Tod Rex Salvador (born June 29, 1965), known professionally as Tripp Eisen, is an American musician best known as the former guitarist of

industrial metal Industrial metal is the fusion of heavy metal and industrial music, typically employing repeating metal guitar riffs, sampling, synthesizer or sequencer lines, and distorted vocals. Prominent industrial metal acts include Ministry, Nine ...

band

Static-X Static-X is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1994. The line-up has fluctuated over the years, but was long-held constant with band founder, frontman, lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Wayne Static until hi ...

. He is the current guitarist for the band Face Without Fear, and a former member of Dope,

Murderdolls Murderdolls was an American rock band founded during 2002 in Hollywood, California. The band line-up consisted of the late Joey Jordison, Wednesday 13 , Acey Slade, Eric Griffin, Tripp Eisen and the late Ben Graves. The band released two al ...

, and

Roughhouse Roughouse is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is depicted as the occasional enemy of Wolverine. His first appearance was in ''Wolverine'' vol. 2, #4. The character was created by Chris C ...

Career

Dope (1997–2000)

Dope was formed in 1997, when Eisen met with brothers

Edsel Edsel is a discontinued division and brand of automobiles that was marketed by the Ford Motor Company from the 1958 to the 1960 model years. Deriving its name from Edsel Ford, son of company founder Henry Ford, Edsels were developed in an eff ...

and Simon Dope. Eisen brought in friend

Preston Nash Preston Nash is an American musician, drummer, music educator, composer/songwriter, music producer, and former radio personality and producer. Prior to working with established artists, Nash gigged heavily, including shows at CBGB and througho ...

to play drums, and the band worked the New York City club circuit. In 1998, Dope was signed to Flip/Sony records, and Eisen moved from bass guitar to lead guitar, bringing in

Acey Slade Emil John Schmidt IV (born December 15, 1974), known professionally as Acey Slade, is an American musician, perhaps best known as the bassist of the alternative metal band Dope and the former guitarist of the horror punk and glam metal act Mu ...

—who had first referred Eisen to Dope a few years earlier—to play bass. After the release of the album "

Felons and Revolutionaries ''Felons and Revolutionaries'' is the debut studio album by the American nu metal band Dope. The album was released in 1999 on Epic Records and has sold over 236,000 copies in the United States, making it their best-selling album to date. It was ...

" (1999), the band toured extensively throughout the U.S. and Canada with acts such as

Sevendust Sevendust is an American rock band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 1994 by bassist Vince Hornsby, drummer Morgan Rose and rhythm guitarist John Connolly. After their first demo, lead vocalist Lajon Witherspoon and lead guitarist Clint Lo ...

Kid Rock Robert James Ritchie (born January 17, 1971), known professionally as Kid Rock (also known as Bobby Shazam), is an American singer, songwriter and rapper. His style alternates between rock, hip hop, country, and metal. A self-taught musician ...

, Static-X, Slipknot, Disturbed, Chevelle,

Fear Factory Fear Factory is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1989. Throughout the band's career, they have released ten full-length albums and have evolved through a succession of sounds, all in their main style of industrial metal. ...

, Staind, and

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guilloti ...

. During this time, Eisen met

Wayne Static Wayne Richard Wells (November 4, 1965 – November 1, 2014), known professionally as Wayne Static, was an American musician, best known as the lead vocalist, guitarist, keyboardist, and primary lyricist for metal band Static-X. He released his ...

and

Joey Jordison Nathan Jonas "Joey" Jordison (April 26, 1975 – July 26, 2021) was an American musician. He was the original drummer and co-founder of the heavy metal band Slipknot, in which he was designated #1, as well as the guitarist for the horror punk ...

, with whom he would go on to collaborate. Eisen appeared in the Dope videos for "Sick" and "Everything Sucks", and gained much notoriety from his wild antics and stage persona. He split with the band in late 2000, accusing frontman

Edsel Dope Brian Ebejer (born March 21, 1974), known professionally as Edsel Dope, is an American musician who is the lead singer, rhythm guitarist and main songwriter for nu metal/industrial metal band Dope. Dope was founded in 1997 by Edsel and his bro ...

of refusing to let him record his guitar parts so as to avoid paying him royalties. The debut album sold in excess of 250,000 copies.

