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Exclusive Interview: Geoff Tate

Rock Confidential caught up with Geoff Tate to discuss the Sweet Oblivion project, the upcoming ‘Empire’ box set, and exciting plans for touring in 2020.

Geoff Tate Rock Confidential interview

Geoff Tate was part of one of the best metal records of 2019. It wasn’t a solo album or an Operation: Mindcrime record – the record is titled Sweet Oblivion by the band of the same name and was founded by Italian guitarist Simone Mularoni.

Currently, Tate continues to tour North America on the last leg of his 2019 tour before picking things up again in early 2020. “I’m booked through fall of 2020, so next year will be as busy as this year, the year before and the year before that,” says Tate enthusiastically. Look for live coverage soon.

Rock Confidential caught up with Geoff Tate to discuss the Sweet Oblivion project, the upcoming Empire box set, and exciting plans for touring in 2020.

How did you get involved with Sweet Oblivion?

I was approached by one of the executives at my label, Frontiers Records, if I was interested in recording some vocals as a guest on an album. I didn’t know what to say. He asked me to just listen to the music and let him know what I thought. I loved what I heard. The music had such a classic Queensryche sound to it. I was in.

I assume all the music was written when you came on board. Did you write the lyrics for the album?

Yeah, the music was written when it was sent to me. I worked and reworked the lyrics and melodies. I can’t tell you how much fun it was to make the Sweet Oblivion record. It turned out fantastic, I think.

How was it for you to work long-distance on this album? Was it awkward at all?

Ruben, I’ve never worked on a record in this manner. It was so liberating to work like this, unlike being in a studio where you get distracted by talking about whatever insignificant things are going on around us. We waste time and it costs a lot more money than we’d like to spend. I’d do an album like this again, in a heartbeat. I have yet to meet Simone Mularoni, who as you know is the guitarist in Sweet Oblivion. We’ve exchanged emails, music files and texts but we’ve never met.

Have you considered adding something from Sweet Oblivion into the set?

Not yet, maybe down the road if we were to do a second record. I have a set in place for this tour and once we finish the dates this fall we’ll resume touring in early 2020. We won’t be able to do anything then, because we’ll be doing the entire Rage For Order album then closing out the night with a complete performance of Empire, which will be celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2020.

Geoff, how is the anniversary box set of Empire coming along? I recall you mentioning something was in the works.

Yeah, that will be released in the first quarter of 2020. It’s done. Its got a lot of bonus content, live tracks and liners. You’re gonna love it. I look forward to performing Empire next year because there’s songs on there that I’ve never performed live. Some of them I have never performed since we recorded them. It’s going to be special. I mean we’re opening with the Rage For Order album. It’s going to be fun.

You’ve been touring with the current incarnation of Operation: Mindcrime for a bit, having seen you twice with the current line-up. Has the idea of doing some live recording of this band crossed your mind?

Live albums don’t interest me one bit. They don’t capture the real energy of the live performance. I agree this band is great, but I’d much prefer people come see us live than to listen to a live record that isn’t going to have the energy and do the concert justice. I’ve been there, done that. I’m about living in the now.

We recently observed 9/11. Do you remember where you were when that tragedy took place?

Yeah, I was at home in Seattle. I didn’t know that it had happened until quite a few hours after it had transpired. People I knew were riveted to the coverage of local and national news stations and I began to get calls from friends. I didn’t have a TV, so they mentioned that I might want to get to a TV so I could see what’s going on. I was shocked. I’m still surprised that they haven’t gotten to the bottom of it all these years later.

Queensryche was always pro-military. The record American Soldier was a concept album that featured individual stories from different soldiers. What inspired that album?

My dad was career military. He was in the Marines, Air Force and the Navy. He fought in Korea and he fought in Vietnam. As a kid I was always interested in my father’s experience as a soldier. Hew never spoke about it. He didn’t talk about the wars and he never talked about his involvement at all. It was a “hush, hush” thing in the family. Then in 2008 or 2009, I was visiting my dad. We were sitting outside on his back porch, having an iced tea, and all of a sudden he starts telling me all about it. This was out of the blue! (laughs) So I grabbed my phone and hit record and recorded an entire conversation with all of his stories. I was listening back to the conversation with my wife two weeks later and she was the one that mentioned that we could make an album around those stories. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to do it. So I began to speak with different soldiers from different eras and from different conflicts. I think in all I wound up speaking with over 300 soldiers. They ranged from World War II to the Iraq war. That was such a fascinating journey. That album was dedicated to our soldiers, their experiences and how those military experiences tend to hang on to them well after they have returned.

Having completed the Operation: Mindcrime trilogy (2015’s The Key, 2016’s Resurrection, and 2017’s The New Reality), would you do more concept albums in the future? Do you have any ideas marinating in your head for another concept album?

I don’t know at the moment. I have song ideas, but if something takes shape, perhaps. It’s too early to say at the moment. Nothing’s been predetermined.

Last thing and we’ll go back to Sweet Oblivion, specifically the video for “True Colors.” Man, things didn’t go too well for the guy in the video…

(laughs) Well, it’s all open to interpretation.

What’s your interpretation, or are you going to say?

I’m not going to say. I’m leaving it open for people to interpret it how they want to. I think that’s one of the great things about art. It can be interpreted in various different ways, depending on their own personal experiences. Music to me is sacred and should be respected.

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Sweet Oblivion cover





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