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 Michael
Sadler (Saga) Interview by Josh Turner
JT: Hello.
May I speak to Josh Turner please?
JT: Yes, this is Josh.
Michael Sadler calling.
JT: Hi, I was looking forward to talking with you.
Great!
JT: I’ve actually got a lot of questions for you, so we probably should
get started. {He laughs and then I laugh.}
Okay.
JT: To begin with, it’s my understanding that you just recently had a
tour, right?
Yes, we just did six weeks in Europe.
JT: So, how did that go?
Excellent! Excellent! Better than I could have imagined.
JT: Is there any plans on touring in the States anytime soon?
Yeah, they’re working on that right now, but it looks like we have a
couple of festivals coming up. One in Canada and one in, or two in
Canada and one in Germany at the end of July.
JT: Huh.
And then they’re looking at the end of August and into the fall for some
North American show. Finally get back in the States after all this; I
was reminded the other day that we haven’t played in the States for
twenty years.
JT: Really?
Twenty-two years, yeah. The last gig was Columbus, Ohio in ’84. {He
laughs.}
JT: Is there any plans in like maybe playing at RoSfest or NEARfest or
one of the festivals in the States?
 Quite likely, I mean, the whole thing is now taking on a whole new
dimension for the band, because we have new management, new record
company. So, everything has been re-thought-out. It’s almost like
another official re-launch of the band is taking place. So, this shows,
there’s nothing in stone right now. I guess we’re trying to figure out
what configuration to go out. Do we go out as a co-headliner? Do we go
out and try to do our own shows? Do we go out
and start with the festivals? We’re just trying to figure out what kind
of route, what kind of, I guess, complexion the whole tour would take.
So, once we decide that, I know the shows will be in the fall. I just
don’t know where they’ll be right now.
JT: I was looking at your various web sites and it’s very clever how you
have a site that’s dedicated to just tours.
Yeah.
JT: It’s designed very well. Who came up with that idea and who actually
puts that together?
That new one was done really quickly by the, the actual Saga on-tour
site was done by the guitar tech. Our last guitar tech and we had no
idea he had done it. He put it together really quickly, because the
other one kind of fell apart for some reason and he took it upon himself
to do it and it was amazing. I went to the site and said how long have
we had this site and someone said that he had taken it upon himself to
put it together. So, I think he did it as a favor to us and a little
hobby that he had, but it worked out great. {He laughs.}
JT: Yeah, it worked out really good, um, you know, you’ve actually come
out with a number of real exciting albums in the last couple years.
Recently Network and then Trust. I’m wondering if you can summarize like
what are the themes behind those two albums?
Between which ones?
JT: The themes behind Network and Trust?
Theme-wise, neither one of them are conceptual really.
JT: Oh, they’re not?
No, not really. No, not conceptually. No, not at all. They’re just, um,
we stopped doing The Chapters thing, which was one continuous story over
a whole bunch of albums, obviously 16 chapters, but Network and Trust
are just a collection of songs.
JT: Chapters Live is one of my favorite live albums.
Oh.
JT: How did that project come about and what’s the overall synopsis of
The Chapters? Can you give me like a bird’s eye view?
 The Chapters is, a very brief synopsis of it is it’s just, the setting
is, um, science fiction in nature, uh, there’s a central character,
there’s a central theme of something that’s going on, slightly
apocalyptic to a degree, but this is something that we stretched over a
period of, well, since the band’s creation really. We did it like a
jigsaw puzzle and we did it gradually
until we finished all 16 pieces, which are finished now. Rather than
explain it off just in a general statement, there are plans to possibly
do something animated with it. Perhaps some kind of animated featurette
or comic book, we just need to pick the right
medium to tell the story.
JT: You’re talking about an animated movie or something like that?
Quite possibly, yeah, yeah. I think the visual would be extremely
important to go with the explanation.
JT: Right. Is that basically why the web site says, “Coming Soon to a
Theater Near You…?”
Probably.
JT: Probably. {We laugh.} I was going to ask you that.
On the red carpet. {He says this in a facetious tone.}
JT: Okay, I wanted to ask you some specific questions about the latest
album, the Trust album.
Aha.
JT: What are you singing about in the song, “My Friend” and who came up
with those classical instruments and arrangements?
