Ex-QUEENSRŸCHE Frontman GEOFF TATE Praises His Replacement TODD LA TORRE: 'He's A Really Wonderful Singer'

During an appearance on the March 17 episode of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", ex-QUEENSRŸCHE singer Geoff Tate was asked if he is still in touch with any of his former bandmates. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "No, I haven't had any contact, no. I went and saw QUEENSRŸCHE play in Copenhagen last year," apparently referring to early February 2025 when both QUEENSRŸCHE and Tate happened to play Gothenburg, Sweden one day apart. "That was interesting to see, 'cause I'd never seen them live before — without me," Geoff said, forgetting the fact that he watched QUEENSRŸCHE's concert from sidestage when QUEENSRŸCHE and Tate performed — separately — at the Rock Fest Barcelona festival in June 2017 in Barcelona, Spain, where Geoff appeared as the special guest of AVANTASIA. "It was quite interesting. I actually went front row at their show and was hanging out on the barricade. And it was quite an interesting experience."

Geoff continued: "I know there's a lot of weird press about myself and [current QUEENSRŸCHE singer] Todd La Torre, but I have to say mass respect for the guy for stepping into my shoes, for one. And when I went to Copenhagen, I'm standing on the barricade there. And the first thing he did when he came out was straddle the barricade and fistbump me, acknowledging that I was there. And he said, 'Hey, good to see you, man. Stick around. I'm gonna blow you away.' [Laughs] And he did. He was great. He was wonderful being on the stage that night. It was just really a treat seeing him play."

Asked if the QUEENSRŸCHE guys knew that he was coming to see them in Gothenburg or if he just bought a ticket and went up to the front row, Geoff said: "No, we just showed up. We happened to be in the same city. And we had the night off, and so a bunch of us in the band went to see 'em play and check 'em out."

As for whether the fans noticed him and saw him in the crowd, Geoff said: "Oh, yeah. Oh yeah. I spent the entire time getting photos and signing autographs."

Elaborating on the experience of watching his former band perform without him, Tate said: "It's so weird. Yeah. It's so weird. For one, it's my music [laughs], and so [Todd is] singing me. So, yeah, it's strange. And he's a really wonderful singer, he's really good, very technically adept, so he does a really good job of being me. But he's also, over the years, he's kind of, I guess, worked in his own personality. And they have music that they've written together, and they have their own thing as well. But when the band and he play my music, it's just — I don't know. I can't even describe it. It's just like an otherworldly experience [laughs], 'cause he sounds a lot like me. So I'm hearing me, kind of, through him playing my stuff, and it's just —I don't know. It's weird. I can't quite put my finger on how to describe it."

Geoff went on to say that he "didn't talk to any of" the QUEENSRŸCHE guys at the Gothenburg concert. "We had to leave before the end of the show," he explained.

Asked if he paid for his ticket to go see QUEENSRŸCHE, Geoff said: "Of course not. I don't pay for tickets. [Laughs]"

In April 2014, Tate and QUEENSRŸCHE announced that a settlement had been reached after a nearly two-year legal battle where the singer sued over the rights to the QUEENSRŸCHE name after being fired in 2012. Guitarist Michael Wilton, drummer Scott Rockenfield and bassist Eddie Jackson responded with a countersuit. The settlement included an agreement that Wilton, Rockenfield and Jackson would continue as QUEENSRŸCHE, while Tate would have the sole right to perform "Operation: Mindcrime" and "Operation: Mindcrime II" in their entirety live.

Referencing the settlement he reached with his former bandmates, Tate told "Trunk Nation" host Eddie Trunk: "Yeah, I sold them the name QUEENSRŸCHE, which they've benefited from immensely. And it's a good thing. I don't think they could have survived on their own without the name, [in] my personal opinion. [I] could be wrong. But, yeah, and I got the [exclusive right to] 'Operation: Mindcrime', performing in its entirety. I don't think anybody enforces the fact that they can't play a certain number of songs from the album. I think they can only play, like, three songs from the album in a row, something like that. But I mean, Jeez, nobody enforces it. There's not, like, QUEENSRŸCHE police out there [laughs] monitoring who's playing what or anything like that. And gosh, it was so long ago."

