QUEENSRŸCHE Singer Talks About 'Knife Incident', Says Band Will Be More Active Next Year

QUEENSRŸCHE lead singer Geoff Tate took part in a short acoustic performance and question-and-answer session on Wednesday, May 30 at the Cricket Muve Music Lounge at the studios of KZEP-FM, San Antonio, Texas's classic rock radio station. You can now watch video footage of his appearance in two parts below.

During the question-and-answer portion of the event, Tate was asked about the future of QUEENSRŸCHE in light of the recent rumors that he assaulted guitarist Michael Wilton and pulled a knife on drummer Scott Rockenfield at an April 14 gig in Brazil. Tate also addressed the announcement earlier in the week that four members of QUEENSRŸCHE — Michael Wilton, Eddie Jackson, Scott Rockenfield and Parker Lundgren — have joined forces with Todd La Torre of CRIMSON GLORY to form a new project called RISING WEST, which will make its live debut on Friday, June 8 and Saturday, June 9 at the Hard Rock Café in Seattle, Washington.

"Well, they made me give up my knife when I came in here today," Tate joked. "Mandatory metal detector…" He then added on a more serious note, "Nah, rumors are rumors. We're planning on getting together next year to perhaps record, definitely tour. We just all decided this year that we're gonna take the year to do side projects, so that's what we're doing." He continued, "I'm thinking, I'm not gonna really dispel too many of the rumors because it's hardly ever that QUEENSRYCHE gets any publicity, so this is great. All 43 people on the Internet are talking about it."

Tate talking about the future of QUEENSRŸCHE (audio):

QUEENSRŸCHE's web site lists the band's next scheduled performance for June 11 in Valley City, Utah.

RISING WEST will perform rare and classic hits from the first five QUEENSRŸCHE albums — from the 1983 EP through 1990's "Empire" — and plans on hitting the studio sometime early summer to begin recording its first release.

Geoff entered the studio on February 29 to begin recording his second solo album.

Tate released his first solo CD in 2002 on Sanctuary Records. Self-titled, the LP was a huge departure from the work he had previously done with QUEENSRŸCHE.

When asked about the sound of his new solo album, Tate told AnthologySD.com, "Well, it's very different from my last one, for sure. It's a new bunch of people I've been working with to write and record it, so that changes things. When you're working with different people, it really changes the record. This one is really hard rock. The last one was really all over the place with different styles of music and everything, but this one really keeps with the hard rock style. It does it in kind of a different way — more of my way or what I would envision. I guess it's experimental in some ways, while in others it's very traditional. What I tried to do was take traditional rock instrumentation and apply it in kind of a different song structure. That's what I would best describe it as. [laughs]"

In a recent interview with the San Antonio Express-News, Tate stated about QUEENSRŸCHE's longevity, "I suppose I can attribute it to just never quitting, never giving up. “We like what we do and we're fortunate to have an audience that's strategically located around the world. People see a different show every year and we get to keep making new music every year."

He added, “To stay around for 30 years you have to be dedicated to being an artist. You have to please yourself first. We ask ourselves, 'Do we like it?' If the answer is 'yes,' we do it. If other people like it, it's gravy."

Regarding his current solo tour, Tate told the Lincoln Journal Star, "QUEENSRŸCHE is not doing much together this year. I wanted to keep touring and I wanted to move in a different direction. It's kind of a singer's dream, really. You're not competing with the other instruments, especially the drum kit. The whole idea was hatched after a dinner party at my house one night."

Part 1:

Part 2: