— Queensrÿche (@queensryche) July 2, 2021
Longtime QUEENSRŸCHE guitarist Parker Lundgren has left the band to focus on "other business ventures."
The 34-year-old musician, a former member of original QUEENSRŸCHE singer Geoff Tate's solo group who was also briefly married to Geoff's stepdaughter Miranda, announced his departure from QUEENSRŸCHE in a social media post earlier today.
He wrote: "For several years, I have been deeply immersed in collecting and selling guitars, as well as rare and fascinating musical instruments. This passion led to the opening of my guitar store Diablo Guitars in 2019. Since then, my business has grown and I recently acquired a storefront with a full-service repair shop. In 2020, my wife and I opened Lucky Devil Latte, which has quickly expanded to multiple locations. With these new endeavors and ensuing responsibilities, my time to devote to QUEENSRŸCHE has become increasingly strained, and I no longer am able to commit the time and focus it deserves. For these reasons, I have made the difficult decision to step down from my role as guitarist in QUEENSRŸCHE.
"I want to thank my friends, family, and fans for making the past 13 years an amazing journey. I wish nothing but the best for my fellow band members, crew and everyone who has supported us.
"I hope to have your continued support as I pursue new ventures."
The remaining members of QUEENSRŸCHE added in a separate statement: "For over a decade, it has been a great pleasure watching [Parker] evolve and flourish as a guitarist, songwriter, and most importantly, a wonderful human being. Parker will always be family to us and we wish him all the success in the world with his new endeavors. Take hold, brother!"
This past May, Parker was absent from QUEENSRŸCHE's concert at the Chiefs Event Center at Shoshone-Bannock Casino in Fort Hall, Idaho. Filling in for him was Mike Stone, who joined QUEENSRŸCHE for the 2003 album "Tribe" and stayed with the band for six years.
Lundgren, who joined QUEENSRŸCHE in 2009, previously sat out some of QUEENSRŸCHE's U.S. shows in September 2018 when the band was on tour as the support act for SCORPIONS.
Guitarist Michael Wilton and bassist Eddie Jackson are the sole remaining original members of QUEENSRŸCHE, which split with Tate in 2012 and replaced him with ex-CRIMSON GLORY frontman Todd La Torre.
QUEENSRŸCHE has released three albums thus far with La Torre — 2013's "Queensrÿche", 2015's "Condition Hüman" and 2019's "The Verdict".
In April 2014, Tate and QUEENSRŸCHE announced that a settlement had been reached after a nearly two-year legal battle where the singer sued over the rights to the QUEENSRŸCHE name. Original QUEENSRŸCHE members Wilton, Jackson and Scott Rockenfield (drums) responded with a countersuit. The settlement included an agreement that Wilton, Rockenfield and Jackson would continue as QUEENSRŸCHE, while Tate would have the sole right to perform the albums "Operation: Mindcrime" and "Operation: Mindcrime II" in their entirety live.
Rockenfield hasn't performed with QUEENSRŸCHE in more than four years. The band has used former KAMELOT drummer Casey Grillo for touring purposes since April 2017.
The drum tracks on "The Verdict" were laid down by La Torre.
