After Waiting A Lifetime, Mike Stone Gets To Rock ‘Heaven’

By: Christa Titus

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To recap the intro to this article’s sister feature, Queensrÿche made a rock’n’roll fantasy for some very lucky fans come true this winter and hosted a contest that let them sing onstage with the quintet. The promotion for the band’s Take Cover album landed grand-prize winner Vincent Solano of Florham Park, N.J., an appearance on QR’s next studio record and lifetime bragging privileges.

Queensrÿche is getting down to business on studio effort before touring Europe this June. When the band wrapped the U.S. leg of its Hits and Rarities tour in Seattle a few weeks ago, Seattle Times writer Patrick MacDonald mistakenly reported that former member Kelly Gray was onstage instead of guitarist Mike Stone. According to a QR MySpace bulletin, an “overwhelming response” from the ‘Rÿche’s friends list quickly righted the wrong. The outpouring underlines fans’ admiration for Stone, who’s weathered being the new kid on the block with laid-back grace since joining in 2003. (Gratuitous self-promotion ahead: To read Christa Titus’ most recent concert review of Queensrÿche for Metal Edge, click here.

Stone suggested the Jesus Christ Superstar song Heaven on Their Minds for the Take Cover sessions, and it’s one of the album’s best experiments. Hunkering down with Michael “Whip” Wilton at Wilton’s own Watershed Studios and riding a caffeine buzz, the two guitarists dashed off their tracks, sometimes almost on a whim, so they could finish on time. Here, Stone recounts the thought process behind selecting material for the record and why he’s tickled to have turned a Broadway classic into a rock jam.

The Killing Words: You brought Heaven on Their Minds to the plate. Where did that come from?
Mike Stone: I just always loved that record. A long-term goal of mine is to be in that show like on Broadway one day, at least in some production of it. I just love that record. It’s been a huge influence on me as a songwriter, as an arranger. What it’s saying in that whole concept of that whole album, it just sucked me in when I was young and I’ve always loved it, I don’t know why. It’s not like I’m a religious person by any stretch, you know? [laughs]

TKW: It is a rock’n’roll play.
Stone: I always thought that song [if it had a] rock, heavier treatment it would be cool. What’d you think of it?

TKW: I liked it. I could hear the Broadway influence in it. That was one of ‘em where I was like, “They’re doing what?” But then with U2 and Peter Gabriel and of course Pink Floyd, I thought they sound really natural . . . The Pink Floyd song [Welcome to the Machine], I asked Michael [“Whip” Wilton] if, lyrically, does that song really resonate with you guys, having been musicians for so long.
Stone: You know, it’s funny that you mention it because I’ve been familiar with that song for years. And until we actually started recording it, I never really listened to all the lyrics. [laughs] And I thought about that when I listened to it, I’m like, “I get it.” [laughs again] And I understand what they’re trying to say there.

Mike Stone.
Feb. 8, 2008, at Nokia Theater in New York, N.Y. Photo © 2008/Christa Titus.

TKW: Innuendo, because that happens to be a favorite song of mine from that Queen album, and of course Geoff is a Queen fan, I thought that was a really interesting interpretation that you guys did.
Stone: Yeah, I thought that one came out great. I think Michael did a great job on that one too.

TKW: What are some of the songs that you suggested?
Stone: I suggested a bunch. A number I suggested were [David] Bowie songs that we couldn’t get approval on or something, but Jesus Christ Superstar was one . . . The O’Jays tune [For the Love of Money], Geoff kind of threw that out there originally and I kind of said, “Yeah, that would be cool, ‘cuz no one would see that one comin’.” And then everyone’s familiar with the Bullet the Blue Sky; I said, “We could just do this a totally different way.” I guess that was like kind of one of my choices.

TKW: You and Whip, you sounded like you really had fun with the guitar.
Stone: We had a blast. I mean, we recorded all the guitars over at Michael’s studio. And you know, we’d get up early and walk in there with our coffee and just start diggin’ into it. We were really under the gun. We started from scratch and we had literally like 12 or 13 days to literally do like everything. So, it was cool in the sense that we didn’t have time to overthink anything. We just went in there and what felt right to us, it was one of the funnest recording experiences I’ve ever had . . . because you don’t have to write the song, some of the pressure’s off, you just get your guitar creative hat on. And it was cool. We both really enjoyed it.

TKW: With Bullet the Blue Sky, that was recorded live. What was up with Geoff that night, with that rant he was doing?
Stone: I honestly can’t answer that, because that was an old track from before I was in the band . . . It’s Kelly [Gray] on there, I believe, not me . . . That’s from ‘99 or 2000, at least. Like a little before my time, so I have no idea.

