So Tate is out of 'Ryche

[Rycher]

I wouldn't say "skimming from the top." But Geoff admitted to 25% of the income, an equal share among the 4 band members. His wife was their manager and the band employed their friends and family in various fashion. So it's fair to say that the Tate family was obtaining a larger percentage of income than just Geoff's share.

 

[Stingray11214]

I have no vested interest in any of this, but I'm curious where what you said is coming from. Do you have anything to back this up? The last part seems like outright slander. Kind of wondering what he personally did to you to warrant this much hate. I'm with the majority in that the last few albums were pretty bad...and after seeing the American Soldiers tour (which I went to because they played some Rage....) I personally decided I would never pay to see them again. After the Rage set the AS set made me physically ill.....but I still don't have this much emotional investment. Maybe I'm just reading too much into what you said, but it's pretty flat out, isn't it?

I said "I have a feeling that they were skimming" I did not say "They were skimming" as an outright accusation. That said, you do not fire management AND office staff unless there is something very wrong. And, Susan and Geoff are suing the remaining members over the name. What do you think the rest of the gang are going to do? Sit there and take the shelling? They are going to air out ALL the dirty laundry, and that includes all the financial business of QR. What you need to do is to go back and read the part of the interview where Tate mentions merch;

How did this new thing begin?
I think it really began around February of this year. It mainly started with a disagreement about economics, about moving our merchandising to a third party. We had control over our own merchandising company for years and years and we ran it ourselves. It's a very successful entity, and the other three guys wanted to take it out of our hands and hand it over to somebody else and pay them more money to operate it, which just seemed liked a ridiculous business idea to me. That's really where the disagreement started.

Now, why would ANY band take that power away from themselves? To allow someone else to handle their merch may look financially foolish. But, bands may opt to do this if A) they do not have enough bodies to handle the merch. OR, B) They do NOT trust the management at the point in time to give them an honest accounting of monies from merch sales.

Couple those issues, and Tate's past statements about how he hated metal, how can you not understand what the band did? And, remember, when the manager is your spouse, you damn well know favorites are going to be played. And, it has long been known that Susan has had undue influence on Geoff. So, the band did what they needed to do to save the brand: jettison all of the Tates. And, I will say it again: I have a feeling that the lawsuit will bite the Tates right in the tochas, and hard.

 

[DustyV]

Of course he skirts the high notes...he's 52 years old. Nobody can sing at 52 like they did at 22 or 32 or even 42. Singers are flesh and blood and flesh breaks down. The point is, he alters the melodies and he stays in key and still emits conviction and emotion. That's different than just hitting someone else's 20+ year old notes.

Dio (RIP), Dickinson, Halford (yikes!), Tate...NONE of the masters kept their youthful voices into their 50s+...they all alter/altered melody lines and skirt notes. You can't fault Tate for that...as a singer overall he still sounds very, very good.

The version of "Eyes..." I watched him to was with his solo band and it was piano/acoustic and he nailed it. He knows what he can do and what he can't. If he re-recorded a bunch of old 'Ryche songs in this format, I'd buy it in a minute over anything w/ LaTorre.

Nobody can sing like they did when they were younger? Listen to John Arch!!! He's absolutely incredible at his age!!... At times he even sounds better than he did when he was younger.

Also, remember, Geoff screwed himself when he took up smoking...Smoking will ruin your voice!! I remember reading lots of forums posts about that.....

In my opinion, if it was entirely up to Geoff, they wouldn't ever play old material. They play it because of the fans...Again, Geoff has states many times that he doesn't care for the old stuff, but I at least admire him for wanting to play it for the fans even if he doesn't care for it....

 

[nomisofsiman]

Nobody can sing like they did when they were younger? Listen to John Arch!!! He's absolutely incredible at his age!!... At times he even sounds better than he did when he was younger.

You are comparing apples and oranges here. From what I've heard of recent, Arch sounds great; HOWEVER, he had a loooooooooooong period of inactivity and even know, it's not like he's touring all the time. Tate, Dickinson, Dio and Halford have been doing this shit non-stop for the most part for 30+ years. Having said that, even though he wasn't my favorite singer, I think Dio is the one that held his voice up the best even though it's no surprise my favorite singer is Halford. I think the difference is Dio knew how to protect his voice.

 

[Pelata]

Exactly...Arch hasnt spent the last 30 years touring. The way he sings, he'd have started showing damage 3 or 4 years in. Yeah smoking doesnt help Tate.

As for "hating" Metal. I've read where he said he "wasn't a Metal" guy. But he proclaims love for Black Sabbath and Scorpions. Maybe he just doesn't focus on Metal as a genre, but he obviously likes at least some Metal. I have never heard him dis his own music...

 

[nomisofsiman]

As for "hating" Metal. I've read where he said he "wasn't a Metal" guy. But he proclaims love for Black Sabbath and Scorpions. Maybe he just doesn't focus on Metal as a genre, but he obviously likes at least some Metal. I have never heard him dis his own music...

I think the thing about Tate is he likes a lot of different music. There is nothing wrong with that. The problem is that just because he likes other music doesn't mean he should make Queensryche something other than metal or that he's even good at writing a song that isn't metal.

 

[Pelata]

I think the thing about Tate is he likes a lot of different music. There is nothing wrong with that. The problem is that just because he likes other music doesn't mean he should make Queensryche something other than metal or that he's even good at writing a song that isn't metal.

I can't say I disagree with this.

