Rockezine.com interview with Queensrÿche on Oct 04, 2001

with Michael Wilton on Oct 04, 2001

Infusing their hard rock infrastructure with jazz-driven sensibilities, Queensryche continues their evolution for 20 years now. That evolution stood center stage at Seattle`s Moore Theater July 27 and 28, 2001. The band stripped their music to the bare essentials, delivering the history of their band with a two night, 29 song voyage through the band`s legacy. R-E-Z talked with guitarist Michael Wilton for almost an hour and here`s what he has to say about the past, present and future from Queensryche…
		Hi Michael. How are you? Are you the only one within the band doing these interviews and is there a lot of press going on around the new double live album? I`m fine thanks. Thanks to the new Sanctuary label, there`s a lot of press this time and we`re happy about that. It`s good. Our singer Geoff and I are doing most of the interviews. I`ve done some 4 or 5 right now, but we still have a long way to go, haha.
		How have the reactions been so far on the "Live Evolution" CD? They`re all great, it`s amazing. Our fans wanted a quality live recording from Queensryche for so long now. There are a lot of bootlegs around, but most of them sound awful. Right after this, we`ll start touring The States and then return home to record the next studio album. Sanctuary wanted us to release a real live album plus a DVD and we thought this to be a good idea as well. We have been around for 20 years now, so the timing is perfect. We were supposed to go to Japan first before touring the USA, but because of the 11th of September tragedy these shows will be re-scheduled.
		Are you fully satisfied with the production and do you personally miss any song(s)? Yeah, Kelly our other guitarist did the production and I told him to put big guitars on tape and so he did, haha. No seriously, we`re very happy with the way it turned out. It sounds very live and that`s what we wanted it to sound like. Because of some technical problem with the Pro Tools programm, Kelly had to get his shit together in 3 or weeks. This was pretty crazy, but he managed to get the job done well. All the 4 suites on the record have a different feeling and sound. We did that on purpose, of course. The fans through our website, the band and our label decided which songs are on the album. Do I personally miss one or maybe even more songs? Well, you`ll always miss something as a musician. You can`t have them all. We`ll play the entire 4 suites live on stage. Hopefully we`ll be able to have a short break here and there, haha.
		Do you already have an idea what the next studio album will be like? We`re gonna play somewhat heavier again, that`s for sure. Back to the Queensryche roots. Geoff really wants his vocals to be a big statement on this next album. We have always done something different with every album, so this next CD will be different as well. We`re around for 20 years now, it`s time to revisit our roots. I know what I want, being the riffmaster, haha. But Queensryche has always been a democratic band, so we`ll see.
		Michael, do these 20 years make you feel proud? Yes. I`m proud and very happy. We`ve had so many beautiful moments througout the years. But, I still love the unknown. We still have to create a lot more as a band. To me, the turning point was the "Operation Mindcrime" record. Until then, we were just a bunch of guys playing their instruments in a basement. This was a very creative period. Listening back to this album, I think it stands out. The whole concept began a life of its own, amazing. The recording in the studio was a very intense experience. We had this basic technology, but we believed in the concept. You have to do an album like that 100% otherwise it can easily sound stupid. To design the show to go along with the concept was very difficult. It did cost both us and the recordlabel a whole lot of money. The orchestra and stuff, oh man. Looking back, it was worth all the financial difficulties.
		What is the status from Queensryche right now in The States? Do you play huge halls or smaller venues? This time around, we only do theatres and no huge halls anymore. We play 3-5.000 seaters a night. With Europe it`s a different story. We call it the double headed dragon: both the press and the European label didn`t support us the way we deserved. Too bad. Now with the new recordlabel, we`ll look at it one step at a time. Is France doing well, we`ll play there. Is Holland doing okay, we`ll come to your country. That`s the way we`ll work from now on as far as touring Europe is concerned. Sanctuary has a lot of touring experience, so we can trust them to support us properly. I`ve always loved to tour, although it can be boring sometimes. You meet new people all the time, it`s great. We have never played Spain or Australia, we would love to play there as well. There`s always a new challenge. To be able to do this makes me feel like a very priviliged person and our fans have always been very loyal which is cool.