Geoff continued: "It's probably one of the most unfortunate things in my life, is how messy that breakup became. And it didn't have to be that at all. It was a business thing. It could have just been handled [amicably]. It could have been that, but it didn't. It got crazy and ugly and weird. And it didn't have to be that. But it did. And now it's water under the bridge, and everybody has moved on from it, which is great, 'cause bands aren't meant to last forever. And we had 30 years of really great music, great albums, amazing tours, amazing experiences, and I'm very proud of what we did together."

In 2021, Tate spoke to Thorn Of Rock about his 2017 chance encounter with his former bandmates in QUEENSRŸCHE. Asked if watching his previous band perform with a new singer was akin to seeing an ex-wife with a new man for the first time, Tate laughed and said: "Yeah, kind of like that. [Laughs] I was actually at the show performing. I played with a band called AVANTASIA. So, AVANTASIA was headlining the Barcelona festival. And I went out early that day to the venue, 'cause I wanted to see QUEENSRŸCHE play. I hadn't seen them perform before without me. I think they were playing at, like, three o'clock in the afternoon, and there was hardly anybody there, but it was really interesting to see them play. And their singer [Todd La Torre], God, he sounds just like me. It was very odd. But I'm glad I [saw them]. I got to say hi to all the guys — except Scott; he wasn't in the band anymore, I guess, at that time. But I got to say hi to Michael and Eddie at least."

Todd recounted his meeting with Geoff during an August 2017 appearance on SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk". He said: "[Geoff] was guest-performing with AVANTASIA. And I went to the [QUEENSRŸCHE] tour bus and I came back, and I noticed... It's a big backstage with all the drum risers there — you know how it is; they're rolling them in and out — and I saw him talking with Eddie. And so I thought, 'Oh, that's interesting,' because, you know, with everything that went down, you never know how's that dynamic gonna be if we're ever in close proximity together."

According to Todd, the guys in QUEENSRŸCHE "didn't know" that Geoff was going to be at the same event until "somebody had messaged me and said, 'Hey, did you realize that there's a likelihood that you're gonna run into Geoff Tate there?' So that was when I said to the guys, 'Hey, just an F.Y.I.: he is performing with this band, so we're probably gonna be in the same area. Just a heads up. I'm sure it'll be cool, hopefully.' And everyone was, like, 'Okay. Whatever.''

La Torre continued: "And so I saw him chatting with Eddie, and it was cool. And then we were going on, I don't know, maybe an hour, an hour and a half from that incident. And so our show started. He was stage left, so near Michael Wilton's side of the stage, and he stood there, I would imagine, it seemed like probably the whole show. I knew he was standing there watching. So afterward, the show was done and he came over, I exited the stage and he came over and kind of tapped me on the shoulder or something and said, 'Hey,' and put his hand out and said, 'We never really had a chance to meet, really.' And I said, 'Sure.' I shook his hand and he said, 'With everything that kind of went down…', and I said, 'Of course.' And he said, 'This is the first time I'ver heard you sing.' And I didn't know if he meant at all or, obviously, live. And so I said, 'Okay.' He said, he goes, 'Wow! You're amazing!' And I said, 'Well, thank you very much. That's nice to hear.' And I was complimentary of him. I said, 'Listen, for what it's worth, I have defended you. I know that sometimes the media and people can try to stir the pot, and for what it's worth, as far I'm concerned, you've done it all. I was kind of just expressing the sentiment, like, 'You don't have anything to prove in my book. You've already done it all.' And I said, 'I'm doing the best job that I know how.' I told him that the 'Empire' material is actually more difficult for me. I expressed to him that he's always had a very smooth control over those vocal parts, and that's more difficult for me. Now the older stuff is easier for me."

At some point during Todd's conversation with Geoff, "Michael came over and [Tate] shook his hand and said, 'Man, the set was tight. It sounded great,'" La Torre recalled. 'So that was… We joked around and I think at the very end, I had said, 'It would be funny, since everybody is always trying to start shit between us,' I said, 'if we took a selfie together, that would be kind of hilarious, pointing at each other.' And we did, but I never posted the photograph, 'cause I thought, 'I don't need to stir any waters.' But we had a little laugh, and there was no craziness, nothing weird. So, at the end of the day, as an outsider, I thought, 'You know, this is good that we can be in the same area, and there's no craziness or anything.''

