:: the right side of the rÿche
:: exclusive interview with GEOFF TATE--the voice of Queensrÿche
:: by: M. Kohli
:: (unedited)

One of rock music's most fascinating characters is Mr. Geoff Tate.  Known as THE VOICE of Queensrÿche. A voice that is so unique and easily identifiable once you know his name. Geoff Tate, however is very mysterious. Yet at the same time--he knows how to kick ass on stage. And always delivers a flawless performance. His voice is so clear it can become quite haunting--but in a good way. The lyrics are very relatable. Geoff has already made his mark on the music world. Being the front man for QUEENSRYCHE for over 2 decades. :)

2002--Geoff Tate embarks on a new adventure. Releasing a solo album. The album will be released in stores nationwide on June 25th. The record is very eclectic and diverse. Those expecting a hard/heavy new Queensrÿche-ish album--will have to wait till sometime in 2003--when Queensrÿche releases the next album (the long-awaited follow up to 1999's, "Q2K").

On GEOFF TATE's album--(which he produced)--he experiments with all different types of sounds. Each song has a groovy kind of beat along with the music. Other songs have salsa-ish type of guitars--you can almost dance to the track, "Helpless". Then you have some gospel rock, piano all mixed in on the album. But, then as you get deeper into the album--the heavier the album gets. And as with every Queensrÿche album--the final song always seems to come out of nowhere. And, that is the case with the final track on Geoff's new album, "Over Me."

GEOFF TATE recently took the time to talk with me about his album, his tour, Queensrÿche's future plans, and the whole rumor about THE THREE TREMORS--a project that has been in the air grouping Geoff with ROB HALFORD (of Judas Priest fame) and BRUCE DICKINSON (singer for IRON MAIDEN) together to sing on one album.

If you are open-minded about music--and want some great driving music or just something new to listen to: try GEOFF TATE! I highly recommend it :)! Musically, there is something for everyone on this album.

Anyways--here's the interview with Geoff. It was a fabulous honor to talk with one of my biggest influences. Here's what he had to say. Keep it Ryche-ing!!

Kohli: "Mr. Geoff Tate, how are you, Sir?"
GEOFF TATE: "Well, I'm doing really well. Very fine. Kind of hectic-going right now because I'm getting ready to start my tour. Rehearsing my band everyday. That's a little bit hectic on the schedule, but it's fun. It's coming along really well and I'm anxious to play."

Kohli: "How is the new band that you are currently working with?"
GEOFF TATE: "Really good. Really an eclectic bunch of players. Worked up a really nice 2-hour set of our new record. And some really obscure Queensrÿche tunes that we've just kind of modernized and kind of made our own. It's a pretty neat set. I'm really anxious to bring it out and show it to people."

Kohli: "How is 2002 treating you so far?"
GEOFF TATE: "Is it 2002 already? [laughs] What is it, June, already? Well you know, I've been so busy since January. We've been finishing up the record. Getting ready for putting a tour together. Also, I've been writing a new Queensrÿche record which is due out next year. I've just started looking around and noticing that, you know, it's summertime. The flowers are blooming. The sun's just beginning to shine here in Seattle--breaking through the clouds. So this is great! I'm really looking forward to going out on the tour and seeing what the rest of the country looks like this time of year."

Kohli: "What's Seattle like during the Summer?"
GEOFF TATE: "Well, we don't really start getting Summer properly until about July 5th. We'll have maybe like 3 sunny days a week. Every July 4th, it rains. The next day it's gorgeous. It's like the beginning of Summer. And, it's clear until October."

Kohli: "How long did you work on the new solo album?"
GEOFF TATE: "Let's see. God, I think it's a better part of the year. I started writing it with Jeff Carrell, my partner on this. When was that?  We finished the "Q2K" tour for Queensrÿche which seems to be about September/October. Something like that of last year. So, about a year, I guess. To write it and record it all. And get through all the various stages of stuff you have to get through to make a record."

Kohli: "Are you happy with your new album?"
GEOFF TATE: "Very, very happy with it. I'm happy with the experience. You know, I primarily worked with the same people throughout my musical career. And, this was really the first time I'd branched out and really worked with a completely different roster of people. Everybody in the band was different. The writing team was different. The studio production people were different. Nobody on this thing was the same. So, it was really a stretch for me to go out and do something like this. It feels good. It was very scary to do. But then, I started to getting the groove of it, feeling it out and getting comfortable with it. It was a really good learning experience. You know, to branch out and do something different."

Kohli: "What made you interested in pursuing a solo album?"
GEOFF TATE: "Well, it just sort of happened. And, after the "Q2K" record and tour, Queensrÿche had been out for almost 11 months. We were due to start making and writing another Queensrÿche record in November when we got back. We were going to take the month of October off and start in November.  And, November rolled around and nobody seemed interested in making a Queensrÿche record at that time. Scott and Kelly had gone off and done a solo project. Michael started doing one. And so I figured, well if everyone's doing different projects--I guess I might as well do one too. So I did it. Launched into it. Kinda put Queensrÿche on hold for awhile. And, did it."

Kohli: "What age did you start singing?"
GEOFF TATE: "I don't remember, I was so young. I think I've always just sung. It was sort of something you did in my house. My Mom was a really good singer. My Dad played Trumpet. You know, we were always listening to music. When I got my first transistor radio when I was about 9 years old, that's when I first heard rock music. And, it just blew me away. I heard Jefferson Airplane, and went, 'Man I've got to do this!'  I've got to sing like this. I've got to play guitar. That just kind of started me on the road."

