The Mission: Mindcrime Helped Eddie Jackson Achieve His Career Ambitions
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Blistering.com: When Mindcrime came out, that was when the industry used to let bands develop and your third album was when the label expected you to break. I'm getting a feeling you guys weren't feeling external pressure to do that, it was more an internal one to hit the next level of performance.
Jackson: No, no, and that's been kind of par for the course throughout our career. The record company, even as well as our fans, I guess you could say they kind of allowed us to evolve and progress as a band, such as they have with our music, and I don't think you can ask for anything more than that, to have a fan base like that to really allow us to grow and evolve.
And they've been there every step of the way. Sure, maybe record sales have diminished a bit and we might be playing little bit smaller venues and maybe the fan base has gotten a little smaller, but there's still value in this band, and I'm not just talkin' monetarily—I mean more like integrity, and there's still a certain respect level from your peers. And we've managed to meet a lot of musicians throughout our career, and it's always nice to hear that when you're talkin' to someone that was in a band that was starting out when you were starting out or even some of these current bands, to say that, "Oh, hey, I remember, Operation: Mindcrime, or Empire, Rage For Order, Promised Land ; it kind of makes you feel good, very flattering knowing that you've not only managed to reach out to just a fan base, but also musicians as well . . . to still get appreciated and get that sort of respect from your peers and whatnot, it's pretty flattering. It's a nice feeling.
Blistering.com: What do you think the band would have done if Mindcrime hadn't been a hit?
Jackson: I guess no different than what we were doing before it was released. We would continue doing what we enjoy doing, and that's writing music, touring, performing, and it's really hard to determine the outcome, it doesn't matter how much time and effort and hours you put into a product. You could spend a whole year writing an album, but at the end of the day, you have no idea what sort of reception you're going to get from it. You have no control over it.
Blistering.com: Why do you think your band has survived where others from that era have not?
Jackson: You could say the same thing as, "Why are the Rolling Stones still touring to this day?" . . . Maybe perhaps stylistically it was a type of music that fans really connected with. Maybe you could also say we weren't really a type of band that were writing singles. We were thinkin' about the complete product, not just one song, and we took a lot of pride in what we do, and I don't know why other bands that I thought were really great bands are not together anymore that kind of started out the same time we did, and I think it's great you see some of those bands. You get the Warrants, the Poisons, the Cinderellas that are touring . . . I think it's great, because you can tell they still have the passion for what they're doing, and we have a very strong passion with what we do, and I guess as long as there's still value in your product, you might as well just continue driving that tour bus until the fuel runs out.
Blistering.com: When you were recording the album, do you remember a song that was particularly challenging to record or write, or a part that you or someone else was having difficulty nailing down?
Jackson: There were some songs that were perhaps a little more complex than others, but I think to me the most challenging side of it all was trying to keep the sustain of this band and to continue to try to keep that ball rolling.
Blistering.com: For you, was there a song that made the whole album fall in line while writing the album?
Jackson: Each song was like a chapter, and I can't really say there was just one song, because it was a complete story. But I think there's certain songs that kind of created this sort of magic, I would say. I like using that word because that was a very magical piece of product that we put together that we were all very proud of. There's the title track, "Operation: Mindcrime"; "Suite Sister Mary"; "Eyes Of A Stranger." It's difficult for me to sit here and say what song because I have to think of it as a whole, a complete package.
Blistering.com: While you were working on the album, was there a song that you thought, "That's really going to be a classic part of our catalog"?
Jackson: I think the one that I thought really justified that whole product was "Suite Sister Mary," because it was this sort of epic, this journey, because it's a little less than 10 minutes long, and I think that was one of the songs that stood out the most ’cause it was this sort of this journey weaving in and out. It's like the epic on the album, it was the moment when Nikki and Mary really started to connect as part of the story.
Blistering.com: What song from that album is still exciting for you to play?
Jackson: Again, I don't know if I can pick just one song, because every song has its moments. Like I was referring to "Suite Sister Mary" as a journey, going on a journey. That's what Operation: Mindcrime is like, weaving in and out of this journey, this story. There's certain songs that tend to be a little more active than others when it comes to performing them. The other guys might have the answer with just one or two songs, but me I have to think of it as a whole, complete package.
Blistering.com: What did you think when you first heard the album when it was completed?
Jackson: I understood it better . . . we probably recorded "Anarchy-X" into "Revolution Calling," then I think maybe we went into "Speak," or then we might have gone into "Breaking The Silence," "Eyes Of A Stranger," so we were kind of jumping song to song. But conceptually, it didn't really come to fruition until the very last instrument that was performed on it, because once Geoff started singin' it, that's when all the pieces of the puzzle started to come together . . . I knew what was going on, but definitely once you got that final product and you started listening to it, it all made even more sense, because instead of jumping from song to song recording and then when Geoff finally put all his vocals down and we listen to it in its entirety once we were done recording, it's like this big puzzle; all the pieces started to fit and it made a lot more sense once we all heard it in its entirety. At least, to me it did.
Blistering.com: If you could do anything differently on that album now, what would you do with it?
Jackson: I can’t say that I would wanna change anything, because that’s how special that album is, you know? I just don’t know. That’s an awesome question, because you never think about it, you know? It’s not something that you get asked every day. But we know throughout the years, [people kept asking], “You guys ever gonna make a sequel?” And I think I finally jumped onboard a couple years ago; actually it was maybe three or four years ago we were contemplating on doing a sequel, and I think everybody knew, “Yeah, you know what, it’s time.” I think these fans, I think they deserve this moment again, because they’ve been there from the beginning, since that first one, and we just felt, “Yeah, it’s probably time we give ’em another dose of ‘OMC.’ ”
