TheUnborn wrote:Ja, uansett hva bandet foretar seg nå så er det ingen tvil om at storhetstiden er over. Synd for bandet, men sant.
'
Kreativt sett endte den vel langt tidligere, sånn ca i løpet av første 1/2-del av 90 tallet vil nå jeg påstå - det til tross for at de sporadisk har bydd på gull også etter dette
Lynchomaniac wrote:TheUnborn wrote:Ja, uansett hva bandet foretar seg nå så er det ingen tvil om at storhetstiden er over. Synd for bandet, men sant.
'
Kreativt sett endte den vel langt tidligere, sånn ca i løpet av første 1/2-del av 90 tallet vil nå jeg påstå - det til tross for at de sporadisk har bydd på gull også etter dette
Joda, enig i det. Selv faller jeg av etter Empire, så for min del har jeg ikke hatt glede av nytt Queensrÿche-materiale på lange tider jeg heller.
Et par år med frustrasjon som ville ut der, ja. Skal bli artig å sjå korleis dette fyk av seg.
"Susan Tate brought to the table the idea to record 'Operation: Mindcrime II'. The band was hesitant and did not want to lessen the original.
Fra noen som om og om igjen forteller at nå skal den gamle fansen få kloninger av det gamle stoffet.
Hallo, det var på turneen etter Mindcrime II at de horet seg ut ved å gjøre hele Mindcrime (I) om igjen, og også med Pamela Moore. (Og jeg horekundet det med stor velvillighet.) Nå klager de over hvordan Tate herjet på diktatorvis på den tiden. Men det er da dette de lover å gjøre, når de skal ut på ny tur?
Ikke at Tate høres veldig troverdig ut heller. But seriously, folks ... dette er ikke Gaahl og King ov Hell som prøver å sparke Infernus, de er tre originalmedlemmer mot Tate. Hit the road, Jack.
PsychoDad wrote:Excerpt ja. Det er med andre ord ei bok han har skrive om saken då?
En konseptplate. Den skal hete Operation: Tatecrime.
– Fire him. That's all you have to do.
– Fire Geoff?
– He is a risk. And get the wife as well.
Porcus wrote:PsychoDad wrote:Excerpt ja. Det er med andre ord ei bok han har skrive om saken då?
En konseptplate. Den skal hete Operation: Tatecrime.
– Fire him. That's all you have to do.
– Fire Geoff?
– He is a risk. And get the wife as well.
Hehe, den var ikke så dum Porcus.
De får gjøre og si hva de vil for min del. Ingen av partene virker veldig troverdige, men grunnen til at jeg holder med de tre, er enkelt og greit fordi Tate ser så j****g ekkel ut. Det har han gjort helt siden jeg første gangen så bilder av han i forbindelse med Rage For Order-skiva.
Har ingen problemer med å tro på at Tate og kompani har styrt og stelt som de selv vil de siste førti åra. Er garantert han som har bestemt den musikalske retningen, men årsaken kan godt være mangel på entusiasme/låtskriverferdigheter hos de andre.
Uansett hvordan man vrenger og vrir på det, så står Tate igjen som en skikkelig taper, mens de tre gjenværende er tidenes mest tafatte trio. Krysser fingra for at denne trioen får ut noe bedre enn Addicted To Chaos.
Marken wrote:grunnen til at jeg holder med de tre, er enkelt og greit fordi Tate ser så j****g ekkel ut.
Nå er du bare ... teit.
Har lest igjennom de forklaringene som er tilgjengelige, og det virker som om den bleikfeite Tate står nokså alene (m/familie pluss kjøpt og betalt advokat i ryggen).
Hele saken bærer preg av en mann som vil ha mest mulig makt og penger og når hele spillet blir avslørt så brukes vold og trusler som middel for fortsatt å kunne være enehersker.
I tillegg så virker Tate-klanen som en korrupt familie som vil ha mest mulig uten at andre skal få lov til å ha verken særlig innsyn eller kontroll på det som blir bestemt.
Jeg skjønner jo nå hvorfor Queensrÿche begynte å forfalle for x antall år siden, det var jo den herskesyke som sutret til seg plassen foran roret og de andre, i naivitet, ikke oppdaget det før det var for sent.
