Queensryche

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When Mike Stone first performed with Queensr˙che, he was asked literally at the last minute to fill in at a show for co-founder Chris DeGarmo, who had reunited with the band and then unexpectedly exited again. The one-shot deal ended up becoming his full-time gig. Participating in the recording of 2003’s “Tribe” and several tours with the group didn’t prepare the guitarist for what was up next, though: He was going to help write “Operation: Mindcrime II,” the sequel to the album that, for Queensr˙che fans, is the band’s bible.

In the fivesome, Stone is the one decked out like a rock star when they perform. His hair styles and colors alternate seasonally, and shiny leather is his second skin. But for all the musical talking he has done onstage, not much has been heard from him in print. On the eve of “Mindcrime II’s” debut, the time was ripe for a long chat with him.

What was it like working on the album?
It was a process. We lived it, we smelled it. [He laughs] A lot of times when I get deep into a project myself . . . [I] kind of stew in my own juices. Let the beard grow, just kind of stay in this certain mind-set. All your focus goes on what you’re doing. Especially [singer] Geoff [Tate] and [producer] Jason Slater and myself, we pretty much just lived in our jammies and grew our beards and sat in front of the mixing board for four months straight. It was fun. It was one of the most intense writing sessions I’ve ever done.

It was a lot of fun in the sense that we were approaching it from a whole new angle. I’ve always wanted to write something with a story in mind . . . Geoff would express, “Hey, we need this kind of emotion here, the story’s gonna say this, so we need to do this musically,” so it was cool in the sense of instead of just writing a bunch of rock tunes, we actually focused on the emotions and the vibes and created the music around the story, and I thought that was new and exciting. It was fun. A fresh approach.

What made the writing sessions intense?
[He laughs] I think a lot of it was just knowing that the bar had to be set really high, and we were hyper-critical of quality, or at least what we thought was quality.

Was the pressure to write a good follow-up album internal or external?
Ultimately both, but I would say more internal. I would say that we really wanted to push ourselves to make something of the caliber we wanted.

Is there any particular song where you like how it came together or how you guys got it recorded?
There’s so many nuances. There’s a couple things—one of my favorites is “An Intentional Confrontation.” Something about that, the drama and the passion about that one, that’s probably also my favorite solo on the record too. Something about that, just the whole vibe of that whole track that just, I don’t know, it just feels really epic to me, and I like that.

There’s all sorts of things throughout the record. Yeah, one of the things I thought was really cool too was the way it ends. I know a lot of people probably expected, you know, some big, bombastic ending, and I think it’s really cool that instead of taking that route, especially in just lyrics, it all goes back and after all this is over, the whole story, [Nikki’s] just a little guy all by himself…

It kind of reminds me of, I think it was “The Stand,” that Steven King movie, that book where all this crazy stuff happens, and at the end the hand of God comes down; in an instant, boom, it’s like, “No big deal.” That’s the way it kind of hit me at the end of the story, like, “Wow, this guy had this crazy, intense life,” and to him it was this massive thing, but in the end he was just this one little grain of sand, and he could have been happy if he just had the love that he needed. It’s kind of funny when you think about it. [“Mindcrime” is] kind of a violent story, but that’s like that’s the end message. At least, that’s the way it reads to me.

How do you and Michael Wilton work together when it comes to doing the guitar pieces?
It varies. A lot of the stuff . . . we’d tour, work on the record, tour, work on the record, all that kind of thing. And we even had ProTools rigs on the road with us, and we recorded in a lot of different settings. And a lot of it was Michael, he’d have the tracks, I’d have the tracks, we both would do a number of different things, and at the end of the day, I didn’t know what was actually going to make the record until I heard the mixes. It was ultimately Jason Slater would make the call and go, this was what he was using. It was fun for me listening [and think], “Oh that, that part’s there; OK, that one’s not; OK, this one’s here, that’s cool,” and it just kind of mutated together from there. Some of the parts . . . we played together, other stuff was played independently of each other. It was a very long and varied process. [He laughs] . . . This is the first record that I’ve been in the process since day one.

