Photos By Brooke Striewski

I really hadn’t planned on taking two back-to-back weekend trips to the Tampa/St. Pete area after having just traveled with the fam to the west coast the weekend prior for the Megadeth-spinoff band Kings of Thrash. But literally just two nights prior to the show, the wife and kid surprised me when they said they had won tickets from local rock station WJRR for the Stephen Pearcy/Warren DeMartini of Ratt fame show at the Ferg’s Concert Pavilion in St. Pete, FL on Friday, October 17. And hence, another Rewind It Magazine road show was born.

While initially hesitant about making the drive down there again so soon, it turned out to be a much better experience than the last show, with Pretty Boy Floyd – who Rewind It have covered two shows for now (one as far back as 2018, and another as recent as just two months ago this past August) were the first band we were fully able to catch (we arrived just as the first opening act, Permacrush, were finishing up, and I cannot give an honest assessment of them), and while I’ll try not to dwell on my medical issues here again, but will just say I was beyond relieved to see we had actual seats for the show (and the venue was a noticeable upgrade in comparison to some of the more recent ones we’ve visited as well).

My always reliable (and beautiful) wife/photographer Brooke instantly sprung into action while I hung back with our son (and sometimes secondary photographer) Jacob who, for the first time ever, had his girlfriend Em along for the ride with us this time as well. And with legendary KISS guitarist Ace Frehley having just passed the day prior, there were plenty images of the late musician’s face adorning many a fans’ t-shirts that night (yours truly included), and of course some mentions of him from some of the bands that night, too.

Pretty Boy Floyd performing at the Ferg’s Concert Pavilion in St. Pete, FL on 10-17-25 (Photo by Brooke Striewski).

But I digress, Pretty Boy Floyd took the stage with a fury as always, with “Your Mama Won’t Know” paving way for more classics like their cover of Motley Crue’s “Toast of the Town,” “48 Hours,” and “Rock n’ Roll Outlaws.” At one point frontman Steve Summers – always the showman – teased a cover of Marilyn Manson’s “The Beautiful People” with the rest of the band before announcing “We don’t do that one!,” before ending their set with the one-two punch of “I Wanna Be with You” and “Rock n’ Roll (Is Gonna Set the Night on Fire).”

I’ve known of the next act, Enuff Z’ Nuff, for as long as I can remember, though I cannot say I was ever much of a fan (their sound has always been a bit too “out there” and soft for my taste to be honest). But alas, we watched as Chip Z’Nuff and company went through tracks like “The World is a Gutter,” “Baby Loves You,” “Heavy Metal,” “Jet” (Paul McCartney cover), “Fly High Michelle,” and “New Thing.” After their set, I can say I could at least understand their like-ability a bit more than I had beforehand.

Enuff Z’Nuff performing at the Ferg’s Concert Pavilion in St. Pete, FL on 10-17-25 (Photo by Brooke Striewski).

It was at this point that the story really gets interesting. Thinking we had some time in between acts to make it back before Trixter hit the stage, Brooke and I wandered off for a bit. In our travels we briefly ran into Enuff Z’ Nuff co-founder/bassist/vocalist Chip Z’Nuff, and Pretty Boy Floyd’s Steve Summers and Jake Curtis Allard (always great seeing them!). But it was what came next that really took us both by surprise.

The thought did not even occur to me that local St. Pete rocker Todd La Torre of Queensryche might be on hand that night. But alas, a chance encounter found us briefly chatting with the lead singer/former drummer right then and there, and neither of us could believe it (It should be noted, Brooke and I had previously reviewed/photographed a Queensryche show for Rewind It back in 2019, as well as gone to see them at our first major show together when we were still just starting to date in early 2013, so the history is definitely there for us).

Rewind It’s Jesse Striewski (left) with Queensryche frontman Todd La Torre at Ferg’s in St. Pete, FL on 10-17-25 (Photo by Brooke Striewski).

By the time we got back to our seats, we saw members of Trixter still on stage, which we thought were still just setting up their equipment. It turns out though, they were actually breaking it down – our adventures mingling actually caused us to miss their set entirely. While disappointing at first, in the end, it was worth it to have the experiences that we did in the interim (we were also informed after the fact that Trixter’s set was also apparently cut short, which no doubt contributed to this).

