Randy Piper

☆ Save On Wikipedia ↗
Randy Piper
Piper performing with W.A.S.P. in the early 1980s
Piper performing with W.A.S.P. in the early 1980s
Background information
Born
William Randall Piper

(1953-04-13) April 13, 1953
San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
GenresHeavy metal, hard rock
OccupationsGuitarist
Years active1975–present
Member ofAnimal
Formerly ofW.A.S.P.
Websiterandypiper.net

William Randall Piper (born April 13, 1953) is an American guitarist, best known as the co-founder and original guitarist of the hard rock/heavy metal band W.A.S.P.

Biography

Piper was born in Texas.[1] His musical influences include Elvis Presley, Billy Gibbons and Jimi Hendrix.[2] His first concert was The Beatles.[1] In his early career, he played in a few Garage rock bands.[1]

In 1978, Piper opened a rehearsal and recording space called Magnum Opus Studios in Buena Park, California, which he described as "a big industrial Studio a huge fucker. 18 ft ceilings 20 feet long it was huge".[1] He initially wanted the studio just for himself, but soon had to rent out the space to other bands as a way to pay the rent.[1] Piper claims that he once rented the studio out to the band Exciter, that included pre-Dokken guitarist George Lynch.[1]

Circus Circus 1979–1980: Joey Palermo, Blackie Lawless, Jimy Image, Randy Piper

In 1977, Piper met another local musician named Blackie Goozeman (later known as Blackie Lawless) at the Starwood in West Hollywood through a mutual friend.[3] The two became friends and began recording demos at Piper's Magnum Opus Studio. Piper joined Blackie's band Sister[1] as lead guitarist with Joey Palemo (bass) and Jimi Image (drums) after the original guitarist left. Lawless later changed the name of the band to Circus Circus,[1] allegedly after attending several performances by Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

Circus Circus evolved into W.A.S.P. by 1982 with Piper, Lawless, Chris Holmes and Tony Richards.[4] By the end of 1985, following the release of W.A.S.P.'s second album, The Last Command, Piper decided to leave the band.[5] Piper left the group to audition for Alice Cooper.[4] He never toured with Cooper, but did help out with his Constrictor album, released in 1986.[1]

After realising that his career wouldn't work out with Cooper, he formed the band Animal,[6] which at certain points included former W.A.S.P. members Chris Holmes (who joined briefly in 2001 but left after a falling out[4]) and Tony Richards.[2] When asked in 2005 if he would ever perform with Blackie again, Piper said: "dude that would be like taking a step backwards, we tried it with Chris Holmes and it was a lot of fun. But I just want to move on."[1]

Discography

with W.A.S.P.

with Randy Piper's Animal[7]

  • 900 Lb. Steam (2002)
  • Violent New Breed (2006)
  • Virus (2008)

References

  1. "Interview: Randy Piper (Animal / W.A.S.P.)". www.rockeyez.com. Retrieved October 7, 2026.
  2. "Get Ready to ROCK! Interview with Randy Piper guitarist with WASP". www.getreadytorock.com. Retrieved October 7, 2026.
  3. Blabbermouth (August 22, 2006). "RANDY PIPER Talks About W.A.S.P.'s Early Days". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. Retrieved October 7, 2026.
  4. "Ottawa Community Events Calendar - Kitchissippi Times". November 1, 2024. Retrieved October 7, 2026.
  5. Colin Larkin, ed. (1999). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Heavy Rock (First ed.). Virgin Books. p. 474. ISBN 0-7535-0257-7.
  6. Team, Editorial (August 28, 2007). "RANDY PIPER - The Birth Of ANIMAL...Thanks To ALICE COOPER". BraveWords - Where Music Lives. Retrieved October 7, 2026.
  7. "Randy Piper's Animal discography reference list of music CDs. Heavy Harmonies". heavyharmonies.com. Retrieved October 7, 2026.