An Interview with

Chris Holmes & Randy Piper

(Photo by John Harrell)

- The Original Guitarists of W.A.S.P., now of 'Where Angels Suffer'

that took place on Fort Myers Beach, Tuesday, 16th November, 2010 by Glenn Milligan

Glenn: From your humble beginnings, what got you into music in the 1st place?

Chris: You wanna ask me that?

Glenn: Yeah.

Chris: The Drugs. Cheers. (Laughs). Yeah drugs and alcohol - that's the main thing.

Glenn: Nothing to do with the music then?

Chris: It works along with the music - you feel good, play good and if you feel bad, you play bad and if you didn't do drugs you're an outcast from where I'm from.

Glenn: So what would you say your favourite bands were that got you interested in playing music?

Chris: It's all guitar bands - Johnny Winter, Robin Trower, Jimi Hendrix. I'm getting too old to remember all of 'em. I should have taken a picture of all the pictures on my walls. You know this guy I was talking to he had pictures of me and Randy on his walls and I was cracking up because I was thinking about my walls when I was a kid. (Laughs). You ought to have seen them - I had everyone plastered on my walls. I remember having an Alvin Lee picture - he had a watch on and I saying, "Why would he have his watch on stage?" (laughs) and then half the time I'm I'd be playing and I'd be going, "Oh man, my watch is on". You know it gets all sweaty and stinky- but back to the drugs - yeah. That was an influence playing music and sh*t with all my buddies and smoke pot. They used to spreay paraquat on it - that was something in Mexico that would get you double high. Anyway, we roll up some some joints and play a...

Randy: Listen to (Black) Sabbath?

Chris: Yeah.And try and play Black Sabbath on acoustic guitars.

Randy: Still though with electric strings.

Chris: Oh yeah.You know on catgetch guitars - you ever seen those?

Randy: Flamenco.

Glenn: Right.

Chris: You know Charl - 'The Hoochie Coochie Mama' - you can kinda put electric strings on those with double neck bows (laughs).

Glenn: Yeah.

Chris: It kinda bows like a U.

Glenn: What about you Randy, what influenced you to be a guitarist?

Randy: I dunno, pretty much the same thing. I mean I grew up around my folks listening to music. We used to dance around the living room and the stereo blasting and I grew up in San Antonio, Texas. There was a lot of Elvis. My mom and my aunt were both escorted off stage. They weren't thrown off like they are today right? Alot of the audince, they jumped up on an Elvis Presley concert or whatever.

Glenn: Wow.

Randy: Yeah. She'd take me to see every Elvis movie when they came out. Now looking back it's kinda funny but... Plus The Ventures - when The Ventures came out it was cool with chicks on the album covers and all the guitars. It kind of progressed from there I guess.

Glenn: What bands were you in before W.A.S.P. when you realised it was the career for you?

Chris: Play In?

Glenn: Yeah.

Chris: Yeah - well everyone you play in before. You think you can make it.

Randy: You like to catch bands and then jam - have guys to jam with or whatever.

Chris: If you don't think your bands gonna make it - why play it you know?

Glenn: That's true.

Chris: But nowadays it's a joke.

Glenn: How did you guys meet originally?

Randy: Oh I don't know, (turns to Chris) You wanna tell him the truth?

Chris: Yeah. Our great founder of the band W.A.S.P., Blackie Lawless - nice guy - love him. Too bad we ain't friends anymore but he kinda hooked us up.

Randy: Yeah we worked with him for a long time too but not anymore.

Chris: He had a bit of of an ego.

Randy: I know. But Chris played with them before I did but we were kinda actually...

Chris: All in Sister - me play in a band called Sister? Come on! Come On! Anyway, Sister.

Randy: We kinda worked like in the same circles. We like missed each other. In the interim of it all or whatever Chris had played with them, you know, he was no longer like playing with them, then I was like in there or whatever and then I guess through mutual friends or whatever we ended up with that mix with Chris and myself.

Chris: That's kinda sh*tty - Blackie see, he'd go around saying that Randy didn't play on the records - I'd be p*ssed off.

Randy: I was. I was. I was like ok - I'll wipe all my guitar off then - you play all my licks then - f*ck*r!

Glenn: Yeah I notice now he's switched from bass to lead guitar.

Chris: He'll be on keyboards next week.

Randy: Well he always did play guitar and Blackie raced in talents 'n' stuff.

Chris: Yeah. Play guitar - if you can call that guitar.

Randy: I mean he wrote songs. I mean, but that's pretty much how it was. We got together. We went through a bunch of different bass players and drummers. Before Blackie played bass he actually went from guitar back to bass and played bass until he said it was total ignorance and totally pissed off a lot of bass players out there. Right? (he asks Chris).

Chris: I don't understand the way he says things, you know.

Glenn: Mmmm - it's the way he is.

Chris: Oh yeah. He said he found me in Hustler Magazine.

Glenn: So what was it like when you did the 1st album and when you got on radio?

Chris: That was one for all, all for one. We thought we were all gonna be living in nice houses and sh*t - and then who ended up with the nice houses?

Randy: He got 'em (referring to Blackie).

Glenn: So where ewere you guys? What happened to you guys?

Chris: What happened to us?

Randy: We were out playing. We were out playing.

