Band members Geoff Tate, Michael Wilton, Chris DeGarmo, Eddie Jackson, and Scott Rockenfield came together in late 1981 at a restaurant in Bellevue, Washington. Michael and Chris knew each other from high school, but nobody really knew each other well. Up until that time, they had all been in local garage type bands. As Geoff tells it, "We all found ourselves in the same room one evening at a fish and chips place called 'Skippers'. It was a Tuesday, all-you-can-eat night, and all of us poor musicians were trying to eat all we could! We started talking to each other like "Don't you play guitar?" and "Don't you play drums?" Then it was "Why don't we get together and jam, and see what happens!" We did, and the rest is history."