have the chemistry, that's not an issue. The most profound line-up change for Queensrÿche since DeGarmo's departure in 1997, was when remaining founding members Rockenfield, Wilton and Jackson fired Tate in June 2012, leading to a court case that has temporarily allowed both parties to use the band's name and has caused a division among the fans. Although DeGarmo has refrained from publicly commenting on any of this, both sides have talked with restraint about DeGarmo's opinion regarding the current band situation, and they suggest that he has remained friends with both parties. Tate said about his relationship with DeGarmo: "We're friends. We see each other probably once a month—play golf, have lunch." Wilton commented: Chris and I have always been good friends. I mean, we grew up together, we were high school buddies and we're still friends. I golf with him all the time. Our families are friends. And, yes, he's aware of what's going on. I'm not going to speak for him, but I can say that he supports everything that we're doing and it's great that Chris and I have a connection. You know, he's got a lot of things in the fire that he wants to do and he's a true connoisseur of great songwriting. That's basically all I can really tell you. Definitely, he's around, we talk a lot, but I really can't say anything. In 2013, DeGarmo and Rockenfield celebrated their 50th birthdays together, as their birthdays are only one day apart. Other members of Queensrÿche were also present. Other activities After leaving Queensrÿche, DeGarmo began a full-time career as a professional business jet pilot. He holds an Airline Transport Pilot Licence, which he acquired during Queensrÿche's most commercially successful years. as well as CL-30 (Challenger 300), LR-JET (Learjet), IA-Jet (Westwind) and LR-45 (Learjet 45) type ratings from the FAA. In 2013, Rockenfield said that "he [DeGarmo] is very successful at it". DeGarmo's post-Queensrÿche musical career includes collaborations with guitarist Jerry Cantrell (as a touring guitarist in 1998, and an appearance on the 2002 Degradation Trip studio album playing slide guitar on the track Anger Rising), and with singer Vinnie Dombroski from Sponge, Alice in Chains bassist Mike Inez and drummer Sean Kinney in the short-lived project Spys4Darwin, which DeGarmo co-founded with Kinney in 1999 after they toured as part of Jerry Cantrell's band on his Boggy Depot tour. The group released one EP