JUNE 2009
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With a little help from his friends

Story and photo by Andy Laudano

Tim “Ripper” Owens has the coolest story in rock history. In case you don’t know, he was the guy that went from playing in a local Cleveland, Ohio, area Judas Priest cover band, called British Steel - to fronting the mighty Priest itself after Rob Halford left the band! Since then, Ripper has worked with Iced Earth, guitar God Yngwie Malmsteen and has just released his self-titled debut, Play My Game.

Getting the call to audition for Judas Priest was completely unexpected. “A friend of (Priest drummer) Scott Travis saw me on my very last show with British Steel, and he videotaped it,” Owens reveals. “A year later I got the call. They’d given it to Scott, and the rest is history. I made great friends with them and had an amazing time. I can’t complain about any of it.”

It was while playing with Priest that Owens was given his famous nickname. “They called me that the first day after hearing me sing “The Ripper,” Tim explains. “I’ve had that nickname since 1996, and I’m known as that. Fans, journalists and even my family and friends call me “Ripper.” I like it.”

After Rob Halford returned to Judas Priest, Owens spent some time in Iced Earth. He made two albums with them including the brilliant The Glorious Burden. “That’s definitely my favorite of the two,” Owens states. “The “Gettysburg” piece alone was unbelievable. “Waterloo” was another favorite. I had a good time while it lasted.”

During his time with Iced Earth, Owens put together his own band, Beyond Fear, and recorded a CD. “It was a fun record to do,” Tim relates. “It was also one of the best reviewed CDs I’ve ever done. Unfortunately, I had to stop promoting the album and go back to Iced Earth. I didn’t get to do a whole lot of touring. Now you can’t really find the CD anymore.”

When original singer Matt Barlow returned to Iced Earth, it didn’t take Owens long to find another high-profile gig. “After I left them, Yngwie called and said he was thinking about having me on his next album. I’ve worked with him for over a year now, recorded the album, toured the world and everything has been awesome.”

Although Owens is still with Yngwie and Beyond Fear, the timing was finally right for making his first solo album. “I was talking with my manager about what my next move should be,” Tim notes. “I was thinking about making another Beyond Fear CD, but he told me it was time to “put yourself out there and show the world who you are.” Once I thought about it and started working on songs, it was a no-brainer. Everything started coming together. It was a chance for me to do an album exactly the way I wanted to do it and not try to please anybody but myself.”

For his solo debut, Owens put together an all-star cast of musicians. “I’m actually David Ellefson’s chauffer now, I’m painting Simon Wright’s house and mowing Chris Caffery’s lawn — but he lives in New York so it’s a small lawn,” Tim jokes. “A lot of these guys are my friends, so right off the bat I thought about getting Simon Wright, Rudy Sarzo, Chris Caffery and Bob Kulick. As time went on, more of my friends — Michael Wilton, Bobby Jarzombek, Jeff Loomis and all these other guys came into the equation. It made my first solo record even more special, having all my friends on there playing my songs.”

Look for Tim “Ripper” Owens’ Play My Game in stores and check out www.timripperowens.com for more info.
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