During this Hot Metal interview with Michael Wilton ahead of an October Australian tour, the guitarist makes reference to the band being “damaged goods” before the arrival of Tate’s replacement, Todd LaTorre, who he says “doesn’t just stand on stage”. He talks about Queensryche being “a band again”.
These verbal jabs are not unusual – but one aspect of the split remains unaddressed. Guitarist Parker Lundgren wasn’t just in a band with Geoff Tate; he was his son-in-law, married to Miranda Tate. On one level, you might regard this as a personal matter. But on the other, it was a relationship the group was happy to discuss at the time.
Following the principle that once something is public, it stays public regardless of changing circumstances, we ask Wilton a question many fans have no doubt pondered: how can Geoff Tate be in one version of Queensryche and his former (previous reports indicate a divorce took place before the band split) son-in-law in another?
Wilton, 54, hesitates before answering. “Well, I mean, Parker is obviously … yeah … that whole situation has displaced him from that. So he’s not part of that family anymore. He’s doing his thing with us, he’s single, having the time of his life out on the road being in Queensryche. He made the right choice.