THE HONORABLE CAROL A. SCHAPIRA HEARING DATE: July

Home , For the Love of Money, I Am I, Jet City Woman, Parker Lundgren, Queen of the Reich, The Art of Live

FILED 12 JUL 09 AM 9:00 1 THE HONORABLE CAROL A. SCHAPIRA KING COUNTY 2 HEARING DATE: July 10, SUPERIOR2012 at 3:30 COURT p.m. CLERK E-FILED CASE NUMBER: 12-2-21829-3 SEA 3

7 SUPERIOR COURT OF WASHINGTON FOR KING COUNTY

8 GEOFF TATE and SUSAN TATE , a No: 12-2-21829-3 SEA married couple 9 DECLARATION OF COUNSEL, 10 Plaintiffs, v. THOMAS T. OSINSKI JR. 11 EDDIE JACKSON and TERESA 12 GOLDEN-JACKSON , a married couple; SCOTT ROCKENFIELD and MISTY 13 ROCKENFIELD , a married couple; MICHAEL WILTON and KERRIE LYNN 14 WILTON , a married couple; TRI-RYCHE, CORPORATION , a Washington 15 corporation; QUEENSRYCHE MERCHANDISING, INC ., a Washington 16 corporation; and MELODISC LTD ., a 17 Washington corporation.

18 Defendants.

20 I, Thomas T. Osinski Jr., attorney for the above named Defendants, declare as

21 follows:

22 1. I am the counsel of record for the Defendants in this action.

23 2. Attached hereto as Exhibit 1 is a true and correct copy of the 1989

24 Queensryche Partnership Agreement.

DECLARATION OF COUNSEL, THOMAS T. Osinski Law Offices, P.L.L.C. OSINSKI JR. - 1 of 3 535 Dock St. Suite 108, Tacoma, Washington 98402 Tel (253) 383-4433 | Fax (253) 572-2223 | [email protected]

1 3. Attached hereto as Exhibit 2 are true and correct copies of the original

2 copyright registrations for all songs through the Empire album.

3 4. Attached hereto as Exhibit 3 are true and correct copies of the revenue

4 reports for Queensryche entities from 2006 to 2011.

5 5. Attached hereto as Exhibit 4 is a true and correct copy of the June 26,

6 2012, Rolling Stone magazine interview with Geoff Tate.

7 6. Attached hereto as Exhibit 5 is a true and correct copy of the June 9,

8 2012, ClassRockRevisited.com article on Rising West.

9 7. Attached hereto as Exhibit 6 is a true and correct copy of the June 22,

10 2011, Gibson.com article on Queensryche’s Geoff Tate.

11 8. Attached hereto as Exhibit 7 is a true and correct copy of the

12 UnratedMagazine.com interview with Geoff Tate.

13 9. Attached hereto as Exhibit 8 is a true and correct copy of the November

14 21, 2007, SleazeRoxx.com interview with Geoff Tate.

15 10. Attached hereto as Exhibit 9 is a true and correct copy of the Minutes of

16 the Queensryche Entities Directors Meeting of May 8, 2012.

17 11. Attached hereto as Exhibit 10 is a true and correct copy of the Minutes of

18 the Queensryche Entities Directors Meeting of June 2, 2012.

19 12. Attached hereto as Exhibit 11 is a true and correct copy of the TriRyche

20 Corporation Shareholders Agreement of 1994.

21 13. Attached hereto as Exhibit 12 is a true and correct copy of the

22 Operation:Mindcrime Movie Option Agreement between Geoff Tate and Zoetifex

23 Studios.

DECLARATION OF COUNSEL, THOMAS T. Osinski Law Offices, P.L.L.C. OSINSKI JR. - 2 of 3 535 Dock St. Suite 108, Tacoma, Washington 98402 Tel (253) 383-4433 | Fax (253) 572-2223 | [email protected]

1 I declare under penalty of perjury of the laws of the State of Washington that the

2 statements as provided herein are true and accurate.

3 SIGNED this 7th day of July, 2012, at Tacoma, Washington, in Pierce County.

4 OSINSKI LAW OFFICES P.L.L.C.

6 Thomas T. Osinski, Jr., Esq. 7 Attorney for Defendants 8 WSBA #34154

DECLARATION OF COUNSEL, THOMAS T. Osinski Law Offices, P.L.L.C. OSINSKI JR. - 3 of 3 535 Dock St. Suite 108, Tacoma, Washington 98402 Tel (253) 383-4433 | Fax (253) 572-2223 | [email protected]

Concert Review: Rising West http://www.classicrockrevisited.com/concertrisingwest.htm

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Rising West Hard Rock Cafe Seattle, Wa Saturday, June 9, 2012