Ex-DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Portnoy, who was involved in a messy split with his former bandmates less than two years ago, has commented further on the legal battle between QUEENSRŸCHE and the Seattle progressive rock band's ex-singer, Geoff Tate, over the rights to the group's name.
During an interview that aired on last night's (Friday, July 13) edition of Eddie Trunk's "Friday Night Rocks" radio show on New York's Q104.3 FM, Portnoy said, "I was there in Brazil when the fireworks went down [between Tate and the other QUEENSRŸCHE guys]. I was filling in, playing drums for [QUEENSRŸCHE's support act] FATES WARNING at that gig [in April 2012] in Sao Paulo, so I've had to kind of keep my mouth shut on [what happened] that [night]. But we witnessed a lot of what went down firsthand, and it was just shocking. But, to be honest, the writing has kind of been on the wall for years. Geoff and I have had our words in the press and all that kind of stuff through the years, and I've seen some of this stuff definitely in the works through the years, so it doesn't come as a surprise to me."
He continued, "I don't wanna say too much, because I think anything I say will probably used against me [chuckles], but I will say that I'm excited to see where Scott [Rockenfield, drums], Michael [Wilton, guitar] and Eddie [Jackson, bass] go. 'Cause I really do like those guys and I've always gotten along with those three guys; I think they're awesome dudes. I think, to a certain extent, they haven't been able to be themselves and have the creative outlet that, I think, all three have wanted to have for all these years. So I will just say I'm excited to see what they come out with musically and I truly support them. I really like those guys."
He added, "I've seen the writing on the all for years, since [QUEENSRŸCHE and DREAM THEATER] toured together, and some of the war of words that went down, it's no surprise to me. I know for a lot of people it's all shocking, but for [me], I've kind of seen some of the behind-the-scenes stuff through the years, so it's not so shocking to me."
Som om ikke Portnoy har lirt av seg nok drama om splittelse allerede. (Han har hatet Tate i ti år, så dette er ikke veldig snålt.)
On Monday, July 9, Wilton, Jackson and Rockenfield filed a response to Tate's motion for preliminary injunction and included individual declarations from all of the defendants supporting their position that Tate's motion should be denied.
In his sworn "reply declaration in further support" of his motion for preliminary injunction — which was filed this past Thursday, July 12 in the King County Superior Court in Seattle, Washington and obtained by BLABBERMOUTH.NET — Tate says, "Rockenfield, Jackson, and Wilton allege that they, together with Chris DeGarmo, started the band THE MOB. This is incorrect. They were not a band. They did not have a singer and they did not have a name. When I joined, we became a band and we agreed on a name, THE MOB, after a song released by the band BLACK SABBATH.
"Rockenfield, Jackson, and Wilton are also incorrect in alleging that I did not contribute to the making of our first record, the EP 'Queensrÿche'. I sang all the songs of the EP and with DeGarmo wrote what became the most popular song on the album, 'Lady Wore Black'. I also helped pay for the cost for the recording studio.
"From then until last month, when I was kicked out of the band, I have been the lead singer and predominant songwriter for the band. I have never quit the band or wanted to quit the band. And contrary to what Rockenfield, Jackson, and Wilton allege, I never threatened to quit the band. QUEENSRŸCHE has been my life.
"Rockenfield, Jackson, and Wilton allege that I did not want to share songwriting credit with them and that, following DeGarmo's departure, I began rejecting songs they had written choosing, instead, to work with outside musicians. These allegations are not true. I have been happy to share songwriting credit. That is evident from the songwriting splits in the spreadsheet attached as Exhibit A to my initial declaration. I even shared songwriting credit during the later albums, although Rockenfield, Jackson, and Wilton were not entitled to the credit. I agreed to share songwriting credit equally among all band members for the 'Q2K' release even though Rockenfield, Jackson, and Wilton did not participate in songwriting. Rockenfield also received 30 percent songwriting credit for two songs on the 'American Soldier' album although he did not contribute to the songwriting process. He merely played the drums on previous recordings of the two songs, when the writers of the songs (who had been hired by QUEENSRŸCHE to write songs for the album) recorded them for demos.
