The heavy metal band's former frontman claims to have 'never talked politics' with guitarist Jon Schaffer after the latter was identified as a person of interest over the January 6 incident.
- Jan 9, 2021
AceShowbiz - Former Iced Earth frontman Tim 'Ripper' Owens can't believe he spent four years in a band with an accused domestic terrorist.
Guitarist Jon Schaffer has been identified as a person of interest after footage of him inside the U.S. Capitol with other violent protestors went viral on Wednesday, January 06, and rocker Owens admits the drama has left him scratching his head in disbelief.
Owens, who was fired from Iced Earth in late 2007, was asked about his links to the group's founder in an Instagram exchange with a fan, and said, "crazy what he did, wasn't it?"
"All I can say is wow," Tim wrote. "See we never talked politics while I was in Iced Earth because at that time we were on totally opposite sides..."
"Talking about politics at the time wasn't something I would get into. Opposite sides of the fence and I was working! I got fired anyways so it didn't matter."
Schaffer is among dozens of people wanted by the FBI for storming the U.S. Capitol building on Wednesday. In a photo taken by an AFP staffer, Schaffer can be seen at the front of a mob, pointing his finger, while appearing to be yelling at someone out of frame.
As for Owens, he left the band in 2007. Addressing his departure, he said back in 2012, "It was handled poorly, I think, the situation," he said. "It could've been handled good and everybody could've looked good in the situation. But it was handled poorly, I think… I started getting all the blame when things weren't the same. Or things weren't what Jon thought they could be. And then, of course, it all came down on me."
"None of the blame ever came down on Jon. I'm fine with that, but the funny thing is that nothing really changed when I left anyway. I read numbers and I talk to agents, and the crowds are the same or smaller now. I think it was also me wandering a bit, knowing that ICED EARTH was kind of like a solo project. It's really Schaffer's band, and I knew that. And I started having my own: I started doing BEYOND FEAR, and pushing BEYOND FEAR when probably I should have been talking about ICED EARTH. I think Jon read a lot of that and he read into it that my heart and soul wasn't into ICED EARTH," he went on saying.