By: David Resch

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Merchandise

♫ APPAREL

♫ BIG MEN'S APPAREL

♫ INFANT BAND APPAREL

♫ HATS, CAPS & BEANIES

♫ BELT BUCKLES As the sold out crowd gathered in front of the Hard Rock, near the waterfront, and the ♫ CUPS, MUGS & GLASSES infamous Pike's Place Market (where they throw the fish for the tourists) in beautiful Merchandise downtown Seattle, a palpable sense of excitement and anticipation could be felt. There have been many strange goings on in the Queensryche camp the last couple of months, ♫ LIGHTERS ♫ APPAREL ranging from stories of a physical confrontation between Geoff Tate and other members, in Brazil, while on tour, to their musically excellent, but visibly awkward and strained ♫ BLANKETS ♫ BIG MEN'S APPAREL nationally televised performances recently at the M3 festival in Maryland and Rocklahoma. Little to no eye contact or interaction between the band, and Tate telling the crowd in ♫ WALL ART ♫ INFANT BAND APPAREL Oklahoma that "they sucked" before leaving the stage towards the end of the last song and not coming back for any kind of curtain call, encore, or bows. ♫ NOVELTY ITEMS ♫ HATS, CAPS & BEANIES

♫ SHEET MUSIC & SONG With the once mighty Queensryche seemingly in shambles, it was recently announced that ♫ BELT BUCKLES BOOKS founding members Michael Wilton, Eddie Jackson, Scott Rockenfield, and recent addition Parker Lundgren (guitar) were forming a "side project" with Crimson Glory singer Todd ♫ CUPS, MUGS & GLASSES LaTorre, to be called "Rising West". There seems to much conflicting information as to whether this will be the new Queensryche, or if Tate and the rest of the band will be able to ♫ LIGHTERS patch things up eventually, but for now, the members of Rising West have pledged to go

1 of 2 7/3/2012 4:45 PM Concert Review: Rising West http://www.classicrockrevisited.com/concertrisingwest.htm

out on the road performing nothing but early Queensryche songs, with plans to enter the ♫ BLANKETS studio and record an album in the near future. ♫ WALL ART If the blistering performance this weekend at a sweltering Hard Rock, in front of 500 rabid hometown Queensryche fans ( and a few who flew in from places like Japan), this is going ♫ NOVELTY ITEMS to be a band to reckoned with. True to their statement that they wished to get back to the melodic, heavy, yet progressive style of their earlier albums, they launched into "Queen of ♫ SHEET MUSIC & SONG ______the Reich" from the first EP and for the next 90 minutes or so, had the crowd in the palm of BOOKS their hands. When LaTorre cut loose with the first of many incredible bursts of powerful screams and high notes in the first minute or so, a roar of approval could be heard. Geoff Tate has been one of the best singers in the history of hard rock/metal for almost 30 years now, and still possesses an incredible voice, if not quite as strong as it was in his youth, but in Todd LaTorre, Rising West/Queensryche have found quite a replacement. Promote Your Business It is hard to pick out highlights from the set, as the band was on fire all night, but if I had 14 Ideas for to, I would single out The Warning, Take Hold of the Flame, Prophecy, and the encore of Promoting Your the Iron Maiden classic "Wrathchild," as well as an amazing "Roads To Madness." Small Business - Download Our The rhythm section of Rockenfield and Jackson deftly made their way through the complex Guide Now! changes, Michael Wilton skillfully laid down the intricate, powerful guitar parts and solos he PRWeb.com and ex-partner Chris DeGarmo are so well known for, and relative newcomer Lundgren (who is only in his mid 20's and Tate's ex- son in law....awkward) more than rose to the occasion, layering rhythm guitar parts and joining Wilton here and there in swirling leads Medical Coding and harmonies. Degrees Earn your Medical Although the random keyboard parts and samples, and even some of the back up vocals Coding Degree are on hard drive, Jackson and Lundgren are both capable back up singers, and combined 100% online. with LaTorre, the famous Queensryche vocal power was in full effect. Financial Aid. www.DiscoverUniversity …

It was such a rare treat to see a big time, legendary band in such a small, intimate venue, AWeber Email and if this night is any indication, Rising West, or whatever they end up calling themselves, Marketing has the potential to be a welcome, powerful addition to the hard rock/metal/progressive 99.34% Email scene. I, for one, am very much looking forward to what they come up with. Delivered-So Confident You Can Try It For $1. Free VISIT THE ROCK SHOP FOR ROCKIN MERCHANDISE Support www.AWeber.com

Camtasia Studio Create Amazing Screencasts Faster. It's Very Easy. Free 30 Day Trial! TechSmith.com/Camtasia ♫ APPAREL ♫ INFANT BAND APPAREL ♫ BIG MEN'S APPAREL ♫ HATS, CAPS & BEANIES ♫ BELT BUCKLES ♫ CUPS, MUGS & GLASSES ♫ LIGHTERS ♫ BLANKETS ♫ WALL ART ♫ NOVELTY ITEMS ♫ SHEET MUSIC & SONG BOOKS

2 of 2 7/3/2012 4:45 PM Queensrÿche’s Geoff Tate: ‘Rock is Pretty Much Dead’ http://www2.gibson.com/news-lifestyle/news/en-us/queensryche-0719-20...

