GEOFF TATE On QUEENSRŸCHE Lawsuit Settlement: 'I'm Very Happy That It's Over And Done'

April 29, 2014

Nearly two years after QUEENSRŸCHE fired Geoff Tate, the singer and his former bandmates announced that QUEENSRŸCHE members Eddie Jackson (bass),Scott Rockenfield (drums) and Michael Wilton (guitar) will keep the group's name.

According to the agreement, Jackson, Rockenfield and Wilton along with recent QUEENSRŸCHE members, Todd La Torre and Parker Lundgren, will now be the sole entity recording and touring as QUEENSRŸCHE, performing selections from their entire musical catalog that spans over 30 years of material. Original QUEENSRŸCHE lead singer Geoff Tate will continue to record, perform and pursue a variety of other creative endeavors and, as part of the agreement, will have the exclusive rights to perform "Operation: Mindcrime I" and "II" in their entirety as a unique performance.

The QUEENSRŸCHE corporate assets will be evenly divided among Wilton, Jackson, Rockenfield and Tate.

Speaking to Billboard.com's Christa Titus, Tate said about the settlement: "I'm very happy that it's over and done and we can all move on with our lives.

"We've been trying to work something out for months and months and months, and it's like any kind of lawsuit, it's just slow going. But finally I think the realization that going to court over the whole thing was going to be a huge nightmare and huge financial mess for everybody that [we] really started to look at it more seriously and realistically."

Regarding the fact that he will have the exclusive rights to perform "Operation: Mindcrime I" and "II" in their entirety, Tate said: "It's pretty similar to the PINK FLOYD settlement where one group got the name and Roger Waters got 'The Wall'. It's very similar to that. I retain 'Operation: Mindcrime' and everything revolving around that, and they got the name, so it's a win-win for everybody."

Asked what he is going to be doing musically going forward, Tate said: "I can't really give any details now. I'll be announcing some information over the summer what my future plans are going to be. Right now I'm concentrating a show I've got in rehearsals for now in Seattle. I've got five shows doing my Rock In Vaudeville show and when that's done, the last of the QUEENSRŸCHE dates."

He added: "I think just, I'm ready to move on and do something different. And this is a great launching point to do that from, and I'm really looking forward to it."

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