"Also, as stated in my earlier declaration, I began working with outside musicians because Rockenfield, Jackson, and Wilton were not contributing toward songwriting. I did not want to work with outside musicians. Doing so is not in the band's interests financially, since it costs the band money to hire outside musicians, or collaboratively, since it drives a wedge among the permanent band members. Just like I had done with DeGarmo and Wilton earlier on, I would have preferred to write songs with Rockenfield, Jackson, and Wilton, and repeatedly asked them for songs, but they did not provide the songs.
"Rockenfield, Jackson, and Wilton claim that I do not like the older songs in the QUEENSRŸCHE catalog and do not play them at QUEENSRŸCHE shows. That is not true. Those songs are a critical piece of the band's history and, unlike Rockenfield, Jackson, and Wilton, I contributed to writing those songs. I also like playing those songs at shows. Indeed, I cannot and do not decide by myself what songs get played at shows. As a band, we decide on a particular cross-section of songs to play for shows. Among those songs are always a number of songs from QUEENSRŸCHE's earlier records. Indeed, recent shows have focused exclusively on earlier releases. For a show last year in New York City, for example, we played every song on our second full-length album, 'Rage For Order', which was released in 1986. For a show in 2011, on an ocean cruise called ShipRocked, we played the entire 'Operation: Mindcrime' album. I am also attaching as Exhibits A and B hereto the set lists for two shows we recently did, which show that QUEENSRŸCHE was performing a wide selection of songs that cover its entire catalog.
"Rockenfield, Jackson, and Wilton also complain about a cabaret tour the band did in 2010. But until recently they had not complained about that tour. The idea for the tour began with Lars Sorensen, a former manager of QUEENSRŸCHE who was head of entertainment for Snoqualmie Casino. He asked us to do two shows for Valentine's Day and asked that they be 'special' or 'different.' He mentioned that another band had recently done a cabaret type show that had been successful. He offered QUEENSRŸCHE $50,000 per show, $100,000 total, which was significant, particularly since there would be no significant travel expenses. I discussed the cabaret idea with the band and they voiced no objections to the idea. Instead, their questions were limited to what they would be paid. The show was a success and the band agreed to do a tour of the cabaret style shows. We performed a total of 24 shows throughout 2010. Given the number of shows, the tour was very lucrative, especially considering that, in 2010, many bands were struggling to get any performances.
"Rockenfield, Jackson; and Wilton accuse of me of telling the audience at a concert that they 'suck.' But they take what I said out of context. I was not insulting the audience. Instead, I was trying to motivate or excite them. The show was the Rocklahoma festival in Oklahoma. It was May and it was very hot and QUEENSRŸCHE played late in the evening, after the fans had watched a number of other bands. QUEENSRŸCHE opened its set with a number of its older songs, including 'Damaged', 'I Don't Believe In Love', and 'Hit The Black'. 1 The fans were unresponsive. This has happened before and, when it occurs, as the singer, I try to motivate them to get more involved in the show. That is what I did here. I was trying to motivate them, inspire them to get more excited about the show.
"Rockenfield, Jackson, and Wilton allege that Susan Tate usurped control of the band. That is untrue. She reluctantly agreed to be our manager, and at half the pay of our other managers, only after QUEENSRŸCHE had problems with two other managers.
"In or around 2001, QUEENSRŸCHE was becoming dissatisfied with its manager at the time. QUEENSRŸCHE was interested in touring with two separate metal bands that were very popular at the time. Our manager told us that he had contacted them and, for one band, was waiting to hear back and, for the other, had been told the band was not interested. We contacted these bands directly, however, and were told that the conversations alleged by our manager had not occurred. Based on that, and other disagreements we had with our manager, the band members agreed to terminate its relationship with the manager.
"The next manager we hired, Lars Sorensen, quit. In response, Susan, who, by now, had been working as an assistant manager, was asked by Rockenfield to serve as the lead manager. Rockenfield's only question to Susan was whether she would continue to accept the five-percent fee she previously agreed to accept. This was less than half what other managers charge bands. She agreed. Rockenfield said he would ensure that Susan became QUEENSRŸCHE's manager. He went to the meeting and we all agreed she could be the band's manager. She continued to earn half what other managers get paid until she was fired by Rockenfield, Jackson and Wilton.