Murderdolls (1999–2002)

Originally formed by

under the name "the Rejects" in 1995, Eisen joined after meeting Jordison on tour in 1999. After touring as the Rejects until 2002, the band changed their name and released their debut ''

Beyond the Valley of the Murderdolls ''Beyond the Valley of the Murderdolls'' is the debut studio album by American horror punk supergroup Murderdolls. It was released in 2002 by Roadrunner Records. The album reached number 40 on the UK Albums Chart, and sold 100,000 copies in th ...

'' under the name

that same year. Eisen left the group in 2002 to be replaced by Dope bandmate

, citing conflicts between touring plans and his work recording with

Static-X (2000–2005)

Eisen joined the band

in the year 2000, after the departure of guitarist

Koichi Fukuda Koichi Fukuda (born July 1, 1975) is a Japanese musician, best known as the lead guitarist, programmer, and keyboardist for the metal band Static-X; he has been a member of the band three times, initially from 1994 to 2000, again from 2005 to 20 ...

. He contributed to the recording of the bands sophomore album ''

Machine A machine is a physical system using power to apply forces and control movement to perform an action. The term is commonly applied to artificial devices, such as those employing engines or motors, but also to natural biological macromolecul ...

,'' as well the subsequent releases ''

Shadow Zone A seismic shadow zone is an area of the Earth's surface where seismographs cannot detect direct P waves and/or S waves from an earthquake. This is due to liquid layers or structures within the Earth's surface. The most recognized shadow zone is ...

'' and ''

Start a War ''Start a War'' is the fourth studio album by American metal band Static-X, released in June 2005. A special version was shipped with an additional DVD titled ''X-Rated''. It is the last album for 15 years to feature Ulrich Wild as a producer and ...

.'' Eisen has claimed that a number of the tracks on the 2020 Static-X album ''

Project Regeneration Vol. 1 ''Project: Regeneration Vol. 1'' is the seventh studio album by American industrial metal band Static-X. It was released on July 10, 2020, by Otsego Entertainment Group and distributed by The Orchard Music, a subsidiary of Sony Music. It is th ...

'' were co-written by him and

. He went on to accuse the band of attempting to alter the compositions in order to deny him songwriting credits, and to say that a legal claim he made against the band was the reason for the album's delay. In a response to a query from a fan on

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

, the band claimed that Eisen had no involvement in the production of the album beyond compositional credits from his time in the band.

Face Without Fear (2019)

In April 2019, Eisen announced a new project named Face Without Fear through a short promo video. The group features Ken "Mantis" Hoyt (Crushpile) on vocals, TJ Cooke (Methodical) on drums, Dante on rhythm guitar, and Nick Sledge on bass. The band released "Deliverance", their first single, in June 2019. FWF played their live debut in August at Newark's QXT, New Jersey, in August 2019. The band released their second single, "My Parasite", in March 2020 and performed their first livestream event in June 2020.

Legal issues

While a member of Static-X, Eisen was arrested on February 10, 2005, on a felony charge of statutory sexual contact with a minor in

Orange County, California Orange County is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,186,989, making it the third-most-populous county in California, the sixth-most-populous in the United States, ...

. He was released on bail after only a few hours in custody. Just two weeks later, on February 24, 2005, Eisen was arrested on a previous charge in California by New Jersey detectives, ultimately being convicted of the charge "luring with a motor vehicle". Upon hearing of the arrests, Static-X replaced Eisen with the original guitarist

(whom Eisen had replaced after Fukuda left the band in 2001). On June 24, 2005, Eisen pleaded guilty to the charges in California and was sentenced to a year in state prison. He was released later that year and due for an October 7, 2005

arraignment Arraignment is a formal reading of a criminal charging document in the presence of the defendant, to inform them of the charges against them. In response to arraignment, the accused is expected to enter a plea. Acceptable pleas vary among jurisd ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

on the February 24 charges. Eisen was back in jail on December 10, 2008, following a parole violation. He was released on October 19, 2009. On February 23, 2017, Eisen gave his first interview in more than a decade. In an interview with Totally Driven Radio, he spoke about his arrest and subsequent release from prison:

Equipment

In 2004 to 2005,

BC Rich B.C. Rich is an American brand of acoustic and electric guitars and bass guitars founded by Bernardo Chavez Rico in 1969. History The company started making electric guitars in the 1970s. In the following decade B.C. Rich gained a broad expos ...

guitars produced a Tripp Eisen signature model of their Wave guitar. It featured in Gun metal gray, with two BDSM closed humbuckers, his signature on the back of the headstock and the Static-X symbol inlaid 12th fret. In 2005 Epiphone produced a prototype ES-335 signature model, with EMG Pickups, locking nut, and no f-holes. The ES-335 was, however, never commercially manufactured. After Eisen's return to performing from 2017 he has continued using his B.C. Rich Wave guitar.

Discography

;Roughhouse *''Roughhouse'' (1988) - (guitar, backing vocals) ;Dope *''

'' (1999) - (guitar, backing vocals) *'' American Psycho Soundtrack'' (2000) - (guitar, backing vocals) *'' Scream 3 Soundtrack'' (2000) - (guitar, backing vocals) *''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energy ...

'' (2001) - (songwriting credits on 2 tracks) *''

The Fast and the Furious ''Fast & Furious'' (also known as ''The Fast and the Furious'') is a media franchise centered on a series of action films that are largely concerned with street racing, heists, spies, and family. The franchise also includes short films, ...

'' (2002) - (guitar, backing vocals) *''Felons For Life'' (2002) - (guitar, backing vocals, songwriting) *''Dope- The Early years- 1997/1998'' (2017) - (guitar, backing vocals) ;Murderdolls *''

Beyond The Valley of the Murderdolls ''Beyond the Valley of the Murderdolls'' is the debut studio album by American horror punk supergroup Murderdolls. It was released in 2002 by Roadrunner Records. The album reached number 40 on the UK Albums Chart, and sold 100,000 copies in th ...

'' (2002) - (guitar, backing vocals) *'' Beyond The Valley of the Murderdolls (Special Edition)'' (2003) - (guitar, backing vocals) ;Static-X *''

'' (2001) - (guitar) *''

The Family Values Tour 2001 ''The Family Values Tour 2001'' is the third live album with various artists performing on stage during ''The Family Values Tour'' in fall 2001. It is released on May 7, 2002. The album includes various artists performing at the ''Family Values T ...

'' (2001) - (guitar, back-up vocals) *''Static-X: Chaos! Comics'' (2002) - (bonus DVD) *'' Queen of the Damned Soundtrack'' (2002) - (guitar, songwriting) *''

'' (2003) - (guitar, songwriting) *''Static-X: X-Posed'' (2003) - (DVD) *'' Texas Chainsaw Massacre Soundtrack'' (2003) - (guitar, backing vocals) *'' Beneath... Between... Beyond...'' (2004) - (guitar, songwriting) *''Static-X: X-Rated'' (2005) - (DVD) *''

'' (2005) - (guitar, songwriting) *''

Cannibal Killers Live ''Cannibal Killers Live'' is a CD/DVD box set by American industrial metal band Static-X. It is the first time the band has released a live album, and contains footage from a live performance in Spokane, Washington. ''Cannibal Killers Live'' conta ...

'' (2008) - (guitar, songwriting) (DVD videos) *''Static-X: Original Album Series (box set)'' (2008) - (guitar, songwriting) *''

'' (2020) - (songwriting)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eisen, Tripp 1965 births 20th-century American guitarists American heavy metal guitarists American industrial musicians American male guitarists American people convicted of child sexual abuse American prisoners and detainees American punk rock guitarists American rock guitarists Dope (band) members Guitarists from Pennsylvania Horror punk musicians Lead guitarists Living people Musicians from Pennsylvania Murderdolls members People from Northampton County, Pennsylvania Static-X members Industrial metal musicians