Ex-QUEENSRŸCHE Singer GEOFF TATE Once Again Denies He Pulled A Knife On SCOTT ROCKENFIELD During 2012 Backstage Altercation In Brazil

During an appearance on the Beardo & Weirdo podcast, hosted by FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH bassist Chris Kael and comedian Craig Gass, ex-QUEENSRŸCHE singer Geoff Tate was asked if there were any "misunderstandings" in terms of the way his split with the band in 2012 was perceived by the public. "There were no knives," he said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET),a reference to the rumor that he assaulted QUEENSRŸCHE guitarist Michael Wilton and pulled a knife on then-QUEENSRŸCHE drummer Scott Rockenfield at an April 2012 gig in Brazil. "There were so many stories," he added. "'Cause you remember at the time, there was a lawsuit going on. And what do people do in lawsuits? They throw out all kinds of information to sort of influence the case, so to speak. So, I mean, there were all kinds of stories floating around that were ridiculous.

"This was a corporate breakup of a band that was incorporated and a business entity," Geoff explained. "And there are rules that you have to follow when you are dissolving the corporation, and there's payoffs that need to be made to the people involved, and it's just matter of business. You have to do that. It wasn't, like, 'You're not measuring up,' and blah, blah, blah, blah. It was nothing like that. It was simply the end of it, the end of the business, so to speak."

More than 14 years ago, Tate denied that he used a knife during his confrontation with Wilton and Rockenfield, telling Rolling Stone magazine at the time: "Well, you know how the Internet goes . . . The way it went was, we had a gig in São Paulo, and before the show we had a meeting in the dressing room. I asked them straight up about the rumors I'd heard about them replacing me. I was definitely concerned about this. What kind of plan was that? Was it serious? What was going on? They said that they weren't planning on replacing me, but they had just fired our manager, our office assistant and one of our guitar techs, who all happened to be my family members. I asked them, 'Why is this happening?' They really couldn't give me a straight answer, or any kind of answer that made any kind of business sense. It seemed like a personal vendetta against me. Anyway, the meeting was short and we went to do the show. I'm getting ready by my station, ready to go on stage, and Scott looks at me and he smirks and says, 'We just fired your whole family, and you're next.' I just lost it. I tried to punch him. I don't think I landed a punch before somebody grabbed me and hauled me to the side. On my way, I managed to shove Wilton, and really, that was it. I cooled down and we did the show, and everything went fine. . . [There was] no knife involved. You can't really get knives into foreign countries."

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),Wilton and Rockenfield 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.

In a 2013 interview with Guitar World magazine, Wilton addressed the incident in Brazil when Tate allegedly assaulted his bandmates, and the subsequent appearances at the M3 and at the Rocklahoma festival, where the singer told the audience, "You guys suck". Wilton said: "There was a lot of tension in the band at that time, and the turning point obviously was when we did those shows and things just kind of blew up. The Brazil assault, the Rocklahoma situation — it just got worse and worse and worse. We just said, 'Wow, we can't go on like this. Is this how we're gonna live? Do we have to hire extra security? Do we have to stay in our little area on the stage?' It just wasn't working. You don't even know. The stress it puts on you, the stress it puts on your family, the stress it puts on your fans… It was unbearable."

Tate offered his version of what happened at the Rocklahoma festival in his sworn "reply declaration in further support" of his June 2012 motion for preliminary injunction against Wilton, Jackson and Rockenfield that would have prevented them from using the name QUEENSRŸCHE for their new group. Geoff wrote at the time: "Rockenfield, Jackson and Wilton accuse of me of telling the audience at a concert that they 'suck.' But they take what I said out of context. I was not insulting the audience. Instead, I was trying to motivate or excite them. The show was the Rocklahoma festival in Oklahoma. It was May and it was very hot and QUEENSRŸCHE played late in the evening, after the fans had watched a number of other bands. QUEENSRŸCHE opened its set with a number of its older songs, including 'Damaged', 'I Don't Believe In Love' and 'Hit The Black'. The fans were unresponsive. This has happened before and, when it occurs, as the singer, I try to motivate them to get more involved in the show. That is what I did here. I was trying to motivate them, inspire them to get more excited about the show."

Geoff also explained in more detail what transpired in São Paulo two months earlier, saying: "I previously discussed the incident in Brazil when I punched Rockenfield and slapped Wilton. I was upset at the time, having been told that my wife and daughter had been fired, and that I was 'next.' I regret losing my temper and my actions are not acceptable. It is also very unlike me to act in this manner. I do not lose my temper, become loud or threatening, or hit people. People who know me describe me as even keeled, mild-mannered and easy-going. And once the incident in Brazil ended, it did not continue. I did not threaten Rockenfield, Jackson, and Wilton during or after the show in Brazil. I also did not threaten them at any point after that. Although I have no doubt it was upsetting to Rockenfield and Wilton, they were not injured. It was also clear that they were not and are not afraid of me. They did not press charges or request a restraining order or try to commence any other type of legal action. They performed two more shows with me in May 2012. I also do not believe that Rockenfield, Jackson, and Wilton kicked me out of the band based on what happened in Brazil. I think instead that they had planned on firing me since at least February 2012 and that this incident just gave them an excuse to do it."

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. Wilton, Rockenfield and 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.

Tate's replacement, Todd La Torre, has released four albums thus far with QUEENSRŸCHE: 2013's "Queensrÿche", 2015's "Condition Hüman", 2019's "The Verdict" and 2022's "Digital Noise Alliance".