"Approximately one year prior to the termination of Susan as band manager, Michael Wilton came to me and the other band members, and said that he wanted to hire Paul Geary as the new manager for QUEENSRŸCHE. The band members all discussed it and we agreed that Susan was doing a good job and that the band did not need a new manager. Rockenfield and I called Paul Geary. During the call, Rockenfield did most of the talking. We told Geary that we were not interested in hiring a new manager and that Wilton had contacted him behind our backs. The decision was not just mine alone, as Rockenfield, Jackson, and Wilton now allege. The decision not to hire Paul Geary at that time was a band decision.
"I previously discussed the incident in Brazil when I punched Rockenfield and slapped Wilton. I was upset at the time, having been told that my wife and daughter had been fired, and that I was 'next.' I regret losing my temper and my actions are not acceptable. It is also very unlike me to act in this manner. I do not lose my temper, become loud or threatening, or hit people. People who know me describe me as even keeled, mild-mannered and easy-going. And once the incident in Brazil ended, it did not continue. I did not threaten Rockenfield, Jackson, and Wilton during or after the show in Brazil. I also did not threaten them at any point after that. Although I have no doubt it was upsetting to Rockenfield and Wilton, they were not injured. It was also clear that they were not and are not afraid of me. They did not press charges or request a restraining order or try to commence any other type of legal action. They performed two more shows with me in May 2012. I also do not believe that Rockenfield, Jackson, and Wilton kicked me out of the band based on what happened in Brazil. I think instead that they had planned on firing me since at least February 2012 and that this incident just gave them an excuse to do it.
"In an attempt to prove that I have been violent before, Rockenfield mentions an incident in 2007. But he does not disclose what caused it. At that time, QUEENSRŸCHE was on tour. When QUEENSRŸCHE is on tour, at every stop, it sets up a booth to sell QUEENSRŸCHE merchandise. The sale of merchandise goes through Queensrÿche Merchandising, Inc. with profits from the sale of merchandise being distributed among the band members. At a show in 2007, Susan noticed hanging from the merchandise booth drum sticks and drum heads signed by Rockenfield for sale. QUEENSRŸCHE didn't sell drum sticks and drum heads. Susan asked the man selling the merchandise about it, and he told her that Rockenfield had told him to sell the drum sticks and the drum heads and to give him the money. Rockenfield had not discussed this with the band first, and we did not know about it. It was unfair to the band because he was using valuable merchandise space and not sharing what he earned from the sales with the rest of the band. When the other band members learned what he had done, we were all upset. I tried to talk about it with Rockenfield. He was in his dressing room, sitting at his laptop. When I asked him about it, he would not even acknowledge that I was talking with him. He just kept staring at his laptop screen, indifferent about what he had done. Unable to get his attention, and becoming more and more upset about what he had done and his disregard for me, I shut the laptop screen down. I did not spit on him or push him, as Rockenfield now claims.
"As I mentioned in my earlier declaration, 'Operation: Mindcrime' was a concept album, a 'rock opera,' based on a story I wrote while I was living in Canada. The story was about a recovering drug addict, Nikki, who leaves mainstream society and joins a revolutionary group. When I first conceived of the story, I mentioned it to the other band members, but they did not like it. They eventually agreed to the idea and the album went on to go platinum, selling more than a million copies.
