Luke Easter Leaves Tourniquet

Quote :

Tourniquet announcement: By mutual and respectful agreement, Luke Easter has stepped down as vocalist of Tourniquet. Ted says: “Luke has been a valuable member of Tourniquet since 1993 and we have shared much music, ministry, and laughter. I will always appreciate his valuable contribution to our music and his representation of the band – and I know many of you will too. We’ve decided that our musical paths are not quite going in the same direction. Luke has been, and is - a great friend. I truly wish the best for him and look forward to seeing whatever his future holds.”

From Luke: In June, 1993, my life changed. I joined Tourniquet and began a musical journey that has lasted more than two decades. I got the opportunity to see the world; to meet and work with amazing people; to contribute to a body of work that I am proud of; and in the process I was able to share Christ with people all over the world. I am grateful to have been a part of Tourniquet, and to have had the chance to work with someone as talented and prolific as Ted for as long as I have.

Imagine if they were to somehow re-acquire Guy Ritter... and since he's conjoined at the hip with Gary Lenaire...  

Dakotarogers - that's what I was thinking! Bring back Guy Ritter!!

That would be a dream come true, but if that bridge is already burned; they should go with someone who can hit those impressive falsettos (ala Stop the Bleeding).

Worst case scenario: Ted jumps on the bandwagon and recruits a metalcore vocalist. I enjoyed Onward to Freedom, but still...

I might be in the minority, but I enjoyed most of Luke's vocals and the albums he sang on.

I would love to see Tourniquet with a powerhouse singer who can also nail the falsettos and thrash shouts.

Saw this news yesterday, read it while I was making venison chili while wearing my leather belt and alligator shoes.

thejokeriv wrote:

Saw this news yesterday, read it while I was making venison chili while wearing my leather belt and alligator shoes.

I see what you did there! Haha

I like a lot of their stuff with Luke. I wouldn't be disappointed to see Guy and Gary come back though.

I would like to see one more album with the Psychosurgery lineup.

Liked Guy and Luke, but it WOULD be fantastic if the new "guy" could hit those highs!

Yeah get a new guy and pound out some good metal again. Glad that douche quit. He blew hard and had the ego the size of a damn elephant!

Tourniquet is still a thing? (shrugs)

Not a big shock after hearing the last "Tourniquet" album. It's really been Ted-niquet for years anyhow.

Lurideath wrote:

Yeah get a new guy and pound out some good metal again. Glad that douche quit. He blew hard and had the ego the size of a damn elephant!

You know he came off like that on-line for some reason, but when I met him in person he was really down-to-earth and cool. But I did see that attitude and ego on-line many times over.

ultmetal wrote:

Lurideath wrote:

Yeah get a new guy and pound out some good metal again. Glad that douche quit. He blew hard and had the ego the size of a damn elephant!

You know he came off like that on-line for some reason, but when I met him in person he was really down-to-earth and cool. But I did see that attitude and ego on-line many times over.

I still read that locked thread now and again for a good laugh, what a piss-baby.

Regardless, I thoroughly enjoyed the music he recorded with Tourniquet. He sort of reminds me of Dave Padden from Annihilator, which is why most people dislike him, probably.

I say kidnap Michael Sweet and make him record vocals.

Here's an update from Ted, I can honestly say I'm excited.

Hey everyone. Just a quick update on the present and future of Tourniquet. First, Tourniquet is not going away. I have more than a lifetime of music to give, and God willing, I plan to share it with whoever would like to hear it, just as I always have – under the name Tourniquet. The classical influence, the medical terminology, the allegories to nature, the beautiful and the ugly sounds, the fast and the slow, the ordinary and the unexpected, the triumphs and challenges to faith and hope – all these things you the fans have indicated you like about our music – will continue - and continue in new ways. The new material is very heavy (and sometimes beautiful), and full of melody and twists. Vocals will be with a new singer – not a collection of vocalists (although I love doing that, as you know by now – wait ‘til you hear the guys on the Sabbath tunes!) So – thank you all for hanging in there – onward to 2016 and beyond – and a very Happy New Year to you all! - Ted wrote:

ultmetal wrote:

Lurideath wrote:

Yeah get a new guy and pound out some good metal again. Glad that douche quit. He blew hard and had the ego the size of a damn elephant!

You know he came off like that on-line for some reason, but when I met him in person he was really down-to-earth and cool. But I did see that attitude and ego on-line many times over.

It's easier to be a jerk online (hiding behind the keyboard).

Just lazily going to copy-paste what I wrote on The CMR:



While I've always preferred Guy and my favorite albums are from that era, there's no denying that Luke was an integral part of Tourniquet for over 20 years. I mean, most of my life I've been expecting to hear Luke in Tourniquet albums. I've never really even entertained the thought of Luke someday leaving the band. He might've sometimes been average, but most of the time he was good, and at times he was phenomenal. Even in Antiseptic Bloodbath, I still absolutely love what he does in the last half of Flowering Cadaver.


Vanishing Lessons is a classic.
I couldn't imagine it sung by anyone else but Luke.



I'm very interested in hearing how the new vocalist sounds like. I'm very interested in hearing how he sings the old tunes from both eras.
However, there's the pessimist in me that is worrying about Ted's "recent" honeymoon with core-vocals. He has been praising these modern core-vocalists and even used them in his newest album. To be truthful, I still can't see any difference between the core-parts of Onward to Freedom with how all the other core-bands sound like.

Just look at what Anthrax tried to do when they replaced John Bush with Dan Nelson. They tried to go with that core-sound and it did not turn out well at all.

If Ted decides to go with that style, I guess I can still get some enjoyment from the fresh enthusiasm these core-guys usually have. While I didn't like their style in Onward to Freedom, there still was this clear sense of energy flowing through them. And they could sound very good in the non-core parts.

Anyways, it's an interesting time to be a Tourniquet fan. Not only am I interested in hearing what Tourniquet is going to do (remember, Ted told the next live shows would have TWO guitarists, so perhaps the next album will have two guitarists as well), but I'm also interested in seeing if Luke is getting into another band, or starts a band of his own. He's been really good in singing stuff like Vanishing Lessons and Crawl to China, and Stryper covers, so I'd be very interested in hearing whatever he is going to do. I'm there to pick up the first album he'll be on out of support and genuine interest.

He was outstanding on Antiseptic Bloodbath in particular, with all those soaring vocal lines (like you mentioned in Flowering Cadaver).

I'm just wondering what the split pertained to exactly. What sort of styles was Ted and co. exploring that caused Luke to jump ship?

Hope the best, but my "guess" is Tourniquet becomes a "project band" with guest "core vocals" and the like. I guess the kiddie market is more suitable than the middle-aged metal-head one. The young and impressionable mind is easier to indoctrinate then the shank grubbing cave man with a receding hairline.

I guess Ted is reinventing the band again.

Troublezone wrote:

I guess Ted is reinventing the band again.

Into the top-notch grindcore outfit we all knew they could be.

i liked Luke in Tourniquet. I thought Vanishing Lessons was very good and the other albums were decent. I am curious as to the style of singing that Ted brings in.