Fan-filmed video footage of QUEENSRŸCHE singer Geoff Tate apparently spitting at the band’s drummer Scott Rockenfield during the group’s April 14 concert at HSBC Brasil in São Paulo, Brazil can be seen below (pay attention around 3:58 mark).
QUEENSRŸCHE members Michael Wilton, Eddie Jackson, Scott Rockenfield and Parker Lundgren announced on June 20 that they were parting ways with Geoff Tate and recruiting powerhouse vocalist Todd La Torre of CRIMSON GLORY as his replacement. The new QUEENSRŸCHE lineup has already performed live, having played two shows in their home city of Seattle under the name RISING WEST.
In a recent interview with RollingStone.com, Tate revealed that he filed a lawsuit against his former bandmates on June 12 in King County Superior Court in the state of Washington in order to “sort out who is what, and who owns what, and that stuff.” Tate is also attempting to get a court injunction against Wilton, Jackson and Rockenfield that would prevent them from using the name QUEENSRŸCHE for their new group.
On Monday, July 9, Wilton, Jackson and Rockenfield filed a response to Tate’s motion for preliminary injunction and included individual declarations from all of the defendants supporting their position that Tate’s motion should be denied. As one would expect, these documents — copies of which have been obtained by BLABBERMOUTH.NET — contain startling details about the circumstances that led to the split between the singer and his one-time friends and longtime bandmates.
In his sworn declaration, Scott Rockenfield said, “On Saturday, April 14, 2012, at approximately 11:05 p.m., we (the band) had just arrived on the stage behind the curtain approximately 10 minutes before our show was to commence in Sao Paulo, Brazil, with 2000+ concertgoers in attendance. I was getting up onto my drum riser when fellow band member Geoff Tate walked in front of my drums and spit into my face while proceeding to yell obscenities at me. Geoff Tate then pushed my drums down onto the drum riser causing the first delays for the show. Geoff Tate then walked around the stage left behind Michael Wilton’s guitar speakers and confronted Michael Wilton face to face. He proceeded to yell obscenities at him before striking him with his fist on the right upper side of Michael Wilton’s face. I came off my drum riser to Michael Wilton’s aid and told Geoff Tate to back off. Geoff Tate continued to yell obscenities and spit at both Michael Wilton and me, and then at that time proceeded to strike me in the face twice. I backed away and asked for security to assist the situation. Geoff Tate continued yelling obscenities and spitting at the band members while chasing us around the stage. The local stage security and our own crew came to assist in trying to subdue Geoff Tate. Geoff Tate continued to resist and kept chasing the band members around the stage, all the while screaming obscenities, spitting at them and threatening them. Our tour manager, Orlando Scott ‘Fozzy’ O’Hare, came to subdue Geoff Tate and move him to his position on the stage left. After a few minutes of Orlando Scott ‘Fozzy’ O’Hare trying to calm Geoff Tate down, Geoff Tate then came back across the stage at the band members. He continued to spit and yell obscenities and was trying to get close to them to continue his assault. Local security created a barrier between me, Eddie Jackson and Michael Wilton to keep Geoff Tate from approaching. This behavior continued for about 20 to 25 minutes while we were forced to delay the show. Michael Wilton was handed an ice pack to hold to his face to try and keep any swelling to a minimum. After the situation was under control, the other band members and the band’s crew had to fix the damage caused to their equipment during this assault before the show could proceed as scheduled.
“Just minutes prior to the show commencing, Orlando Scott ‘Fozzy’ O’Hare was told by Geoff Tate that he was going to attack Eddie Jackson next and that he was going to ‘mess’ with me all during the show. The entire incident lasted about 25 minutes. During the show, Geoff Tate continued to spit on the band members and their equipment, which was clearly seen by the fans in attendance and caused a very uncomfortable situation for the band to perform at the level the fans expected and paid for.
“During the show, Orlando Scott ‘Fozzy’ O’Hare advised us to exit the stage and go directly into our transportation to get away from Geoff Tate and his possible continued assault. There was concern that Geoff Tate would try and assault us on stage during our final bows to the crowd. We arrived at our hotel safely soon thereafter and were told to stay in our rooms until later the next day to avoid any further confrontations. Local authorities in discussion with our stage manager, Orlando Scott ‘Fozzy’ O’Hare, agreed to have Geoff Tate booked on another plane flight different from our original flights to also further avoid confrontations. Geoff Tate’s new flight cost over $2,500. Later in the night when Geoff Tate departed the venue with Orlando Scott ‘Fozzy’ O’Hare to go back to the hotel, Geoff Tate proceeded to tell Orlando Scott ‘Fozzy’ O’Hare to tell me to ‘keep the f**k away from him.'”
Flying spit at 3:58 mark:
Flying spit at 1:25 mark:
Source: www.blabbermouth.net