"In 2011, Zoetifex Studios in Pittsburgh became interested in producing an animated film based on the story of 'Operation: Mindcrime'. As a first step, Zoetifex wanted exclusive rights to option the story into a movie. That way, Zoetifex could begin searching for investors willing to invest in the making of the movie. They approached Neil Sussman, the attorney for QUEENSRŸCHE, and offered QUEENSRŸCHE money for the rights. But I owned the copyright to the story, not the band. I had conceived of the idea and had written the story. It was no different than how songwriting royalties are distributed. If you write the song, you get the songwriting royalties. Similarly, since I wrote the story, I owned the copyright for the story. QUEENSRŸCHE's attorney agreed that the story belonged to me and that I was solely entitled to any money paid by Zoetifex for the option rights. He informed Michael Kadrie of Zoetifex of his position. Mr. Kadrie agreed and Zoetifex paid me $10,000 for the exclusive rights to the 'Operation: Mindcrime' story. Rockenfield, Jackson, and •Wilton's contention that I tried to 'cut them out,' however, is false. In addition, as the contract that they provide to the Court shows, during the negotiation process, which was handled by Susan, Susan negotiated with Zoetifex that, if the movie was made, QUEENSRŸCHE would get $250,000 to write the score for the movie. Susan requested this because, at the time, Rockenfield was interested in writing scores for movies, and he told Susan that he would like to write the score for this movie. As a result, Susan got Zoetifex to agree to hire the band to write the score if the movie was made.
"Rockenfield, Jackson, and Wilton claim they first learned of the Zoetifex agreement after this litigation was commenced. They were aware of it well before that. It was discussed during our meeting in February 2012.
"In their opposition, Rockenfield, Jackson, and Wilton request a bond of $10 million based on the statements of Paul Geary that he can book five shows a week at $20,000 per show between now and the trial date. That equals $4.8 million a year just on touring for 12 months. Mr. Geary is a band manager. He is not a promoter. The distinction is key since a manager tries to sell the band to promoters and promoters are the ones who decide to book shows for bands. Mr. Geary can only speculate on what the band can do over the next year.
"To my knowledge, QUEENSRŸCHE has never generated nearly that much revenue merely from touring. And I am convinced that, in its current configuration, QUEENSRŸCHE will never generate much interest from promoters, let alone anywhere near the scale stated by Mr. Geary. Furthermore, if QUEENSRŸCHE played five shows a week, every week, between now and the end of the litigation, they will completely burn the market. They will have played every single venue, including the smallest bars and restaurants, which would be remotely interested in booking them. This would be not only in the United States, but around the world. As a result, when the litigation ends, and the Court decides how to distribute the assets of the QUEENSRŸCHE companies, including the band name, the band name will be stripped of almost all its value since the band will be unable to tour."
Det verste er at dette er en j****g bra såpeserie. Bare venter på neste episode:) Lag en film av dette istedet.
Marken wrote:Synes det er helt knall selv. Gleder meg til høydepunktet kommer, dvs. når DeGarmo bestemmer seg for å åpne kjeften.
Hvis de de kamphanene og advokatene deres har det minste rett om hvor viktig Queensrÿche-navnet er for musikksfæren, så er vel DeGarmo travelt opptatt med å sortere vekk intervjuforespørseler fra innboksen, skaffe seg nytt telefonnummer, og søke dekning for paparazzi.
DeGarmo sitter formodentlig på hendene sine nå som Tate påstår at Mindcrime-storyen er hans, og de tre påstår at DeGarmo var med på dem. Og i hvert fall mener han sikkert noe om det når Tate påstår: "I write 81% of the music and the lyrics. Of the 144 songs that QUEENSRŸCHE has released, I've written 116 of those."
Jeg gjetter at de tre har passet seg vel for hvilke plater de skal disse, når de påstår at det var de tre siste som er så katastrofale. De færreste av Queensrÿches fans vil vel juble høyt over HITNF/Q2K/Tribe, right? Vel, HITNF var stort sett DeGarmos verk. DeGarmo har hånda på halve Tribe. Omtrent det samme har Wilton. Og Rockenfield. Q2K er kollektivt kreditert.
På platene til og med Promised Land, er det forståss DeGarmo som har bidratt på flest låter. Han er, med få unntak, den eneste som har skrevet låter alene (Wilton har én (Deliverance), og så er det bare tødler på de andre: Rockenfield har 9:28 AM, og Tate har ingenting alene før de 8 sekundene som heter Convict på Mindcrime II).
Men t.o.m Promised Land, bidrar Tate på flere spor enn de tre gjør til sammen. 41 mot Wiltons 27 mot Rockenfields 5 (inkludert interludier) mot Jacksons 2.
