Geoff Tate

Tater's been hitting the Insania a bit too much again.....

GEOFF TATE: 'My State Of Mind Is Elevated' - June 28, 2013

http://www.blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=191874

Michael Lello of Highway 81 Revisited recently conducted an interview with QUEENSRŸCHE singer Geoff Tate. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Highway 81 Revisited: You recently ran a video rant contest, where people could send in clips of themselves talking about why they hate the new album ["Frequency Unknown"]. How did that come about? I've never seen anything quite like that before.

Geoff Tate: Yeah, that was kinda fun, wasn't it? [laughs] I'm involved with a lawsuit right now with the former bandmates, we have court dates coming in November which will hopefully settle the whole thing. Because of that, there's a lot of negativity on the Internet, the whole side-choosing game, and a small group of people who are very vocal about spreading negativity, going to every review of the album or every live review, anything regarding me, this small group of people paints a negative picture of me. They sort of create like a smear campaign. Which in the big picture doesn't matter at all, because this is a corporate suit, and corporate suits have regulations and rules of engagement governed by the state and federal government. So at the end of the day, when we get to court, both sides are going to be compensated, and we're going to come to a monetary settlement that has nothing to do with he said, she said, or who's better, who's worse. That doesn't even play into it all, it has nothing to do with it. So really the whole smear campaign is a waste of time. But on the bright side, it has created a lot of press, and I think we've had more sold-out shows with this band than the former QUEENSRŸCHE has had in 10 years. So you can't really argue with the Gene Simmons philosophy of "any press is good press." The rant contest was sort of an extension of that. Tim from our record company said, "Why don't we have a contest and get all these haters to send in their submissions?" Let's see how eloquent they can be, how accurate they are in their critiques. And it was kinda fun, listening to the inane insanity of some of these people [laughs] and actually looking at them as they're saying it and wondering, "That's really my critic? That guy? OK. Interesting."

Highway 81 Revisited: Do you think some of the negativity directed at the album is not people reacting to the music per se, but instead reacting to you and the breakup?

Geoff Tate: Oh yeah, yeah. I think that that's a lot of it. But honestly, I don't think there's as much negativity as what is evident on the Internet. There's people with multiple Internet accounts and Facebook accounts just having conversations with their multiple selves, all aimed at spreading this negativity, and it's kinda psycho and fanatical. I guess that's where the word "fan" comes from. But ya know, but they are organized in their attack, I must say. It's pretty stunning the stuff that they're saying and doing. But from my standpoint, from what I see, I don't read stuff on the Internet, I hardly ever go on the Internet anymore, but what I see is the fans at the shows, the packed houses and the enthusiasm that the audience is feeling for this new band, which is a phenomenal band. Great players, passionate players, who are coming into this organization as fans of the music, so they're playing music that they love, that they've always been attracted to, and they're getting to interpret it in their way as artists, and what a fantastic position for them to be in. They're loving it, and I'm loving what they're doing, and the synergy that we're creating together is phenomenal. It's actually infectious. And I think the audiences are a witness to that and they're affected by that.

Highway 81 Revisited: What is your desired outcome of suit? Does it just boil down to who gets the name?

Geoff Tate: Well, it's a corporate suit, yeah, so our name is owned by our corporation so we have to divvy it up, and the only way to divvy it up is through monetary compensation. Somebody will get the name, and somebody won't, and the people that don't will be compensated for what they've done and what they've contributed in the organization and that kind of thing. It's just a standard corporate dispute.

Highway 81 Revisited: It seems like you have a very positive outlook for QUEENSRŸCHE right now. How would you describe your state of mind?

Geoff Tate: My state of mind is elevated. I'm really enjoying every performance. The band is just on fire. They're playing incredibly every night, and at the same time, it's a really fun bunch of people to hang out with. Everybody's laughing and joking and lighthearted after the show. They leave the show behind them with each performance, and the next day starts. They're glad to be here and doing what they're doing and appreciative of where they're at in their lives. There's nothing worse than being surrounded by people who just hate themselves and hate being around each other, and the negativity just seeps into everything you do, and man, it's like all you can do to keep your head above water. And I was just very tired of living like that, and I'm very happy to be in the situation that I'm in right now.