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Queensrÿche’s Geoff Tate: ‘Rock is Pretty Much Dead’ Bryan Wawzenek | 07.19.2011

0 Switch back to Danielle Renaud to use this social plugin.

Queensrÿche frontman Geoff Tate sees a pretty gloomy future for rock bands, unless they can adapt to new ways of doing things. The singer talked to Classic Rock magazine (via Blabbermouth ) about how things have changed in the music industry and how his band is trying to change.

“Rock is pretty much dead. If you look at the numbers, it's definitely not the music of the times anymore,” Tate said. “If it’s gonna keep moving, bands need to embrace new ideas. There’s a lot of elements to rock that, mentally speaking, are kinda boneheaded. Like the whole ‘chunk-chunk-chunk’ guitar progression – the stuff you play when you're learning the damn thing. You would hope bands would get beyond that.”

In the same interview Tate spoke about Queensrÿche’s new album, Dedicated to Chaos , being a “headphones record,” tailor-made for the modern listener.

“That’s the way people listen to music now. People today are plugged in switching between their iPod and phone, back and forth, listening to music all day long,” he said. “No, I don’t miss the days of guys sitting around listening to vinyl. I don’t miss the past much. I love the age we live in. Every day there’s something new to wrap your head around. I want to keep embracing new ideas, technology, works of art, literature, films. If you stop doing that, your brain gets lazy.”

For more on Tate and the new album, check out Gibson.com ’s recent interview with the singer.

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1 of 1 7/3/2012 4:50 PM Queensryche : Personal Interview with Geoff Tate of Queensryche by UnR... http://www.unratedmagazine.com/document.cfm?page=articles/index.cfm...

01-JUL-12 Band Review Queensryche : Personal Interview with Geoff Tate of Queensryche Tweet 0

By Mike Romcoe

Queensryche "The Gods of progressive metal" are hitting the road again with a powerful tour in the U.S.A. and Europe. The show will include the line-up featuring: front man/lead singer Geoff Tate guitarist Chris De Garmo, Michael Wilton, Eddie Jackson, Scott Rockenfield and special guest Pamela More. Pamela, the voice behind Sister Mary recorded on the very popular Grammy nominated album Operation Mindcrime (1988). Queensryche

has also launched a DVD" The Art of Live" (Sanctuary) which features the 2003 Tribe tour which also featured Dream Theatre. The DVD was filmed in artistic black and white and sets the tone for how the band feels today.

I got a chance to speak with Geoff Tate before he kicked off the tour in New Mexico.

UR: How does Queensryche now compare to the band it was 20 years ago? GT: I think we're much more mature and have explored a lot of musical areas. It's been an interesting journey being part of this band and this musical growth - musical change. We've written a lot of songs - we have over about 112 published songs. We started from the metal scene being influenced by that and over time we took our influences and shaped them into our own significant style that is very recognizable. Subscribe in a reader UR: How is the chemistry between band members? GT: The chemistry is what propels the band, and every time we've gotten together to make a record we always enjoy the process and it is a definite vibe that occurs once we all get together. When we play onstage it's the same thing - we have a definite kind of unspoken communication. It's a cool feeling - it's kind of like home, it's so familiar. 0 UR: How has Michael Wilton's unique guitar work shaped the sound of Queensryche? GT: Michael is a very signature guitar player, incredibly creative. He's been so experimental in his guitar work over the years, and really pushed the definitions of rock and metal from a guitar standpoint. Often times he gets completely overlooked because he's not one to toot his own horn, he doesn't do interviews, and kind of keeps to himself. He's a total musician's musician. He is the "sound" of Queensryche - he is the riff, the chord progressions, and the inversions. That's what makes the sound, it's not the Marshall amplifier or the guitar you use, it's your musical sensibilities to the phrasing and choice of the chords that makes a signature musical piece. It's been a pleasure working with him over the years and it's only in the last past five to eight years have I begun to appreciate what he has done and what he is doing.

UR: How did Michael's creativity influence your writing? GT: On the "Tribe" record, which is our new one, Michael wrote the majority of the music on that. Michael does a kind of bulk writing thing - he comes to me with a lot of different ideas, hands them to me and says "see what grabs you out of this stuff." Out of maybe twenty ideas I'll grab onto seven, and I'll write something to them and I'll hand it back to him and say "this is kind of what I'm thinking here, what do you think? Then we'll sit in his studio and brainstorm out a progression or an arrangement and we'll record that and take it to the other guys and have them put their influences in on it.

