According to EddieTrunk.com Queensryche members Michael Wilton, Eddie Jackson and Scott Rockenfield have filed a counter suit against their former singer Geoff Tate. Today, Blabbermouth.net has disclosed further claims from said lawsuit as reported:
In a sworn declaration from Parker Lundgren — who has been touring with Queensryche since 2009 and who was briefly married to Geoff Tate’s stepdaughter Miranda (they have since divorced) — states, “On April 14, 2012, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, at approximately 11:00 p.m., I was chatting with Scott Rockenfield while awaiting for our show to start. Geoff Tate came up to Scott Rockenfield from the other side of the drum riser and shoved Scott Rockenfield’s drumset over in Scott Rockenfield’s direction. Geoff Tate then said, ‘You f**king pussy’ and spat at him. Our techs immediately ran to the drum raiser to fix the drums, drum mice and laptop that had been knocked over. Meanwhile, Geoff Tate walked over to Michael Wilton and hit him open-handed in the face, spit on him and said more obscenities. Michael Wilton tried to walk away as Geoff Tate followed him and continued to spit on him and call him names. Scott Rockenfield ran over to break them up when Geoff Tate then hit Scott Rockenfield twice in the head. Security ran in to separate Geoff Tate from the rest of the band. Geoff Tate walked by Eddie Jackson and said to him, ‘You’re next.’ Orlando Scott ‘Fozzy’ O’Hare, our tour manager, was able to calm Geoff Tate down enough for us to play the show. We were advised to stay in one place during the show and to avoid going near Geoff Tate. We were also advised to not go near the edge of the stage for fear that Geoff Tate would push someone off stage. During the rest of the show, Geoff Tate repeatedly spit on Michael Wilton, Scott Rockenfield, and Eddie Jackson and continued to call them names. After the show, we were told to head straight to the hotel.
After we got to the hotel, our tech, Anthony Bender, and I headed out to a bar for drinks, and we were later accompanied by Geoff Tate and Kelly Gray. During a conversation between Geoff Tate and I at the bar, Geoff Tate said, ‘I wish that I would have hit Michael harder,’ and ‘I wish I could get my hands on Scott because I would kill him.’
It is very apparent that Scott Rockenfield, Michael Wilton and Eddie Jackson’s musical direction in Queensryche has stayed true throughout their 31 years of being a band. Their musical contributions, both in writing and playing live, best resembles the music that they have come to be known for. They listen to what their fans want and continue to be the driving force behind the band.
While Geoff Tate is the primary lyricist in the band, he has never written the music for a song in Queensryche. All of the music has been written by Michael Wilton, Eddie Jackson, Scott Rockenfield and Chris DeGarmo, and recently some outside writers that Geoff Tate worked with.
It is evident that Geoff Tate’s musical tastes have changed over the years which is understandable. He has even stated in recent interviews that he doesn’t like metal.
Queensryche is a brand and fans expect the brand Queensryche, which is a metal band, to maintain their sound, style, and trademark characteristics. Much of the music that Geoff Tate chose to write lyrics to on Dedicated To Chaos sounds like music from his solo project album. There is nothing wrong with the musical direction that Geoff Tate has shifted towards except that it does not fit with Queensryche. It belongs in a different project such as the Geoff Tate solo project.
Aside from Geoff Tate’s recent assault in Brazil, he has also made threats to the band at the M3 and Rocklahoma festivals that if anyone in the band comes near him, he is going to hit them. He has also tarnished the band’s name by telling the audience that they sucked during the Rocklahoma festival which was streamed live on television.
When Scott Rockenfield, Michael Wilton, Eddie Jackson and I performed Queensryche material with Todd La Torre, it was the most positive and enthusiastic response that I have seen in my entire run with the band, both from the crowd and amidst the band. We played the older, heavier material that the fans always ask for and that we are never able to play. The shows sold out both nights and the merchandise sold out immediately. We had nothing but positive reviews and the fans loved it. We had fans fly to Seattle for the shows from all around the world, some even as far as Japan. What was even more uplifting than the crowd’s reaction was the band’s reaction. I have never seen bigger smiles on the guys’ faces while we played the shows. The positivity continued long after the shows as we started hanging out, going to dinners, going to shows, and most importantly writing music together as a band, which I never experienced while Geoff Tate was in the band. Everyone, including the new singer Todd La Torre, is on the same page. We want to play the same kind of music, and stay true to the Queensryche legacy.”