Chris: I'll say this frankly. Some people won't like it but we worked for a Jew. Okay,that is the bottom line of the whole situaltion right there. So, he made it so, he told us this story of this light and th tunnel just keeps getting longer and longer and you never get there, you know?

Glenn: Yeah.

Randy: Yeah. We were promised a lot, you know we were out there touring and playing as hard as we could amd maybe not concentrate so much on the business end because we had managers and stuff that we were actually paying to take care of us.

Glenn: And they didn't?

Randy: As it turned out they really weren't taking care of us.

Chris: They were taking care of one person.

Randy: Yeah.

Chris: And it's certain when you get older in life and you don't have certain things you want - you know - very lucky, we've got certain companies that endorse ya - but that's not what I want... I'd like a car.

Glenn: I mean you can't drive a guitar can you?

Chris: No.

Glenn: But they don't care or anything?

Chris: No but that's alright. And you can't take it when you go either.

Randy: (To Chris) You've got a fast car?

Chris: Yeah. It's not a car - it's a pile a junk. The cops even laugh at it. (We all laugh). They laugh at it.

Glenn: When you got the 1st album out, what was it like writing the songs and what songs are you most proud of?

Chris: The 1st one.

Glenn: Yeah.

Chris: Well the 1st album was cool - one big happy family but all of a sudden the 2nd album...

Randy: Blackie's on the cover. Well he came to me (Blackie) - honestly, these were his exact words, "I got an idea for the 2nd album", you know artwork or whatever, "Me on the front like this, me on the back like this and when you open it up it's me like this" so I knew it was over then.

Glenn: Yeah?

Randy: Yeah. I knew we were headed for destruction.

Glenn: Yeah?

Randy: Yeah.

Glenn: That's not good.

Chris: Not at all.

Randy: No it wasn't.

Glenn: You were all equal members!

Chris: We were at first.

Randy: We were at first - that was the deal.

Chris: At that point, you get to a point where you don't really give a crap. I tell you, there was a time when in '95, he had me working on this, you know, I had this digital recorder. It wasn't mine - it was his, he brought it over to me and told me to write some riffs.

Randy: Actually it belonged to the Corporation.

Chris: Who? Yeah the corporation.

Randy: Yeah.

Chris: Who was owned by... what was he called? Bruce Spring.. The Boss. Anyway, so I wrote these four killer ideas. You know I'd write something like that and I nearly wrote 'em out as songs. They were recorded right and he comes out, listens to one, he had his headphones on, he listens to another one, he takes 'em off and he goes, "Have you got anything else?" and my f*ck*ng jaw dropped and it hit the ground and I go, "What else, what do you want?", ane he goes, "Basically, to get one song I have to write a hundred" and once he told me that, that was the last time I ever, ever gave him a hundred percent or 90 percent. After that it was cool. I was in the slow lane WASP, I just sat back and said, "Do what you wann do and you need me to say anything we come and bother me", I ain't doing crap anymore. I don't care about it.

Randy: There was a time that actually, you know, I didn't never wanna ride on the tour bus with him. I used to hang with the roadies on their bus.

Chris: Yeah, yeah.

Randy: They were a lot more fun. We'd party.

Chris: We'd go out with Iron Maiden and I liked to be on their bus. They had all booze and sh*t. They loved me on the bus - it was fun

Glenn: Down to earth English guys?

Chris: (Black) Sabbath too - yeah.

Randy: Yeah - it was fun. My mom told me a long time ago, she kept going to me, "If you get an opportunity to do things that I've, I've never, ever, ever been out of the United States", and we're travelling all over the world ans she said, "Don't forget to stop and smell the roses".We did. We partied man. You know, we partied with our fans and stuff and Bruce was er...

Chris: The big boss..

Randy: Yeah Bob.

Chris: He just made it miserable.

Randy: Yeah he did. He kind of made it miserable man. It's like if someone would say, "Hey I wanna go to McDonalds out there - can we stop and go to McDonalds?". He'd go, "I wanna go to Burger King", so here do you think we went?

Glenn: Burger King?

Randy: There you go. In a nutshell dude.

Glenn: He's always right?

Randy: Yeah.

Chris: It's ok.

Randy: That's the negative sh*t. F*ck It man.

Chris: There it is. I got one more thing. The negative things that I have or because of the human being imself. He wouldn't let me go to (The) Music Awards with my wife. I used to be married to Lita Ford you know?

Glenn: Yeah.

Chris: She had nice T*ts, nice *ss whatever - she played guitar. She even sang.. she even sang on one of our records but he wouldn't let me go to The Music Awards with her. She was nominated for 'Vocalist Of The Year' and he made sure I couldn't go. I mean he did everything in his power to keep me from going. So I didn't go and when it was all said and done I went, "Why?".

It was years after when I made that call and I called him a name and I go, "Why would you do that to a so-called friend?" and he was walking out the room, didn't even look at my face and he mumbled, "I was jealous". It blew my mind - it was like 'Jealous'. Well it just answered every question that I had from all the years. All the years down the road - all these things that would happen.

You know, I've done a few tours, I can't even remember all the journalists that would come up to me to do an Interview. "Where were you today Chris at 2 O'Clock?", "Oh man I on my bus in my bunk j*ck*ng off", you know, I had nothing to do and the guy would go, "Well we requested you personally for an Interview" and they said, "You had obligations" which was...