UR: You and drummer Scott Rockenfeld both put out solo albums at about the same time. How is it difference working solo as opposed to with everybody else? GT: It's a different bunch of people that you're working with, and music is a collaborative effort, so you're collaborating with people of different influences and different backgrounds. For my solo record, I wanted to work with people that didn't come from a rock background - I didn't want to make a rock album. I wanted to do something very different than what Queensryche does and experiment and try out some different musical styles that had been very influential to me growing up like R & B music, dance music and electronic style. I wanted to take those styles and make something out of that group of influences. I chose musicians that came from classical backgrounds or from funk and R & B backgrounds so the influence wouldn't be so "rock." It was a challenging experience working with people who didn't know who AC/DC was or weren't familiar with how to play an Iron Maiden song or a Judas Priest song or even a Queensryche song. It was really refreshing for me to work with a totally different kind of musician and therefore the music came out sounding very different, very unique.

UR: Do you think your solo work will influence your future work with Queensryche? GT: I don't think so. Queensryche's is a completely different kind of animal, different people, different influences, and different tastes in music.

UR: Do you have plans for any future solo projects? GT: Oh yeah, I'm always working. We've got a Queensryche project we've been working on, and a solo project I've been working on for the past year - it's all sitting there on the hard drive.

UR: What can fans expect to see in your new DVD "The Art of Live?" GT: It's a DVD of our live tour from this last fall. The cool thing about it, I think, is that it was a hands-on experience. We filmed it, we edited the film ourselves, and we mixed the audio, and put the whole thing together. We've never actually had our hands on all aspect of the production before. We went out and bought film editing equipment and created a film-editing studio that is portable, that we haul around with us, so we can keep track of all our visuals and stuff, so it's really a hands-on kind of hand-made film. It's shot in black and white which is my favorite, and it's got backstage footage, bus footage, and traveling footage and interviews - it's just a neat little package I think - very intimate.

UR: What part of the DVD are you most proud of? GT: The actual making of was really an interesting learning experience. There is a learning curve involved with learning the equipment, and editing the footage, and finding out you really need to keep track of every night you shoot and to keep impeccable notes. We had 53 reels of footage to look through and keep track of. We had six different camera angles that we had to keep track of so it was a lot of details. We learned a lot from this one and will apply it to the next project we do. I'm very proud of the fact that we did it ourselves and made something that we really like.

UR: Are you excited about kicking off your U.S. tour tomorrow in Detroit? GT: Yeah, we've been rehearsing for the last week and had the last couple of days off to gear up for it, and spend the last couple days with our families before we take off for two weeks.

UR: What do you do to mentally prepare for a tour like this? GT: Well most of it's just rehearsals. We're doing quite a few different songs then we've been doing and we learned a few different ones. We've been working with Pamela, constructing different harmony bits, and really working on the musical presentation. And of course all the planning that goes into picking the crew, getting the buses in order, and the travel, and picking out where you are going to stay - the accommodations and stuff have to be gone over and there's a lot of busy work. For instance, we're starting this tour in two days, and we've already begun working on the next leg, which starts in August-September, so we're like three months out planning ahead for the leg.

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UR: What we can expect as far as the set? GT: It's about 220 [minutes], and it's got quite a few "Mindcrime" songs in it because we're focusing on that for the tour, mixed up with a lot of "Tribe" songs because we're sort of trying to show the similarities between the two records, for people that missed the point obviously, so it's kind of a juxtaposition of the past and the present.

UR: When creating your music, do you think about whether the fans will like it or not? GT: All of those adjectives that you [fans] use to describe what you like are things that we never think about when we write songs. We look at writing music as a personal experience; it's not a sporting event. It's feelings that you have and subject matter that moves you. and you match music to what the lyrics are trying convey. To us lyrics are very important, it's the message of the song, and what we try to do is paint the picture of what the lyrics are about. If you look at music from the standpoint of liking excitement, yeah some songs are going to be exciting, but it's kind of like life, not every day is exciting, some days are exciting, some days are introspective, some days you gotta go empty the garbage. I prefer the whole thing; life's rich pageant, you know, it's fill with ups and downs, sideways movement, backwards movement - it's all of the above. I guess what I always have strived to do with Queensryche is to make us very multi-dimensional. We're a band that either you're going to "get" the record we're doing, like Promised Land for example, is a work that explores a certain point in one's life, and until you get to that point, you won't "get" that record. You might appreciate a song, or what a melody did, or a hard-driving part, but you don't "get" the record until you've reached the point in your life called the "midlife crisis." All of a sudden you're looking at things completely different than you ever looked at them before. Until you get to that point in your life, you won't "get" this record Once you get to that point you're like 'oh my God I get this song completely!' It's a weird experience. That's the beauty of Queensryche - we're a band that's been around 25 years and we've grown up in the music business. We came right out of high school and began writing songs and were signed to a label and touring the world at eighteen and nineteen years old. So what you see when you put down a Queensryche record and listen to it is a group of musicians' life experience. You don't hear that kind of thing in a song by Nickelback - you're hearing a young band that is just starting out; they've got their own career handle and their own life path to follow. We're light years ahead of that. We've already done those songs that we've done in the past and we're not interested in treading water. We're interested in breaking new ground and trying new things and being experimental with what we do. If we leave some people behind so be it - our life work has not been to appease people. We write music for our own reasons for or own selves, we don't write it for anybody else.