Det er neppe Dedicated to Chaos som er grunnen til at Scott Rockenfield fikk nok, i hvert fall:
http://www.bryanreesman.com/2010/08/25/ ... new-label/
Her påstår han at det er han og Geoff som har snekra det nye soundet som en oppdatering av Rage for Order. Hvis man skal spekulere, så var det ve neppe noe Wilton kunne gjøre så lenge Geoff og Scott var venner.
De tre kara har ikke bidratt stort i Queensryche-sammenheng med delvis unntak av Wilton. Hva de er gode for får vi svar på når den kommende skiva slippes...hvis de kommer så langt. Jeg har ikke helt trua, men jeg blir j****g fornøyd dersom de viser Tate hvordan det skal gjøres.
Jason Slater om Dedicated To Chaos, mai 2011 på http://www.anybodylistening.net :
Q: Do you feel you were given the proper respect that you as a professional deserved as both a songwriter and producer of the last 3 Queensryche albums?
BWAHAHAHAHA,I just had orange juice fly outta my nose,I gotta not drink while I'm reading these ummmmmm to an extent during MCII
Q: Do you feel Susan Tate has the "Bands" best interests at heart, or does she simply side with her husband because of the ovbious personal and financial gains as manager and wife of Geoff Tate?
Not touching that one.
Q: Do you regret working with Queensryche, or feel that perhaps you stayed at the "party" a bit too long?
Agreed,I shoulda left after MCII. This is the only situation I've had in my life that loyalty became a detriment......
Q: Were you able to do your job as a songwriter and producer to your total satisfaction without having to deal with any interference from Susan Tate, Kelly Grey, or any other people outside of the band?
Absolutely not.
Q: Do you think Geoff Tate has completely lost the "plot" as it relates to Queensryche and what the fans expect from them?
I think he knows exactly what the fans want.
Q: In your opinion are Geoff and Susan trying to phase Michael out of Queensryche and Would Michael be happier if he were able to leave Queensryche behind, and play the music he wanted?
Wow,you'd have to ask one of them. I don't know Michael well enough to speculate and I don't see how "phasing him out" would be beneficial to anyone.
Q: [...]
on this record Geoff went through all the songs I'd written for him over the years and some stuff I had written for myself and just picked stuff he liked.
You could take a handful of songs from AS and add a mere 15 seconds to the guitar solo and we would be banging our heads on the stage... What gives??
I only wish you could hear the demo's for AS..........Dont ask,I'd be breaking laws/contracts etc. and I'm not doing it.
From my observations there isn't any turmoil within the band,but i can't speak on anybodies behalf and don't want to speculate on relationships I'm not involved with.
Producer, Session Guitarist Claim QUEENSRŸCHE Drummer Didn't Play On 'Operation: Mindcrime II' - July 15, 2012
Producer Jason Slater, who worked with QUEENSRŸCHE's on on their last three studio albums, claims that the the band's members Scott Rockenfield (drums), Michael Wilton (guitar) and Eddie Jackson (bass), had very little to no involvement with the band's 2006 CD, "Operation: Mindcrime II", despite the fact that they were credited with having played on the record.
Wilton, Jackson, Rockenfield and guitarist Parker Lundgren announced on June 20 that they were parting ways with singer Geoff Tate and recruiting powerhouse vocalist Todd La Torre of CRIMSON GLORY as his replacement. The new QUEENSRŸCHE lineup has already performed live, having played two shows in their home city of Seattle under the name RISING WEST.
Slater submitted a sworn declaration in support of Tate's motion for preliminary injunction to prevent Michael Wilton, Eddie Jackson, Scott Rockenfield and Parker Lundgren from using the name QUEENSRŸCHE for their new group.
Slater said in his declaration: "I first worked with QUEENSRŸCHE on their 'Operation: Mindcrime II' CD.
"When I met the band, everyone seemed enthusiastic about making the CD, but as we began working, none of the band members except for Geoff Tate were interested in contributing, showing up for recording sessions or participating in any fashion. On several occasions, studio time was arranged but none of the band members showed up. This left myself, Geoff Tate, and [then-QUEENSRŸCHE guitarist] Mike Stone to write and record the record the record. Every attempt was made to include the band. They received copies of the songs after they were written and time was set aside for them to come in and record. We scheduled two weeks at a local studio to record Michael Wilton. When he showed up, he hadn't learned any of the songs, so all the time was spent trying to teach him the songs so he could record them. In the end, he wasn't capable of performing any of the songs accurately enough to be used on the record. In the end, we had no guitars from Mike that could be used. The guitars on the record were played by Mike Stone, a session guitarist and myself.