Glenn: And you didn't even know?

Chris: No. No that was him (Blackie) trying to keep either Randy or I or whatever from our press, out of the press and...

Randy: He wanted it all dude. He just treated us...

Chris: I can imagine what it was like to play with guys in a regular group with people got to do their own thing or whatever.

Randy: And of course with this band (Where Angels Suffer) everybody pretty much gets to do whatever they f*ck*n' wanna do.

Chris: And to be frank with you I hope the worst for the guy. I hate saying that but I do. I hope the worst.

Randy: There's no Bob in this band.

Chris: If I was Bob it'd be great hahahaha.

Randy: But that ain't gonna happen.

Chris: Anyway, let's go onto new stuff.

Glenn: Yeah.

Chris: Well it's gonna be me on the cover. (he jokes)

Randy: Me on the back I'll tell you that. (he jokes)

Glenn: And the other guys, they aren't gonna be features on the cover, it's just gonna be you guys ain't it?

Chris: Yeah (he jokes).

Randy: This could go on for hours.

Chris: Wait till you see my new signature on 'The Last Command' album. I got this new signature it goes right on. I spent hours. First time I signed an autograph I couldn't read it so I sat down and made sure you can read it. Last time, last year I spent a long time rehowing my skills doing my autograph. You'll see it some day.

Glenn: After you'd been apart for so many years as musicians, what was it like for you when you first got together in 'Animal'?

Randy: It was fun. Actually I've known his mom from way back in the day and stuff and I had actually talked to her trying to find Tony and I talked to his mom and his mom said, "I just had his number, I ran over it or whatever somewhere and it's peeled off my refrigerator and it's been hanging there for 20 years". So I gave him a call and we got together..

Chris: He had some other obligations, you know? Tony, how you say it? He was in the payhole. That's the money that you pay for 18 years and he did it four times. So he got kids everywhere. He had four kids so he had obligations to take care of the kids as they do that in the States now.

Glenn: Yeah. Like the CSA - the 'Child Support Agency' back home.

Chris: Oh yeah.

Randy: Well he couldn;t really do it but me and Chris are still out.

Chris: We couldn't pay him enough money. I mean we'd be touring, we'd be in debt. If we had Tony with us, we'd be in debt paying his child support. (We all laugh). Poor guy man.

Glenn: Yeah.

Randy: I don't know. So we tried it like in Animal and stuff. We did it - we toured back east in New York and Chicago a bunch of times. I don't know - timing has a lot to do with it with what was going on and we were trying but we didn't have a lot of really good people behind us at that time and it wasn't solid and it just fell apart.

Chris: We used drummer called Frankie Garristo who was the biggest b*llsh*tt*r - he was a star you know, we weren't even up to his..

Randy: Level

Chris: Not even close to his level.

Randy: Whatever so it didn't work and now we came up with this (Where Angels Suffer) and this was the perfect opportunity to try it again and I think the timing's right and we've got a lot of really, really good people behind us and I think it's building momentum and who knows. We're gonna keep beating it like a dead horse.

Glenn: Yeah. Why did you decide to call the band 'Where Angels Suffer'?

Randy: Actually it wasn't my idea, it was an old friend of mine and he just said, "You and Chris are Angels man and I know you guys really got f*ck*d over in W.A.S.P. and it's like, you know, you guys have been suffereing all these years trying to get in the right situation again. I mean everybody, including Stet (Howland), including (Steve) Unger, everybody that's done so-so on their own but never like pushed it over the top again.

So it was his idea to like put this together or whatever and he kinda made it happen so no wer're, I don't knoe, I think we got a really good band together and who knows. Everybody's got the same goal and that's not one leader or whatever that's trying to undermine the rest of us to get all the money. If we make money we are all gonna make everything fair. Everything's fair so if we make money, we're all gonna make money. If we fall on our face, we all fall on our face and then we'll try something else I guess. So honestlly, that's where it stands right there.

Glenn: Makes sense.

Randy: Yeah. That way nobody can have any descension in this band saying they're making more money - you know, he's getting this or you're getting that or whatever so.

Chris: I need to get some child support payments (we laugh).

Randy: Your votes?

Chris: Some chicks. I wanna j*zz in the payhole.

Glenn: Hahaha. What is pretty hard to decide what songs to put in the set from the W.A.S.P. days?

Chris: Actually, there's ones - let's use common sense here. Right - you've gotta use albums we played on or else it'd be kind of dumb.

Glenn: Exactly.

Chris: 'The Headless Children' songs right?

Glenn: Yeah.

Chris: If we play 'Headless Children' songs that'd be..

Randy: Well actually though my favourite album is 'Headless Children' and that's one I didn't play on but Im liked Chris's work on it. You know what I'm saying? Yeah they had some good songs man. You know, 'Mean Man' - those that I still wanna play and Chris is like "You weren't on 'em so we're not playin' 'em" or whatever and I'm like "F*ck*d".

Chris: That's his perception, you know? Yeah.

Glenn: I suppose it's similar when Stet wants to.. does he wanna play the songs that he was on?

Chris: Yeah and we can't play anything.

Randy: So we're playing the ones that, you know, had the most recognition so that's what we're doing. The ones that we did videos to - there's no ballads.

