Geoff Tate

Dutch radio/TV station RTV Parkstad recently conducted an interview with former QUEENSRŸCHE...

Former QUEENSRŸCHE singer Geoff Tate was interviewed on the May 15 edition of 99.1 CJAM-FM's "The Signals Of Intuition" radio show. You can now listen to the chat below. Asked about the settlement he reached with his former bandmates over the rights to the QUEENSRŸCHE name, Tate said: "It feels great, actually — really good. We never went to court, which is good. We managed to come to an agreement and [reach] a settlement. So now, after two years, I know what I'm doing [laughs] in the future, which is a great feeling. 'Cause it's very unnerving not to be able to put a plan together — a solid plan — at least for me, 'cause I'm pretty goal-oriented. So, yeah, I feel really good about it." Tate also briefly touched upon his future plans, telling "The Signals Of Intuition": "I've got all kinds of things in the works, actually. And I'll be announcing, over the summer, solid plans as to what's gonna happen." He added: "The farewell tour [for the Tate-fronted version of QUEENSRŸCHE] ends, I think July 30 or July 31, somewhere around there. And I'm pretty much gonna disappear for awhile, I think. I'm gonna do some travelling, gonna go to Europe for awhile, and pretty much that's what's on my plate at the moment." As previously reported, QUEENSRŸCHE members Eddie Jackson (bass), Scott Rockenfield (drums) and Michael Wilton (guitar) recently successfully agreed to purchase Geoff Tate's portion of the QUEENSRŸCHE name. The band will buy out their former lead singer's share of the QUEENSRŸCHE corporation while allowing him the ability to be the only one to perform "Operation: Mindcrime" and "Operation: Mindcrime II" in their entirety. Tate will no longer have use of the TriRyche logo or any other album images aside from the "Mindcrime" releases. He can only refer to himself as the "original lead singer of QUEENSRŸCHE" or "formerly of QUEENSRŸCHE" for a period of two years and that text must be at least 50 percent smaller than his name in all materials. After this two-year period passes, he can only refer to himself as Geoff Tate with no mention of QUEENSRŸCHE at all. Geoff Tate will be able to finish any confirmed dates billed for his QUEENSRŸCHE lineup scheduled to terminate on August 31, 2014. As of September 1, there will be only one QUEENSRŸCHE entity and that will consist of Eddie Jackson, Todd La Torre, Parker Lundgren, Scott Rockenfield and Michael Wilton. This lineup will continue to perform selections from their entire musical catalog, including songs from "Operation: Mindcrime". The band will be able to use all TriRyche logos and previous album artwork for any purposes as needed by the corporation.

Singer Geoff Tate — who was fired from the Seattle progressive rock band QUEENSRŸCHE in 2012 after fronting it for three decades — has apologized to the group's fans for the "totally distasteful" war of words that played out in the press and court documents following the split, saying that there will be a "bright side" once a settlement has been reached over the rights to the QUEENSRŸCHE name. During an appearance on last night's (Friday, March 7) edition of "Eddie Trunk Rocks" (formerly "Friday Night Rocks") radio show on New York's Q104.3 FM, Tate addressed QUEENSRŸCHE fans directly, saying: "Thank you for all the amazing letters and support people have given me in the last couple of years. It's been inspiring. "I feel so sorry for people that have loved this band and watched this totally distasteful situation happen in the press." He continued: "It's so confusing for people, 'cause they can't discern what is hype and what is Internet rumor versus what is truth and what's a court case. In any other court case, there's so much untruth that gets said because people are trying to win. And the fans really get caught up in the middle of it. It's a very frustrating, confusing situation and I'm so sorry that it had to play out this way. But there will be a bright side, I promise everybody, and I'm looking forward to that as much as I'm sure they are." Tate and his former bandmates recently requested more time to hammer out a settlement in their legal battle over the rights to the group's name. King County Superior Court Judge Beth Andrus signed a new order continuing trial date, allowing the parties four more weeks to come to an agreement over the use of the QUEENSRŸCHE name and its associated trademarks. If they cannot reach an agreement during that period, the five-day, non-jury trial is set to begin on April 7. Tate and his former bandmates were previously granted five additional weeks in two separate trial continuances in January and February to work on the details of their settlement agreement. Tate and his wife, Susan, QUEENSRŸCHE's former manager, filed a lawsuit in June 2012 asking the judge to award them the rights to the band's name in exchange for Tate paying Eddie Jackson (bass), Michael Wilton (guitar) and Scott Rockenfield (drums) the fair market value for their interests in the QUEENSRŸCHE companies. Wilton, Rockenfield and Jackson filed a countersuit against the Tates in which they accused Geoff of creative obstruction and violent behavior, and Susan Tate of questionable business practices. While ruling against Tate, the presiding judge determined that there was no legal hurdle in Tate also using the name with an all-new lineup of musicians. "I don't see any reason that Mr. Tate can't have the benefit, if he gets other members, of whatever name he uses of using the brand," Superior Court Judge Carol A. Schapira said during the July 13, 2012 court hearing. "I think [doing that would be] inherently confusing, although I'm sure the market can get these things sorted out," she added. Tate's QUEENSRŸCHE now features Tate along with guitarist Kelly Gray (QUEENSRŸCHE 1998-2001), keyboardist Randy Gane and the band's latest additions, guitarist Robert Sarzo (QUIET RIOT, HURRICANE), Rudy Sarzo (OZZY OSBOURNE, QUIET RIOT, WHITESNAKE, DIO, ANIMETAL USA) and drummer Simon Wright (AC/DC, DIO, RHINO BUCKET). "Frequency Unknown", the latest album from the Geoff Tate-fronted version of QUEENSRŸCHE, sold around 5,500 copies in its first week of release in the United States to land at position No. 82 on The Billboard 200 chart. Issued on April 23, 2013, the CD was produced by Jason Slater at a studio in Northern California.