"Scott Rockenfield did not participate in the making of the record at all, and a session drummer was brought in to play on the record. I don't believe [Scott] listened to any of the music until after the record was completed.
"We had Eddie Jackson come to the [San Francisco] Bay Area, where Geoff and I were finishing recording the vocals and mixing the record, with the intent of recording his bass parts. Again, he hadn't learned the songs and we spent 10 days trying to get professional recordings but couldn't get much that could be added to the songs, so I played the majority of the bass on the record.
"The members of the band badmouthed the record to the press and important people in the industry until they saw the record getting favorable reviews. At that point, they started taking credit for all the work that was done in their absence.
"The next full-length record I worked on with them was 'American Soldier'. The band was supposed to submit songs they had written and we were supposed to start recording as songs carne in. It quickly became apparent that they were again going to leave all the work to Geoff as nobody submitted any songs. Geoff and I wrote all but two songs on the record, the other two carne from outside writers. The band did play on this record, but put the minimum amount of effort into it. They did nothing beyond copying the performances Geoff and I recorded on the songwriting demos.
"As the producer of over 20 major label records, countless independent releases and several film scores, my opinion of the process wasn't that of working with a band, but that of working with a solo artist and some mediocre hired musicians."
Slater's account appears to corroborated, at least in part, by guitarist Mitch Doran (a former member of SNAKE RIVER CONSPIRACY, which also featured Slater), who wrote on the MyLesPaul.com forum, "If you guys read the rest of the [QUEENSRŸCHE] depositions, there are numerous references to the fact that a session guitarist had to be brought in to play on a few QUEENSRŸCHE records post-2005. I am said session guitarist.
"I ended up re-playing 90% of the rhythm guitar on 'Operation: Mindcrime II' record, and also wrote and played most of the guitar solos. I was still in my late teens when I played that stuff. At the point that I wrote the solos and played all of the rythms, we didn't have a lot of time. Geoff Tate kept calling us during the one week we had to mix the record and asking for things to sound 'heavier.' The producer would then have me re-play all of the rythms through a Mesa/Marshall dual head setup we had running. I did this for the song 'Hands' and 'I'm American' probably three times before we settled on a combination of different amp settings/takes.
"Scott Rockenfield isn't even on 'Operation: Mindcrime II'. A session drummer/old friend of mine named Matt Lucich from South San Francisco played all of the drums except for one bridge, which me and the producer simultaneously played on two kits spaced across the room from each other. Then there's the track 'I'm American', which is a bad midi-programmed drum take that I did on a laptop and it ended up getting used for some reason (time constraints, or the producer didn't like the live take).
"After the first guitar recording session, they hired me to engineer for the rest of the record as well.
"They broke the silence (pun intended) about my involvement in their declarations. I spent five long years not talking about this stuff to ANYONE.
"That record, for all intents and purposes, SHOULD carry the following credits:
Drums: Matt Lucich
Guitars: Mitch Doran (yours truly), Ashif Hakik, Mike Stone, Michael Wilton
Bass: Ed Jackson, Jason Slater
Vocals: Geoff Tate (Miranda Tate, Pamela Moore)
Orchestration/Keys: Ashif Hakik
Mixed: Chris Wolfe
"So as you can see, it's a QUEENSRŸCHE-related record, but not exactly a classic or traditonal QUEENSRŸCHE lineup.
"
I always had a lot of respect and admiration for that band, from back when 'Mindcrime' and 'Empire' were two great records that I enjoyed.