Chris: I'll wear a dress. (We laugh). 'Touch, Touching The Flames Desires' (sung). Eat My *ss.

Glenn: No white boots.

Chris: No. It just don't work.

Randy: This has got a lot of energy and stuff. That's what I like. I like fast songs and a lot of energy and stuff. I don't wanna play these. They'll work in a huge arena some day but...

Chris: We'll try a jukebox, you know, you's got the thing like on a jukebox 'Ballad of A's', you know?

Glenn: Yeah. Exactly. There's 'Sleeping In The Fire' but you know?

Randy: People loved that stuff but it wouldn't work now - not for us. That gives everybody a break to go to the bars or take a p*ss or a sh*t or something.

Glenn: Yeah. What songs from the W.A.S.P. days do you usually get a big kick out of playing?

Chris: 'Blind In Texas', yeah 'Blind In Texas', 'I Wanna Be Somebody', 'Wild Child', you know?

Randy: The ones with the videos.

Chris: I don't like playing 'I Wanna Be Somebody' because I never looked at that. My life of worth is being a person. I don't go, 'I Wanna Be Somebody' - I don't look at things that way. That's why I can't. It's not that I can't stand playing it. I mean it's got the good music, I just don't like what the content of the lyrics is at.

Randy: I like to wear it fast but I don't really the contents of the lyrics.

Chris: 'I wanna be somebody' - Hey we can dance.

Randy: We are somebody.

Glenn: Everyone's someone.

Randy: Yeah exactly.

Chris: Yeah. But unless - just think about it. If you don't feel like somebody?

Glenn: Who are you?

Chris: I don't know. If you've got a low opinion of yourself I guess you could wanna be somebody but that's only for people who aren't happy with themselves.

Glenn: And you guy, I can tell you are happy with yourselves anyway with who you are.

Chris: Yeah.

Randy: I'm having a blast right now. Are you kidding me?

Chris: And we are somebody now.

Glenn: Yeah.

(Chris laughs).

Randy: It's a great band man and eveybody gets along. It's fun. We don't have some... It's a democracy.

Chris: And actually we stop and talk to the fans. "How you doing?". Something that Blackie wouldn't let us do.

Randy: It would destroy our image or something.

Glenn: I've not managed to meet the guy yet. It's a nightmare.

Chris: Oh yeah.

Randy: We love it though man. There's a lot of good things that come out of going out there and talking to people.

Glenn: It gets you on a high after the show.

Randy: It's not even that though - it's just that they're people and they're really happy, you know and you build friendships and stuff too man. You know you see 'em on the next time around or whatever. It's like, "Hey, what's up?", you know. They have things to bring to the table too.

Chris: The other day a guy was cracking me up man. I was cracking up because he telling me, "Man dude, I got your pictures on my wall", and this and that and I was just cracking up like I was kid. I was like thinking about me and the pictures of the guys on the walls. (Laughs) Yeah yeah.

Randy: Absolutlely.

Glenn: We've all been there because we are fans of the music.

Randy: I know I keep bringing it up but Blackie said one time, "I'm not being nice to anybody on the way up because I'm never coming down'. I was like "Wooooo - that's pretty heavy - that's a pretty bold statement". Boy, Chris and I always went out and partied. Sh*t we'd go to peoples houses and sh*t after shows, you know?

Glenn: Yeah.

Randy: We'd get invited to parties and stuff and it was fun.

Chris: Yeah, I like to be on a guys walls pictured with his sister. (We all laugh). Don't you wanna know how we tune our guitar and stuff?

Glenn: Oh yeah.

Chris: Well there's things at the end of the neck and if you tighten them it goes tighter and if you loosen them they go looser.

Glenn: (to Randy) And there was an occasion where your guitar went out of tune on stage didn't it.

Randy: Oh yeah - big time. We had a wack.

Chris: Somebody runs into it.

Randy: Oh I could have went off side and tried to tune it and went back but we just kept going. It wasin the middle of 'Blind In Texas' - a breadown in there and Chris knew I was way out of wack or whatever and he comes over and I'm stood there going, "Fuck, What am I gonna do here?". Chris starts tuning it for me and we're going down each string until we got it and then after we were back in tune man we started wailing again - full-front.

Chris: You don't wanna here that outta tune.That sounds bad.

Randy: Yeah. Tell me about it. Well that's the 1st rule ain't it?

Glenn: Yeah. That's worse than tapes breaking on stage and stuff.

Randy: We don't use tapes.

Glenn: Oh I know. You are straight live guys.

Chris: The only tape I got is probably duct tape.

(I laugh)

Glenn: Stick it down to to the stage so you don't...

Chris: Duct tape oh yeah. I had to wash my pants and they split apart man and my balls were hanging out. I told 'em I wanted some tape and I had to tape it up man and when I pulled it off I pulled off a load of hair of my ball sack.

(We laugh)

It f*ck*n' hurt man.

Glenn: That's nearly as bad as trapping your d*ck in your fly or your zipper.

Chris: I've done that.

Randy: I've only done it once. That's one time when I was in a hurry. Right (to Chris).

Chris: Right. There's the rules.

Randy: Usually it only happens once.

Chris: Then we got button up flys after that.

Glenn: In your careers so far, what would you say have been your biggest highlights?

Chris: In my brain highlights?