 Well, that song is the only one that was not really a band song per se.
Every other song we usually do, it’s like a little democracy. We all
have something to do with the song or have a say. This was a pet project
of Jim Gilmour and Ian Crichton and they wrote the song together and we
left it to them to come up with it. So, if you wanted to know what he’s
actually talking about, you’d probably have to talk to Jim Gilmour,
because it’s a little vague. I think I know, but I don’t want to say. {I
laugh} He seems a little bitter about something. {He laughs.}
JT: You start out with a song called “That’s As Far As I’ll Go?”
Yup.
JT: What are you talking about? How far is it that you’re going to go?
It’s how much you’re going to reveal about yourself.
JT: Oh.
You can, if you read through the lyrics, I always thought that my
privacy was at a premium, but I thought I had a private life. It could
deal with someone being stalked or someone hounded by the press all the
time. It could be slightly biographical. It’s just about people wanting
to know things about you. I’ll tell you this and I’ll tell you that, but
that’s as far as I’ll go. You know all you need to know for now.
JT: Okay.
It’s only letting people in so far. There’s only so much that people
really need to know about you. There’s certain things you should keep to
yourself. That kind of topic.
JT: The beginning of the title track sounds a lot like the theme from
Clockwork Orange.
Right.
JT: Was that intentional?
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, okay. That’s totally accidental. I didn’t even
think of that till you told me. First time I heard it. There was
actually, “Trust” was, I mean, all songs have working titles before they
become what they eventually become and the working title for “Trust” was
“Wormboy.” The sound of the beginning just reminded somebody of worms
coming out the ground.
JT: Oh weird.
It just stayed and suddenly everything had a worm theme to it. We were
talking about the album cover should be a worm and all this. It’s just
crazy stuff, but that was the working title for “Trust.”
JT: The new albums got a lot of great songs. I like the title track, I
like “Footsteps in the Hall,” I like “Ice in the Rain.” If I had to
choose a favorite, I might choose the title track. What is your favorite
on the album? Which one are you most proud of, which might have been the
most fun to record, whatever?
I like different ones for different reasons. For subject matter, I like
“On the Other Side.”
JT: Hmm.
I like singing; I like physically singing “Trust.”
JT: Oh, okay.
We started the tour with it, when we did the tour just now; the present
set list starts with “Trust.” It’s a great way to start the show and
it’s a great song to sing.
JT: The others that I mention, “Footsteps in the Hall,” is laden with
some really great riffs. What’s that song about and what’s the meaning
of the screaming in the end?
I think Jim’s talking about, uh, this is one of his story kind of songs
and I believe the scenario is someone has witnessed something, some kind
of crime, I’m not sure, he’s vague with me, but it’s one of those little
scenarios where something happened. I believe it’s someone in, literally
in the closet, in the hallway, and they know this stuff is going on and
they’re afraid to come out, but they’ve been a witness to something.
JT: The other one I mentioned, “Ice in the Rain,” is that an analogy to
something, a euphemism for something or what?
Basically, just any kind of pain or disappointment is only temporarily.
JT: Oh.
When it’s raining, you know it’s raining, but every once and awhile it’s
ice rain, you get a little prick on your arm or on your head and it’s
almost sleet. It’s only temporary. It’s going to go away. It’s like ice
in the rain. It will melt. That particular ice will melt if it is just
rain.
JT: Oh.
So, if there was any kind of disappointment or setbacks you have, it’s
only temporary.
JT: I have a few other questions about some of the songs. I like how
that song, “You Were Right” picks up the pace. It comes at a perfect
time in the album. What are you singing about there and who are you
singing to?
{He laughs.} That very vaguely, um, probably touches a nerve a little bit. It is, without specifically mentioning
anyone or any individual or any names to protect the innocent, it does
deal with a past business relationship. As far as I can really go just
in case. It has to do with a relationship gone bad. I would specifically
say something within the business. One facet of it, but I really don’t
want to; I can’t really get specific for possible legal reasons.
JT: Okay, okay. You mentioned, “On the Other Side,” you like that as far
as the subject matter is concerned?
Yes.
JT: What’s actually happened in that song?