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DJ Pitbull, one of our DJ’s here at Braingell Radio, conducted an interview with Chris Jericho, a Canadian-American professional wrestler, front man for the band Fozzy, songwriter, radio personality, television host, lecturer at Huddersfield University, actor, author, and dancer. He is best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (WWF/E), as well as in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and ex-WWE wrestler. C’mon…just how much more can that guy have his hands in, right? Let’s just focus on the band Fozzy right now and check out Pitbull’s interview below:
Pit: I’m here with Chris Jericho of Fozzy and WWE fave on the line. How ya’ doin’ Chris?
Chris:Â I’m good, what’s going on?
Pit: Not a lot. We’ve been playing your Fozzy material quite a lot on Braingell Radio and it seems to be going pretty well. So, how are things going with the Fozzy setup?
Chris: Well yeah, it’s one of those things after doing it for 12 years and the band is just growing huge, especially in the UK and that’s why we’re coming back to do another tour in the UK in November. We love playing in the UK and it’s always been a second home for us and it’s evidenced by the amount of the support we have there.
Pit: I’ve noticed from the recent press releases that you have a new bass player.  How’s he fitting in?
Chris: I think it’s amazing. We couldn’t have picked a better guy both in playing wise and personality and attitude. A great player and it’s one of those things where it’s the missing piece of the Fozzy puzzle of what we lacked and we didn’t really know it until we got him so it’s made the band so much better on all different levels.
Pit: On the UK tour, you seem to be missing London for some reason. Is there any reason for that or is that out of your hands?
Chris:Â No…it’s that we’ve played London three times on this album cycle for Chasing the Grail and we’re coming back to England to do some of the cities that don’t get as much love from bands and we just kept getting offers to come play and there’s people all around the country and that dig what we do and we don’t want to punish them just because they don’t live in London so we’ll take it to the streets and that’s what we’re doing.
Pit: So that means I’ll need to travel out of London now to come and see you which I don’t mind because I’ve seen the band a few times and I’m absolutely amazed with your stage performance. What do you get the biggest buzz out of…do you get the biggest buzz out of the square circle or on stage in front of a thousand fans?
Chris:  They’re both cool, I mean, I’ve been playing bands since I was 12 years old and this is something that I’ve always done and it’s a part of who I am, so that the band is getting to that next level, it’s great to be a part of it and it’s something that I love to do so I love live performance, no matter what aspect it is so, man, there’s something to be said when you get onstage and people are shouting your name and the lyrics of the tunes and know the lyrics of the songs. It’s a great vibe and a rush for sure.
Pit: Yeah, I got into Fozzy from the Happenstance album which was made into the cover version. I’ve noticed you’ve been doing a lot of your own material now which is a good thing.
Chris: Yeah, for the last five years we started playing a lot of covers as most bands do and we just started doing all of our own stuff, I guess, two or three records ago and that basically makes it the majority of our set now, at this point. You know, when you start playing music you want to do your own shit and that’s what it’s all about so, we still play a cover or two here or there.
Pit: Yeah, a lot of bands start off playing cover stuff and you have taken it to a new level.  You’re from the great country of Canada and there’s a lot of great bands that have come out of Canada like Rush, April Wine, Voivod, and I think we’ll skip Nickelback and Sum41. Are there any bands that you recommend we watch for in the UK and America that’s coming out of Canada?
Chris:  I haven’t lived in Canada for a long time now. I grew up there but I moved away probably in ’96 or ’97 but Canada is a great rock n’ roll country – it always has been for the bands you just mentioned and for the whole scene and there’s always great musicians there. Annihilator is a great Canadian band we all love and a guy called Jeff Waters actually played on Chasing the Grail a little bit. He’s a great guitar play and a it’s a great band so there’s still a great music scene up to this date. We just did the tour with 3 Days Grace and they’re from Canada, Art of Dying, they were on it and they’re from Canada so these great Canadian bands have seen the crack into the mainstream and I think, because the beer up there is so much stronger it makes you want to join a rock n’ roll band.
Pit: Oh yeah, definitely. I am a big fan of Canadian music and like you said there, Annihilator, April Wine, and Jeff Waters. Well Chris Jericho, thank you very much for taking the time out to speak to Braingell Radio all the way from American and wish you all the best for the tours coming up in the UK.
Chris: We’re excited man. We hope to see you there. November is coming up quickly in a couple of weeks so we’re ready to rock it again.
Pit: And we’re looking forward to it. So, I’m going to be playing a track off your latest album. Is there any track you’d recommend?
Chris: Let’s do “Under Blackened Skies” man, so let’s check that one out.
Pit: Chris Jericho, I shall play that one especially for you. Thanks very much and keep it rockin’ mate, keep it rockin’
“Ever since the success of Chasing The Grail and the subsequent world tours that followed, it became apparent that Sean’s mindset and goals for Fozzy were different from ours,” says frontman Chris Jericho. “So we decided it would be best to make a change now rather than later and he agreed. But we love Sean as a brother and a player and we wish him nothing but the best in his future endeavors.”