"When I was asked to play guitar on their record, by Geoff Tate and their then-producer, I had no idea what the rest of their situation was. Ed Jackson showed up and played his ass off. Mike Wilton was never at the studio when I was, and now that I read the deposition that he wrote, he says he was kept away from the studio. I had no idea about any of that, and it was explained to me that Wilton was just not showing up to play. It never made sense to me at all. Neither did Scott not being there. I always thought of Scott as a master drummer. Why then was I programming drums for this record? I was told a lot of stories as to why, but when you are a hungry kid and getting offered good engineer/session guitar work on a tight deadline, you drink the coffee and do the work. Years later I met Scott and worked on some songs with him and Geoff, Scott was always very nice, and indeed the master drummer that I had originally pictured.
"It's really sad that it had to come to this, and I feel like if these guys could have wrote all of those depositions, as heartfelt messages to one another in private, things would be a lot different. Also, Geoff was always a calm and peaceful guy. He'd drive us around the Bay Area to the mastering facilities, he'd offer to bring stuff in, he sent us gifts after the record was done mixing, he sat the engineers down and gave us a talk thanking us for being professionals and apologizing for any toes he could have stepped on during the creative process (which he didn't)
"I will say that there were a few screaming arguments in the lobby between Geoff's manager and the producer, and more than once the producer came in and told me to stop working (while recording ed playing his bass parts) and not to let the hard drive with the Pro Tools files out of my sight.
"I have always had a large black spot in my heart over having played on this record, having it debut at #15 on Billboard, and then not being able to tell anyone about it. I have a lot to say about each song on it. I also completely understand why a QUEENSRŸCHE fan would put it on and say, 'WTF?'"
In his sworn declaration, Wilton stated about the writing and recording process for "Operation: Mindcrime II", "Susan Tate [Geoff's wife and QUEENSRŸCHE's then-manager] brought to the table the idea to record 'Operation: Mindcrime II'. The band was hesitant and did not want to lessen the original. But Susan Tate and Geoff Tate hired a budget producer and took control without really any other input. The manipulation of upfront monies was the Tates' main tool to get what they wanted. Scott Rockenfield, Eddie Jackson and I were squeezed out of having any input in the musical direction or business decisions, thus the project suffered. The rest was an organizational nightmare. The producer was never around when needed; he was constantly asleep on the job or playing games on his media player. He would send emails to the wrong email addresses. During the initial writing phase, I would show up to bring my input to the creative process only to find that the producer, the new guitar player (who were both staying with the Tates at the time), along with Geoff Tate had been up late the night before or up early that morning and had written the songs without me. I was then told my ideas were not needed as the songs were now done. I could, however, 'bring my own style' in during the recording after learning to play what they wrote for me. In frustration, I gave up on the writing process knowing that I would at least get to make changes in the studio to bring back the QUEENSRŸCHE sound into these songs that we were known for. The final straw was when they refused to let me to be a part of the final recordings and mixes. I was shut out and they had the nerve to replace some of my parts on my songs. They denied me flying to San Francisco to be a part of my band, telling me that everything was ready to go and I was not needed. Had the communication been better, and had I been aware that parts needed to be recorded or rewritten, I would have been there. It was not until years later that I even became aware of the issues during the final recording and mixing of 'Operation: Mindcrime II'. It was all under the control of Geoff and Susan Tate. Call it delusions of grandeur, but they were convinced that this was going to sell three times more than the original, and to date (six years later) this album has sold fewer than 150,000 copies. The original album sold over 500,000 copies within a year."
According to Billboard.com, QUEENSRŸCHE members Michael Wilton, Eddie Jackson, Scott Rockenfield and Parker Lundgren defeated singer Geoff Tate's motion for a preliminary injunction on July 13 that would have kept them from touring and operating under the band name,
Tate filed a lawsuit against his former bandmates on June 22 in King County Superior Court in the state of Washington over whether he should be awarded the QUEENSRŸCHE name after being fired from the group in June.
"We are excited that the Washington courts saw what we and the fans have always known, that QUEENSRŸCHE is more than any one member," AGPS Management senior manager Glen Parrish said in a statement. "We are sorry we had to go to court to show this, but we are determined to bring back the quality product QUEENSRŸCHE was known for. We can't wait to unveil to the fans what [the band creates] next musically."
AGPS Management is overseeing QUEENSRŸCHE affairs after the band was previously managed by Tate's wife, Susan.