Kohli: "In my opinion, you've got one of the most mesmerizing voices in the world. How did you go about training? Or did it just come naturally?"
GEOFF TATE: "Well, I've been singing for all my life. For a brief period when I got into my first band, I noticed that I couldn't sing that long of a period of time without losing my voice. So, I went and saw a vocal teacher here in Seattle named, David Kyle. He gave me some lessons. Taught me some techniques of strengthening my voice. I started doing those exercises and I got a lot stronger. So, I've just kind of kept it up all these years. Exercise regularly. Try to live a moderate life style. Just kind of take
care of my voice a bit. I really don't think about it too much. I don't baby it or really worry about it. I don' wear a scarf to protect it or anything. It's just kind of the way that it is.

Kohli: "What do you do on your spare time?"
GEOFF TATE: "I used to know. Well, let's see. I sail. I do things that pretty much revolve around my family. 'Cause I have 3 kids. We camp and go out on the sail boat for the weekend. And, go on trips. Some day, my wife and I would like to do a world trip. Where we just jump on the boat and take off. And, work our way around the world. Let's see what else. I ride motorcycles.


Kohli: "What were the last albums or pieces of music that you listened to?"
GEOFF TATE: "I really like this record by--it's actually a soundtrack by Paul Oakenfold. It's for the movie, "Swordfish." I love that record. I bought D'Angelo's Brown Sugar. I like that record a lot."

Kohli: "What's your favorite song to perform live?"
GEOFF TATE: "I don't know. I like performing and doing shows. I like all of them. I like the stuff that we're doing on the solo thing, because it's different renditions of stuff. Queensrÿche in the past hasn't really been able or into taking a song arrangement that we've done on a record and then changing it. We've always really done the arrangements that were really recorded. With my solo band, we've really taken these songs apart. We built them and given them a completely different makeover. We chose songs that
Queensrÿche normally hasn't played live. Which is kind of cool, because it gives the fans a chance to see these songs in a new light. And, ones that they'd never hear anyway.

Kohli: "What else would you like to pursue?"
GEOFF TATE: "Traveling is really something I love doing. Like I said earlier, one of my dreams is when my kids get older--my wife and I are talking about doing an around the world sailing trip I just think that would be so cool to live on a boat. go from port to port. Travel to all these locations and spend time exploring. Give the kids that's sort of a lifestyle that's sort of un-encountered by the demands of America.

Kohli: "Are you planning on coming to California at all on this tour?"
GEOFF TATE: "Yeah, we're going to be in Los Angeles on the 26th of July at the House of Blues. Think we're playing Santa Ana."

GEOFF TATE: "Where you at?"
Kohli: "I'm in Ventura County, CA. Beteen LA and Santa Barbara."

GEOFF TATE: "Santa Barbara sure is pretty. We played a theater once there years ago. Forget the name of it. It was a really interesting place. The inside of the theater looked like a replica of a Mexican village. It's very strange. I remember it very well because I walked on stage that night at the show. We hadn't been able to do a sound check for some reason. So it was my first time walking on stage. I was singing the songs and I happened to glance to my right and I noticed, wow I'm standing inside a Mexican village.  This is really weird. As I looked around, it was very evident that, that was the look of the place."

Kohli: "Is THE THREE TREMORS project still in the works?"
GEOFF TATE: "No. That never really got off the ground. It's one of those things where, gosh, it was all sounding interesting when we first began talking about it. And, the more we talked about it, the more impossible it seemed. And then the conflicting schedules. To do something like that, everybody would have to be in the same place at the same time for quite a period of time. We're all busy with our own thing. It's difficult to put the time into something like that. Then you got to agree on what direction you might want to take it. Frankly, Halford's music that he's been doing lately is completely at odds to what I like and what I'm into. Same with Dickinsons' stuff. Bruce's Iron Maiden stuff--it's not me at all. We'd have to meet musically on some kind of common ground. And, I really don't know what that would be. Not saying that it won't ever happen. I'm a firm believer, if people really want to make something happen, they can do it. But, it would be quite a challenge to do?"

Kohli: "Would you guys ever work with Michael Kamen (who produced Queensrÿche's REAL WORLD song for the LAST ACTION HERO movie and did Metallica's S&M album), again?"
GEOFF TATE: "I'd work with Michael in a heartbeat. He's a very creative man. Very fun to hang out with."

Kohli: "I just think it'd be cool for him to produce THE THREE TREMORS project and put orchestration into it."
GEOFF TATE: "That would be cool to take it from a classical approach. I agree."

Kohli: "I really love your REAL WORLD song. The way it just starts off slow and builds to this whole climax. That's one of the songs that got me hooked to Queensrÿche."
GEOFF TATE: "I'll be playing that on my solo tour."

Kohli: "Who else would you like to work with?"
GEOFF TATE: "Wow, there's a lot of people actually. I'd like to do something with THE CHEMICAL BROTHERS or PAUL OAKENFOLD. DAVID SYLVIAN--I'd love to play with that guy. God, there's just tons of people. Anybody that's looking to expand outside of what they've been doing--I'm interested in working with them."

Kohli: "Did you produce your album, yourself?"
GEOFF TATE: "Yeah, was my first time doing it all by myself. Was really quite a challenge. But, I loved it.

Kohli: "What's your favorite food?"
GEOFF TATE: "Favorite food? Well, I really like Asian cooking."

Kohli: "To readers new to your music--how would you describe your new album?"
GEOFF TATE: "Eclectic. Eclectic and Elegant."

Kohli: "What's the word for the day?"
GEOFF TATE: "It would have to be....slow-down."

Kohli: "What advice would you give a local band from like, Ventura?"
GEOFF TATE: "Save your money!"