At 
the M3 Festival, our man-on-the-streets, Brett Tully, had a chance to sit down and talk with Todd La Torre of legendary megaband, Queensryche. From his beginnings as a little kid who just wanted to drum, to finally “making it” with Queensryche, Todd is a humble, gracious, and dare we say average Joe kind of guy – not the type of personality you’d imagine fronting a band of Queensryche’s prestige. But, like all things in rocks, aren’t always as you’d imagine, and Todd’s laid-back calm presence sets him in a class by himself in the world of Metal musicians. Check it out…
Thank you for taking the time to sit down with us today, Todd.
My pleasure.
You guys are back here at M3 Festival. How does that feel?
Awesome. I mean, this is always a great festival every year, and we’ve been fortunate enough to be asked to return consecutively. They’re doing a lot of remodeling and putting a lot of investment into the grounds and the facilities. There’s a little construction happening, but it’s got a new circular stage that rotates…
That’s kind of cool, huh?
Yeah, it’s awesome.
I bet it makes it nice and easy to go ahead and switch over sets and all of that.
Yes, we have quick turnovers and all that. It’s nice.
So, you guys were here last year, right?
Yah, I think we’ve played it the last three years, so we were here.
Well, they obviously want you back, so that’s awesome.
Yeah, it’s good.
Absolutely, that’s very good. So, you guys have tour dates up until about mid-October. It looks like you’re doing some dates down under in Australia. With Queensryche, have you actually gone overseas with them and done the Australia thing with them?
No, I’ve never done Australia with the band. I have been to Australia and New Zealand privately, but not within the band. So, we are playing at Loud Park in Japan and then after that, we fly to Australia. We’ll do some dates there, and then I believe there are a couple other dates being added in another country that I don’t even think Queensryche has ever played in, so keep your eyes and ears open for that.
We can’t announce that yet, can we? It’s still …
*shakes head*
Nice, nice. So, now you guys released last year Condition Human, your second album with Queensryche. What was the difference between the first album and this one with the recording process? Was it different? The same?
Well, we tracked the drums at Uber Beats in the Seattle, Washington, area. The other time we recorded drums at London Bridge. It was a little different in tracking. We used Chris “Zeus” Harris for the engineer and producer. And it was a really fun, smooth process. I think that I have been in the band longer so we had more time to really work on the material, and just kind of… there was a little more growth that happened internally and musically, and I think this album is able to reflect that.
Obviously, Queensryche has been established for a long time. So, of course, in terms of the creative process when you came on board, did they welcome you right in and say, “Hey Todd, jump in, let’s go” or…?
They did. They did.
So it wasn’t, “Hey this is us; you’re the singer, and…”
No, no. You know, that was something I kind of expected, that they would say, “This is how we’re going to do it,” which I would have understood. But, to be honest, they welcomed me with open arms, and creatively let me be me. And, I am very fortunate because I don’t think most bands with this legacy would just welcome someone and give them so much free reign. They don’t tell me what to say or how to dress or anything. They trust that I respect the music and know what Queensryche is all about, and I conduct myself accordingly. I want what’s best for the band, so that’s how I approach things creatively and professionally.
That much have been nice to feel that comfortable right out of the gate.
Yes, it was a huge relief.
Why don’t you take us back to how you landed the gig with Queensryche?
In a very short version, I met Michael Wilton at the NAM Convention in California at a dinner party. And we ended meeting at a buffet table. We introduced ourselves, sat down, and started chatting. We ended up talking about doing some side music for TV and whatnot, and at that time, I think they were going through a lot of turmoil internally. It just naturally evolved into this. At the time, Geoff was promoting a solo album, and Queensryche only had a handful of dates and was primarily shelved. And they wanted to keep working and doing things, so they thought, “Hey maybe we’ll do a side project under another name, and we’ll do some covers and play all the old classic stuff like, “Child of Fire” and “The Warning”,” things that the band hadn’t played in a long time. So, we did that, and right around that time is when things got really ugly, and I just kind of made a parallel, side step move, and I became the singer of the band. That’s really kind of how it all happened.
Sounds like it was seamless…
Yeah, it was a seamless transition.
That is nice. So, you probably didn’t have the nerves of someone that may join a band and take command. It sounds like it is was more organic.
It was very natural. And I gelled with the guys really well, and we speak the same language as musicians. I am not just a lyricist or just a singer; I am a drummer first, and I play some guitar. So I song write. And I think that helped a lot with the whole process of collaborating together. It was very easy.
That’s always nice. So, is there a moment with the band so far that kind of stands out? I see you guys played Wacken, and that had to be pretty cool, huh?
