Career
After high school, Wilton attended the Cornish Institute of Allied Arts in Seattle, where he studied jazz and classical music. This was a big step in his life as he began to appreciate more ethnic and improvisational music, which later gave him influences as a progressive rock musician. At college, he also met Eddie Jackson and Scott Rockenfield, who are still active members of Queensrÿche. Wilton, DeGarmo, Jackson and Rockenfield began to play at some parties and called themselves The Mob. In the late summer of 1982, Geoff Tate was involved as vocalist to record a four-song demo. The band changed its name to Queensrÿche, and the demo was released in 1983, as the eponymous album Queensrÿche.
Wilton remains a guitarist in Queensrÿche to date. DeGarmo left Queensrÿche in 1998, following which Wilton gradually began performing most of the songs that previously featured DeGarmo doing the main solo live, including "Silent Lucidity", "The Mission", "En Force", "I Am I", "Take Hold of the Flame", "Best I Can", "The Killing Words", "Bridge", "The Lady Wore Black" and "Anybody Listening?", amongst others. Queensrÿche had first taken in Kelly Gray as guitarist, who was replaced in 2002 by Mike Stone, and in February 2009 by Parker Lundgren, initially as a touring guitarist but mainly as a rhythm guitarist only joining in for dual guitar solos in songs like "Neue Regel" and "London". After the band's tour for its 10th album, American Soldier, which started on April 16, 2009, Wilton took over all of the solos.
In 2002 he started a side band with former Alice in Chains guitarist and My Sister's Machine vocalist Nick Pollock called Soulbender, which has thus far released one album in 2004 and played various shows around the northwest. The band is currently on hiatus.
Read more about this topic: Michael Wilton
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