GEOFF TATE: QUEENSRŸCHE 'Was A Really Smooth-Running Organization For Years And Years'

Atlantic City Insider conducted an interview with singer Geoff Tate ahead of the March 15 performance by his version of QUEENSRŸCHE at Revel Casino Hotel in Atlantic City. You can now listen to the chat in the YouTube clip below.

On where the settlement talks stand with his former bandmates over the rights to the QUEENSRŸCHE name:

Tate: "I can't talk about it much, 'cause we're kind of nearing the end of it now. But both sides have the legal use of the name for now. And so we're just continuing on until the settlement happens."

On whether the legal fight over the name been a distraction for him and the fans:

Tate: "At first, it was a complete distraction, 'cause it was a complete disruption of life as we knew it. But for the past year, year and a half, I think, it's been operating fine; both sides are using the name and both are touring. So it's been pretty normal."

On whether the fact that there are two versions of QUEENSRŸCHE touring and relreasing albums is confusing to the fans:

Tate: "I suppose it could be confusing to some people, but we live in the age of the Internet, where you can pretty much find out anything you wanna know about pretty quickly."

On whether there was a lot of tension behind the scenes prior to the split with his former bandmates:

Tate: "No, not really. It was a really smooth-running organization for years and years. And in the last couple of years, it just erupted into this unforeseeable situation that brings us to where we are now. So it was really quite surprising, actually."

Tate's QUEENSRŸCHE now features Geoff alongside guitarist Kelly Gray (QUEENSRŸCHE 1998-2001), keyboardist Randy Gane and the band's latest additions, guitarist Robert Sarzo (QUIET RIOT, HURRICANE), Rudy Sarzo (OZZY OSBOURNE, QUIET RIOT, WHITESNAKE, DIO, ANIMETAL USA) and drummer Simon Wright (AC/DC, DIO, RHINO BUCKET).

"Frequency Unknown", the latest album from the Geoff Tate-fronted version of QUEENSRŸCHE, sold around 5,500 copies in its first week of release in the United States to land at position No. 82 on The Billboard 200 chart. Issued on April 23, 2013, the CD was produced by Jason Slater at a studio in Northern California.