William Clark at Music Enthusiast Magazine recently caught up with vocalist GEOFF TATE to discuss his new QUEENSRŸCHE album, Frequency Unknown. An excerpt from the interview, which sees Tate avoiding some serious questions, is available below

William: What’s your rebuttal to the recent statements by Todd La Torre, the new lead vocalist for the other Queensrÿche , calling the album cover for Frequency Unknown a "cheap shot"?

Geoff: "I don’t really have a comment."

William: Alright. Let’s move into the new album. What was your objective, working with a new lineup under the Queensrÿche name?

Geoff: "My objective? I make music. I wanted to work with great people who could play well and were interested in working, and being there with their creative ideas. And my objective was really to continue making music, which is what I do, you know?"

William: So tell me, what is with the incident from a few weeks ago, where you took a cell phone from one of the audience members and pitched it out to the crowd?

Geoff: "Well, I think, William, what you’re referring to is thirty years of being a performer. And because I happen to be in a lawsuit right now, some actions that I have become very normal with as a performer are getting scrutinized and manipulated to paint a picture of me. And so I that’s what I think we are seeing now. Simple as that."

William: So you think that footage is just people trying to make you look like the bad guy?

Geoff: "I think that’s the objective. I don’t think it shows me being a bad guy, it’s rock and roll. It’s what I do, you know? (laughs)"

Go to this location for the complete interview.

Check out the YouTube footage below of a fan filming Geoff Tate's Queensrÿche during the 25th Anniversary Operation: Mindcrime Tour as Tate grabs the phone, turns around to walk towards the drum-riser and tosses it backwards into the air in the audience at the 10:16 mark.

Juno Award-winning artist SASS JORDAN (pictured below) has joined Geoff Tate's Queensrÿche to sing the part of Sister Mary on the 25th Anniversary Operation: Mindcrime Tour. Sass is the winner of Billboard's Best Female Rock Vocalist award, she has toured and/or worked with many music heavyweights, including: AEROSMITH, ALICE COOPER, CHEAP TRICK, VAN HALEN, CARLOS SANTANA and JOE COCKER.

Catch Queensrÿche and Sass live:

June

1 - Rama, ON - Casino Rama
2 - Montreal, QC - Corona Theatre
5 - Verona, NY - Turning Stone Resort Casino
6 - Philadelphia, PA - Theatre Of Living Arts
7 - Providence, RI - Lupos
8 - Hartford, CT - The Webster
9 - Boston, MA - The Wilbur Theatre
11 - Luzerne, PA - Brews Brothers West
12 - Lancaster, PA - Chameleon Club
13 - Falls Church, VA - The State Theatre
14 - Greensburg, PA - The Palace Theatre
15 - Detroit, MI - The Fillmore
16 - Cleveland, OH - House Of Blues
18 - South Bend, IN - Club Fever
19 - Columbus, OH - Newport Music Hall
20 - Nashville, TN - War Memorial Auditorium
21 - Tulsa, OK - River Spirit Event Center
22 - Concho, OK - Lucky Star Casino
23 - New Orleans, LA - Tipitinas
25 - Amarillo, TX - Midnight Rodeo
26 - Fort Collins, CO - Aggie Theater
28 - Pauma Valley, CA - Casino Pauma
29 - Seattle, WA - The Moore Theater