QUEENSRCHE Guitarist: 'We've Got About 40 Ideas That We're Just Tryin' To Trim Down'

When The Killing Words chatted with guitarist Michael "Whip" Wilton about the "Take Cover" album, he admitted that QUEENSRCHE handled the PINK FLOYD classic "Welcome to the Machine" with care. In this question-and-answer session, Wilton divulges how massive amounts of coffee fueled the on-the-fly sessions for "Take Cover", as well as how it feels to be finished the marathon live dates of "Operation: Mindcrime" and what's cooking on the next QUEENSRCHE record.

The Killing Words: When you did "Welcome to the Machine", considering how long you've been in the music business, was the lyrical content appealing?

Wilton: You know, everything about that song is appealing to me. It's one of my all-time classic songs that I love to listen to.

That being said, that's a touchy song, because there are so many diehard PINK FLOYD fans that would just crucify us if we just copied the version and copied Dave [Gilmour's] guitars or copied his voice. No, that one, arrangement-wise we had to kind of do some special things to make it a little more like our own. When we start the song, we wanted to, other than hearing some sound effects, we wanted people to go, "Well, what song is this?" And we had that same effect live, because they wouldn't even know what the song was until they heard the chord and Geoff sings, "Welcome, my son," and then they all go, "Ahhh!" [laughs] Something like that, it's such a do-or-die thing, you know, to cover a song like that. 'Cuz I talk to people on the road who said, "Hey, that FLOYD song, you guys pulled it off. It was enough QUEENSRCHE that it wasn't a direct rip-off of FLOYD." So with that song, that song we had to have a little TLC with that one.

The Killing Words: How is it going with the new QUEENSRCHE album?

Wilton: We've been doing so much touring that we've been a little bit fragmented in our writing. There's been songs written on the road, songs written, certain breaks. Basically, we've got about 40 ideas that we're just tryin' to trim down and just trying to get the arrangements right now. So I guess we're in a giant pre-production right now, between these tours. And so it's a lotta work. And talking to Geoff, he's heading in a thematic, conceptual way, which is always exciting, because that's his forte, in my opinion, and we've got the vibe, you know, the feel of what we're going [for] and it's just a matter, it's like you're kind of halfway there, but you can't say, "We're doin' this!" or "We're doin' that!" It's kind of gettin' it together. A lot of stuff, you know. It's like an artist. We got a lotta colors on our thing and we're just throwin' 'em at the wall and waitin' to see when the art happens.

The whole thing with this one is we just wanna make sure that everybody has very passionate performances . . . good to be under a time line, but, you knowhey, this is art. This is about music and having fun. It's not about selling widgets. So I think releasing this Take Cover album, it's kind of like the old days to write a record. A really, really absorb it, sit back, listen to it a week later and go, "Was that as cool as it was when I wrote it?" You know, that kind of a thing? When you have time to just look at it from different perspectives, and if it's still grabbin' ya and makin' ya go, "Oh, yeah." That's what we're lookin' for.

To read the rest of the Michael Wilton interview on TheKillingWords.com, click here.

When QUEENSRCHE 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 'RCHE'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.

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]

I just kind of like the story of . . . Jesus was just this guy and everyone else kind of made this other stuff around him and it ends up getting him killed. He never said, "Worship me," you know? I think it's a great story. And that song I think is one of the coolest vocal songs I've ever heard, and I just thought, "[Singer Geoff Tate] would kill on that song." And Judas, actually he has a cooler vocal thing on that record even than Jesus does. [laughs again]

The Killing Words: 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.

To read the rest of the Mike Stone interview on TheKillingWords.com, click here.