:: seattle invasion '02

It is once again time for Queensryche Fans to invade Seattle!!!

On the weekend of June 21st, 22nd & 23rd, Geoff Tate will be celebrating the June 25th release of his debut, self titled, Sanctuary Records, solo album. This weekend long celebration is not to be missed! There will be several events for fans to take part in over the weekend.

Saturday June 22nd of 2002 is going to be a night for the history books! The Geoff Tate Band will be playing at a CD release party for the up coming release and it is a true fans gathering. This will be much like the Seattle fanclub events, “Seattle 99” and S2K1. “I am very excited to perform at the EMP and share this new music with everyone that has supported me for so many years. I look forward to seeing you there!” – Geoff Tate

The show will be in the Sky Church of the Experience Music Project (EMP) in Seattle, Washington. The event is set to start at 8 PM with an opening band hitting the stage followed by The Geoff Tate Band and closing the evening with a “jam session” featuring Geoff, Michael and “friends” that I have heard will include a new Ryche tune or two. That’s as much as I can say without giving away all the secrets.

There will be a fan club meet and greet on Saturday night. Please write to fanclub@queensryche.com after you purchase tickets to request your passes. You will receive an email confirmation as soon as your passes are confirmed.
Tickets can be purchased through EMP’s box office or by phone at 206-367-5483. Information about the show and ticket prices will be on their website at www.emplive.com. The sale dates are May 14th for EMP Members and May 17th for public purchase. Member’s ticket prices are $18 each and non-member prices are $20 each.

The opening band scheduled for the evening is Michael Wilton’s side project named Soulbender. Soulbender is a straight-up dark, heavy rock band from Seattle. The band was formed by Michael Wilton of Queensrÿche on guitar and his friends Dave Groves also playing guitar and Wes Hallam on the drums. After writing a substantial amount of music they started looking for a singer. Through a mutual friend Michael met Nick Pollock, former, “My sister’s Machine” singer and guitarist. The chemistry was so good between the four musicians they slammed out seventeen tracks in just two months. This is their first live performance ever. Like I said before these shows cannot be missed. Michael is very excited to bring his music to Queensrÿche Fans.

For those of you who were at S2K1 and were lucky enough to catch Jenn Adams playing at The Owl ‘n Thistle on the Sunday night following the Queensrÿche show you might remember spending one last evening with Geoff before you left town. Again, Jenn will be playing a special show at The Tractor Tavern on Sunday June 23rd. Geoff will be joining Jenn for a few songs along with a few members of his band so if you missed it the first time now will be your chance! The Tractor Tavern is located at 5213 Ballard Avenue NW Ballard, WA. They can be reached for ticket information at http://tractortavern.citysearch.com/ or 206-789-3599.

At this time we are in the planning stages for an event on Friday night, June 21st. So for those of you that are getting into town early keep the evening open for this event. When you e-mail your pass request you’ll receive information about this event with your confirmation. Please keep in mind that these shows are open to the public and tickets will be limited.
With all this in mind it is time to show your support for The Geoff Tate Band and Michael Wilton’s project Soulbender. We hope to see you all in June!!!