Geoff Tate happy with way things are & doesn’t feel need to go backwards by reuniting with Queensrÿche
Geoff Tate happy with way things are & doesn’t feel need to go backwards by reuniting with Queensrÿche
Former Queensrÿche frontman Geoff Tate was recently interviewed by Metal Mike for the 80’s Glam Metalcast podcast.
With respect to playing the Queensrÿche album Empire live in its entirety and whether it feels like more than 30 years since its release, Tate indicated (as transcribed by the 80’s Glam Metalcast podcast with slight edits):
“Yeah, it really does. A lot of time has gone by and there’s has been a lot of water under the bridge. It sure is a lot of the fun going back playing the songs though. I did quite a few shows last year before the pandemic hit and I was having a fantastic time. It was a treat for me because I never had a chance to play all the songs while the album was out. Then over the years when I was in Queensrÿche, we would only play certain songs from it. Funny enough for me, when I write a song, even if it’s a long time ago…. I remember it. I have a hard time remembering other people’s songs. Like cover songs, I can never remember the words. I highly recommend everyone to check out the upcoming tour, especially if they love the Empire album.”
In terms of the Promised Land album released back in 1994, Tate commented: “After the Empire album and tour, we didn’t make any music for about three years. We kinda all went our separate ways. Promised Land was an effort to get the band back together and making music again. It worked. We all got together again for a brief time and made the album. It didn’t happen the way I thought it would. I thought we were going to all get together on this remote island and live and breathe and write and get all creative in this remote place, like communal living. I thought we were going to get in some deep conversations about life and it was going to come out in the record. It didn’t turn out that way at all. It ended up being me and Chris [DeGarmo] on the island for like eight months while we made the album. The other guys just came in to do their parts and would leave. It still turned out really well. I’m really happy with that album. It’s the only Queensrÿche album that we ever did that has the same kind of vibe throughout the entire record. It keeps you in this feel rather than changing moods every other song like a lot of the albums do.”
In regards to reuniting with his old bandmates in Queensrÿche, Tate stated: “I’m very happy the way things are. I spent 30+ years making music with those guys, and I’m very proud of our legacy and what we achieved and the albums we made, songs we wrote. And I don’t feel the need to go back in time and resurrect that. I’m fine with where I’m at now and what I’m doing. I love the touring that I’m doing and I have a fantastic band of musicians that are incredible to play with. So I don’t really feel a need to go backwards in that respect. Usually bands do those kind of tours because the money is so good. I don’t really need the money. So I’m pretty happy right now.”
You can listen to the interview with Geoff Tate on the 80’s Glam Metalcast podcast below: