Sadly, on May 25, 2023, at the age of 61, Paul Passarelli, lead singer for Michael Wilton and Chris DeGarmo’s first band Joker, passed away due to a heart attack.

In 1978, Passarelli and Wilton started the band, and Chris DeGarmo joined in 1979. Along with bands like Ridge (including future Fifth Angel drummer Ken Mary) and Tyrant (containing future Geffen Recording Artist Adam Bomb on guitar), Joker competed in the Lake Hills Battle of the Bands in 1979. Another newcomer to the music scene in Tryant was a guy named Jeff Tate, better known as Geoff Tate of the band Queensryche.

Despite being eliminated after the first round, Joker sold the most tickets and was thus brought back to the Battle’s grand conclusion to serve as the evening’s opening act for the match between Ridge and Tyrant, which Ridge ultimately won.

During his formative years, Passarelli looked up to David Lee Roth of Van Halen. He attended more than ten of the band’s concerts in the Seattle, Portland, and Vancouver areas. Paul wore striped pants just like Roth wore on the first two Van Halen albums.

Joker disbanded the following year, and Wilton and DeGarmo formed Queensryche with Geoff Tate, who were themselves highly influenced by Iron Maiden and the new wave of British heavy metal.

Paul Passarelli went on a different direction and settled with his family in Los Angeles. Before the band was famous beyond Southern California, Passarelli saw Motley Crue in the bars there and bought their debut independent album, Too Fast For Love.

Passarelli relocated back to Seattle and was responsible for spreading the word about Motley Crue; he also formulated a strategy to establish a similar band and environment in the region. In 1982, my friend Paul and I put up a band called Lipstick and played performances all over the place, opening for artists like Lita Ford, Randy Hansen, TKO, and RAIL.

To kick off the local Northwest Metalfest compilation LP in 1984, which also featured bands like Metal Church and the precursors to Alice in Chains and Fifth Angel, Lipstick were offered the opening track. DaIly Grind was played frequently on KISW radio that summer of 1984. Lipstick was likened positively to Motley Crue and KISS by local rock culture journal The Rocket.

During their brief career, Lipstick were supported by a slew of bands, including Faster Pussycat’s Taime Down’s first band, The Bondage Boys, and Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready’s band, Shadow.

When Paul received an inquiry from Arista Records, he decided to relocate to Los Angeles, where the glam rock movement was blossoming. Paul decided to change course after meeting Poison in the band’s infancy.

Lipstick, inspired by U2, rebranded as October, and released an independent album titled Joy & Pain. When Queensryche opened for Metallica in 1988, Chris DeGarmo delivered a copy of this to his A&R representative. The band’s efforts were fruitless, and they disbanded shortly thereafter.

After his stint in San Diego, when he was the lead singer of the band Wolfmother, Paul moved back to his hometown of Seattle. There, he put together a cover band called 70 Proof, and then 80 Proof, featuring ex-members of Presidents of the United States.

To help raise money for the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America, Paul was asked to sing with the pet project Flight To Mars in 2004. The 15-year run of this yearly concert featured a 2012 West Coast tour with seven stops.

Soon after, Passarelli was asked to join the Seattle band Palooka, where he gave some of his finest performances vocally.

Rusted Metal, a compendium of Pacific Northwest metal and hard rock, was published that year (2021). Despite his worsening health, Paul traveled to Portland to meet with his readers and autograph copies of his book.

I haven’t seen Paul since. He welcomed my return with open arms; we reminisced about our glory days and shared farewell hugs.

Over the years, Geoff Tate and Michael Wilton, among many others from that era, have asked me, “How is Paul?” whenever we’ve crossed paths. I tell him he’s still awesome all the time. While he may no longer be physically present, his legacy as a seminal figure in Northwest rock will endure.

Included are photos of Paul and Michael Wilton performing with Joker; a group shot of the band after Chris DeGarmo left and was replaced by Jeff Olson (later the guitarist in Jeff Tate’s band Paradox; Paradox bassist Dave Ratcliffe and Geoff Tate Band drummer Doug McGrew also played in Joker); a setlist of the cover songs Joker performed, noting which songs “Mike” and “Chris” were responsible for leading; and the original flyer for

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