And finally, the band everyone had come to see above all else – which features core Ratt members Stephen Pearcy (vocals) and Warren DeMartini (guitar), as well as alumni Carlos Cavazo (guitar/also former Quiet Riot) and Matt Thorne (early Ratt bassist from ’81-’82 and also former Rough Cutt), and ex-Slaughter drummer Blas Elias rounding things out – finally took the stage (not before some Spinal Tap-esque issues with the sound causing them to be a few minutes late at first), coming out swinging with their signature opener, “Wanted Man.”

A cover of “Walkin’ the Dog” followed before “I Want a Woman,” “Slip of the Lip,” “Body Talk,” “Lovin’ You’s a Dirty Job,” “I’m Insane,” “Nobody Rides For Free,” “Way Cool, Jr.,” “Lack of Communication,” and “Lay It Down” all kept the momentum going.

Stephen Pearcy performing at Ferg’s Concert Pavilion in St. Pete, FL on 10-17-25 (Photo by Brooke Striewski).

Somewhere along the way, Pearcy teased doing “a love song that they don’t play very often,” alluding to their oft-forgotten 1990 minor hit “Givin’ Yourself Away,” which I would’ve loved to have actually heard them perform (the two times I saw Ratt previously they shy-ed away from doing it then as well). But in typical Ratt fashion, the song was nixed, with Pearcy proclaiming “Here’s your love song!” at the start of “You’re In Love.”

By that point, there really was not much left to do other than unleash the big guns with “Back For More” and “”Round and Round,” which of course drew the biggest responses from the crowd. While Pearcy’s chops might not be what they once were, the band on stage that night was undoubtedly tighter than any other lineup of theirs I had seen previously, noticeably improving since the last time the Mrs. and I caught them in Orlando back in 2017. Is it perfect? Of course not…but that’s just rock n’ roll baby!

Interview with Ex-Queensryche Vocalist Geoff Tate By Jesse Striewski

There’s no doubt in my mind that Queensryche played an integral part in my own personal life; long before we were married (and formed Rewind It Magazine), Queensryche were the first concert my future wife and I ever officially worked together as a writer/photographer team back in 2013 (and we have since covered an additional one of their shows for Rewind It as well in 2019). But even after watching the band’s current lineup – which is more than competent in it’s own right with current frontman Todd La Torre – it still felt as though something was missing each time we saw them live. That something was of course original vocalist Geoff Tate, who I was more than honored to get the chance to speak to last week via phone.

At the time of our conversation, Tate was in the middle of traveling on the road to his next destination. Tate has indeed kept on the busy side in his post-Queensryche days, writing, recording, and touring either as a solo artist, with Operation: Mindcrime (who he is in the midst of performing the classic Queensryche releases Rage For Order and Empire on the road in their entireties), and most recently, with Sweet Oblivion, who are about to drop their second album featuring Tate at the forefront, Relentless.

One of the first things I wanted to ask Tate was just how he first became involved with the latter Italian metal act. He informed me; “After spending thirty years working with the same people when I was in Queensryche, I was ready for something new. I was talking to Mario at Frontiers (Records) about maybe branching out and doing something different, and collaborate with some new people. A couple of years later he introduced this idea, which was exactly what I wanted really, and introduced me to Simone Mularoni, who we did that first album with. This second record here is lead by Aldo Lonobile, and then we actually have a third one that’s going to be happening too, but I don’t know who’s going to be involved with that yet, so that’s going to be a nice surprise for me.”

I also wanted to know if the first single from Relentless, “Another Change” – which struck me as an extremely personal song – had any specific meaning behind it. He told me; “Well, I don’t really like to explain my music too much, because everyone hears and interprets music differently, typically based on their own experiences. So I like to leave it up to the listener. I have to say though, the album came together nicely. It was a great session despite the fact that we recorded it in different parts of the world.”

Another thing interesting about Relentless is the track “Aria,” which Tate sang completely in Italian. I asked how much of a challenge that was for him to do, and he explained; “Well, I’m really good at ordering off the wine list in a restaurant (laughs), but not so much at conversational Italian. But with the song, I was able to get used to it for awhile first and perfect it, which I think makes the album much more interesting.”

With live concerts slowly beginning to become the norm again, Tate has upcoming tour dates scheduled, including several tour dates in the U.S. beginning in the fall. I inquired what it was like playing live gigs post-Covid, and he explained; “Well, different places have been opening up again at different times with various precautions, and we’re finally picking back up where we unfortunately left off last March, when we were playing the Rage For Order and Empire albums for their respective anniversaries. But I did a show in Florida last December, and I believe that was actually the first live show we had done since last March. Then I did one up in New Hampshire, which was a matinee show. I haven’t done one of those since I think Japan in the early ’80s (where it’s customary to do them), so that was pretty challenging to do at my age (laughs). And then most recently, we did a show in Seattle back in February. But we’ve got U.K. dates starting in June and July, and then we’ll be back in the States again in September. Which I’m not complaining about – I’d much rather stay busy than just sit around!”

