Happy Birthday CHRIS DEGARMO (video)

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Chris DeGarmo (born Christopher Lee DeGarmo on June 14, 1963) is an American heavy metal and hard rock guitarist and threefold Grammy-nominated songwriter. DeGarmo is best known for his seventeen-year tenure (1981–1997) as a lead and rhythm guitarist in the progressive metal band Queensrÿche, which he co-founded, and with whom he played during their most commercially successful period. Since departing from the band, DeGarmo has made his living as a professional charter pilot, and is only occasionally involved with music.

DeGarmo was born in Wenatchee, Washington. He grew up in a family that was struggling, as his father had abandoned them. In sixth grade, he was in the same class as his future bandmate Scott Rockenfield. DeGarmo joined Interlake High School as a sophomore in 1979, and joined his school-mates in garage bands such as Joker, which included guitarist Michael Wilton. After he was kicked out of Joker to be replaced with a guitarist who could afford more expensive equipment, DeGarmo joined the band Tempest, of singer and bass player Mark Hovland, which after drummer Mark Welling joined the band, was named D-H-W (DeGarmo-Hovland-Welling).

In 1980, Wilton and Rockenfield, who was a drummer, had founded a band called Cross+Fire, and DeGarmo and Hovland joined shortly thereafter. They played covers of popular heavy metal bands such as Iron Maiden and Judas Priest. Hovland left because he had to commute quite far and wasn't really into Iron Maiden. In his place came bassist Eddie Jackson, a high school friend of Rockenfield. The band name was changed to The Mob. In 1982, they switched from playing cover songs to writing original material, and recruited Geoff Tate as their vocalist. The band continued under the name Queensrÿche.

As their primary songwriter, DeGarmo was largely responsible for writing the band’s intricate compositions together with Wilton and Tate. In 1990, "I Don't Believe in Love" by DeGarmo and Tate, nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance. DeGarmo was the sole writer for the band's 1991 hit "Silent Lucidity", which reached the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, was Grammy nominated in two categories (Best Rock Song, Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal) at the 1992 awards, as well as five VMA nominations and one win, and which earned the guitarist a BMI songwriter's award.

DeGarmo left Queensrÿche for undisclosed reasons in late 1997 following the band's tour in support of the band's sixth studio album, Hear in the Now Frontier. His departure was not made public until January 28, 1998. Members of the band have later cited burnout and a desire to pursue interests outside of Queensrÿche as reasons for his departure. For example, Rockenfield has said: "He wanted to pursue other things. He felt like he had done what he wanted musically in his life, and wanted to move on."

source: wikipedia

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