Geoff Tate says the drama surrounding Queensryche has been good for business.
Two versions of the band are currently in existence after the original group fired him last year, and a court ruled both parties were free to use the name until a final hearing in November.
The vocalist put his own lineup together and released the album Frequency Unknown, while Scott Rockenfield, Michael Wilton and Eddie Jackson hired Todd La Torre and launched a self-titled record.
Tate tells The Classic Metal Show, “What we’re doing in November is, we’re dissolving our corporation. It has nothing to do with music – it has nothing to do with ‘he said, she said;’ it’s just paying off the members of the corporation.
Who has the money to buy it will buy it. Whoever has the most money will get it. It’s as simple as that. It’s rules and regulations – it’s a paint-by-numbers kind of thing.”
He insists that, since music has nothing to do with those legal matters, the media controversies have no value whatsoever – except for one thing.
“All it did was create publicity, which Queensryche hasn’t had in years,” he says. “And I’ve gotta tell you, Gene Simmons was right: any publicity is good publicity. We’ve had more sellouts on this Queensryche run that I’ve done than Queensryche has had in ten years.”
Tate was recently hammered by criticism when he was seen grabbing a fan’s phone from a crowd then throwing it into the audience. But he says it’s no big deal – and that he and the phone’s owner laughed about it after the show.
“I grabbed the guy’s phone, took a picture and tossed it back to him – but he missed it because the lights were in his eyes,” says the singer.
“He was in our meet-and-greet after the show and we were laughing about it. I said, ‘Oh, man, I’m sorry; did your phone get damaged?’ He said, ‘Don’t worry about it.’ We were happy and we had drinks backstage. In the frenzy of a concert there’s all kind of activity that happens with the front row. It’s rough, it’s chaotic, it’s intense.”
Sayreville, N.J., native Jon Bon Jovi returned to his home state to donate $1 million to the New Jersey Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund, the charity led by first lady Mary Pat Christie.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was on hand to receive the rocker’s donation — a gift from his wife, Dorothea, and the band.
“Returning home is humbling,” said Bon Jovi, who flashed his trademark smile as he told a cute story about playing shows at the hall and thinking it was “the big time.”
“My being here is not political, it’s emotional,” Bon Jovi said, then presented the check in front of the town’s borough hall. “I grew up here. I went to school here. I met my wife here.”
Days after the storm devastated areas of Sayreville, the singer visited his hometown and spent time comforting area residents.
“One thought came to me,” he said. “What can I do? One of the residents responded, saying, ‘Use your voice.’ ”
His Because We Can tour will resume in North America on July 12th in Chicago. The band is set to play two hometown shows at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on July 25th and 27th.
One week from today, Philip Anselmo’s first-ever solo album, Walk Through Exits Only, will be released. Check out the album’s first promo video, for Bedridden below.
Walk Through Exits Only was produced by Philip Anselmo and Michael Thompson, and recorded over the past couple of years at his New Orleans studio, Nodferatu’s Lair, with his band The Illegals – Marzi Montazeri/guitar, and drummer Jose Manuel “Blue” Gonzales. The album is abrasive, aggressive, anthemic and 100% Anselmo. The album’s eight songs are as unstrained as it gets, from Battalion of Zero to Usurper’s Bastard Rant, to the album’s title track that goes against the grain and right through the exits. Brash, brutal guitars cut through punishing percussion as Anselmo screams with uncompromising ferocity and uncontainable fire.
“It wasn’t about doing a paint-by-numbers thrash or heavy metal record,” Anselmo explained about the project. “It’s an angry album that only I could do. I don’t see anybody else out there screaming about the same shit I’m screaming about. On this album, there isn’t any wordplay, there isn’t any hidden message, it’s all right there in front of you.”
Anselmo and the Illegals will support the new album with a major North American tour, Technicians of Distortion. Dates are as follows:
July:
31 Cain’s Ballroom, Tulsa, OK
August:
2 Wooly’s, Des Moines, IA
3 First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN
4 House of Blues, Chicago, IL
6 House of Blues, Cleveland, OH
7 The Intersection, Grand Rapids, MI
9 Royal Oak Music Theatre, Royal Oak, MI
10 Danforth Music Hall, Toronto, ONT Canada
11 Heavy MTL Festival, Montreal, QC Canada
13 The Palladium, Worcester, MA
14 Upstate Concert Hall, Clifton Park, NY
16 Best Buy Theatre, New York, NY
17 Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA
18 The Fillmore, Silver Spring, MD
20 The Masquerade – Heaven Stage, Atlanta, GA
As Joe Satriani finishes up his hugely successful two-month European tour, the critical praise is overwhelming. Hitting seventeen countries in all, the tour has played to sold-out venues throughout the continent and the Euro-press response has been spectacular:
“He left the singing to his guitars. And what voices they produced – at times pumping out primeval, guttural tirades; at others, reaching for the angels.” – Birmingham Mail
“Robert Plant started his rock music life at the Wolverhampton Civic and then took the spirit of Band of Joy and Led Zeppelin all over the globe, spreading the vibe, incredibly, Joe Satriani captured that very same spirit and bought it home, big time.” – Rockshot
Satriani has been an unstoppable force on the music scene for over 27 years. Now, the San Francisco guitarist sets his sights on North America for an extensive U.S. tour, and first ever cross-Canada tour, supporting his latest album Unstoppable Momentum. The tour is set to launch on August 29th in San Diego, CA before crisscrossing its way across the US, in addition to a trans-Canadian tour where Satriani will be hitting many Canadian cities for the very first time. The North American tour will end with a show on October 26th in Oakland, CA. Joining Satriani on the road are veteran band mate Mike Keneally (Frank Zappa, Steve Vai) on keyboards, along with an entirely new rhythm-section, featuring bassist Bryan Beller (Dethklok, Dweezil Zappa) and drummer Marco Minnemann (Adrian Belew, Steve Wilson).