Well, I of late have been reading a lot of; I’m reading a lot in
general. I’ve started, uh, for instance, I’ve gotten very lazy about
reading in the last few years. I’ve gotten back into reading again. I’ve
been thinking, and I don’t want to say I’ve become very spiritual, but I
started looking at life and the world a little bit from that perspective
and this whole idea of, you know, it would be incredibly arrogant to
think that this is all there is and we are all, this is as good as it
gets and as smart as everything in the universe can be. That’s so
arrogant to think that we’re the only ones.
JT: Right.
Indeed, is this real or is this just another form of this spiritual
thing that’s flowing through and through. You can take it further and
further. It’s, the point being, there is something else. There is
something. There is the other side. Once we finish here, the next
station, there is something.
JT: Okay.
And, you’ve got to remember that there is karma, so.
JT: Right.
If you spent your whole life doing really bad stuff, well, it’s got to
go somewhere.
JT: Okay… As far as your albums are concerned, it seems like you’ve
spent a lot of time developing the lyrics, the thoughts as we’re
discussing here and you really put a lot into the melodies.
I’m very concerned about melody.
JT: From a songwriting standpoint, which comes first and can you explain
your songwriting process?
It’s actually changed over the years. In the very beginning, it was all
music first and then figure out where we’re going to put a melody and
where we’re going to put a, and what we’re going to sing about. That was
always left till the last minute. That was completely secondary at the
beginning.
JT: Umm.
I’ve come completely full circle with it now where I’m sitting in the
rehearsal. I’m not even touching any instruments. I sit and play the
vocalist role, which makes a lot of sense and I sit and listen to them
work on things. I will be getting melodies in my head and getting
lyrical ideas as they’re working it out. {He clears his throat.} Excuse
me. That way I can help with the arrangements cause I can hear in my
head where the melody is supposed to go and just the general feeling of
the song. If it needs to tone down at a certain place, because I know
I’ll be talking about a certain subject matter, I can infuse that into
it. So, melody and lyric has become paramount to me for my job.
JT: Okay.
If you want to call it a job. I still maintain this is not a job. It’s
not work.
JT: Oh.
But, don’t tell anybody.
JT: That’s cool… You’ve come out with a number of albums recently.
You’re coming out with them in short succession, but they’re obviously
highly developed. What has changed that you can kick out albums so
quickly?
Well, I think there was just a, not a backlog of product, but there was
some product sitting there and it’s just coincidently, is coming at the
same time with DVD’s and things of that nature, but actually, this album
was the fastest one we’ve done in a long time. The first day of writing
material for it to the release or to the delivering to the record
company was only about three and a half months. That’s a pretty short
period of time for a band like us.
JT: Yeah.
I think what happened was, most of that came from, there was a deadline.
We were given a deadline, I mean, record companies usually do and they
do that, hoping that they’ll get the product as close to that as
possible, because they have a release date in mind and all that, but you
try your best to come in at the scheduled time. Nine times out of ten
you don’t, but we were very good this time. I think we were only about
five or six days late, which is remarkable.
JT: Wow, that is.
We had all this pressure to do it quickly, but I wanted to keep it fresh
anyway. I didn’t want to over-think this record. I wanted to make this
record like we used to make them. In other words, going in with no
preconceived ideas of what it was going to sound like overall. There was
no general plan except to just have fun and enjoy the songs that we’re
writing and pick, you know, ten or eleven songs, whatever it was going
to be, that we felt really good about and those were the rules and we
kept it fresh. If something wasn’t broken, you don’t fix it. If it feels
good, leave it alone. Next thought, you know, until we had all the songs
we rehearsed over and over. We were ready to go, bang! We recorded them.
Didn’t think about it. Came back down here and actually did them. We
recorded in Toronto and then I came back down here with Jim in Los
Angeles where we live and did the vocals here actually. Did all the
vocals in about nine days.
JT: How long have you been making music and how is it that you’re making
your best albums now?
How long have we been making music? We’ve been making music or
the band has been together thirty years next year. I’ve been doing it
for probably thirty-five professionally. Sorry, what was the second part
of the question?
JT: How is it that you’re making your best albums now?
I don’t know. I can’t explain that. I just, um, the only thing I can say
is that I feel like there is something going on that I can’t explain.
