michael’s Whipwear clothing line?
Yes. Geoff’s wine is fantastic and Michael’s clothing is top of the line. Eddie [Jackson] has been working on some other music of his own, and yes, we always help each other by referring business where needed.

The core Queensrÿche line-up circa 2009.

As you get older, how do you juggle touring, working on your outside projects and being a father?
You just get by. I suppose all the years of doing this type of lifestyle has taught me how to juggle it all. Thank the Lord for my family being so supportive!

Any chance your other group Slave To The System will record or tour again?
Yes, we are working on new material as we speak. Slave To The System is a great escape for all of us involved. We have great chemistry together. More news will be coming soon. We actually have one new song that is included on my Albino Farm soundtrack CD, which is available at my website.

Finally, what do you think your fans would be surprised to learn about you?
I am just the guy next door.