It was also recently announced that Satriani will be honored to perform the National Anthem at this year’s Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The multi-platinum guitarist is set to serenade the grid this year as he performs the Star-Spangled Banner at the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix on Sunday, July 21st. Satriani will perform from the track just prior to the three-day event’s premier contest, the MotoGP™ World Championship race.
Satriani is celebrating Unstoppable Momentum, his 14th studio album, which was released on May 7th, 2013. The album debuted at # 42 giving Satriani his highest chart position in over 20 years and first single, A Door Into Summer, landed in the Top Ten on the Classic Rock radio chart. The World Tour launched on May 18 in Istanbul, Turkey and continues on through July 13th in Krasnodar, Russia. Critics are raving about the guitar great’s new album with Total Guitar saying “. . . (Satriani’s) momentum truly seems unstoppable. The best we can do is to hang on tight,” while Classic Rock declares, “Satch nails it on 14th solo sweep!”
Joe Satriani’s Unstoppable Momentum Tour Itinerary (* featuring Steve Morse Band as support thru Portland, ME):
August:
29 Balboa Theatre San Diego, CA *
30 Pearl Concert Theater at Palms Casino Resort Las Vegas, NV *
31 Orpheum Theatre Los Angeles, CA *
September
1 Talking Stick Resort Ballroom Scottsdale, AZ *
2 Kiva Auditorium Albuquerque, NM *
4 Historic Paramount Theatre Denver, CO *
5 Wagner Noel Performing Arts Center Midland, TX *
6 Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie Grand Prairie, TX *
7 House of Blues Houston, TX *
8 Austin City Limits – Moody Theatre Austin, TX *
10 House of Blues New Orleans, LA *
11 Ruth Eckerd Hall Clearwater, FL *
12 Parker Playhouse Ft. Lauderdale, FL *
13 Hard Rock Live Orlando, FL *
14 Saenger Theatre Pensacola, FL *
15 Symphony Hall Atlanta, GA *
17 War Memorial Auditorium Nashville, TN *
18 Chicago Theatre Chicago, IL *
19 Lakewood Civic Auditorium Lakewood, OH *
20 Taft Theatre Cincinnati, OH *
21 Wings Stadium Kalamazoo, MI *
22 Macomb Music Theatre Mt. Clemens, MI
24 Carolina Theatre Durham, NC *
25 Warner Theatre Washington, DC *
26 Beacon Theatre New York, NY *
27 Orpheum Theatre Boston, MA*
28 Tower Theatre Upper Darby, PA *
29 Carnegie Music Hall of Homestead Munhall, PA *
October
1 Center for the Arts Buffalo, NY *
2 Palace Theatre Albany, NY *
3 State Theatre Portland, ME *
4 Casino New Brunswick New Brunswick, NB
5 Rebecca Cohn Auditorium Halifax, NS
7 Le Capitole De Quebec Quebec City, QC
8 National Arts Centre Southam Hall Ottawa, ON
9 St. Denis Theatre Montreal, QC
10 Centre in the Square Kitchener, ON
11 Massey Hall Toronto, ON
14 Burton Cummings Theatre Winnipeg, MB
15 TCU Place Saskatoon, SK
16 Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium Edmonton, AB
17 Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium Calgary, AB
19 Vogue Theatre Vancouver, BC
21 The Fox Theater Spokane, WA
22 Paramount Theatre Seattle, WA
23 Historic Elsinore Theatre Salem, OR
25 Vina Robles Amphitheatre Paso Robles, CA
26 Fox Theater Oakland, CA
This August will mark the 25th anniversary of Winger’s self titled debut album and to commemorate this milestone the band will perform and record the first Winger album live in its entirety.
This full reunion concert will take place on August 30th at The San Felipe Casino in Algodones, NM with Special Guests Warrant & Head East.
In addition to the current line up of Kip Winger, Reb Beach, Rod Morgenstein & John Roth, the band will also be joined by original keyboardist Paul Taylor for this show.
A limited amount of VIP Meet & Greet passes and full line of all new commemorative merchandise are available at wingertheband.com.
Winger is currently hard at work in the studio recording a new album. Please visit the Official Winger facebook page for updates.
King’s X frontman dUg Pinnick has undergone successful surgery for a hernia – after fans paid for the operation. He’s needed medical attention for years but couldn’t afford it due to a lack of medical insurance. But supporters rallied round and raised $26,000 from 599 contributors via a GiveForward crowdfunding drive.
Pinnick says, “Hernia surgery was a success; I’m waiting to be released.”
He previously explained, “I’m overwhelmed with the amount of love people have shown by contributing. I have avoided this for way too long and I know I have to fix this immediately. I wish I could say that all the wonderful years of playing in King’s X were financially rewarded, but it’s not the reality. I’m not complaining – I’m thankful that I get to make music for people who want to hear it. We will never stop working hard, and we’ll continue to make music in good times and bad.”
Pinnick had no option but to keep working through the pain, and along with King’s X, he recently released his sixth solo album, Naked, launched power-trio project Pinnick Gales Pridgen with Eric Gales and Mars Volta drummer Thomas Pridgen; and guested on Dokken offshoot T&N‘s first record.
“It’s a tough business,” he reflects, “but it’s what we were born to do. Our fans have stood by is through it all. I can’t thank you enough for helping me when I needed it the most. Thanks to the people who have never heard of me or King’s X and donated out of love. I hope I can repay you all someday with a huge hug, and continue to make the music that makes you think and groove.”