I started with, I suppose a lot of it has to do
with changing the record label or change in management where we’ve
decided to be a lot more hands on then we have in the past. There’s
generally an extremely positive feeling in the band right now, which I
think is filtering through everything. Too many things happen with this
new record, uh, that were just, they just happened when they were
supposed to happen. The timing was remarkable, but always followed by a
glitch in the plan. In other words, something would happen one day in
the early stages of the recording process regarding the overall plan of
what we were going to do.
JT: Aha.
And, something would, you know, a piece of gear wouldn’t show up or I
don’t know, little things like that, that cause a little hiccup and then
we would have to rethink it and make a quick decision to go a different
direction or try something else because of it and that ended up being a
smarter thing to do then in the first place.
JT: Right.
So little things like that kept happening right through the whole record
and there’s something going on that I can’t explain. I don’t even want
to try to figure it out. I just know that there is something very
positive streaming through the band right now.
JT: That’s cool.
Yeah.
JT: I’m curious, how did you come up with the name of the band?
Oh gawd. {I laugh.} That was, uh, we actually started a band called
Pockets and we were pretty much supposed to change it before the first
album we put out, because I think it was like an R&B band called Pockets
came out and they released their album first. That gives them a right to
the name. Whether it does or not, you don’t want to have two bands
called the same thing at the same time. They get that confused a lot.
It’s like people walking in to get a Jeff Beck album and they get the
Beck album. They just
assume that they’ve got Jeff Beck and then they go home and put it on.
{We laugh.} That was just a Prog band sitting around a boardroom and
firing out names. I believe the, sort of Assistant Manager at the time,
came up with the idea and it was one of those where the word came out
and everyone stopped.
JT: Hmm.
It was short. It was narrative in nature. It implied long stories.
Something that continues and we liked the connotation and the shortness
of the word. It just seemed very appropriate.
JT: Curious as well, who does the artwork for your album?
That one was, we found a brand-new guy.
JT: Oh, really?
He’s Hungarian and we found that picture on the web one day and he
showed it to us and we immediately, I was stunned. I thought oh my god,
I mean, it looks like, it almost looks to me as though this guy had
thought to himself, well, I’m going to paint a picture of what Da Vinci
would have done if he was designing the creature that’s on the Saga
album covers back then.
JT: Right, I thought the same thing actually.
And, it’s not. This guy just randomly made this picture.
JT: Huh.
Yeah, it’s little things like that as well, what I was talking about
before. Things just happened and this was just accidentally found on the
web site, just on the web, and we found the guy and asked if he’d be
interested and away we went, but it just, it was perfect. I looked at
the cover and I said, that’s the cover, you know.
JT: Okay, you talk about DVD’s. I was recently watching the bonus DVD
for Network and it’s very good. I like how it’s put together.
Thank you.
JT: Do you plan on Special Editions such as this for future albums?
Well, in Europe, there is one with Trust. It’s a shorter one. It’s only
about 10, 15 minutes of just a little bit of making of, but, um, we
actually have a DVD that’s coming {he clears his throat} before the end
of the year that we filmed last December and that is World’s Apart
recorded live, the entire album. We performed it and filmed it for a
DVD. So, that album, which is the, definitely the most successful in
North America was on the loose and what came up on it, is going to be
released as a live DVD performed in Noshtika.
JT: Okay and just one other question I had about Network, what are you
singing about in the song, “If I Were You” and how does that fit into
the puzzle?
“If I Were You” is basically a relationship. It’s looking at someone who
had a bad relationship and they’re all torn apart and once again, it’s
being positive and saying, look, if I were you, just forget, if you’re
talking, for example, if you were me talking to a women who had just
broken up with her boyfriend or her husband or whatever, it’s just
saying look, the guy’s a jerk, if I were you, this is what I would do,
but the thing is, he probably has ulterior motives cause he likes her.
So, it’s like move on, forget him, I’m right here. {He laughs.} It could
be devious in a way, but it’s pretty much just assuring the person. Life
goes on; the guy was, you’re probably better off now, so.
JT: Okay. I just had a couple questions about some projects outside of
Saga. How did that album Clear come about and why does that take on such
a different style?