Glenn: Brain highlights or maybe in the studio - what have you enjoyed most?

Chris: Mine is 'The Decline Of Western Civilisation (Part 2: The Metal Years).

Glenn: Yeah.

Chris: Yeah right there. My highlight. That's was I enjoyed doing - right there. Well I had a guitar in my hand, a bottle of booze down my throat - that was it. You know? That's what I like to do.

Glenn: (To Randy): What about you?

Randy: Oh I don't know. I just dig this. I love being out on the road. I love travelling. I mean, we've been all over the world, you know it's fun.

Glenn: Yeah. Is there any certain places that you'd love to play and not yet played or love to go back to that you played when you were in W.A.S.P. or in Animal?

Chris: I'd like to go down to the cock-tent and rehearse down there again.

Randy: That's where her Sister used to rehearse.

Glenn: Yeah.

Chris: It would be a highlight of my life is to either open or have them open for us as W.A.S.P.

Randy: That'd be a hightlight.

Glenn: That'd be great.

Randy: Oh yeah.

Chris: And not even do any rude things to them.

Randy: That won't happen. Vocally or musically it'll never happen.

Chris: It won't happen.

Randy: It'll never happen.

Glenn: Yeah.

Chris: My highlights.. mine would be playing the Forum (in LA).

Randy: That was cool. When we came home. We'd been out for a long time playing - Europe and everything and then we came home and played 'The Forum'. That was way cool.

Glenn: Yeah.

Chris: Because that's your home town gig, you know? Now everybody that didn't like ya - that kinda shows in their face.

Randy: Wayne Robbie would be being doing that. he came in and said, "Like who wants a limo to go to The Rainbowor whatever" and we all said "Yeah". He had like 4 white limos for let and we all jumped in one. It was like a race - a race to The Rainbow before it closed or whatever after that gig. Yeah - it was fun.

Glenn: Yeah cause it shuts a 2 O' Clock AM and you just gotta get in.

Randy: Oh yeah.

Glenn: You just gotta get in and you can stop a bit longer.

Randy: Oh yeah, yeah. It was fun man.

Glenn: How would you say you guys have changed as people over the years?

Randy: Chris hasn't changed at all. He ain't changed at all.

Chris: Father Time gets older you know? Gravity effects.

Glenn: Yeah.

Chris: No you're a little wiser, you know?

Glenn: Yeah.

Randy: I think a lot of people say we haven't changed at all.

Glenn: Yeah.

Randy: Yep.

Glenn: Just cool down to earth guys that you were in the 1st place. When people got the chance to meet you that is. When you knew you could go out.

Randy: We're still running into people all the time. You made your name before and you partied with us or I took you to the liquor store.

Chris: I remember once in Japan some kid wanted us to go off and do some blow. I don't know we were like somewhere in some place and man it was speed we were doing. Yeah and the the guys got some other..

Randy: We got nailed for that too.

Chris: Yeah. Haha Hahaha. We had some other guy chase us out the bullet train saying we owed him money, we'd ripped somebody off.

Randy: We didn't even know our our Tour Manager. It was like - hey we're in the sh*t again.

Chris: Yeah.

Randy: That happened to us a lot and we used to get fined too. Yeah basically we got fined. If we were late we got fined.

Glenn: Wow. It was like working for Chuck Berry or James Brown.

Randy: No it was like working for Adolf (Hitler).

Glenn: F*ck*n' '*ll.

Chris: Oh man, I'd have had a better time in a concentration camp.

(We all laugh)

Glenn: That's the food as well?

Chris: Yeah - you're working in W.A.S.P. you know?

Glenn: Yeah - I mean it's an incredible thing when you actually find out the real side of things and what really happened because all we see is... We see like a band on stage, we got the albums and you play the stuff and you think, 'Oh they must get on so well because they sound so well together' and it's just amazing to hear the truth.

Randy: Well not when you have somebody that's working basically, undermining you the whole time.

Glenn: Yeah.

Randy: Yep. His own..

Chris: Oh yeah.

Randy: ...his own game.

Glenn: Yeah.

Chris: Yeah.

Randy: But I don't know - we're still here.

Chris: Yeah.

Glenn: Yeah.

Randy: A long time we're still here.

Glenn: Do you have plans to bring out a DVD of 'Where Angels Suffer'?

Randy: Oh yeah. Yeah, yeah - absolutely.

Glenn: Yeah?

Randy: Yeah, we're gonna do everything we can.

Chris: There was one time when Stet was in W.A.S.P. - we were trying to get the cameras and follow me around and Blackie wouldn't let us have the money to get the cameras. We all wanted to walk around and interview people and see what they thought, you know?

Glenn: Yeah.

Chris: And backstage walk up to chicks and say, "Who are you here to blow?" or whatever, you know? Or 'How did you get in?" or "How did you get that pass on?" you know or whatever.

Glenn: Yeah. What would you say your favourite guitars are and why that you still enjoy playing?

Chris: Well my favourites a six-string electric -

Randy: Which you still have, your favourite one,

Chris: 6 string electric - beat up, blown up what else? There you go - you can only play one at a time. I tried to play two - it doesn't work.

Glenn: Yeah - you can have too many - it's stupid.

Chris: Yeah.

Glenn: What about you Randy?