Fozzy has also announced the addition of Paul DiLeo as their new bassist, effective immediately. Paul has played with Billy Joel and Joe Lynn Turner and currently plays with Fozzy guitarist Rich Ward in Adrenaline Mob.
“Paul DiLeo is a greasy groovin’, power-pocket, monster-tone producing, master showman of the highest caliber,” says Ward. “Together onstage over the last few months we have become the Wonder Twins of metal and I know he’s gonna blow our fan’s minds!!”
Chris continues, “I’m excited and honored to have such a talented player and performer like Paul in Fozzy! I’m convinced he’s a big piece of the puzzle who’s going to help us continue to rise to the next level worldwide.”
DiLeo plans to join the band at the end of September when they headline the second stage of Rockstar Energy Drink Uproar in Calgary, Edmonton, Canada and Seattle, Washington and on the The Madness Returns European tour in November.
Ronnie James Dio‘s widow and manager Wendy has revealed to AOL‘s Noisecreep that Rob Halford (JUDAS PRIEST), Glenn Hughes (DEEP PURPLE, BLACK SABBATH, BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION), Dave Grohl (FOO FIGHTERS, NIRVANA), Lemmy Kimister (MOTÖRHEAD), Alice Cooper, Sebastian Bach (SKID ROW) and Chris Jericho (FOZZY) are among the artists who will appear on a forthcoming tribute album to Ronnie. Grohl will do the BLACK SABBATH hit “Mob Rules” and Halford will take on “Long Live Rock ‘N’ Roll”. Cooper already has a song in mind, going back to the ELF days, according to Wendy.
“Rainbow In The Dark: The Autobiography Of Ronnie James Dio”, the revealing memoir of the heavy metal master, will be published in the spring of 2012 via MTV Books.
With nearly five decades of worldwide success and album sales in the tens of millions as the front man of ELF, RAINBOW, DIO, BLACK SABBATH, and, most recently, HEAVEN & HELL, Ronnie James Dio grabbed the mic, took the stage, and led a movement whose influence resonates to this day. In “Rainbow In The Dark”, Dio himself will introduce the reader to this incredible life and the over 50 photographs included will provide readers with an unprecedented all-access pass to the rock concert of a lifetime.
Wendy Dio revealed in a recent interview that Ronnie James Dio‘s memoir was three-quarters written before the singer’s death and that she has until June 2011 to finish it so that it could be released the following spring.
“Everything Ronnie did, lyrics or anything, was always handwritten,” Wendy told VH1 Classic Rock Nights. “He didn’t do anything on the computer. So he would handwrite it and then he’d give it to me and then I’d give it to my assistant, she’d type it up. So that’s how it went and, of course, I’d read it along the way and it’s very, very interesting. It’s just interesting the way his stories are; he was a storyteller. Ronnie was always a storyteller and it’s just great stories.”
“Rainbow In The Dark: The Autobiography Of Ronnie James Dio” was sold at auction to Jacob Hoye, Senior Director of Publishing at MTV Books, by Shawna Morey, in her first deal at Folio Literary Management, LLC.
Renowned for his powerful, hard-driving vocals, Dio lends that unique voice to recount his extraordinary journey from early pioneer in a burgeoning music movement to his undisputed reign atop the heavy metal landscape. He was born in a time and to a family so far removed from the hard-rocking world he would dominate for nearly five decades, but his unbounded passion and peerless talent broke barriers and legitimized heavy metal as an alternative art form. His creative genius made him a legend.
During his life, Dio drew on the energy and devotion of millions of fans from around the world for the strength to create, entertain, and give back. In his death, he leaves us with his own voice and his own story to edify and inspire. He also leaves us perhaps his most important legacy, the Ronnie James Dio “Stand Up and Shout” Cancer Fund, a non-profit founded by Wendy Dio, to fund and advocate for cancer research and screenings for society’s underprivileged.
DANGEROUS NEW MACHINE, the new band featuring former/current members of STEREOMUD, FOZZY and STUCK MOJO, will release its full-length debut, Set The World On Fire, on May 25 via the TuneCore digital music distribution service. The CD was produced by DANGEROUS NEW MACHINE and Rusty T. Cobb (Sevendust).
DANGEROUS NEW MACHINE, the new band featuring former/current members of Stereomud, Fozzy and Stuck MoJo, have uploaded a short video clip of the band in the studio working on their first full length CD yet to be titled with producer Rusty T. Cobb (Sevendust). The video clip was shot at BANG! Studios in the bands [...]
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