Well, I don’t know if it’s that different in style. It’s really just,
um, I worked on that for eight or nine years when I’d get a chance in
between Saga albums and I finally had a chance last year to finish it.
You see, that’s the thing about solo albums. I think, people they hear
it, and they go why is it so different?
JT: Right.
I think the reason it’s different is it’s not the entire band. {At this
time, “That’s As Far As I’ll Go” is playing loudly in the background.}
You’re writing material that doesn’t have to fit into a certain
criteria. There’s no restrictions. So, basically you can do what you
like. What you end up hearing is whoever the solo artist is, what you
end up hearing, is what’s their contribution to the band that they work
with. So, you will hear little things that remind you of songs. That’s
my influence into the band is what you’re hearing and everything else is
just me left to my own devices.
JT: I really like the work that you’ve done with Henning Pauly. How did
you get involved with him and is there any other future collaboration
planned with him?
There is, he’s talking about doing another Frameshift album and letting
me do the vocals. I met him through Shawn Gordon of Prog Rock Records
who distributes Clear for me in North America. I was approached to help
him do, uh, actually the initial contact with Henning was made when he
was doing Chain.
JT: Hmm.
The Chain project did a cover of one of our songs, a Saga song, and it
was a sort of an A/B back and forth vocal and on the record I sang the A
part, on the Saga record I sang the A part and then the other singer
sang the B part. The funny thing was he got me to sing on that song, but
I sang the other person’s vocal. They had someone else do my part. So,
that’s how that came about and I’ve done little things for him when he
needs a vocal here and there, I’ll help out and come to the studio.
JT: That’s cool.
I like singing other people’s things. I like singing on other people’s
projects. The strangest one I ever did was Ozzy Osbourne.
JT: Oh, really?
Yeah, I did the background vocals for “No Rest for the Wicked.”
JT: Really, that’s cool.
Yeah.
JT: Okay, I’m also curious, what do you think of Jim Gilmour’s latest
album and did you have any involvement in that?
None whatsoever and the same way that I didn’t involve anybody in mine,
uh, just to keep it away from the band and to keep it, you know, as a
100% solo thing. I heard it. I like it very much. Again, it doesn’t
sound, it sounds like what he would do in the band if we told him, if we
didn’t say, that’s too much. {We laugh.}
JT: That’s funny.
But, it’s his chance as a keyboard player to show what he can do and,
uh, he’s got a good voice, but I mean, it’s really a showcase for Jim, his singers, and there’s some fine playing on it, I must
admit.
JT: How did you actually meet your bandmates?
 Well, Jim and I put the band together in ’77. I had been in a band
called Truck with him and the singer left and I replaced him. Then we
parted company and a year and a half later, he was writing some songs
and asked me to come over to his house in Toronto. I had a straight job
at the time actually and I sang on four songs,
had dinner with the two couples, he and his wife, and my wife and I, and
after dinner sang the songs and went to work the next day and realized
what I had been missing and I went back over to his house the next day
and we started writing and putting a band together. Jim’s brother Ian
was an obvious choice for guitar. He was playing, I believe in like a
cover band. Doing the bars, playing like Led Zeppelin and stuff and
things of that nature. Dave Negus, Jim knew from another band that he
had been in. He had more of an R&B background, which I think accounts
for the more rhythmic nature of the band instead of being straight Prog
and very ethereal. He kept us grounded from day one and Jim Gilmour was
actually the third keyboard player that we had. The first one was Peter
Rochon on the first album. The second was Gregg Chad and then we found
Daryl, but I mean, it feels like Daryl’s been there from day one as far
as I’m concerned.
JT: Hmm. Do the two brothers get along or is that ever a problem?
You’d never know they’re brothers.
JT: Oh, really? {I laugh}
That’s the strange thing about it, yeah, on a professional sense, you’d
never know, um, which is probably a good thing, because none of that
sibling rivalry or anything of that nature comes up at all. Never has
and I don’t see at this point that it will. It’s the strangest
phenomenon. You would never know they’re related.
JT: Interesting.
Yeah, yeah, and I don’t think it’s an intentional thing, but I think
it’s probably in the long run a good thing.
JT: Okay.
You don’t end up with any strange little personal gains and blah, blah,
blah, and nothing internal going on, so there’s never been any drama.
