Queensryche raising money through motorcycle rides on tour

Queensryche is getting ready to start a North American tour for their Operation: Mindcrime II album, but they've also got something else in the works. Frontman Geoff Tate and guitarist Mike Stone will be hosting motorcycle rides with fans throughout the tour to raise money for the VH1 Save The Music Foundation, which supports music education programs across the country. Tate is a friend of Buell Motorcycles head Erik Buell, who made matching Queensryche bikes for Tate and Stone to ride. To get in on a ride, go to queensryche.com and make a donation.

Tate told us that the idea for the charity rides came from his wife Susan, after she heard him talking to Stone over breakfast one day about what they miss while on the road: "We were lamenting the fact that we never get to ride our motorcycles very much when we go on tour. So she's listening to this and says, 'Hey, why don't you guys take your bikes on the road, and we'll have some sort of, like, contest, and maybe we can involve a charity with it.' And we talked to Erik and he said, 'Oh yeah, I'd like to donate some bikes, and I'd like to ride with you on a couple of those dates, too.' So we all started brainstorming this out, and before you knew it, here it is."

The Queensryche tour starts Friday (August 25th) in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.