That’s like trial by fire: “This is the first record I’m working on them with.”
Like I said, some of the internal pressure I’m talking about. And everyone’s going, “OK, this is that time when Stone, that new guy, gotta see what he’s all about.” [He laughs] I’m going, “Wow, make sure I have my act together.”

What kind of feedback are you guys getting on the first single, “I’m American”?
As far as I know, everything has been very positive. But then again, I live out in the Midwest. [He laughs] I live in a little town of like 5,000 people in the middle of nowhere.

Is it all positive out there? We can all move out there.
We’re just starting to learn electricity where I live. [Laughs again]

What kind of staging is the band doing when you go back on tour? Is it like the “Mindcrime” tour you did last year?
I would say along those same lines, but probably expanded a bit more. Even I would say I’m guessing we’re going to have even more video and intense visual images and stuff like that, and I also know we’re working up some type of chase scene between Nikki and Dr. X. I’m curious to see how that pans out in rehearsals.

Is there any possibility of Ronnie James Dio coming out on the road to perform the part of Dr. X like he does on the record?
Well, I would have to say that just depends on schedules.

I am wondering how that would be performed since the song has two male vocalists.
I know we did video footage of Ronnie, so I’m thinking if he’s not gonna be there we’ll have a video version, something we can incorporate, but then again, I’m just kind of guessing at this stage.

As far as the set list goes, will it be all of “Mindcrime II,” or will you do a greatest-hits section and then part of the second album?
As far as I know, we’re going “Mindcrime I,” intermission, “Mindcrime II.”

Really?
Yeah, it’s gonna be pretty cool and intense.

Oh my. That’s a lot of music.
I know. Geoff better start jogging every day, that’s a lot of work. [He laughs] . . . It’s gonna be exciting. We probably start rehearsals next month for the whole production, and I’m looking forward to getting into it and getting my hands dirty and getting this whole thing up and running. It’s gonna be cool.

How did you get the gig with Queensr˙che in the first place?
It’s kind of an odd story. I knew one of their managers at the time, and I didn’t even know he was working with Queensr˙che. I just got a call one day—this was even prior to the “Tribe” record [in 2003]—from this guy Lars [Sorensen], and he said, “Hey, I’m working with Queensr˙che.” I’m like, “Wow. How you been? I haven’t talked to you in 10 years.” And then he’s like, “I tracked you down, and maybe [you can] get together with the guys, and I know you do a lot of writing and stuff, and maybe you can spark some ideas or whatever.” And I’m like, “Sure, I’ll get together with them.”

And we did and came up with some stuff, and then I had things of my own I was doing. I actually have a band, another side project that I have called Transonics that I just finished the record, just got it mastered and I was really gonna start going ahead with that, and then I got a call from [either Queensr˙che manager Susan Tate] or Geoff one day, and they had this gig in Alaska that they thought [former guitarist] Chris [DeGarmo] was going to do, and then at the last minute—’cause I had just assumed Chris was back in the band, from what I knew—and they had this gig in Alaska, and can I do it? And I was like, “Yeah, sure, no problem.” [He laughs] Then I go to listen to all the music, and I had like six days to learn it all. I’m like, “Oh, my God!”

Oh! Wow!
Talk about trial by fire! So I fly up to Alaska and pretty much just gave it my best whack, you know? But it wasn’t a total train [wreck]—all things considered, that was probably the scariest gig I’ve ever done. You know, to do a 20-some-odd song set with Queensr˙che, having learned all the material within the previous five days.

Oh, my Lord.
And it’s not like simple, three-chord stuff.

No, no, and this wasn’t just for music from “Tribe,” this was whatever set list they gave you.
Yeah, it was like a greatest-hits set. It had a little bit of everything. So I got through that, and then I went back to my own thing, and then a couple months later, Geoff called me, and we’d speak once a month just to keep in touch. And he said, “You know, we’re going on tour soon. We need a guitar player. Can you do it?” And I said, “Let me get back to you. Let me ask the family if it’s OK with them.” [He laughs] And I called him back and said, “I’m in,” and I’ve been doing it ever since. So it just kind of happened.

People ask me all the time, “What was it like auditioning for Queensr˙che?” I’m like, “You know, I never did. It was really weird. Just one day I was playing guitar for Queensr˙che.”

