“After Alien Love Secrets, I hunkered down and went to work on Fire Garden. I really wanted to sing. I always loved singing, and I like the sound of my voice. I thought that people would have to get used to it or they’d hate it because they were expecting something else. But you know, you can’t function like that. You get trapped in your own prison cell.

“I thought, Why don’t I have some songs where I can sing live, and then I can have some of the heavy stuff? I did the Fire Garden Suite, which is one of my fans’ favorite pieces of music – it’s very compositional and interesting. But I also have those vocal songs, which I really enjoyed doing.

“It was very well received. It didn’t sell as much as some of my other records because there is no radio outlet for me. Also, there’s a natural decline in record sales for all artists. You have bombs here and there, but whatever. It was a fabulous experience. I put a wonderful band together, I toured with Mike Mangini, and I had a great time.”