Queensryche ex DeGarmo returns

Former Queensryche guitarist Chris DeGarmo has returned to music by appearing on his daughter’s debut EP.

The co-founder left the prog metal outfit in 1997, and he’s kept out of the limelight until working with 22-year-old Rylie on six-track self-titled release The Rue.

DeGarmo, now a private jet pilot, didn’t want to push her into an interest in music – but when she was 15 she heard him playing an acoustic guitar and told him, “I think I’ve got something for that.” He tells Billboard: “I’d just been waiting years for that.”

He says of The Rue: “There’s not a bunch of window dressing and high-production values – but it’s heavy on an emotional connection and it has a directness to it. I’m really proud.”

Rylie adds: “Music is my favourite thing in the world. It’s the stuff of life for me, my soul’s content. I feel so alive and happy and functional when I’m making music – I’d love to pursue it.”

DeGarmo has never abandoned music, but he’s been happy to pursue it privately. “I love it every bit as much as I did when I was 18,” he says. “It’s a part of me. It’s every bit a part of me as it ever was.

“Rylie’s ready to take over the world – and I’ll fly her wherever she needs to go.”

Queensryche, fronted by Todd La Torre since their split with Geoff Tate in 2012, are nearing completion of their 15th album.

Not only is one-time online news editor Martin an established rock journalist and drummer, but he’s also penned several books on music history, including SAHB Story: The Tale of the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, a band he once managed, and the best-selling Apollo Memories about the history of the legendary and infamous Glasgow Apollo. Martin has written for Classic Rock and Prog and at one time had written more articles for Louder than anyone else (we think he's second now). He’s appeared on TV and when not delving intro all things music, can be found travelling along the UK’s vast canal network.