It was amazing. We’ve played some really high profile festivals, some very intimate club shows. We’ve toured with The Scorpions in arenas. I’ve gotten to meet people who were my musical heroes, and I’ve become friends with many of them. We got to do Eddie Trunk’s That Metal Show on VH1. There are a lot of realty great, pivotal things that stand out.
Do you remember that first big crowd you played in front of? That first big festival? What it was like standing back stage right before you’re set to go on and the energy…
I mean, we played some big festivals. We played Wacken Festival in front of 80,000 people. Other festivals are in the tens of thousands. I don’t really get nervous, but I get excited. I’m a pretty calm, chilled out guy. A lot of people think, “Come on, get more excited,” but I’m just a very even keeled guy.
When you’re out on stage, though, you put it out there…
I try.
You do, and it’s great.
Thank you.
So, ever since all of this took place, was there a moment where you gained more friends, ya know. You’re the new lead singer for Queensryche, and all of a sudden, Joey from high school comes out and is all, “Hey Todd, remember me”…
Some of those people come out of the woodwork, but for the most part, it’s more of them just congratulating me. “Hey I remember you from high school, and wow, that’s so cool that you’re doing it on this scale,” and most people don’t ask for stuff. But, you do get that occasional person that you haven’t heard from in forever, and they want tickets, or they want this and that. And that’s to be expected. But, I would say overall, the people that have my phone number are people that I am still in contact with. I maintain a fairly private life, and so I am not as accessible to just anybody who would ask for stuff. I mean, that’s to be expected. Some people will ask for things. It’s the people who don’t ask that I give stuff to first.
Right, they don’t expect it, so it’s nice to do.
Right.
Okay, so let’s get back to your roots. You’ve been playing a long time. You started out as a drummer, as you mentioned. And so then you move on to Crimson Glory. So, let’s step back into the moment where you said, “Hey I want to be a musician.”
I mean, I’ve been really into drums since I was a little kid. And, that came much more naturally to me than anything. I’ve always liked singing, but I never tried singing for a band because I didn’t think I was good enough.
chuckles
Yeah, I know. I was always that little kid playing, and my parents supported me like those kids out there today at this festival on the stage. The stage always felt comfortable to me, ya know? I was a drummer first, and I don’t know if there’s that moment where you say, “That’s what I want to do!” I know there are moments when it really feels inspiring. I always wanted to do it for a career, but it didn’t happen for me in my twenties. I didn’t make it. And there’s a certain window of time where you feel that it’s never going to happen, and it’s moved on. Thankfully for me and for many others in the rock/hard rock/heavy metal genre, image is not looked at the same these days as it in the pop world, where you have to be young and have a certain look. I didn’t make it or gain any notoriety until my mid- to late-thirties. There were times, like when my mom took me to the Prince Purple Rain Tour, in like, 1984, and it was mesmerizing. And then, I’d seen Loverboy in ’83, and I was like nine or ten years old, and I just loved the music and the whole atmosphere of playing. I was big Billy Joel fan, and I was always drumming or air drumming. Finally, when I was thirteen, my dad bought me my first drum set. My mom got me my first guitar when I was ten. And so, I have always been interested. And then I joined bands as a drummer. So, it’s always been in my blood. So, whether or not I was going to make it, I knew I was going to write music and play and record for myself. I happen to be in a band that is very well known, and I get to share that creativity that, otherwise, people may not have heard.
So, you officially make a living in music now, whereas in the past, you had a day job or something.
Yah, I had my day job. I am an upholsterer by trade, of twenty-something years now. I had my own business for seventeen or eighteen years. And that was how I earned a living. I was a regular Joe like everyone else, and I still have very realistic expectations of where I see myself in this band. But, this is all that I do for a living, and it’s all I have done for about four years now. And it’s great.
Do you have any desire to get behind the kit and do some side projects? I know with Queensryche, you’re very busy, but…
Yeah, oh yeah. Queensryche is my number one priority. But, I’m writing my own solo record right now, and when that’s done, I’ll put that out so people can hear. I would love to drum again, too on the side. But, to have another band on the side for fun, that’d be cool, too. To be able to do that as a drummer, that’d be amazing. But, Queensryche will always be my number one priority. I have a musicality to me beyond singing. And so it would be nice, while I have the health and the opportunity, to do those things. So, you never know what life will bring you.
That sounds great. We’re out of time, so do you have any final words for the fans out there?
On behalf of myself and everyone in the band, we appreciate all the support and continued interest in Queensryche. And we look forward to seeing you at a show. So, thank you again from all
Thank you so much for your time. Queensryche is out on tour now, and make sure you all pick up your copy of Condition Human.