TKW: I’ve never heard him quite that vocal.
Stone: I will say that I’ve enjoyed listening to it. Changing certain words around occasionally and laughing really hard. He was just spellin’ it. He was feelin’ it and went on his rant, and God bless.

TKW: Were there any songs where you thought, “Wow, it’d be cool to do it, but from an artistic standpoint, we’re not even gonna touch that one.”
Stone: No. I think it’s obvious we weren’t afraid of that. [laughs] Actually, we wanted that. We wanted to go in directions that people wouldn’t expect us to. You’d think we’d do this, these different various metal covers, or this’n’that. And we just decided, “Let’s do what’d be fun and different and fun to dig into.” So yeah, there was nothing too taboo to bring to the table.

TKW: Out of the songs, the “youngest” is the U2 one. The other ones, they’re more like in the ‘80s or earlier. Was there any reason you refrained from more recent material?
Stone: We just kind of dug into stuff we liked. The older music’s where everyone got a lot of their influences and fell in love with music, and I think that’s why it ended up like that. There was never any conscious thing to go after any period and that’s just where we ended up.

TKW: When I talked to [Twisted Sister’s] J.J. French about the Monster Ballads Christmas album that you guys contributed to, I asked him, “What songs do you think really came together well?” And he said, “Queensrÿche’s White Christmas is awesome.” He really sung your praises on it. [French co-produced the album.] What did you guys do with that one?
Stone: It was Bing Crosby’s version, and I was staying at Ed Bass’ house, and that evening I just kind of put an arrangement together and kind of back-engineered it, and then I sat there with Eddie and I threw down a scratch acoustic to a click [track], and then we built it all around that.

TKW: Is Geoff doing the crooning kind of thing?
Stone: No, he’s beltin’ it. It’s pretty much the exact same arrangement as the Bing Crosby. I worked out all the chords, there’s little bit different chord changes, then you got with Michael and then we put the rest of the guitars together.

From left, Eddie Jackson, Michael Wilton, Mike Stone and Geoff Tate.
Feb. 8, 2008, at Nokia Theater in New York, N.Y. Photo © 2008/Christa Titus.

TKW: You guys have been doing an evening with Queensrÿche for the past couple of years because of the Mindcrime material. How are you with not playing that night after night now, having done it for so long?
Stone: I’m just fine with it. [laughs] The whole Mindcrime show is definitely a head space, and it was very different than just playing a normal rock show, and I enjoyed it immensely. If we were gonna do it again, I’m cool with it. It’s always fun to do things a little different.

TKW: It was a break for you guys: 40 minutes and out.
Stone: It was. It definitely was. Wow, I don’t even have to wash my clothes this week.

TKW: How’s it going with the new record?
Stone: Everyone’s been in a really great creative place for the last year, and we’re just compiling lots and lots of things . . . It’s gonna be a concept album of sorts, it’s not going to have anything to do with Nikki or Doctor X. [laughs] Whole new moves. It’s in its formative stages, but we have a ton of material like up and running we’re kind of sorting through and deciding what’s gonna go where.

TKW: Do you have an idea when you are going to start actually recording?
Stone: There’s a lot of demo things floating around right now . . . I think probably in March we’ll actually sit down full-blown and just bang it out. I think it’s gonna be very hard-hitting. I think it’ll be cool.

TKW: Of course, it’s gonna be cool. [laughing]
Stone: [joining in] Another chapter in the Queensrÿche saga.

TKW: Anything you want to add?
Stone: Take Cover is cool in a sense and different for a Queensrÿche record, ‘cuz I think it’s like the only Queensrÿche record that, for a lack of a better term, is kind of fun, ya know? It’s like, “Wow, they did this.” It’s more of a fun listen, where most Queensrÿche is very dark and serious and it’s a lot more ominous in vibe. And with this, it’s just rock-me tunes. So I think from a consumer or buyer or fan perspective it’s different in the sense that it has that kind of fun layer to it and then it was just also a lot of fun makin’ it. And as always, it’s an honor to be jammin’ with the Rÿche.

Queensryche.com

To read sister feature Time Crunch Fuels Michael Wilton’s Creative Fire On ‘Take Cover,’ click here.

To read Fantasy A&R: If Queensrÿche Wants To Do Covers, We’ve Got Suggestions, click here.

To read The Killing Words’ review of Take Cover, click here.

To read Christa Titus’ review of Welcome to the Machine for Billboard, click here.