Chris DeGarmo

Chris DeGarmo (born Christopher Lee DeGarmo, June 14, 1963, in Wenatchee, Washington) is an American heavy metal and hard rock guitarist. He co-founded Queensrÿche in 1981 and played with the group during their most commercially successful period. Since departing from the band, DeGarmo has continued his involvement in the music business in a much smaller capacity. He is now a professional charter pilot.

Career

DeGarmo is best known for his seventeen-year tenure (1981-1998) as a lead and rhythm guitarist in the progressive metal band Queensrÿche. He was a founding member of the Seattle/Bellevue-based band, and together with fellow guitarist Michael Wilton and vocalist Geoff Tate, was largely responsible for writing the band’s intricate compositions. He was the sole writer for the band's 1991 hit "Silent Lucidity," which reached the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and earned the guitarist a BMI songwriter's award. DeGarmo left the band for undisclosed reasons following the band's 1997 tour in support of the Hear in the Now Frontier album. DeGarmo returned briefly in 2003 to record on Queensrÿche's Tribe. He also wrote and recorded the song "Justified" with Queensrÿche for their 2007 greatest hits album, Sign of the Times.

His post-Queensrÿche career includes collaborations with Jerry Cantrell (as a touring guitarist and an appearance on the 2002 Degradation Trip studio album) and with Mike Inez, Sean Kinney, and Vinnie Dombrowski in the open project Spys4Darwin.

On February 18, 2005, DeGarmo joined the remaining members of the popular rock band Alice in Chains and other Seattle area artists for the Tsunami Continued Care Relief Concert. His most recent studio work involved assisting the rock band Dredg for the production and arrangement of their 2005 studio album Catch Without Arms. DeGarmo currently lives in the Seattle area with his wife and children, and works full time as a professional pilot. He holds an Airline Transport Pilot certificate, LR-JET Lear Jet, IA-Jet Beechcraft Premier I and Learjet 45 type ratings from the FAA.

Discography

Queensrÿche

• Queensrÿche (1983)
• The Warning (1984)
• Rage for Order (1986)
• Operation: Mindcrime (1988)
• Empire (1990)
• Operation: LIVEcrime (1991)
• Promised Land (1994)
• Hear in the Now Frontier (1997)
• Greatest Hits (2000)
• Classic Masters (2003)
• Tribe (2003)
• Sign of the Times (2007)

Spys4Darwin

• microfish (2001)

Jerry Cantrell

• Degradation Trip (2002)

References

Persondata
Name	Degarmo, Chris
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Date of birth	1963
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