From the pages of michealwilton.com
After high school, I attended the Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle where my studies included jazz and classical music, and where I learned to appreciate ethnic and improvisational music. Chris and I then met Scott Rockenfield and Eddie Jackson, and began collaborating on original music as well as some heavy cover tunes. We played some parties and roller rinks with different singers calling ourselves The Mob, but was not satisfied with that direction. We then met Geoff Tate, and asked if he would be interested in recording a demo of some original tunes. In the late summer of 1982 we recorded four songs during the graveyard hours at Triad Studios in Redmond, WA. We played the tape for the owner of Easy Street Records and agreed to have the tape sent to various sources. A magazine in the UK called Kerrang! gave us a great review and the phone calls started coming. We decided to press a small amount of EPs on our own label, called 206 Records. We then signed a deal with Harris Management, quit our day jobs and changed the name of the band to Queensrÿche. The rest is just a work in progress..