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Scott Rockenfield

I was born in Seattle, WA on June 15th 1963 and I have lived in the Seattle area ever since. It was during the sixth grade that I attended a drum and percussion seminar and, from that day forward, my destiny became obvious. Soon after the seminar, I acquired my first snare drum and played it at every opportunity. Lessons didn't interest me so I decided to follow what my heart told me and just played what I wanted to hear. However, I'm not saying that taking lessons is wrong, it just wasn't something I felt comfortable with. I suppose I've always had a hard time being told what to do!

I continued playing that same snare drum until I turned 14. At that time, I received what was to become the most important Christmas gift that I would ever get... my first drum kit! From then on, I was obsessed with drumming and I would spend as much time as possible playing my drums and dreaming about making music.

After my graduation from high school in 1981, an urge overtook me and playing my drums in a rock band was all I could think about. That same year, with some friends and classmates, I helped to found "Queensryche." With money saved from working part time jobs, we booked time in a studio and made our first record, a self-titled EP that we released on our own label, 206 Records. The response from the public was overwhelming and soon we had a bidding war between seven major labels! We decided to sign with EMI America and since then, have released seven full length recordings, including our cult classic "Operation: Mindcrime," and our mega-hit "Empire."
 
The group has been honored with several gold and platinum albums, Grammy nominations, and many other awards throughout the years.

A real high point was receiving the MTV Viewers Choice Award in 1991. After the demise of EMI America in the late 1990's, Queensryche signed with Atlantic Records and released the album "Q2K," in the fall of 1999.

I have always been a fan of progressive instrumental music and was intrigued with the work that local Seattle musician Paul Speer was doing with David Lanz. They had done some really great videos to accompany their albums and writing music for film and video had been a strong interest of mine for a long time. So when Tom Hall (a mutual friend and engineer on many Queensryche records) introduced us in 1993, we discovered lots of common ground and it turned out he was a big Queensryche fan as well.

Paul and I began exploring musical ideas and soon hooked up with director Mike Boydstun on the TeleVoid music video and album. I was finally able to flex my muscles as a soundtrack composer and we were rewarded with a Grammy nomination for TeleVoid in Long Form Music Video.

Our second project as Rockenfield/Speer is an impressionistic journey into the deepest canyon in North America, Hells Canyon of Idaho. Expanding our musical and creative boundaries is what the work I do with Paul is all about and I look forward to the journeys ahead.

In 1996, on the personal side of things, my life was blessed with the marriage to my best friend, Misty. And now, with three beautiful children, I have found a whole new form of inspiration. Love is a truly wonderful thing!!!

To those of you that have followed my career past and present, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. It is the greatest reward for me to know that others have been touched by the music I make and it's inspiration.................Peace.............Srock.