QUEENSRŸCHE guitarist Michael Wilton has confirmed that singer Geoff
Tate — who was fired from the Seattle progressive rock band in 2012 after
fronting it for three decades — and his former bandmates have reached a
settlement in their legal battle over the rights to the group's name.
Speaking to the Allentown Music Examiner, Wilton was asked
when fans can expect a resolution of the legal case involving the two versions
of QUEENSRŸCHE. "That's coming up," Wilton said.
"What I can say is that both sides have reached an amicable settlement and
it's now just a matter of time. There will be an official press release, but
for now, you'll have to wait."
Wilton also revealed that the Todd
La Torre-fronted version of QUEENSRŸCHE is continuing work on
material for the follow-up to last year's self-titled effort. "We've
already begun the process for the next album," he said. "We have
probably six songs demoed so far. We're taking it in a direction suited to what
we do as QUEENSRŸCHE but maybe a little more progressive and heavier. The
thing is, you never know what you really have until it's complete. It's like
carving a piece of clay and seeing how it turns out. You peel off the layers
until you get to something really cool."
Tate and his wife, Susan,
QUEENSRŸCHE's former manager, filed a lawsuit in June 2012 asking the
judge to award them the rights to the band's name in exchange for Tate
paying Eddie Jackson (bass), Michael Wilton (guitar) and Scott
Rockenfield (drums) the fair market value for their interests in the QUEENSRŸCHE
companies. Wilton, Rockenfield and Jackson filed a
countersuit against the Tates in which they accused Geoff of
creative obstruction and violent behavior, and Susan Tate of
questionable business practices.
While ruling against Tate, the presiding judge determined
that there was no legal hurdle in Tate also using the name with an
all-new lineup of musicians. "I don't see any reason that Mr. Tate
can't have the benefit, if he gets other members, of whatever name he uses of
using the brand," Superior Court Judge Carol A. Schapira said
during the July 13, 2012 court hearing. "I think [doing that would be]
inherently confusing, although I'm sure the market can get these things sorted
out," she added.
Wilton, Rockenfield and
Jackson last year accused Geoff Tate of "continu[ing] to
harm the QUEENSRŸCHE brand" since the Tates' original
lawsuit was filed in June 2012. In a court document, they wrote: "The
newest self-titled QUEENSRŸCHE CD release by the [Todd La Torre-fronted
version of the band] entered the U.S. charts at #23 and continues to get
9-out-of-10-star reviews and is still selling very well on a weekly basis
around the globe. In comparison, Geoff Tate released his own QUEENSRŸCHE
CD in April of [2013] titled 'Frequency Unknown' and depicted as F.U. on
the cover, which entered the charts at #82, received very bad reviews around
the world, and has slowed to almost no more weekly sales. [The Todd La Torre-fronted
version of QUEENSRŸCHE's] new CD even outperformed the last two CDs of
them with Geoff Tate, selling more in a month than the 'Dedicated to
Chaos' CD has since its release in 2010, and charting much better than both
that album and the previous one, 'American Soldier'. Thus, the return to
the classic sound [Tate's former] bandmates have made with the new CD
and live shows has been met with overwhelming success."
They added: "Geoff Tate also chose very poorly in
hiring live musicians that have shown that they are not capable of representing
the correct performances of the QUEENSRŸCHE music legacy, and he was
constantly replacing them. He has been offering his low-quality version of QUEENSRŸCHE
to the promoters at a much reduced rate, as low as $10,000 per night, when, in
fact, [his former] bandmates have done their best to keep the authorized QUEENSRŸCHE
at an average of well over $20,000 per show this entire year. However, this
becomes harder and harder with Geoff Tate's sub-par band and cut-rate
pricing that continues to be damaging to the QUEENSRŸCHE brand and
legacy no matter who ultimately wins control after trial."
In an interview with The Oakland Press, Rockenfield
said said that "negotiations are ongoing between Tate and the
singer's former bandmates and "there's still time for anything to happen
between now and [the start of the trial]."
"I think our confidence is pretty high," Scott
said. "There's a lot of legal stuff you have to deal with, but we just
feel good and look at it as a light at the end of the tunnel and keep playing
shows and making music. I think when you do that, the right decision will be
made in time."
in December. 