UR: If I was to write a headline about Queensryche what should it read? GT: "The greatest rock-n-roll band ever." That's the way I feel. Some people think 'Geoff Tate, what an arrogant bastard that guy is,' but I believe in what I do. I have a commitment, a drive to pursue my music dream. If some record company guy says 'well, you gotta write a hit song here', you know, fuck you! That's the way I've always lived my life and I've gotten through this far, and I make a pretty damn good living, I support my family, I put my kids through school, and I have a good time doing what I do.

UR: The House of Blues in Chicago. How do you feel about playing in Chicago? GT: I have family in Chicago, from Glenview, my wife's from Glenview, and her whole side of the family is from the Chicago area, so every time we go to Chicago it's always a big family reunion where we have fifty to a hundred people come out and hang out so the backstage area is really filled. Most of the people at the Chicago venue that you will be seeing are our family.

Concert Review:

On Sat., April 17 Queensryche was ready to hit the sold out, jam packed, Chicago House of Blues for the second night. I found myself surrounded by devoted, excited, and aging Queensryche fans. "Symphony X" opened the night with their hard-hitting melodic metal. They sounded great! However, I believe they didn't get the respect from the crowd that they deserved. It must be really difficult for them. Queensryche has always had a very loyal fan base, which can be very demanding at times.

Queensryche started with "Tribe", the enthusiastic crowd went into a frenzy. The set included an acoustic medley and many of the top 10 favorites as: "I am I", "Jet City Woman", "Empire", and "Silent Lucidity". However, the fans went absolutely nuts when they began their concert rendition of "Operation Mindcrime" featuring Pamela Moore. The band was really tight and Geoff Tate and Pamela Moore seemed like they were having the time of their lives. There was a strong feeling of the past clashing with the present that gave me goose-bumps. I watched the fans sing along with Geoff Tate, while head-banging thought the entire evening.

Queensryche continued to keep the energy level high, while Geoff Tate thanked the loyal fans and reminded us, "that we will always be a part of something really special to him". I thought the only thing that could have made the show better would be to get back into playing arenas again, where all the fans can enjoy the show, instead of being packed in like sardines at the HOB.

Queensryche played for over 2 hours giving the fans exactly what they came to see "The greatest rock n roll show of all time" Thanks Guys!

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2 of 2 7/1/2012 6:07 PM Sleaze Roxx: Geoff Tate Interview http://www.sleazeroxx.com/interviews/tate.shtml

GEOFF TATE INTERVIEW: November 21, 2007

Queensryche ( www.queensryche.com ) has been a consistent presence in the rock world for well over 20 years. Unlike many of their peers, they drive on today with the same dignified fervor that characterized them in the heyday of their genre. They continue to push the creative envelope, challenge themselves and their fans, and produce art rather than just music.

The last few years have been a non-stop ride for Queensryche. They've opened for Judas Priest and Heaven And Hell and headlined in support of their theatrical production for Operation: Mindcrime alone followed by a tour that included the sequel to the story, Operation: Mindcrime II. This year saw the release of the live double-CD/DVD Mindcrime at the Moore, the Sign of the Times hits collection, and on November 13, the tribute disc Take Cover.

In this exclusive interview, conducted by Nikki, singer Geoff Tate offered an enlightening glance at the inner workings of one of the most complex of visionary forces - Operation: Queensryche.

Sleaze Roxx: Regarding what you guys have been up to lately, why has there been so much going on and how do you keep such a schedule?

Geoff Tate: We signed with a new record company, Rhino/Warner Brothers, and work with some wonderful people who are very interested in putting out releases. It's a good team of people. We like to work and we like to put things out. It's a team of people who like to do that, who are very creative and motivated. I think we might have found a really good match. It's difficult because you would think that record companies would be interested in working, but a lot of times they can't get themselves together, as in the case of our last record company, Sanctuary. So I think that's why we've been so prolific lately is that they're very motivated to work.

Sleaze Roxx: Do you have any other creative outlets or things you do to relax? You are on the go so much, do you step away from the music and have other ways of expressing yourself?

Geoff Tate: I don't know how to relax. That's a problem. But I like to work. I'm always working at home every day, writing something, doing something with music. It seems to be something that I'm pretty addicted to, really. We've got four weeks off from touring right now, getting ready to go to Europe in November and we'll probably be there until after the first of the year ( Note: Queensrcyhe's European tour has since been cancelled due to a "personal emergency" ). We'll be doing a lot of work then. We're actually working on a new studio album at the moment, finishing up the writing for that. We hope to be done with the writing soon, and plan to start recording in March for a fall release.

