Queensrÿche to rock Sandusky

SANDUSKY — When Saturday night rolls around during the Ohio Bike Week block party, the Progressive Main Stage on Jackson Street Pier will be electrified with the progressive metal sounds of Queensrÿche. The American band, founded in 1982 just outside of Seattle in Bellevue, Washington, has been delivering songs with meaningful lyrics, driving bass lines and a two-guitar attack. Queensrÿche has developed a large, loyal fan base, some who have been following the band since the beginning, more than 40 years ago. The band's current lineup features founding members Michael "The Whip" Wilton and Eddie Jackson. Though the pair are in their 60s, their dedication to providing fans with a rocking show remains an integral part of the Queensrÿche sound. Joining Wilton's lead guitar and Jackson's bass guitar are Mike Stone on rhythm guitar, Todd La Torre on lead vocals and drummer Casey Grillo. The band began as a heavy metal cover band called Cross+Fire. This then morphed into the Mob. As the Mob, band members Jackson, Wilton, Chris DeGarmo, Scott Rockenfield and borrowed singer Geoff Tate, recorded a four-track demo including "Queen of the Reich," which eventually reached into the top 100 singles chart in the U.S. Over the course of a year, the band met with and were rejected by many record labels before finally signing a management agreement with Easy Street Records. With the band name the Mob unavailable to use, the quintet took inspiration from one of their demo songs to become Queensrÿche. Reich was changed to rÿche to avoid any connection to Nazism. Easy Street released the demo as an EP and the four songs garnered much airtime both in the United States and abroad. The success led to a record deal with EMI. That relationship would go on for 15 years and cover 7 of the band's albums. The band's first few releases were moderate successes and they evolved their music, adding layering and developing their own sound. In 1988, Queensrÿche released the album "Operation: Mindcrime," a concept album that peaked at 61 in the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart. The height of the band's commercial success came with their 1990 album "Empire." It featured perhaps the band's most well known song, "Silent Lucidity." That song won the 1991 best rock song award from the Billboard Awards. It was also nominated for a 1992 Grammy but lost out to "Good Man, Good Woman" by Bonnie Raitt and Delbert McClinton. "Empire" garnered the 9th spot on Billboard's Top 200 Albums end-of-year chart for 1991. It also ended 1992 in the Top 100 for that year. Queensrÿche recorded eight more albums over the next 21 years. The band continues to release new music. In 2022, it released its 16th album "Digital Noise Alliance." Want to go? What: Queensrÿche headlining show Where: Jackson Street Pier main stage When: Saturday, June 7; Gates open at 6 p.m. All Ohio Bike Week concerts are free to attend. VIP access is available for an additional fee. More headliners Queensrÿche's performance on June 7 is the final headlining act of the Ohio Bike Week Downtown Block Party, which starts on June 5. Here are the other headliners: • Thursday, June 5: Jackyl; gates open at 6 p.m. • Friday, June 6: Saliva, Hinder; gates open at 6 p.m.