Read the entire interview from Highway 81 Revisited.

manny wrote:

I was shocked I liked it as much as I did, good songs a few songs that are bit mediocre. Like everyone else I spent so much time bashing Geoff Tate who seems intent on committing career suicide, I heard a few songs and thought 'meh'. Still not a great album but better then what most have said about it. BTW those re-recordings of the classics where terrible, it does sound like his range his shot, or it could be the arrangements which were also unimaginative added to my dislike of the re-recordings of those tracks.

The re-recording were horrid. His range is shot......

Honestly, if he had released it as a GT solo album and not called it FU, it would have gotten a better reception. I don't like it, but it is better than his other two solo albums.

Oh yeah, those re-recordings are abominations. His range is definitely now what it once was, either.

I liked FU as well, it's not great but I liked it better that Toddryche.

Looks like The Geoff has having issues selling tickets to his TateWreck shows:

Wow! Seriously? Was that from his "sold-out" show at The Moore?

Eyesore wrote:

Wow! Seriously? Was that from his "sold-out" show at The Moore?

That one was from Nashville. I doubt The Moore was sold out, especially since Tate's needed to send his daughter's bio-dad out to hand out flyers at the Queensryche show......

thejokeriv wrote:

Eyesore wrote:

Wow! Seriously? Was that from his "sold-out" show at The Moore?

That one was from Nashville. I doubt The Moore was sold out, especially since Tate's needed to send his daughter's bio-dad out to hand out flyers at the Queensryche show......

According to Tate and all those who jump on Blabbermouth to defend him, they've been selling out more venues on this tour than they have in the last 10 years.

Eyesore wrote:

thejokeriv wrote:

Eyesore wrote:

Wow! Seriously? Was that from his "sold-out" show at The Moore?

That one was from Nashville. I doubt The Moore was sold out, especially since Tate's needed to send his daughter's bio-dad out to hand out flyers at the Queensryche show......

According to Tate and all those who jump on Blabbermouth to defend him, they've been selling out more venues on this tour than they have in the last 10 years.

In true Tate fashion, he is single-handedly redefining the term "selling out"... 

Tate is so much smarter than all of us. In his attempts to insult our intelligence, he forgets that if you look in dictionary under the word "idiot". His picture is given as an example. Only if his memory was as long as the body appendage received from his "african" heritage.....maybe then recollection of reality might not be something he would struggle with so much ?

Shawn Of Fire wrote:

Eyesore wrote:

thejokeriv wrote:

Eyesore wrote:

Wow! Seriously? Was that from his "sold-out" show at The Moore?

That one was from Nashville. I doubt The Moore was sold out, especially since Tate's needed to send his daughter's bio-dad out to hand out flyers at the Queensryche show......

According to Tate and all those who jump on Blabbermouth to defend him, they've been selling out more venues on this tour than they have in the last 10 years.

In true Tate fashion, he is single-handedly redefining the term "selling out"... 

LOL!!!!!

Looks like the market is sorting itself out.....

Eyesore wrote:

thejokeriv wrote:

Eyesore wrote:

Wow! Seriously? Was that from his "sold-out" show at The Moore?

That one was from Nashville. I doubt The Moore was sold out, especially since Tate's needed to send his daughter's bio-dad out to hand out flyers at the Queensryche show......

According to Tate and all those who jump on Blabbermouth to defend him, they've been selling out more venues on this tour than they have in the last 10 years.

not hard when the venue has 10 seats...

And the Insania continues........

According to Vest, there is no negative reaction to FU, his hands were tied on every Queensryche album, and the man who is out playing O:MC says he's not one for the past......

The only thing that seems truthful is that he seems to come to realization that he is not going to be able to continue using the Queensryche name...... and he is hold out for as big of a payout as possible.