And with roughly four decades worth of material to draw from, I was also curious if Tate had any personal favorite tracks in his repertoire to perform live. He replied; “That’s hard to say, I like them all (laughs)! Well, doing the Empire tour that we’re doing now is really pleasurable for me, because this is the first time I’ve gotten to sing and play quite a few of the songs on that record. When the album came out, we only played a certain amount of them live, so now playing the whole album is a real treat, because I’m able to play some of the songs I’ve never played live before.”

As many of you may already know, Tate had a messy split between his most well-known former band in 2012. Before letting him go, I wanted to know if there was at least a chance for him and the other members to ever reconcile on a personal level, if not a professional one. He informed me; “Well, I talked to them a couple years ago. We were both playing the same festival, so I went out early to check them out, because I had not seen them play before. It was kind of a weird scene hearing them play, I felt like I was maybe watching a science experiment or something (laughs). And it was funny too, because I was actually standing backstage talking to someone when I heard Queensryche start to play, and in my subconscious, I thought, ‘Oh, they’re playing one of our songs on the PA or something,’ and then I realized the band was actually playing on the stage (laughs). But when you’ve played with a band for so long, and then see them perform without you, it’s just kind of a strange feeling. But I talked to everyone that was there in the band at that time, and it went well.”

Queensryche and Fates Warning at The Plaza Live on 3/2/19 By Jesse Striewski/Photos By Brooke Striewski

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Unlike other bands from their era simply running off nostalgia (Ratt, Quiet Riot, etc…), bands like Queensryche are still releasing more-than-respectful material, and not relying solely on their past. And while they may still be largely ignored by modern radio these days, bands from said era such as them (along with Iron Maiden and Megadeth, among others), are still just as strong as ever. After catching them live this past weekend for the second time, there’s no denying these bands are still able to pack a house.

Fates Warning have always been somewhat of interest to me, especially since Armored Saint/ex-Anthrax bassist Joey Vera first came aboard. And with a solid lineup that also includes original guitarist Jim Matheos, joined with other longtime members Frank Aresti (guitars) Ray Adler (vocals), and current Sebastian Bach drummer Bobby Jarzombek, I was looking forward to actually seeing what they could do on stage when they opened the first night of this current tour. But for the most part, they focused a tad too heavily on their (not so) new album, 2016’s Theories of Flight, performing “From the Rooftops,” “Seven Stars,” and “The Light and Shade of Things.” The furthest the band even went in their own catalog was “Life in Still Water” from 1991. While it’s understandable they had limited time to work with (only able to squeeze in eight tracks) this is one case where it would have been nice if they dug just a little further back in time (at the very least 1988’s “Silent Cries” should have still found its way in the set list somewhere).

And finally, Queensryche took over. The last time my wife/photographer and I saw them live, they were still touring for their first album with current vocalist Todd La Torre in 2013. Since then, the band has released a couple of more albums, and were not swayed from playing material from any of them (despite knowing many likely still come to hear their Geoff Tate-era hits). One thing’s for sure, their stage/light show has definitely improved over time. However, it was somewhat disappointing to see original drummer Scott Rockenfield was not on board this time around, though Kamelot’s Casey Grillo filled in just fine.

Opening with “Blood of Levant,” the band continued with mostly newer tracks such as “I am I,” “Man the Machine,” and “Condition Human,” but managed to throw one from their debut album, “N M 156” in there before finally breaking out with one of their signature “classics” (“Queen of the Reich”) six tracks in. “Selfish Lives,” “Open Road,” “Light-Years,” and “Eyes of the Stranger” all followed before the band took a quick reprieve.

It didn’t take long for the band to come back with a trio of their most well-known hits for their encore, including their biggest (and in my book, extremely overrated) power ballad “Silent Lucidity,” as well as “Jet City Woman,” and finally “Empire.” I say it all of the time; if ever you doubt the ability of a band that’s been around as long as Queensryche, wait to see them live before judging. These guys have been going strong since 1980, and it’s clear they don’t show any signs of slowing down anytime soon.