Todd La Torre
Todd La Torre (born February 19, 1972 in Saint Petersburg ) is an American musician, who is best known as the singer of the bands Crimson Glory and Queensrÿche .
Life
La Torre grew up in a musical family in Saint Petersburg. Through his parents he came into contact with jazz and rock music at an early age . At the age of 10 he learned to play the guitar, at 13 he also started playing drums. He made his first appearances as a drummer for various school rock bands. He also appeared a few times as a guitarist and singer. He began to compose and record his own pieces, playing all the instruments himself. However, he viewed the guitar more as a compositional aid. La Torre sees himself primarily as a "drummer who likes to sing".
career
After finishing school, La Torre began to work as a professional musician. For 24 years he played mainly as a drummer in several rock and heavy metal bands in the Tampa area , which played both original compositions and cover versions of well-known pieces. None of these bands received special attention.
Crimson Glory (2010-2013)
In 2009, La Torre toyed with the idea of founding an Iron Maiden association and appearing as a singer in it. Through his friend Matt Laporte (ao guitarist with Jon Oliva's Pain ) he came in contact with Jon Drenning, the guitarist of Crimson Glory. He invited him to appear as a guest musician together with Crimson Glory at the ProgPower USA 2009 festival . After the joint appearance, he was offered the position of lead singer in the band. La Torre agreed, although he had originally not wanted to commit. He made his first appearance as the official singer of Crimson Glory on October 30, 2010 at the Pathfinder Metal Fest in Marietta, Georgia . Several appearances followed, including in 2011 at the Bang Your Head Festival in Balingen . The band released some studio recordings of older songs with new vocal tracks from La Torre and announced that a new album was in preparation. Since the work from La Torres' point of view was not making any noticeable progress and the poor organization of the band frustrated him, he announced his departure in February 2013.
Queensrÿche (since 2012)
In 2012 La Torre met the guitarist Michael Wilton from Queensrÿche at the NAMM Show . Wilton sent him some audio files, to which La Torre developed vocal melodies and lyrics. The result was rated positively by both sides. Wilton and his bandmates Eddie Jackson and Scott Rockenfield planned to perform with Queensrÿche material under the name "Rising West" at the time, as Queensrÿche singer Geoff Tate was fully occupied with his solo project. La Torre agreed to work, and Rising West performed on June 8th and 9th, 2012 at the Hard Rock Cafe in Seattle . As a result, the already existing tensions between Tate and the rest of Queensrÿche escalated, which led to Tate's departure and legal disputes. This led to Wilton, Jackson and Rockenfield being granted the sole use of the name Queensrÿche. On April 28, 2014 it was announced that La Torre, who had since left Crimson Glory, was now the band's official singer.
other projects
La Torre appeared in various bands as a guest musician, for example on the 2010 album "Festival" by Jon Oliva's Pain , on which he not only participated as a singer, but also played the dulcimer . In 2014 he recorded a single called "Discordia" with former Megadeth guitarist Glen Drover.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Biography on www.toddlatorre.com
- ↑ In The Eye Of The Storm: An Exclusive Interview With Todd La Torre Of QUEENSRYCHE
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | La Torre, Todd |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American musician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 19th February 1972 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Saint Petersburg , Florida |