GEOFF TATE: 'I've Ripped The Rearview Mirror Off And I'm Moving Ahead' - July 7, 2013

http://www.blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=192180

Todd Newton of BigMusicGeek.com recently conducted an interview with QUEENSRŸCHE singer Geoff Tate. A few excerpts from the chat follow below.

BigMusicGeek.com: In hindsight, do you feel as if your former QUEENSRŸCHE bandmates "stifled" you creatively and musically?

Geoff: Absolutely. This is the first QUEENSRŸCHE record that I've done where my hands haven't been tied behind my back, ya know? It's ridiculous to have to wait so long without making a new record. Records, if you're a writer, just come out of you. You write a song, you write a record, you record it and then you put it out. You don't need to have two years between releases, ya know? That's a model that's definitely come and gone, ya know? ...That's a model from the past that archeologists will some day dig up and say, "Look! We found a fossil."

BigMusicGeek.com: What do you feel ultimately fueled the overall deterioration of the relationships with your ex-bandmates?

Geoff: I think it's like a lot of other businesses. You get used to your role in the business, what you do specifically, and you stop adding, you stop giving and you stop coming up with new ideas. You get comfortable doing what you're doing and depending on the person, some are happy doing that and then other people get bitter. They're, like, "This is all I'm doing," and then they start causing problems because they're upset about their own inadequacies. But me speculating on what other people are thinking is always dangerous ground, honestly.

BigMusicGeek.com: How have the negative reactions to "Frequency Unknown" affected you? Have you found it difficult to comprehend the motivation behind all of the negativity? Were you expecting such a large volume of detractors?

Geoff: No. There hasn't been that many negative reactions. I'm in a lawsuit, so there's a war going on. And what you're seeing the war, you're seeing the war on the Internet, ya know? There's a concentrated effort, ya know? There's a smear campaign going on, ya know? And that's what you're seeing. You're seeing a small amount of people with multiple Facebook personalities and Internet accounts having conversations with themselves. It's 21st-century entertainment. It's great. It doesn't bother me at all. You know what? We've had more sold-out shows on this QUEENSRŸCHE tour than the other QUEENSRŸCHE, with me included, have had in ten years. Yeah, go figure. It's just like (KISS vocalist/bassist) Gene Simmons said. Any publicity is good publicity. ...If you actually look into it, it's so simple, ya know? It's just one side trying to make the other side look bad. It's as simple as that. And saying whatever they think they have to say to win. But the joke is, there's nothing to win. This dispute is a corporate dispute that has rules attached to it laid down by the state and the federal governments. How do you solve a corporate dispute? You have to follow the rules. It's as simple as that. And all it comes down to in the end is an exchange of money. Who can afford to pay off who? It has nothing to do with art and it has nothing to do with music. It has nothing to do with anything other than the money, really.

BigMusicGeek.com: At this point, do you have any negative feelings regarding your ex-bandmates releasing their new music?

Geoff: No. Honestly, I have no feelings. Absolutely none. I'm done with that part of my life, ya know? I gave and gave and gave and I did my thing. And my dedication was to a bunch of people who in the end didn't appreciate it and hated me for it. And so I'm done with that part of my life. I've ripped the rearview mirror off and I'm moving ahead. I've never really been one for the past, ya know? I like to keep moving forward and doing new things. I'm actually already working on a new album that I hope to have out the first part of the year.

Read the entire interview at BigMusicGeek.com.

All these people are part of a vast right wi.. errr Queensryche conspiracy

 

exact33 wrote:

All these people are part of a vast right wi.. errr Queensryche conspiracy

 

I don't care either way but I do know that he is 100% correct about that. I've seen it on youtube, and it's not a vast conspiracy, it's exactly as he says, a few guys with absolutely nothing better to do than trash him and his fans using multiple names.

