The State of Genesis: Collins and Co. Talk Peter Gabriel, Future Projects and the Alamo

A 15-minute phone conversation with Genesis yielded a few fascinating revelations: Keyboardist Tony Banks puts the odds of a reunion tour with original singer Peter Gabriel at 23.5 percent; Phil Collins' obsession with building a model railroad in his basement is preventing him from making a new solo album, though he is open to the idea of recording with longtime admirer Akon. The trio called up Rolling Stone to discuss the release of their new DVD When in Rome, a three-disc document of their 2007 reunion tour, which hits stores on June 10th. In addition to live versions of hits like "Land of Confusion" and obscure 1970s gems such as "Ripples," the set contains a two-hour documentary full of candid backstage moments. Here's more from Collins, Banks and guitarist Mike Rutherford on everything from their future plans to Alamo artifacts.

The tour was obviously a big success, but was there any part of you that was afraid it wouldn't do well since it had been so long since you'd been on the radar?
Tony Banks: We were definitely worried about it, actually. We had a fairly good idea it would do well in Europe. When we first floated the idea we didn't know whether we'd be in theaters or whatever. Finally our promoter over here said, "You can do stadiums." He was absolutely confident and he had done a bit of research and it seemed to be the way. We put tickets on sale and they went very fast.

On the documentary that comes with the DVD you rehearse "In Too Deep" and ultimately decide not to do it. Were there other songs you tried out that didn't make the show?
Phil Collins: We tried quite a lot, but you want to get into a rhythm of the show that works. Since it wasn't a hugely long tour, when you get that pacing right, it's a normal thing to stick with it. Although we rehearsed a few tunes extra and there was at some point the intention to play "In Too Deep" when we came to America, we decided to stick with what we had since it was working so well.

Why didn't you bring the tour to South America or Japan?
Phil Collins: It would have been nice to do South America and Japan and the Far East instead of doing Europe and America, actually. [Laughs] That's just a personal thing. I tried to sort of keep a leash on the thing purely because — without getting into deep detail — I have two young children I don't want to be away from. Europe was easier because they could visit every couple weeks.