QUEENSRŸCHE's TODD LA TORRE: It's Great To Have Fans' Acceptance Of Me In The Band

During a recent interview with Starpulse, QUEENSRŸCHE singer Todd La Torre spoke about his active social-media presence and his genuine appreciation for the people who have embraced him following the band's acrimonious split with Geoff Tate in 2012.

"I'm really happy about meeting fans," he said. "I'm really interactive on social media with people and we do meet-and-greets. It's always great to have support and meet fans and have their acceptance of me in the band. A lot of times they'll bring album covers that I wasn't even on; these are classic albums and the fans will hand them over and want it signed. Sometimes I feel unworthy of it, because I'm not on the record, but a lot of people will say to me, 'You were huge in resurrecting my favorite band, so yes, you are deserving of signing the album.' I don't think of them as my 'fans,' I think of them as people who support what I'm doing in the band. So it's always fun to meet people and see the smiles on their faces and talk to them, take pictures and sign stuff."

Todd also confirmed that QUEENSRŸCHE is currently working on songs for the band's next studio CD, tentatively due in early 2015. "We released our debut album since I joined the band last year, and it was received really well and charted well," he said. "We're in the stages of writing the next album. So that will be out in 2015 on Century Media, so we're really working hard on new material."

In a recent interview with The Prog Report, QUEENSRŸCHE guitarist Michael Wilton spoke about the settlement agreement between QUEENSRŸCHE and Geoff Tate: "It's a step in the right direction. I mean, anytime one is in a lawsuit, it's not the funnest time in their life. Obviously, we learned a lot from it. We're just happy that we have made this forward progressive step and we're really happy to start playing and rebuilding the name. The fans are so happy. It's hard for anybody to really understand. It's really a step in a positive direction."

He added: "It was two arduous years plus, and I guess by these days, that's kind of standard for most lawsuits in business. It's unfortunate that the court systems have to go that way, and lawyers are the way they are, but that's the name of the game and you have to play the game… That's why I'm not a lawyer. That's why I play guitar."

Wilton also spoke about the support he and his bandmates have received from the QUEENSRŸCHE fans, telling The Prog Report: "We've been doing this for over 30 years, so by relaunching the name and going back and playing the classics that everybody has been screaming about and wanting to hear, it's been so open arms, 'please, play those songs.' Finally, we've gotten the ability to do that. The dynamic in this band is really supercharged to go out and play and be QUEENSRŸCHE."