Sleaze Roxx: In an interview from 1985, you described your approach to music: "...we put in a lot of changes in the songs, different flavors and feeling. It's more moving than 120 decibels in your face throughout a show because after a while an audience gets numb to that. We change the mood so it's not boring". Those words could easily have been spoken in 2007. How do you hold true to your vision, balance old and new ideas and retain your original audience while gaining access to new ones?

Geoff Tate: Well, I don't really look at it in those terms, honestly. To me music is expression and communication and that's what I focus on, just writing records. I love creating music, telling stories and structuring those stories so that they have some sort of message or a lesson I've learned, or some kind of presentation that perhaps causes someone to think about what I'm writing. That's kind of the way I've always approached it. I don't really think about access to audiences or maintaining or retaining an audience. In fact if someone asked me how many records I've sold I couldn't tell you. I don't even look at the royalty statements; it's just not interesting to me. It's just another task that I'd have to do and I don't really do it.

Sleaze Roxx: It's making your music for yourself and if other people like it, then that's a bonus.

Geoff Tate: Yeah, that's kind of the way it is, really. You know a lot of times you talk to journalists and they want to go with this idea that you're doing it for the fans, but not really. I'm doing it for myself. The band, we're making music for ourselves. We started this band out of high school and we all like hanging out together and talking about music and what we can do with it. That really hasn't changed. We still get together a few times a week, hit the studio, make music, rehearse something for a tour or write something new. We just like hanging out and it hasn't really changed. And with what we make we put it out there for people, we share it with people. Some people like it, some people don't, some people take it a certain way and some people take it completely away from what we intend and come up with their own conclusions about it. It's nothing you can control. Once you make it, it's out of your hands so to speak.

Sleaze Roxx: The Mindcrime albums fit in with that because they're so different from other material out there. In 1988, when the first Mindcrime was released, did you realize you were creating something special?

Geoff Tate: Well, we like to think we're creating something special with every release. Certain things you make connect with people in a big way. Sometimes you have the right record company who sells it correctly and puts it out there. Some companies put a lot of money behind promotion of it, some people don't. When it comes to that kind of thing, the success of a record commercially, it's out of your hands in a sense. As long as you're there to do the work, do interviews, make appearances, play your music, that's all you can really do as a musician. But how they market it, what they do with it, you don't really have much control over that.

Sleaze Roxx: Are there any processes you used in creating Mindcrime II, related to music or writing, which were different from Mindcrime I?

Geoff Tate: Not really, it was very similar. It always starts the same way, spending a lot of time talking about it, visualizing what the plan will be, what

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we're going to try to do with each scene - scene meaning song. We spend the majority of the time talking about it. Sometimes at rehearsals we don't even pick up the instruments. We just sit around and talk about it, and that conversation inspires us to individually come up with parts. Then we get together and compare notes, try things out and work from there. But every time, it all starts with a conversation.

Sleaze Roxx: Was your record company leery about putting out something like Mindcrime?

Geoff Tate: Well back then it was a different sort of industry. There were a lot of music people involved with it then, so they embraced the creative qualities of the songs and the album, they liked that. They just had to figure out a way to get it across to people, to market it. That's really what they're there for. Like I said earlier, a lot of companies just don't have that. They don't have an idea of how to market something. You have to walk them through it. EMI was our record company for Mindcrime and we were several albums into working with them. They got to know us and understood what we were trying to do, they got the bigger picture. But the story with that record, it wasn't really well received at the time. It sold exactly the amount that our previous album had sold. We put it out, did our tour, did interviews for it, and it kind of hit the wall sales-wise. And they were happy with that. They said, "Ok, we have time to make another record". And in between the time they said that and the time we actually started making another record, we got an invitation to make a video. MTV called, one of the guys there was a fan, and they said if we made a video they'd play it. So we put all of our money into making "Eyes of a Stranger" and it just became a big hit. Immediately the album went gold, then platinum, then double platinum, and it's just been selling ever since. It really was an interesting experience to see the power of television and the effect that television marketing has on the public. It really got us thinking about that. And that concept stuck with us ever since. In fact we've even written songs about that process and how marketing works and how people buy stuff. And in fact, in our country we're pretty much obsessed with it. If it's on TV it must be good, you know?

Sleaze Roxx: After the record turned around and did well, is that when you decided to tour Mindcrime I in its entirety in 1991?

Geoff Tate: We weren't doing our own shows when Mindcrime came out. The Empire album was the first tour we headlined. We had always wanted to play Mindcrime in its entirety, we thought that was what the record needed, but we didn't have a chance to when it came out. We had the opportunity during Empire to revisit it, which turned out to be a good move. It seemed to go over really well and left an imprint on our audience.

