GEOFF TATE On 'Trinity' Tour With BLAZE BAYLEY And TIM 'RIPPER' OWENS: 'It's Just Three People Who Get Along Famously'

Former QUEENSRŸCHE and current OPERATION: MINDCRIME singer Geoff Tate spoke to Rockin’ Metal Revival about the upcoming “Trinity” tour, which will see him sharing the stage with two other singers, Blaze Bayley (ex-IRON MAIDEN) and Tim “Ripper” Owens (ex-JUDAS PRIEST). A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).

On how the “Trinity” tour with Owens and Bayley came together:

Geoff: “I have this new project called OPERATION: MINDCRIME. We wrote and produced and put together a trilogy of albums, and ‘Resurrection’ is the one that’s out soon. There’s a track called ‘Taking On The World’ that I thought would sound great with some different voices on it. I called up Ripper and Blaze who were both coming through town. We hooked up and had just a great time singing on this particular song. As we were working on it, we started talking about, ‘Wouldn’t it be fun to maybe tour together at some point?’ We loved the idea until we started to put together our schedules, which are crazy. We’re all going at different places, different times, so the only time we could get all three of us in the same country was around Thanksgiving in the northeastern part of America. That’s when the first dates of the tour will take place. I’m looking forward to it. It’s going to be three incredible singers getting together for an incredible, memorable night of metal.”

On what to expect from the shows:

Geoff: “We’re each going to be doing a set of music from the band’s that we were in. I’m doing QUEENSRŸCHE, and Tim‘s doing JUDAS PRIEST, and Blaze is performing IRON MAIDEN, then we’re going to be joining each other onstage and harmonizing with each other and singing together on some songs. It’s really kind of fun; we played around with it in the studio when we were recording. That’s what led up to this. We had a great time. It’s just three people who get along famously and have a lot of laughs.

“We’re going to share the same band. It’s going to be, I think, incredibly memorable because we’re all very accomplished in our own ways and have very unique voices. But the three of us together are incredibly cool. It’s a really different kind of sound. I think probably the coolest thing about it is that we have a lot of fun doing it.”

On who will be in the backing band:

Geoff: “I’m putting the band together now and will be making an announcement about it soon.”

On the possibility of more dates with Bayley and Owens:

Geoff: “We are trying to put together some dates for 2017, but it’s challenging because of our schedules. I think we might have some dates that are going to be solid that we’ll announce soon.”

On OPERATION: MINDCRIME‘s new album, “Resurrection”:

Geoff: “It’s the second of a three-part series, or trilogy. It’s a story that’s told in three acts and ‘Resurrection’ is the second album. There’s a lot of really cool music on it. All of it helps and tells the story of the characters. A lot of really cool performances by everybody that’s contributed to the record. I think it’s best experienced on someone’s stereo system or headphones. It’s that kind of record where you can dig deep into it. It’s cool to listen to the first album, ‘The Key’, then the second album back-to-back because they’re designed to fit together.”

On if Tate would ever do Broadway:

Geoff: “I never really pursued that, but maybe when I grow up, I’ll do it.”

“Trinity” tour dates:

Nov. 18 – Rochester, NY – The Montage Music Hall
Nov. 19 – Wantagh, NY – Mulcahy’s Pub And Concert Hall
Nov. 20 – Sellersville, PA – Sellersville Theater
Nov. 22 – Syracuse, NY – The Westcott Theater
Nov. 23 – Poughkeepsie. NY – The Chance
Nov. 25 – Londonderry, NH – Tupelo Music Hall
Nov. 26 – Annapolis, MD – Rams Head on Stage
Nov. 27 – New York, NY – B.B. King Blues Club