If you learned everything in six days and then you helped them put on a show, I think that was probably all the audition you needed.
I never really looked at it like that, but I guess if you’re going to give someone an intense audition [he laughs], I guess that’s the way to do it. They did put me through the ultimate grill. And I guess I pulled it off. I got everybody fooled.

When you’re not on the road with them, do you have a side project that you do, or is Queensr˙che basically your thing?
I’m one of these people that unless I have something to do all the time, I go completely insane, and I have a little recording studio on the other side of the lake from my house, and whenever I’m off the road I work on other things. Like right now, on my time off from the end of last tour till we start up rehearsals, I’m about two-thirds of the way done, I’ve been working on a country record . . . It’s called Grass Horse, and it’s kind of a hybrid in the sense it’s like old-school, Hank Williams, Waylon Jennings, roadhouse kind of Americana with like AC/DC as the rhythm section.

Are you doing all the parts on it?
I pretty much write everything, and my brother plays drums and my step-brother plays bass [he laughs], and I pretty much write all the parts and show it to them and they cut the bass and drums, and I just lock myself away and do the rest . . . I play lots other instruments . . . upright bass, I love playing jazz and banjo and mandolin. I’ve pretty much booked my time solid with music.

I was wondering about what other projects or people you worked with before you started with Queensr˙che.
I lived for L.A. for years and did a lot of session stuff . . . My first real gig I ever got when I was in my early 20s was playing for Brett Michaels, he did a solo tour. And I played for him and also his girlfriend at the time, named Susie Hatton, she had a record out on Giant. That was like my first real foot in the door. And then from then, I did a record with Craig Goldie from Dio; I sang on that. I did lots of session work around L.A. as a singer, guitar player, bass player, you know, like backup singer. I was kind of a utility guy if someone needed something.

I don’t want to say a pinch-hitter, because that’s not what session work is about, but if you’ve had to step in and constantly pick up somebody else’s style, that would make sense why you were able to do what you did with Queensr˙che so well.
Yeah, that’s kind of been one of my fortes. Then I sang. I’ve done a number of records that are just for different guitar heroes that are available like overseas. It’s funny. We’ll like go to Europe, and people show up with these albums I’ve never even seen before that I sang on; you know, it’s funny. And they find out, they learn, they know I’m on all this stuff. It’s kind of trippy.

And then I had a band called Klover, which is a punk rock band . . . That came out in ’95, that was on Mercury/PolyGram, and after that I did a solo album called “Clear Nights and Cloudy Days,” which I am in the process now of getting re-released, and that’s kind of like a Hendrix-y, Beatle-y, retro, bluesy thing, and then from there I did a record with a woman named Roxy Lopez [for Elton John’s Pocket label]. I worked on that record for about two years, and then right when it was going to come out the record label went under. So then I was like, “Oh, boy” again. [He laughs]

So then I did this Transonics record, which, it’s funny, because I finished it right when I started working with QR about, it’s going on four, four-and-a-half years now, and the record’s done, mastered, in the can, and I just got to apply myself on the business end and get that album released, too. And that’s kind of like Ministry meets Pink Floyd meets beatnik poetry . . . My next project, I’d like to do a jazz thing, like a duo or a trio where I play upright [bass] with like a piano player and a sax player, a drummer.

There’s something you could do in Queensr˙che: You guys could pull out the upright bass and you could slap that, and Ed Jackson could play your guitar.
I love upright. Upright is one of my, it may be my favorite instrument, actually. I love guitar, don’t get me wrong, but something about upright, it’s so organic. You hit a note and it just resonates your body. God, it’s all natural. No electricity required. That, to me, always just lights me up.

Is there anything else you care to add?
I’m grateful to be a participant in this whole “Mindcrime II” thing, and it was really great working with the guys. Also Jason Slater I think just did a fantastic job. He just did a wonderful job with the record. It was a pleasure working with him. And I stole about as much studio stuff I could rip off from him as far as ideas and milking techniques. Geoff and Jason and myself spent so much time together on this project, and it was just a really cool thing. Just a lot of creativity just being thrown out there. I love being in those situations. [END]