		Michael, when was the first time you played in Holland and what are your memories? Well, I think it was the so called Aardschokdag, a long time ago. It was good. Holland always had very loyal Queensryche fans throughout the years and we are very thankful for this. It`s a good healthy rock scene and the promotion was superb. We love to play in your country, really.
		When did you guys know that Queensryche was going to be a succes? We are from Seattle and we had some fans there in the beginning, but the first real succes was in England. The Kerrang helped us a lot. A lot of fans thought we were British at first. We grew from there. Queensryche gained a true following by doing a lot of quality live shows. That`s the only way to do it. You have to prove yourself as a band live on stage. You have to be able to play live what you did on the album, it`s as simple as that. The people want the real thing, real musicians. As you get more popular, you have to think about how you want the fans to see you. What`s your image? We always wanted to present ourselves as a multi media band combining both musical and visual aspects. Throughout the years, you also gain more confidence and that`s always a good thing
		Was Queensryche an insecure band in the beginning? Not really. We always thought of ourselves as being a specialty band with no doubts. We knew what we wanted and how to get it. Queensryche has never been depending on a single or a hit. We are a touring hard rock live band and that`s our main strength. After we had recorded "Operation Mindcrime" and "Empire", the band became enormously popular in the early nineties. This was a cool experience, but we also would have survived without this temporary succes. We were no flash in the media. Queensryche is a live band and that`s why we`re still around after 20 years. I know I have the riffs in me, it`s a secure feeling. Every day I play my guitar and the riffs and melodies will be there eventually. I`ve done this for so long, I can rely on myself. The fire is still there and I`m even recording a solo album right now. I got myself a few friends together and the band is called "Watershed Project". You can go to my website and download a song there: www.michaelwilton.com. The album is almost done now and we`ll tour if it`s received well by the press and the fans. I come up with so many riffs, I can`t use them all in Queensryche. It will be something like Tool meets with Stone Temple Pilots. I love Tool, they have a great rhythm section and ditto songwriting.
		Being in the business for so long Michael, what`s your opinion on the musical development within the rock and metal scene in the past 20 years? Well, in the early 80`s, the riff and the melody were the main thing in the writing of this kind of music. To me, it`s a sad thing to see that the melody has been gone for the bigger part. Nowadays, it`s more about the groove and the hook, I think. All the productions sound very raw and heavy, bombastic I should say. To be honest, I don`t think these bands will last very long. They won`t have a 20 years career like us. Maybe 2 or 3 albums and that`s it. The labels play a role in this as well. They want to earn their money back within a short period of time. I do think Queensryche is an example of how do survive in the business. We have always been a very stable band with almost no line up changes. You have to stick to your guns and always remember that the fans want to hear the real thing on stage. You must play what you have written and recorded on the album. I do hear some talent every now and then, of course. But it`s just that there are xxx million bands around every day, it`s too much. The introduction of the videoclips and MTV has been very good for us and other bands as well. Although it can be a shame. I love to come up with the images to go along with a certain song myself instead of having them presented to me by someone else.
		Thanks very much for this interview, Michael. My last two questions. Do you miss Chris de Garmo in the band and is there anything left you want to say to the Dutch Queensryche fans? Yeah, I do miss Chris a lot. I`d love to have him back in the band. I think the other guys feel the same way. Chriss can`t play without me, haha. This might be wishful thinking, but I do think it would be a good move for the band. I call him every once in a while and I know he`s been working on some songs through the internet. Do I have anything left to say, Johan? Yes. We have this really cool DVD out this month with great live recordings and a minimum on interviews and other distracting stuff. We wanted it to have as much live music as possible and it`s recorded overhere in Seattle as well. You people in Holland: watch out for this DVD and hopefully we`ll play your country next summer!
(Johan Godschalk)