Sleaze Roxx: Speaking of MTV and the "Eyes Of A Stranger" video, back in the 80's MTV and radio were very supportive of rock music. But today, 80's era bands don't enjoy such a luxury when trying to promote their current work. If you hear something on the radio, it's not usually any newer than 1990. What do you see as the pros and cons of the current media situation?

Geoff Tate: Every musical genre has its day in the public, and the late 80's / early 90's was the time for rock music. Many, many bands were playing arenas and that kind of entertainment was very popular. Whereas in the late 90's it started to wane, rap music became the music of the time and radio really followed that because they're not really pioneering anything anymore, just sort of doing what they do. I think you can get really obsessed with lamenting the past and the good old days, but it doesn't do you any good. Everybody has their day in the sun, so to speak, where they get media attention. But honestly we have more commercial success nowadays than we did back then. We do very really well. We sell records and tour in 26 different countries, we're constantly going places and touring. It's different but monetarily it's the same. And I think you just have to go with that and realize it's a different world rather than getting hung up on wishing it was the good old days again.

Sleaze Roxx: As far as social commentary with the Mindcrime albums, how much of that is you and how much of that is Nikki's particular viewpoint?

Geoff Tate: What I really tried to do with it was approach it from the mindset of this particular character, given his background and how he grew up. I just put myself in his place and wrote from his perspective. And the perspective on the first album is really that - a guy in his 20's, which I was at the time, idealistic and discovering the process by which the world works. We're brought up as children to believe that the world is black and white, and that this is the way it's done, this isn't the way it's done, and that everything has a right and a wrong. And the older you get, you realize that's a complete lie, and that there's a loose code that we're supposed to follow but most people don't. So it's kind of an eye opening experience when you realize that the way you were brought up isn't the way that the world works. So I thought that would make an interesting perspective for a character, him growing up and seeing things unfold.

Sleaze Roxx: Queensryche has always involved technology in their music. How have things changed from the early days to now, for the way you record your albums and with your live shows?

Geoff Tate: That's really changed a lot. It's a lot better now than it used to be. You are a lot freer to create because the technology is so much more user-friendly. We used to have to book time in a studio and record. You never really heard your songs in a good way until you went in the studio. So you always had to write from a position of "well, it's going to sound like this". Where nowadays, my home studio is equivalent to what we were recording in 20 years ago. It's really high tech and great, you can get sound much quicker and easier. You use Pro Tools, it's more orderly and you can find your tracks quickly. It's all easily storable, too. In fact I've got every record we've ever done, all the separate tracks on 3 different hard drives. Everything is more compact and more easily attained. To record a record years ago, you'd need stacks and stacks of tape, have a place to store them, and after a few years the tape starts going bad so you need to re-record them if you wanted to hang on to it. It was just really a pain to deal with. Nowadays it's a lot better. And with a home studio, you can create anytime you want, you get an idea you just go in and throw it down, and that way it's recorded, saved and you have the moment. It's always seems like the most magical time is when you are creating something. You get a lot of the great takes that way. With technology today you can utilize those takes. You just put them in your main mix when you are recording the song if you like a certain vocal take or guitar take.

Sleaze Roxx: But these days, you don't even need to be in the same room with your band mates to make an album, do you?

Geoff Tate: No, not really. But I think there's a magic that happens when you play together and you can't achieve that when you play separately, a synergy that happens between musicians playing together at the same time and you can't duplicate that. Especially with the stuff we do where it's not a computer driven beat. It's Scott Rockenfield and he's very unique and no machine can do what he does. So it's better, we try to always record together. But we do a lot with technology. Michael last night emailed me a new guitar part for a song we're working on and this morning I put that wav file into the song, my version of the song, and replaced his old guitar track with the new one. And we didn't have to be in the same room.

Sleaze Roxx: Had you always wanted to record a covers CD?

Geoff Tate: No, we never even thought about it. This whole project was sort of a fluke. We play a lot of covers songs during sound check, as a game, you know, "Name That Tune". We play a riff and try to complete the song. Kenny, a guy from our record company was at sound check one day and afterwards he said, "That was really cool, what you were doing". And we said, "What? Testing out our instruments"? And he said, "No, playing all of those cover songs. If you record that stuff we'll put it out on a record". And we were due to do some studio work when we got off the tour and we tried it. We all picked a couple songs, reworked them and did it. There really wasn't a lot of thought in it. It was just a fun thing to do. It's kind of nice to do something casual like that instead of focusing on your own

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material.

Sleaze Roxx: There's quite an eclectic mix of songs on there. How did you come up with the opera song "Odissea"?

Geoff Tate: It's a song I've always loved. We all brought in a couple of songs and didn't question each other about our choices. We just went with it, and gave it our own flavor and twist. That was really all the thought that went into it.

