Are you ready to bang your head?

by Jennifer Austin

Do you have what it takes to work with a heavy metal master? Do you have the talent? The charisma? The stamina? The hair?

If so, Randy Piper of W.A.S.P. wants to hear from you.

Randy Piper is the Pacific Northwest’s most recent iconic musical acquisition, having been tempted by the change of scenery from the Arizona desert, and our deep pool of talent.

Piper, who is a founding member of Sister, Circus Circus, W.A.S.P., and Randy Piper’s Animal, is a very busy man. He’s gearing up to go to Europe and South America. He’s creating a fully-produced Vegas-style stage show. He’s also a guitar designer with a long-awaited creation, the Cadillac Guitar, nearing completion.

The Cadillac Guitar came from an idea he had in 1988. This design takes guitars to a new dimension, with Cadillac detailing, enough lights to land a plane, smoke, and … fire. Although Bernie Rico from B.C. Rich gave him the wood at the time, the project simmered on the back burner until recently.

“Out of the blue, I met this young luthier and he’s been fantastic. He and I have been working on it every chance we get to make this happen. The tricky part was getting it to blow smoke and fire out the back, but it all seems to be working, and this thing lights up like a Christmas tree!”

But right now, there’s an even more massive project for the Pipester – he’s putting together a new group. Vocalist auditions are in 2 weeks, November 14, 15, and 16, by appointment only, at Tacoma’s Temple Theater.

“I’m looking for someone to come in with the confidence to say to me, ‘I’m the one for the job, it’s really what I want to do,’ and then just nail it,” Piper said. “We’re gonna do some W.A.S.P. classics that we never did live, and I have some other surprises to keep it exciting. I’ve got a lot of ideas of things for things I haven’t had the opportunity to do before.”

Heavy metal hopefuls can choose from 4 songs, including W.A.S.P. classics Wild Child and Savage; Nowhere Fast from the movie Streets of Fire, and the previously unreleased Randy Piper’s Animal track, Raising Hell.

“Raising Hell is an opportunity for someone to really shine,” Piper said. “This track has the chorus on there to give you a start, but I really want to hear someone come in with their own lyrics and blow this away.  Male or female, I’m excited to find some new blood.”

Blood? Will there be blood or meat thrown during auditions? “Only if they request it,” Piper said with a laugh. “I really want to have fun with this.”

Click www.randypiper.net to register for auditions, and for the latest Randy Piper news and events.