Randy: Oh I don't know - guitars are like women - you can always get another one right? (to Chris)

Chris: Yeah. Yeah.

Randy: Some of them you like better than others.

Chris: We used to have these cool customised or whatever - that was just the W.A.S.P. thing but now - it'd look pretty funny. Oh I got a 'Headless Children' guitar but I got a sticker right on it - it's the HB sticker off a cops...

Randy: Off the door.

(I laugh)

Chris: Yeah.

Chris: Our sh*t-house door sticker came right off and I put it on my guitar.

(I laugh)

Chris: It's cool.It says THB.

Glenn: I bet he was happy about that.

Chris: Hey I didn't care.

Randy: Was it the passenger door or the drivers door?

Chris: I think it was the passengers door.

Randy: He probably didn't even know when he got back in.

(We laugh)

Chris: He was in a Waffle House or something. It came off really quick too. I was like trying to hide it and put the thing right it on the guitars - it's cool. (Laughs). I didn't know where else to get those. They don't stamp 'em up anywhere. Where did I put down that guitar? I think I left that at home. We didn't have enough weight. There's only a certain amount of weight when you fly.

Glenn: Yeah or it starts costing you a lot of money.

Chris: You can only have 50 lbs. It can't be over a hundred or it doesn't go. So.. but as guitars, you know, as long as I have a six string it works. I don't like playing acoustic because I feel like I should be wearing a dress.

Glenn: Although some of your songs like 'Wild Child'.

Randy: That we did it acoustic and what a way to go.

Glenn: Yeah - it works so so well.

Randy: Oh I know - it was fun, Chris just doesn't...

Chris: I like to be on 10. I don't like 9...

Glenn: What about 11?

Chris: And I don't like 11. Okay. I don't like 11 because 11...

Randy: It was fun.

Chris: 11 is just really 10.

Randy: It's was just real unplugged when did that. There was no acoustic electric where we plugged in. There was no microphone. Just spur of the moment.

Chris: And next time I have to play that you have to give me a dress. I'll wear a dress and I'll feel great.

Randy: It's gonna look great on you too. It was fun man. I like playing acoustic guitar and stuff. I thought we were having a blast.

Glenn: So what songs have you got together ready for a brand new 'Where Angels Suffer' album?

Randy: Oh we're working on some stuff.

Chris: I got this new song called 'Dead End'.

Glenn: Yeah.

Chris: It's gonna be good.

Glenn: So what's 'Dead End' about? is it about finding a 'Dead End'?

Chris: It's about being in W.A.S.P - a 'Dead End'.

Glenn: What about you Randy, what's it like writing together again? Was it weird like - a bit surreal?

Randy: Not weird at all. It's like going back to places you haven't been to for a long time and seeing people you haven't seen for six or seven years and it's like you never left or whatever. It's like, you can get all caught up or whatever and nothings ever come between you or whatever. It's how it is now - it's like old times.

Glenn: Well you're still the same people..

Randy: Yeah.

Glenn: You still get on really well.

Randy: Yeah we get along. We fight a little bit but I always have with him.

Glenn: You're like brothers - you are bound to.

Randy: Oh yeah.

Glenn: Well you can't agree on everything can you?

Randy: Well me and Rich (Lewis) have been together on and off for like 20 something years and we battle every now and then but brothers do that.

Glenn: I must ask you Chris, how did you happen to end up working with Phil Taylor (ex-Motorhead Drummer)?

Chris: Well I've know him for a long time. He needed me to fix something at his place and I went over and I saw he had Pro-Tools - a rack thing. He had one screen. I goes, "Hey you got the Pro-Tools", he goes, "Yeah". He was the 1st guy I ever saw get a computer in '91. He said, "That's a computer" and I looked at it like it was a joke. It was when DOS was out. He tried to fix up an interface before Pro-Tools. He had this system then and I was just telling him, "This ain't gonna work, you're out of your mind" and I went over to his house, we're friends, so I went over to his house a few years ago and he had Pro-Tools.

I said, "What are you re-recording?" and he played something and he was playing, I'm not 100% sure, it could be 'Whitey' from 'The Stooges' and he was playing something and he was playing in a band and I go, "Man, that guitar playing sucks" - but not the playing, the sound. I'm not knocking his playing it's just the sound's horrible. Phil says, " Yeah - can you do any better?", I went, "Oh yeah" cause I'm a sound freak and then we just started recording from there. We hadn't figured out the name of the band exactly - I got him to sing though. Oh god, I got him to sing.

Glenn: What's he like as a singer?

Chris: He's not.

(We all laugh)

But I got him to sing though.I got him to sing it's great. There's a song, I go, it's called 'The Mormon Moron' and it goes, "They laid their hands upon my head, in front of the congregation they all said", and I needed another voice and I wrote it down and I said, "Say this Phil" and this English voice goes, "God bless this child, he's a little too wild and take the devil from his head" - it's fine (laughs).

Randy: It's good - I like it.

Glenn: He's from not far from me, he's from Chesterfield.

Chris: Yeah.

Glenn: And I'm like just outside Sheffield.

Chris: He lives in LA - he never goes out of his apartment. He's funny. I like the guy. He's helped me through some hard times.

Glenn: Hows longs the set - the 'Where Angels Suffer' set?

Chris: It's exactly an hour and ten minutes.

