The second interview I ever did was with Queensryche guitarist Michael Wilton back in 1990 when the band was touring to support ‘Empire’. Believe it or not, Suicidal Tendencies opened that leg of the tour.
A few days ago I had the opportunity to speak with Queensryche singer Geoff Tate about the band’s 2007 releases (a greatest hits compilation and a covers album), their past/present/future, and why Don Dokken was chosen to open the tour. The interview will be in the March issue of ENVY magazine which is available exclusively in Houston and Dallas. Once the issue is no longer on newsstands, I’ll toss it up, in it’s entirety here. In the meantime, here’s what Tate had to say about Don Dokken.
“Last year, my two guitar players and I did a benefit show in Los Angeles and on the bill was Don Dokken solo. He had this real interesting act. It’s just him, an acoustic guitar, and a martini. I don’t know how to describe it. It’s metal meets Las Vegas, the Rat Pack kind of thing. He’ll be playing a song, stop halfway through, starting telling a story, have a drink and a smoke and then get back to the song. It’s really different. I just really like Don a lot, he’s quite a character. I called him up and said, ‘Why don’t you do this tour with us? It’s not a big, heavy theatrical show. It’s going to be a fun evening and I think your act will really fit well in this.’ He said, ‘Well, gosh, I don’t know. I haven’t been feeling well lately.’ He goes into this long list of medical problems he’s had. He’s always got something wrong with him. Every time I see him, he’s got band-aids on. I just find him to be charming.”
You can catch Don Dokken opening for Queensryche on the following dates:
Jan. 23 – Fillmore – Denver, CO
Jan. 25 – Harrah’s – Kansas City, MO
Jan. 26 – Myth – St. Paul, MN
Jan. 27 – Northern Lights – Walker, MN
Jan. 29 – Potawatomi – Milwaukee, WI
Jan. 30 – Potawatomi – Milwaukee, WI
Jan. 31 – Potawatomi – Milwaukee, WI
Feb. 01 – House of Blues – Chicago, IL
Feb. 02 – House of Blues – Chicago, IL
Feb. 05 – Turning Stone – Verona, NY
Feb. 06 – The Roxy – Boston, MA
Feb. 07 – Starland – Sayreville, NJ
Feb. 08 – Nokia – New York, NY
Feb. 09 – Tropicana – Atlantic City, NJ
Feb. 10 – House of Blues – Myrtle Beach, SC
Feb. 12 – Tampa Theater – Tampa, FL
Feb. 13 – House of Blues – Orlando, FL
Feb. 14 – House of Blues – New Orleans, LA
Feb. 15 – Warehouse Live – Houston, TX
Feb. 16 – Palladium – Dallas, TX
Feb. 19 – The Depot – Salt Lake City, UT
Feb. 24 – House of Blues – Anaheim, CA
Feb. 28 – Newmark – Portland, OR
Feb. 29 – Big Easy – Spokane, WA
Mar. 01 – Paramount – Seattle, WA
It seems like a good time for Bob Mould to return, doesn’t it? I kind of feel like it’s been a long time since I gave the ex-Husker Du/Sugar front man any considerable amount of time in my CD player or on my iPod, but I’m feeling a bit nostalgic. The material I’ve heard from his new solo CD, ‘Direct Line’, in stores in early February sounds great, but in a strange way. Here’s a guy who undoubtedly has influenced a generation of singer/songwriters and his new material, while sounding distinctly Mould-ish, also sounds like material that some of the modern post-emo boys, the ones who have left the “rock” world behind to concentrate on being “serious solo artists”, might perform. Maybe it’s just me, but I can’t get past the feeling that there is something kind of Dashboard Confessional-esque about Mould’s new material thus begging the question, was Chris Carrabba influenced by Mould or was Mould’s latest influenced by the generation of songwriters that HE influenced?