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An Exclusive Interview with Judas Priest Guitarist GLENN TIPTON By Randy Chandler
Since signing with tiny Gull Records at the dawn of the 70's, Priest released the epochal Sad Wings of Destiny that defined the burgeoning Heavy Metal sound. Early 80's releases Point of Entry, British Steel and the landmark Screaming for Vengeance established Priest as the genre's bona-fide spokesmen. The leather-and-studs attire the band sported onstage, which may or may not have originated in the Gay bars Halford frequented, nevertheless became the standard for legions of metal fanatics. And the patented twin guitar leads of Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing set a new standard for instrumental virtuosity in Metal. Demotion is Priest's 14th album, their second with new vocalist Tim 'Ripper' Owens (whose rags-to-riches tale was the basis for the movie Rock Star), and the band are currently on tour with Anthrax and Iced Earth. The Review spoke recently with Glenn Tipton on the phone from Orlando, Florida: Review: It's great talking to you, Glenn. Currently you're on tour. How's it been going? Has business been good? Tipton: Yeah, the tour's been great thus far. We've been at it since last June, actually, and were scheduled to come into America on September 11th, unfortunately. We got stuck in Mexico City for four or five days and didn't see our equipment arrive until two or three weeks later. So because of the circumstances, we didn't feel it fit to go out on tour until now. But it's going great. Review: 'Demolition' is the new album and it's your 14th release and the second with new singer Tim Owens. Do you see this new album as ushering in a new era for Judas Priest? Tipton: Yeah, I think more so than the last one. Tim is very confident. It's still unmistakably Judas Priest, but there are so many areas of his voice that are untapped and so many new paths to go down that I think this is the beginning for the band, really. Yet it is still classic 'Priest'. Songs like Close to You and Lost and Found are sort of Priest ballads, yet other material is very 'between the eyes' stuff like Machineman. So I think the new album has a lot to offer for every Priest fan. Review: 'Demolition' seems to represent more of a return to the melodic traces of the band. Was this a reaction to the big trend of Death Metal that surfaced? Tipton: Not exactly. Every album with Priest has its own character. It's still Judas Priest, but albums like Point of Entry and British Steel all have their own style. Demolition is a reflection of how we currently feel. Jugulator was an angry album because we were pretty fierce at that time. And the criticism aimed at that release was that it lacked melody. Personally, I think it was a great album. But it came time for us to do an album and Demolition is currently how we feel. Any album is a reflection of both the time and mood with Priest. Review: You produced this album, correct? Is this the first time you produced a Priest album? Tipton: I've always been involved in the production, but this is the first time officially that it fell into my hands. It's hard work, but Priest is a great band to produce. It's both easy and hard, I supposed. It definitely took a big chunk out of my life, that's for sure. I wanted to get a good country guitar sound, but didn't want to sound pieced together. I think it's a valid part of the Priest catalog. People at the shows are singing along with the new songs already, so I'm pleased with it. Review: Both yours and KK's work are legendary. You can't write an article about Priest without saying 'patented guitar leads'. After working this long together it must be something like a marriage at this point. In that regard, what do you do to keep it fresh? Tipton: I believe in Priest and Heavy Metal and that is what fuels my enthusiasm and energy. It surprises me sometimes that I still love to get on stage and play after all these years, but I still do, and I believe that is the key to the success of Priest. We aren't going through the motions and genuinely love what we do. Review: That belief and love keeps it from being cheesy. If you look at the timeline, many of your peers from the 1980's became self-parodies. You kind of escaped thatŠ Tipton: Yeah, you've got to believe in what you do. The first time I don't believe in the music, I shall be the first to hang my hat up. I can't just go through the motions. You've got to love what you do. Review: Judas Priest has never been known for excess on the road. And after this long a time and the wisdom of so many tours and seeing so many contemporaries fall by the wayside, what do you do for fun on the road? Tipton: My wife's at Disney World at the moment. But I try and get out and see points of interest. It's not easy, though, because we have a very limited time. With the tour being rescheduled, we had a lot of dates that we had to put back into the mix. But I try and get out and see what I can and spend as little time as possible in hotel rooms. Review: The band has survived as long as most of its fans have survived. I'm going to be 32 this year and started listening to Priest back in the early '80s. You guys were hugely influential and have had a career as long as many of us have been alive. Has longevity imparted you with any profound insights? Tipton: Obviously, I didn't think I'd be around now after 30 years. I think my point-of-view is that every year is a bonus. Really, I don't even think about how long I'm going to be around. And from that point of view, because we are still around, we listen to younger bands and respect them. We've evolved with trends and also helped shaped them and have paid respect to the younger bands, taken note, yet advanced our own way. I'm always focused upon the future. The key to longevity is to evolve. You've got to evolve. It doesn't always please everybody, but if you don't evolve the sands of time will cover you over. Review: How do you pick a set list with the wealth of material in your catalog? Tipton: It's most difficult. We change the set list around a lot and have even put stuff like United and Turbo Lover into the show. It's such a difficult decision to make in terms of what to put in and leave out of a set list. There is always somebody's favorite song that we don't play simply because we have so many songs out there. Review: You've carried on this long and are still viable and putting out great work. Can we expect another 10 years? Tipton: I haven't got a crystal ball. At the moment, sure. I feel easily that with the energy and enthusiasm we can carry on. I'm already looking forward to the next album and feel I'm playing better than ever before. As long as a demand for Priest music exists and we can deliver the goods, we'll be around. Review: When you adopted the 'leather and studs' fashion theme that became the defining symbol of Metal, given the fact that Rob was gay, did that come from him as a result of the gay bar scene? Straight culture thought that attire was the symbol of macho, but did you feel funny around that time adopting to that or connecting with it? Tipton: From my point of view, we obviously knew that Rob was gay. Some of the images he adopted we didn't know had any gay orientation to it, as I'm straight myself. But honestly, it never bothered me because Rob was a great singer and frontman. At the end of the day the only thing that mattered was the music. Anyone's sexuality or preference didn't matter. It's all about the music.
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