Not of that nature.
JT: That’s cool.
{He laughs.} I can’t say there’s been no drama in thirty years.
JT: Your music is actually quite unique. If anything, other bands are
copying what you’re doing. You’re basically reinventing the wheel. Who
would you say are your musical influences?
Well, if you go way, way, way back in the beginning, it would be bands
like Gentle Giant and King Crimson, early Genesis, I stress early, um,
the English progressive, the English pure progressive at the time where
they were the first influences. I was, I still am a huge Queen fan, but
I was a tremendous admirer of Freddie Mercury. He was a huge influence
for me personally.
JT: Right.
As an entertainer, I think no one’s come close to him, um, just the way
he could control that many people.
JT: Aha.
I mean, not control in a bad way. Watching him do Wembley, for example,
or Rock in Rio, and 90,000 people singing a ballad. I mean, come on.
JT: Right.
The man had it.
JT: Yeah, he had it.
You know, he really did, but I would say, I would combine it with; I’m a
big Peter Gabriel fan. On the other hand, I like Queen.
JT: I can kind of hear that, yeah.
Yeah, you know what; I like the world music side of Peter. I mean, maybe
you can hear maybe smatterings of that in my solo work, um, maybe that
influence, and as a rock band, Queen. No one has, uh, just as, like I
say Freddie Mercury. I don’t, I can say nothing bad about him as far as
I’m concerned.
JT: Going back to the beginning, how did you initially get involved in
music and then actually decide that you wanted to be a vocalist?
I was in a church choir for eight years, but that was not my choice. I went in when I was like eight years
old, eight or nine years old and then, I don’t know, I went out for, the
funny thing was I went out to, in grade nine since you’re in High
School, I went out for the football team and, um, I was going to be a
halfback, or running back, a wide receiver or something. There was this
thing going on between me and this other guy. He was going to be the
quarterback and we just had that match-up thing.
JT: Right.
We could read each others thoughts. {I laugh} Anyway, when I went for
tryouts and that day I actually made the team, and I went home and I was
really happy and I went to have a snack and then I went to get up and I
couldn’t straighten my legs or bend the legs. Then it took me an hour to
straighten it. I found out that I had what’s called Osgood Slaughter
Disease. It happens to boys. It’s a strange particular thing. It’s a
weird phenomenon. Happens to boys around the 13, 14, 15 years old age,
uh, there’s no explanation for it. There’s no cure for it. The only
thing you can do is wear a cast for six weeks and then it goes away, um,
and consequently I couldn’t play football. The second alternative, I
joined a band, quit school, left the choir, moved out of my mom’s house.
JT: Aha.
And never looked back.
JT: I kind of like to ask this. It’s kind of a funny question, maybe
you’ve been asked this before, um, but with the movie Spinal Tap.
Aha.
JT: Do you recall any Spinal Tap type moments where something maybe
quirky or funny happened?
There’s been times when we’ve been looking for the tape as well. Each
time, I mean, in the times that it happens, it is right from the movie.
{I laugh} You’re in the bowels of some building and for some reason, the
tour manager, whoever is supposed to escort you to the stage is not
there, but it’s time to go to the stage. You can hear the audience
really faintly, really faintly, but you know, and you’re walking like
down in the basement of the building and there’s pipes and stuff and
we’ve gone through it. I’m sure almost every band has, um; there’s been
all kinds of things in thirty years. I’m waiting for, there’s someone
putting together, actually in Holland, uh, his name is Edwin Ammerlaan
and he’s been biographing the band from day one from the first time we
went to Europe. I think he’s putting the finishing touches on the book
now. He’s probably aiming for a thirtieth anniversary kind of release,
but he’s got, I’m sure, all kinds of gems. There’s some that I’m sure
I’ve forgotten about. I had a run-in with alcohol and alcohol won and I
bottomed out. I was in rehab for about six weeks, four years ago. I
haven’t had a drop in four years, um, but before that, I mean, there
were things that, unfortunately because of that, a lot of memories, I
don’t think I’ve lost them, but I’ve misplaced them. Consequently, we’ll
be on a tour bus now, like on the last tour, someone will bring up a
funny scenario and I’ll be hearing about it and go, oh, it’s something
that I thought I had forgotten about.