Glenn: Right

Chris: An hour and ten minutes. On my watch!

Glenn: On your watch. With an encore?

Chris: We don't do encores.

Glenn: Right.

Chris: Because we keep playing and then we don't have to walk off stage so we just stay on stage and play the encore and walk off. I think yeah.

Glenn: Yeah.

Chris: Oh f*ck - it's easier that way.

Glenn: So what would it take to get the guys in Where Angels Suffer to come over and do a UK Tour?

Chris: Money.

Randy: Money.

Chris: Why, whay you got?

(We laugh)

We need to sell some records over there.

Glenn: And get the press, like people like me here?

Randy: We are working on it. We have someone working on all the festivals for next year.

Glenn: (to Randy) What do you like to do outside music then, is it just relaxing? Do you have ertain hobbies that you enjoy?

Randy: I like to go jet skiing with half naked chicks hanging off the back. That's what I do when I get time. I don't know - I love being down here man. It's great. Silent. It's a lot of fun. We're going out again tonight to all the clubs and hopefully out to the beach and look at half naked women.

Glenn: I suppose you guys are proud of who you are and that you've kept the thing going and believe in yourselves no matter what sh*t myou've been through.

Randy: You've gotta do. We keep trying or whatever. We have a winning combination here and we'll see what happens.

Glenn: So tell us about what it was like like flying when you were in W.A.S.P?

Chris: We always flew in the coach.

Randy: Me and Chris would be partying up there and Bob...

Chris: Bruce.

Randy: Oh yeah Bruce.

Chris: Bruce. He'd have to be up in 1st class with the Tour Manager.

Randy: But me and Chris were having all the fun with all the f*ck*ng flight attendants and chicks sitting on our laps and taking pictures so... go figure.

Glenn: You had a good time really. You didn't get the money but you had a better time.

Chris: A while back I was getting ready to walk on the plane and turned around and I was saying something and he goes, "Come On Chris, You're holding the line up". I turned around and I smashed my head right on the plane at top where it comes down and I was holding my head and a lady grabbed my arm and I jerked my arm away from her and I go, "Who are you? Don't grab me like that", she goes, "Well I'm the stewardess who greets you coming on the plane". Man I've never noticed that in my life. If they are standing and geeting you coming on the plane - they do. I never noticed that.

Randy: It might be the last person you ever see again.

(We laugh)

Chris: She cheered me up. She goes, "Is your head ok?", she's looking at it, I go, "Am I bleeding yet?", she goes, "No but when we get on our way and they get in the air and they take off the seat belt sign I'll come back and give you an aspirin", and I went, "Man that's not the way I wanna join the mile high club", you know and it's when she said, "Round pill, white thing, aspirin", "Oh aspirin, not assburn". I thought maybe she was cracking a joke or something.

Glenn: When you're not on stage and that, what hobbies and interests have you got apart from drink, drugs and all that sorta sh*t?

Chris: Nothing else. I dunno - chasing women.

Glenn: Yeah?

Chris: I like to work on my car. I have a means to make it nice.

Glenn: What's your favourite types of car?

Chris: One with a steering wheel and 4 tyres.. I like Chevrolets. I got a motsa transam but it's not it's a GM. I put 2 inches in my car and it's got 9 transmissions.

Randy: You could say he's high on transmissions.

Chris: Oh yeah. Well you can get 'em for 50 bucks at the scrap yard. You have to cross your fingers they work. I like to delve and I change them myself. You have to pay some guy that's ripping you off again. I had the guy change my tranny once and it cost me 800 and something bucks and now that I've done it with just a governer gear - it was just the plasting that had broke on the side chain. You don't even have to take it out the car, you just pull its cap off and buy a new one. Ripped me off but that's what America's about.

Glenn: When you guys actually leave the planet where you are sat right now, what do you guys wanna be remembered for as people and as musicians and composers?

Chris: You want me to tell you the truth?

Glenn: Yeah.

Chris: For being a nice person. Treat people how you wanna be treated.

Glenn: What's the craziest things you guys have done?

Randy: We could get arrested for that.

Glenn: Say what you want.

Chris: I don't consider I'm crazy. I don't know. Oh one time on the Sabbath Tour they wouldn't let me in the back lounge so I popped a hood and went through the top through the of the scape vails in the ceiling. I was walking down the top of the bus going down the freeway man. In the back, I was banging on the back catch. They let me in. They thought it was funny when I was climbing down in the hatch. You could see my footsteps from the top of the bus.

(we laugh)

You could see where I stopped the stairwell man. But I didn't think it was crazy - I was 'Bus-Surfing' I guess.

Glenn: Yeah - they talk about plane surfing if you ever get the chance to get on a private jet like what Led Zeppelin did. What about you Randy?

Randy: I just get up and go to sleep on it.

Glenn: Any crazy sh*t that you've done - assuming that you can remember it.

Randy: I don't know. Most of them were with Chris.

Chris: The door of compassion opens.

Randy: We've had some really good times and we're still here to talk about it.

Glenn: Exactly.

Chris: Yeah.

Randy: Yeah.

Glenn: It's just great to see you are buddies after all this time.

Randy: We're not always friends but... brothers are like that.

Chris: We're business associates.

Glenn: Yeah.

Chris: Yeah.