I just don't think we should all assume that he "hates" Metal. I don't think he could and do what he's done for so long (put out Metal, sing Metal, play with Metal bands on Metal tours). I just think Metal happens to be a single style among many that he enjoys, while obviously not being his favorite.

 

[TheLongshot]

I think the thing about Tate is he likes a lot of different music. There is nothing wrong with that. The problem is that just because he likes other music doesn't mean he should make Queensryche something other than metal or that he's even good at writing a song that isn't metal.

I'll disagree with the first part of that last sentence. The members of Queensryche have the right to make whatever kind of music they want under their band name. The fanbase may not like it, and it might not be a smart business decision, but they certainly have the right to.

 

[nomisofsiman]

I can't say I disagree with this.

I just don't think we should all assume that he "hates" Metal. I don't think he could and do what he's done for so long (put out Metal, sing Metal, play with Metal bands on Metal tours). I just think Metal happens to be a single style among many that he enjoys, while obviously not being his favorite.

Let me clarify that a little more. I don't think he hates metal; I think he's been tired through the years of writing and performing metal. My main point was I think some musicians are best at a certain thing. I think for him it's writing metal and he really should stick to that.

 

[Pelata]

Let me clarify that a little more. I don't think he hates metal; I think he's been tired through the years of writing and performing metal. My main point was I think some musicians are best at a certain thing. I think for him it's writing metal and he really should stick to that.

I can't disagree with that either.

 

[Justin G]

My .02 on this whole mess:

I could have supported the guys and Todd as Rising West. I'd have checked them out live and probably bought the album. Sure, they'd be starting as a cover band, but at least the potential is there for a decent album someday. And I'd be content to keep ignoring Geoff Tate's solo career. I just can't get behind this latest move though. Love it or hate it (and you know I'm in the hate camp), there is no Queensryche without Geoff Tate. Especially since DeGarmo's departure, Tate is the defining element to QR's sound and songwriting. Without him it just feels like one of those Great White/LA Guns/Bang Tango split situations, and it devalues the Queensryche brand, which I thought couldn't get any lower.

I'd love to be proven wrong though.

 

[Pelata]

My .02 on this whole mess:

I could have supported the guys and Todd as Rising West. I'd have checked them out live and probably bought the album. Sure, they'd be starting as a cover band, but at least the potential is there for a decent album someday. And I'd be content to keep ignoring Geoff Tate's solo career. I just can't get behind this latest move though. Love it or hate it (and you know I'm in the hate camp), there is no Queensryche without Geoff Tate. Especially since DeGarmo's departure, Tate is the defining element to QR's sound and songwriting. Without him it just feels like one of those Great White/LA Guns/Bang Tango split situations, and it devalues the Queensryche brand, which I thought couldn't get any lower.

I'd love to be proven wrong though.

Yeah, I probably could have got behind RW as well as a separate entity. I agree with you about Tate. I'd love to be proven wrong as well...it's just not likely, IMO.

 

[dcowboys311]

Let me clarify that a little more. I don't think he hates metal; I think he's been tired through the years of writing and performing metal. My main point was I think some musicians are best at a certain thing. I think for him it's writing metal and he really should stick to that.

Amen. Even I get tired of metal sometimes and I'm certainly not writing and performing it every day. Plus, they started in the early 80's. Metal has evolved and is a complete different beast than it was then. No rulebook says he has to like everything that came after...

 

[dcowboys311]

My .02 on this whole mess:

I could have supported the guys and Todd as Rising West. I'd have checked them out live and probably bought the album. Sure, they'd be starting as a cover band, but at least the potential is there for a decent album someday. And I'd be content to keep ignoring Geoff Tate's solo career. I just can't get behind this latest move though. Love it or hate it (and you know I'm in the hate camp), there is no Queensryche without Geoff Tate. Especially since DeGarmo's departure, Tate is the defining element to QR's sound and songwriting. Without him it just feels like one of those Great White/LA Guns/Bang Tango split situations, and it devalues the Queensryche brand, which I thought couldn't get any lower.

I'd love to be proven wrong though.

It's like having Motorhead without Lemmy. Could they write a decent album? Maybe. Will anyone care? Nope.

 

[VenomGA]

It's like having Motorhead without Lemmy. Could they write a decent album? Maybe. Will anyone care? Nope.

well except Lemmy is the ONLY original member of Motorhead left, not the case with QUeensryche...

 

[Pelata]

well except Lemmy is the ONLY original member of Motorhead left, not the case with QUeensryche...

True, but like Lemmy, Tate is the face/voice/icon of the band...he's the first thing most people think of.

Like Perry in Journey...

 

[VenomGA]

True, but like Lemmy, Tate is the face/voice/icon of the band...he's the first thing most people think of.

Like Perry in Journey...

sorry, Perry's been out of Journey like twice as long as he was in it...Schon is the face of Journey!!

 

[Justin G]

sorry, Perry's been out of Journey like twice as long as he was in it...Schon is the face of Journey!!

And even he's replaceable if it comes down to it.

 

[Pelata]

sorry, Perry's been out of Journey like twice as long as he was in it...Schon is the face of Journey!!

LOL! Not even. The first thing anyone thinks of (outside of the music message board contingent) when anyone says "Journey" is Steve Perry and that voice. I don't care how long he's been gone! Nobody says "I'm glad Neal Schon is still in the band..." It's "I wish they still had Steve Perry..."

 

[mooselips]

I think this new lineup sounds amazing. Tate was the man...LONG ago, though. And I won't miss the bouffant mullet, either. (I know, I know, he's chrome domed now, but I had to stick that in)