Sleaze Roxx: With "For The Love Of Money" you describe it as "one of the most challenging and enjoyable songs to record". What do you mean by that?

Geoff Tate: Just doing a song like that, with more of a funk feel and a blues soul direction is something quite different that what we normally do. So in that sense it was very different, fun and challenging.

Sleaze Roxx: And U2's "Bullet The Blue Sky"?

Geoff Tate: We recorded that one live. That was a day we were just playing around with that one at sound check, and the audience that night was pumped up and wanted more after the show, so Scott said, "Hey, why don't we do "Bullet"? So we did it as an encore. We record all of our shows anyway, just as a matter of habit, so we recorded that song. And we haven't played it again since. The recording was really good and it was a neat version of it so we included it on this project.

Sleaze Roxx: From a purely vocal perspective, what songs are your favorites to sing?

Geoff Tate: All of them. I don't really have a favorite. For me, it revolves a lot around lyrics and what the message of the song is about. That's pretty much my focus all the time. Some things I've written over the years, I can't quite get behind the same way now, as an older man. Some of the older stuff is sophomoric in my opinion, and I have a hard time sinking myself into it. I can perform the song, but there's a difference between performing the song and really being in the song and delivering from your heart. I tend to want to sing the songs that I feel have more relevance to where I am now, songs that have more of a philosophical outlook, or that are more questioning. And again, live it depends on what we're doing with the show. There's an album called Rage for Order, we've been talking about performing it in its entirety because we get a lot of requests from our audience for that. I really like that record a lot and I think it would be fun to perform that live. Promised Land is another one of my favorite records. That album is very challenging to perform live. We did it on the tour when that album came out and I think nowadays we could perform it better than we did then. Our audience has grown up to a point in their lives where they can relate to the Promised Land a lot more than they did when they were younger. It's one of those records you grow to love the older you get because you've lived enough life where the messages of the songs affect you differently.

Sleaze Roxx: How do you keep your voice in such good shape? Every time I've seen you, you've been spot on. Is there a secret?

Geoff Tate: Oh, you know that old saying, "Practice makes perfect". I think that has a lot to do with it. Touring helps me keep my game up. If I don't tour for 6 or 8 months, I can definitely tell. It takes me a few months to get myself to what I would consider a passable performance level. I just have to keep active and keep singing every day. When you perform the Mindcrime show, like we did last tour, it's a 2 and a half hour set of very intense stuff and you have to be in real top form to do it. It's not something you can just pull out and do after not doing it for a long time.

Sleaze Roxx: You mentioned you'll be heading into the studio next year. Will your new record have a theme to it?

Geoff Tate: Yeah, it's a concept record, a story. We have a very elaborate stage show that will be accompanying the tour. We hope to be touring on that in North America probably by winter time next year.

Sleaze Roxx: You have toured all over the world. Do you find that audiences vary from country to country?

Geoff Tate: We love to play everywhere. It's really fun and very satisfying to travel to a different country and present what you do, get to know people, learn about their culture and see how and why your song is resonating with them. It's also very challenging to bridge the cultural gaps and languages. I just love traveling, going to obscure and weird places. Even on my own without the band, my family part of our thing is to take off and go someplace for Christmas and we usually spend about 3 weeks all being together, traveling and going places. It's just what's good in life to me.

Sleaze Roxx: What kind of venue do you prefer playing and does the particular set list you have for a tour have any bearing on that?

Geoff Tate: We like playing anywhere and everywhere. We've played in stadiums in front of 250,000 people, in radio stations in front of two people, on flatbed trucks, in the middle of the desert. You name it and we'll play it. As long as there's somebody there to listen, we're there.

Thanks to Geoff Tate and Nikki

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3 of 3 7/3/2012 4:48 PM Directors Meeting by Teleconference Tuesday, June 5, 2012, at 4:00 p.m. Minutes

Tuesday June 5 2012 at 4 pm

WHAT : Directors Meeting of TriRyche, Melodosic and Queensryche Merchandising

DATE/TIME/PLACE : Held via telephone conference call at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 5, 2012.

WHO : Eddie Jackson, Michael Wilton, and Scott Rockenfield were present constituting a valid quorum of directors for action.

The following actions were taken:

Ratification of the decision to expel Geoff Tate from the band with all the ramifications that creates under the controlling agreements, including loss of any director or officer position within any of the Queensryche corporations, and triggering a mandatory transfer and repurchase of any stock.

It was decided that the Queensryche name will continue to be used with a new lead singer as chosen by the remaining directors.

It was decided that an executive committee of Eddie Jackson, Michael Wilton, and Scott Rockenfield will be formed for TriRyche, Melodosic and Queensryche merchandising corporations which will be vested with all powers and authority of the directors to carry out any and all such actions necessary for the operation of the corporations. This Executive Committee will last indefinitely until altered by later action of the directors.