JT: Right.
But, it got filed somewhere else. This Spinal Tap, the strange thing
about Spinal Tap is that it’s almost difficult to look at for bands that
have been on the road, because it is so true. Although it is a
fictitious thing, it’s so real.
JT: Right.
All those things, apart from the drummer’s blowing up {he laughs} and
things like that, um, most of that stuff is absolutely positively, not
just possible, but it has happened to somebody at one time or the other.
JT: It’s probably a lot like the movie Office Space for people that
work, I guess, in an office.
Exactly and it’s probably way worse than that to be honest.
JT: Yeah, and some of what you just said elicited some memories from
college.
There you go!
JT: I know kind of what you’re talking about… I have a couple short
answer questions here and then I can let you go. So, this is kind of
like the lightning round. {He chuckles.} What’s the last CD that you
purchased or just gave a lot of spin time?
That’s two different things. The last one I purchased was Prince. Gave a
lot of spin time was Jeff Beck’s last album.
JT: Oh, cool. What’s the last concert that you’ve attended as a fan?
The last one I attended as a fan… let me think… that’s a tough one,
because I don’t get out much.
JT: That’s what I figured with all the albums you’re making.
The last one I saw… you know the last one I saw was here in LA and it
was actually Dream Theater.
JT: Oh, really?
Yeah, yeah, it was, um, yeah, it would’ve been about a year and a half
ago.
JT: I saw them recently too. It was a great show. Did you see the Octavarium
tour?
I really couldn’t be sure.
JT: With that whole animated thing, with that 24 minute song that they
have?
Yes.
JT: That was pretty cool.
Yeah.
JT: Is that kind of what you’re talking about with The Chapters music?
That you’d like to do something like that?
More elaborate.
JT: More
elaborate, wow. I got to see that then. {He chuckles.}
That’s why I think something probably animated on film would be the way
to go.
JT: Yeah, that would be cool… What would you say is your favorite album?
Of ours?
JT: We could say of yours, but also just in general. Both yours and
somebody else’s?
Good god. Well, I’ll give you a few. A favorite of ours is Behavior. A
favorite album, oh my god? Well, Queen Sheer Heart Attack and Lamb Lies
Down on Broadway.
JT: Good choices. What’s your favorite band? I’m assuming you’re just
going to say Queen.
Well, I’m going to say Queen for overall, because Gabriel’s an artist.
So, working rock band, uh, you know who comes in close and I don’t know
why, but I just, I like this band. I like Velvet Revolver. I really like
them.
JT: Oh, really?
Yeah. I can’t help it. {He laughs.}
JT: That’s cool. Ever listen to Audioslave. You like Audioslave?
I do, I do. I like some things they do. Unfortunately, they left a bad
memory in my mind from watching the last Live Aid and they showed, they
did their shtick in Berlin and the vocal was absolutely diabolical.
JT: Really?
Yeah, it was really bad, unfortunately, I don’t know if you saw it. I’m
hot and cold with Audioslave. Sometimes I think, eh. The unfortunate
thing is when I see something live, that’s the litmus test for me,
because I take great pride in being really good live. You know, I think
it’s very important that a band can pull it off. So, when I see that,
I’m a little disappointed.
JT: Okay, what would you say is your favorite movie?
Uh, Magic Anthony Hopkins.
JT: Okay, cool, and do you have a favorite TV show and before you answer
that my guess would probably be the show My Name is Earl, but I’m not
sure if you have it where you’re at?
I have it and I think it’s brilliant as a show like that. As a serious
show, 24. I’m hooked on.
JT: Yeah, that I like too.
You know, I wait for that. I hate to admit it, but I like Idol for
various reasons. {I laugh.} I do, I think it’s highly entertaining. In
fact, I’m looking forward to Cowell’s new show, the America’s Got Talent
cause that looks like the Gong Show without the gong.
JT: I’ve actually seen some of that and it’s actually quite
entertaining.
I can’t wait. I missed the first episode last week.
JT: Now with American Idol, do you like the singers who can sing or do
you get more of a thrill out of the ones who can’t?
I love the auditions. I love the auditions. I think it’s tremendous. I
get very frustrated when they start doing like the final 12 or whatever
it is.