Boris2008 wrote:

exact33 wrote:

All these people are part of a vast right wi.. errr Queensryche conspiracy

 

I don't care either way but I do know that he is 100% correct about that. I've seen it on youtube, and it's not a vast conspiracy, it's exactly as he says, a few guys with absolutely nothing better to do than trash him and his fans using multiple names.

he got a ton of entries on his hate FU campaign plus given the opinions just here on HoM, i dont think the dislike is limited to a few people.

I'm not talking about dislike of him or his record, there are as you say, plenty of those, but what I'm talking about is different, it's people absolutely trolling, ridiculing his QR and anyone who happens to like them, all day long, I would hope that no-one here would do that.

You think it's a few people? Go read the Amazon reviews.

Dark Horseman wrote:

You think it's a few people? Go read the Amazon reviews.

Did you read my last post?

Nope, sorry posted at the same time. Sorry 'bout that.

No probs man,

I can't wait for the name thing to be sorted out, maybe then he can just get on with what he wants to do without people thinking that he's defiling something holy and sacred.

Boris2008 wrote:

I'm not talking about dislike of him or his record, there are as you say, plenty of those, but what I'm talking about is different, it's people absolutely trolling, ridiculing his QR and anyone who happens to like them, all day long, I would hope that no-one here would do that.

the Geoff brought most of this on himself. Check out the EPK video. It is one of the greatest monuments to self-righteousness ever constructed. He just keeps on saying dumb things about his former bandmates and all along the way insulting and physically confronting fans. I dont think this opinion is limited to just a few malcontents has The Geoff suggests. this thread is testimony to that.

Yeah, I keep on getting into this and I'm in a minority, so I'll leave it be.

exact33 wrote:

Boris2008 wrote:

I'm not talking about dislike of him or his record, there are as you say, plenty of those, but what I'm talking about is different, it's people absolutely trolling, ridiculing his QR and anyone who happens to like them, all day long, I would hope that no-one here would do that.

the Geoff brought most of this on himself. Check out the EPK video. It is one of the greatest monuments to self-righteousness ever constructed. He just keeps on saying dumb things about his former bandmates and all along the way insulting and physically confronting fans. I dont think this opinion is limited to just a few malcontents has The Geoff suggests. this thread is testimony to that.

That is just it, the man not only invites the ridicule but keeps inviting it over and over. I admit it has clouded my thoughts on his music, and I spent a lot of time judging the man and not the music. I don't love 'Frequency Unknown' but I do like it, but even if the band backing him was the real Queensryche, fans are not interested in hearing Queensryche's attempts at modern rock. For better or worse their audience has spoken loud and clear, and on that end Geoff Tate is going to keep losing. 'Frequency Unknown' may truly be the music that Tate is compelled to create, good for him, more power to him, but don't do it under the Queensryche name. He is not Tony Iommi or Ritchie Blackmore who can continue band with interchangeable band members, neither audience of his solo and band career are going to buy it.

exact33 wrote:

Boris2008 wrote:

I'm not talking about dislike of him or his record, there are as you say, plenty of those, but what I'm talking about is different, it's people absolutely trolling, ridiculing his QR and anyone who happens to like them, all day long, I would hope that no-one here would do that.

the Geoff brought most of this on himself. Check out the EPK video. It is one of the greatest monuments to self-righteousness ever constructed. He just keeps on saying dumb things about his former bandmates and all along the way insulting and physically confronting fans. I dont think this opinion is limited to just a few malcontents has The Geoff suggests. this thread is testimony to that.

Bingo......

There are a few out there going all out against Tate and trolling, but it seems the majority view is that Tate has shown himself as a world class douche. He's got a few people that are balls-out for team Tate, but those people are few and far between.

The funny thing is, Tate has people on his payroll out trolling for Tate. The commenTATEr on Blabbermouth, Mr. Mish is on the Tate payroll and is most likely his daughter. He's got others trolling too, writing positive reviews of FU and negative reviews of 2013 on Amazon, trolling on the youtube posts (as well as the previously mentioned Blabbermouth.) He's got his own trolling war going on against Queensryche.... but accuses other of doing exactly what he is doing. What a joke!