QUEENSRŸCHE's MICHAEL WILTON Says He Took Side Job Building Houses In Early Days Of Pandemic

In a recent interview with Mike Hsu of the 100 FM The Pike radio station, QUEENSRŸCHE guitarist Michael Wilton confirmed that he took a side job building houses during the early days of the pandemic. He explained (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "A good buddy of mine does residential upgrades and things like that. So he just kept me busy for a few months."

Asked if he is someone who was always handy around the house and had a talent for fixing things and doing construction, Wilton said: "Yeah. A lot of kids back in the time that we were teenagers learned different trades, basic things. So it was kind of on-the-spot learning, but it was all pretty easy."

He added: "It was good. It was a crappy time for everybody, so we didn't know what was going on. So I just did this for a while. And I just wanted to get out of the house."

Last October, QUEENSRŸCHE singer Todd La Torre told link textThe Aquarian Weekly that he "loved" being able to stay home for an extended period of time during the pandemic. "I'm always gone, so to be just home and not have to go anywhere was good," he said. I wrote my first solo album during that time and that was a great utilization of the downtime. It sucked not getting paid for a year and a half, but I was fortunate enough to where financially it didn't cripple me. I got to be home with my wife and our dog and see my mom here and there. It was nice to be home for an extended time. It was kind of a reset for everybody, just thinking about priorities. Everybody's just work, work, work. The real important things in life kind of get thrown by the wayside and I think it put a lot of things in perspective for a lot of people, to really put focus on the relationships and what really matters. Despite the horrific nature of what was going on and people dying, it was horrible, there were positive aspects for us."

QUEENSRŸCHE kicked off its 2023 U.S. tour on March 3 at The Plaza Live in Orlando, Florida. Support on the trek is coming from former MEGADETH guitarist Marty Friedman, with TRAUMA.

QUEENSRŸCHE's current 18-song setlist includes no less than five songs from the band's sixteenth studio album, "Digital Noise Alliance", which came out last October via Century Media. The record was once again helmed by Chris "Zeuss" Harris, who previously worked with QUEENSRŸCHE on 2015's "Condition Hüman" and 2019's "The Verdict" LPs.

Guitarist Mike Stone, who rejoined QUEENSRŸCHE in 2021, contributed guitar solos to the band's new studio album.

Since late May 2021, Stone has been handling second-guitar duties in QUEENSRŸCHE, which announced in July 2021 that longtime guitarist Parker Lundgren was exiting the group to focus on "other business ventures."

Stone originally joined QUEENSRŸCHE for the 2003 album "Tribe" and stayed with the band for six years before leaving the group.

For the past six years, drummer Casey Grillo has been filling in for original QUEENSRŸCHE drummer Scott Rockenfield, who stepped away from the band's touring activities in early 2017 to spend time with his young son.

In October 2021, Rockenfield filed a lawsuit against Wilton and bassist Eddie Jackson, alleging, among other things, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and wrongful discharge. A few months later, Wilton and Jackson filed a countersuit against Rockenfield, accusing him of abandoning his position as a member of the band and misappropriating the group's assets to his own personal benefit.