Singer Geoff Tate — who was fired from the Seattle progressive rock band QUEENSRŸCHE in 2012 after fronting it for three decades — has revealed to AL.com that he currently is involved "in settlement talks" with his former bandmates over the rights to the group's name. Tate and his wife, Susan, QUEENSRŸCHE's former manager, filed a lawsuit in June 2012 asking the judge to award them the rights to the band's name in exchange for Tate paying Eddie Jackson (bass), Michael Wilton (guitar) and Scott Rockenfield (drums) the fair market value for their interests in the QUEENSRŸCHE companies. Wilton, Rockenfield and Jackson filed a countersuit against the Tates in which they accused Geoff of creative obstruction and violent behavior, and Susan Tate of questionable business practices. While ruling against Tate, the presiding judge determined that there was no legal hurdle in Tate also using the name with an all-new lineup of musicians. "I don't see any reason that Mr. Tate can't have the benefit, if he gets other members, of whatever name he uses of using the brand," Superior Court Judge Carol A. Schapira said during the July 13, 2012 court hearing. "I think [doing that would be] inherently confusing, although I'm sure the market can get these things sorted out," she added. Asked by AL.com what his ultimate goal of the court proceedings is — to get the original lineup of QUEENSRŸCHE back together or to win the name and continue with this band, Geoff said: "Right now, we have two QUEENSRŸCHEs, which is way too confusing to fans. We have to give someone the name and someone has to pay the other person off. We're in settlement talks now, and I hope that we can come to a conclusion in the next couple of weeks." Wilton, Rockenfield and Jackson last year accused Geoff Tate of "continu[ing] to harm the QUEENSRŸCHE brand" since the Tates' original lawsuit was filed in June 2012. In a court document, they wrote: "The newest self-titled QUEENSRŸCHE CD release by the [Todd La Torre-fronted version of the band] entered the U.S. charts at #23 and continues to get 9-out-of-10-star reviews and is still selling very well on a weekly basis around the globe. In comparison, Geoff Tate released his own QUEENSRŸCHE CD in April of [2013] titled 'Frequency Unknown' and depicted as F.U. on the cover, which entered the charts at #82, received very bad reviews around the world, and has slowed to almost no more weekly sales. [The Todd La Torre-fronted version of QUEENSRŸCHE's] new CD even outperformed the last two CDs of them with Geoff Tate, selling more in a month than the 'Dedicated to Chaos' CD has since its release in 2010, and charting much better than both that album and the previous one, 'American Soldier'. Thus, the return to the classic sound [Tate's former] bandmates have made with the new CD and live shows has been met with overwhelming success." They added: "Geoff Tate also chose very poorly in hiring live musicians that have shown that they are not capable of representing the correct performances of the QUEENSRŸCHE music legacy, and he was constantly replacing them. He has been offering his low-quality version of QUEENSRŸCHE to the promoters at a much reduced rate, as low as $10,000 per night, when, in fact, [his former] bandmates have done their best to keep the authorized QUEENSRŸCHE at an average of well over $20,000 per show this entire year. However, this becomes harder and harder with Geoff Tate's sub-par band and cut-rate pricing that continues to be damaging to the QUEENSRŸCHE brand and legacy no matter who ultimately wins control after trial." In an interview with The Oakland Press, Rockenfield said said that "negotiations are ongoing between Tate and the singer's former bandmates and "there's still time for anything to happen between now and [the start of the trial in January 2014]." "I think our confidence is pretty high," Scott said. "There's a lot of legal stuff you have to deal with, but we just feel good and look at it as a light at the end of the tunnel and keep playing shows and making music. I think when you do that, the right decision will be made in time."