(We all laugh)

Chris: Yeah we are. Business Associates. I don't want any friends. Those are people like Blackie Lawless. Those were my friends. I don't want to have friends. They are business associates.

Glenn: Yeah - makes sense.

Chris: Oh yeah. I can't spell that good so there was dennis right and I'm sitting there with Bruce and I say, "What do I put here for occupatio?" and he said, "to put business something" and I spelled it and I scribbled it and it looked like it said 'Business Partier'. Dennis was looking at it and he said, "I like this occupation - I couldn't write it any better"

(we all laugh)

It was like I had scribbled something down for valium or something. He thought I wrote 'Business Partier'.

Glenn: Well it's a part of the business if the band is good - and this band is good so let the party roll on.

Chris: You've gotta know what side of the tracks you're on too. If you wanna live in the fast lane you gotta stay out in the middle of that to keep f*ck*n' alive man so you don't fall off. You know I find that some people party a little bit too much. The first thing is - you gotta take care..

Glenn: Of yourself.

Chris: No - you've gotta be able to do a show on stage. It's the first thing you've gotta take care of. Some people party too much and they can't do the thing on stage.

Randy: We've never been like that though. I've never seen Chris like that.

Chris: No seriously. Seriously.

Glenn: Well I hope 'Where Angels Suffer' goes a long, long way because after all the sh*t you've gone through you deserve it.

Randy: Why thank you.

Chris: Yeah.

Randy: I know a lot of people are saying that. Well hopefully something really becomes of this man and it'll be a lot more fun man.

Glenn: So as an Angel, do you think you'll go to heaven?

Chris: I used to be a mormon actually. An angel with flying wings man.

Randy: Where Angel Suffers is like Purgatory...

Chris: Yeah.

Randy: ...which is right in-between heaven and hell which is where we've been for a long time.

Glenn: Yeah.

Randy: We haven't really - it's kind of a promise between the two ladies on the back of the album - if the price is right.

Chris: Hahaha - door number 1, you're gonna get screwed and door number 2 you're gonna get a punch in the face and door number 3 is a hole in hell.

(We laugh)

Chris: I don't want no door. You can tak it. I'll go back and sit down.

Randy: That's why the name of the album is 'Purgatory' and it's actually kinda funny. Like I said, it was someone elses idea and everybody starting calling this 'W.A.S' or whatever and it's really not that at all. 'Where Angels Suffer' - it's just abbreviated to pretty much the same. But yeah. I mean the only one out of W.A.S.P is Blackie in W.A.S.P. but I mean everybody else are just hired guns.

Glenn: Yeah it's weird because you've there's been Darrell.. and Mike Duda is still there but they are like...

Randy: Darrell's not there anymore.

Glenn: Yeah because Darrell's got 'Five Finger Death Punch' with that guy out of 'Coal Chamber'.

Randy: They've got Doug Blair now.

Glenn: Yeah.

Randy: And actually he's an old friend of Stetsons.

Chris: And this is the 2nd time in it (for Doug).

Randy: It is?

Chris: Yeah.

Randy: Oh.

Chris: I won't do it.

Randy: I never bothered after I left.

Chris: They played in LA and I was at the Rainbow and I waited til they were done because I go to party afterwards you know?

Glenn: Yeah.

Chris: There might be 1 or 2 old boilers. They may like me you know? So a security guard comes over and goes, "Chris, somebody wants to see you backstage?". I went like this, "If it's Blackie, you can take you and your backstge and you can shove it up your *ss!", and it was Doug so I went back and said Hi to Doug. I was like "Doug, 2nd time?, Hell Doug, man I liked you before man but you lost all points with me", and I turned around and walked away.

Glenn: But then again, you went back a 2nd time.

Randy: But now he can give that kind of advice now.

Chris: The 1st time I guess I wasn't punched hard enough

Glenn: Yeah.

Chris: But there will be no third time.

Glenn: I'm just curious of what Blackie thinks when he gets to hear 'Where Angels Suffer'. Will he think, "Oh f*ck*n' hell, what have I done".

Chris: He'll just hope the worst for us. No honestly he'll hope we'll do good because it'll help sell his records. I'll always know that. I always knew the guy - he never gave a crap for me. He's probably out there on the road thinking, 'Well if somebody dies in the band, we'll usually do better'.

Stet: Favourite drummer part come up yet?

Glenn: That's a point, Who's your favourite drummer been that you've worked with?

Chris: Stet Howland.

Glenn: That's the right answer. The only answer - he's a f*ck*ng great drummer.

Randy: He's a great guy man.

Glenn: Totally.

Randy: And he's funny. He tells great jokes.

Glenn: Yeah - great one liners - you are waiting on the edge of your seat to what he is gonna say next - a bit like Lemmy. And then there's his dog, Elvis.

Chris: We're gonna take Elvis on the road next time?

Glenn: Yeah?

Randy: Opening Act.

Glenn: I tell you what though, the dogs get the women straight away. You go walking around with a dog (and they are like), "Arrr ain't he lovely", and you get talking to the women.

Chris: Well we'll be taking the dog down the road and my first question will be, "Do you f*ck honey?"

(We laugh)

You gotta get to the point you know. No point beating around the bush.

Randy: Thanks to all our readers.

A Special Thank You to AC Ice Rockstar PR, Stet Howland, Michael Grossi & Michael Wright