Todd said that he he appreciated Geoff's encouraging words, especially considering how awkward it must have been for Tate to witness his former band performing their classic songs with a replacement singer.

"Of course, there are some people that are divided still, the purist type of mentality, and I've heard it all: I suck and I don't sound anything like that, blah blah blah. And so I thought, what better testimony that the band is on the right track, the vocals sound worthy than to hear that from the original singer…" La Tore said. "I don't like to use the word 'endorsement,' but certainly acknowledging that the vocals sound great, the band sounds tight. I just thought, 'Wow, that's kind of an interesting perspective,' if you look at it from what I'm mentioning, where some people say, 'Oh, it doesn't sound right,' or this or that. And you say, 'Well, the original singer seems to think that it sounds excellent,' and what better testimony do you need?"

Asked by Trunk if it "played" on him at all during QUEENSRŸCHE's performance at Rock Fest Barcelona that Tate was standing on the side of the stage watching him sing, La Torre said: "No. No. I mean, at first it's, like, 'Okay, he's standing there watching.' I guess there's a moment of, 'Well, that's really kind of surreal: 'Here's the original singer watching the band perform and I'm singing those songs.' So for a split second [I thought about it], but to be completely honest, I don't care who's on the side of the stage, I just am always gonna just do what I do and not let that affect my psychology of 'How am I gonna perform?' or 'Do I feel intimidated?' I just threw it right out the window and said, 'Okay, there's some people on the side of the stage, like there typically is. Just do your show.' I don't ever get nervous before a show. I mean, if my voice doesn't feel good, then sometimes [I think], 'I hope tonight's gonna be good.'"

Todd continued: "In fact, [Geoff] had asked me [after our performance], he said, 'How do you think the show went?' And I said, 'Do you mean for the band or for me?' And I can't remember — I think he might have said 'both.' And I said, 'As far as the band goes, I think we did well.' I said, 'As far as my performance, I can blow that away,' because I can. I said, 'We've done all these shows — another six in a row, and then four in a row.' I said, 'I've only had one day off, and then another day off. So I'm a little tired, but I got through it.' He was still, again, nice. He said to me, 'I pity what you have to sing.' And I thought, 'I don't know what that means.' Because those records were so amazing and it's not easy material by any means. And I just said to him, 'You know what? Yeah, I can hit the high notes and do this and do that,' I said, 'but you know what you have that I don't have?' I said, 'You created a sound and style of singing — in my opinion — that is iconic. And so you've done it all.' I said, 'You've forgotten more, probably, than most singers would ever really achieve on that kind of a professional level.'"

La Torre added: "So it was a nice, complimentary exchange. We shook each other's hands, we did a little selfie. He was nice to me, I was nice to him. So, should there ever be another time where we're in the same area, it's nice to know that he could walk up to me or I could walk up to him, or whatever, and it's fine. So that was good."

In 2019, La Torre shared three-decade-old photo of him with Tate. La Torre posted the picture on his Facebook, along with the caption: "As a huge fan of QUEENSRŸCHE, I waited in line for an hour + to meet the band at an instore signing. Here is a pic of me and Geoff Tate I have kept private for decades. Little did I know that 20+ years later I would become the singer for QUEENSRŸCHE. Crazy."

A former member of CRIMSON GLORY, La Torre has called QUEENSRŸCHE his "favorite band" since he was "probably 14 or 15 years old." He later said about the opportunity to share the stage with QUEENSRŸCHE: "To be able to play those songs with the actual members was really a dream come true... I mean, I met them [more than] 20 years ago at a signing session they did in Clearwater, Florida. And they signed my 'Warning' album cover; I still have it. In my home studio, I have 'Promised Land' signed and beautifully framed by all the members. So when this actually came to be, I had to pinch myself... This resonates very personally for me because I have a lot of emotional connection to this music, and the fans do, too... It just all feels very comfortable and natural. And I couldn't be more honored. This is a legendary band that's never had another vocalist front those members. And so, out of all the people in the world that could have gotten chosen or would be vying for that position, I feel very lucky and fortunate that they chose me."