JT: Yeah.
Who’s going home and it’s always wrong
JT: It’s always, yeah, right.
It’s always wrong and I love watching, cause I agree with what Simon
says. He’s not being mean. He’s just telling the bloody truth and I
think it’s hilarious.
JT: Yeah, that’s funny.
Yeah.
JT: Do you have a favorite book?
I don’t have a favorite. I have a favorite author. I’m reading Dean
Koontz right now. I think he’s brilliant. I think all of his books could
be films. I’m reading a book called, he has a trilogy about
Frankenstein. I’ve read book one and two. I’m eagerly waiting for book three,
but right now, I’m on a book, his new one called The Husband. He just,
he’s like a contemporary Stephen King. He’s got a really warped way of
looking at life and I like it.
JT: I’ll have to check that out, um, what is your sport of choice?
NFL.
JT: Cool and this is kind of a dumb question, but I ask it, because
nobody else does. Do you have any pets?
No. Have through the years, but at the present time no.
JT: Are you more of a dog or a cat person or does it matter?
I can go either way, but given my druthers, I would probably choose a
dog.
JT: It seems like you probably, as you said, being a musician for you is
just a great thing. What is the worst part about being a musician?
Being away from family.
JT: Okay.
Absolutely.
JT: And…
100%
JT: Being a person putting out great music, a bit of a celebrity, and
that kind of stuff, you’re probably confronted by a lot of fans. What is
the best fan interaction that you can recall?
Um.
JT: Or just the most memorable.
Well, actually, we just ran into her again. Many years ago, we were at
sound-check in Germany and this is going back probably at least 20 years
and I was advised that there was somebody at the backdoor that was
looking for autographs. I thought, well, whatever, and the drummer
actually said you might want to see this woman. I said, okay, whatever,
and I went to the backdoor and there was a woman probably about 75, 76
years old.
JT: Oh.
She had all of our albums up to that point, standing there and it was
for her.
Oh, wow.
JT: And, she described, she said she apologized for her husband that
couldn’t be there. He wasn’t feeling well that day, but they wanted to
get all the albums signed and I was like, oh my god, here’s something.
She was backstage at one of the shows we just played and she showed up
and this woman is now, she’s got to be in her eighties and she’s having things
signed, she’s wearing this t-shirt. There’s something about the music
that has grabbed her.
JT: That’s cool.
 It’s an amazing phenomenon, because I’ll see people like her and then
I’ll see people 13 years old in the front singing along with the music
and I think, my god, if you can stretch, if you can make music that is
not so pigeon-holed or time-related that you can reach a span, an age
group or an age difference that wide, then you’re doing something right,
you know.
JT: Is there anything you’d like to say to your fans at this time or
maybe this one particular fan?
Well, we miss America. We’re looking forward to playing North America,
specifically United States again. It’s been way too long for whatever
reason. There’s a million reasons. We’re partly at fault. We’re partly
to blame. The management at the time was partly to blame. The record
company perhaps. A million ways you can point fingers, but it doesn’t
matter. We’re here now and we’re planning on coming. So, all of that
doesn’t matter. We’re going to try and fix all that and start. America’s
a big place, but it can be daunting and scary, but it’s not really. It’s
just one show at a time. So, we’re just looking at America and thinking
I can’t wait. I remember when we played and the audiences were great and
I know we’ve got an audience for the band and so we just have to remind
people that we’ve been away, but just physically away. We didn’t
breakup. We’ve been busy, so we’ll be playing catch-up for the better
part of this year and a lot of next probably.
JT: Okay, that’s pretty much all the questions that I have and I’m sure
there’s others that want to speak to you today. I do appreciate you
taking the time to talk to me.
My pleasure.
JT: I have to say, after talking with you, I can tell others that you’re
a class act.
Well, thank you sir.
JT: It’s also obvious that you’re motivated to make great music and I
just wish you a lot of luck.
Thank you very much. I appreciate the comment like that.
JT: Yeah, and I’m looking forward to the future of your music and what
else you’re coming out with and hopefully I can see you guys live at
some point.
Well, if we play anywhere near you, make sure to come say hello, please.
JT: Definitely!
http://www.imagesandwords.com/saga/
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