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Listen Here: Richie Faulkner Interview
Craig Garber:
Hey everybody, this is Craig Garber. Welcome to Everyone Loves Guitar. We got an awesome guest for this day. We got Richie Faulkner from Judas Priest. He’s got a new album out and we’ll talk about that. And let me just give a quick shout out to Chip Ruggeri. Chip, thanks for connecting us, I appreciate it. Cliff note version of Richie. Richie’s most well known of course of being one of the guitarists in Judas Priest. He replaced KK Downing after he left the band in 2011. Richie has a new project of his own, it’s called Elegant Weapons. The band just released their first album, it’s called Horns for a Halo, no bullshit, it’s a great record and if this is your first introduction to Richie’s playing, which probably isn’t if you’re listening to this, he’s just phenomenal on it. It’s like a great representation of what I’d call original British heavy metal music from the 80s and 90s, meaning high energy yet melodic songs that you could listen to and hum and great lyrics and all that kind of good stuff that we all love. And just to emphasize, this band is not like Richie’s version of Judas Priest, you know, so don’t be thinking that has nothing to do. It’s a great record standing solely on its own merits. Um,
Richie Faulkner:
Thanks for watching!
Craig Garber:
and man, you know what? One of the things, and we’ll talk about this, your background fills. Freaking amazing, man. You’re like very percussive. It’s almost like you’re playing drums. Like you’ll have two different rhythmic patterns in two to four measures and they all match. I don’t, I mean, it’s phenomenal.
Richie Faulkner:
Well first of all let me say hello Craig, thanks for having me. That was a lot there.
Craig Garber:
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
Richie Faulkner:
Background feels, I kind of don’t know, after the time I don’t know what I’m doing so I’m just playing whatever and hopefully it gets perceived in the way that you perceive it. So I’m glad to
Craig Garber:
Yeah.
Richie Faulkner:
hear that it gets perceived in a positive way. But no, dude
Craig Garber:
Yeah.
Richie Faulkner:
I just do what I think sounds right and you know I’m absolutely sincere. I don’t quite know, I don’t know scales, I don’t know… anything like that. I’m not trained like that. So I just do what I think sounds right. And hopefully people like it. So hopefully I’m doing I’m doing the right thing at the moment, you know, so background fills. I don’t know, man, as long as it sounds right, I’ll go with that.
Craig Garber:
Yeah, man, you’re doing it right. Trust me. I just want to if you just if you want to check out some more stuff of Richie’s that’s really good. I would encourage you to check out Richie on the track. You’ve got another thing coming from the priest dvd epitaph Which is actually on apple music. He does like a literally a three minute solo on stage all literally all alone and it is Just amazing like goosebumps. Awesome. So uh, all right One of the things, thank you man, I appreciate that. I watched a number of videos to prepare for this and one thing that stands out is man, you genuinely look like you’re just having so much fun on stage, man. You know, like you’re smiling ear to ear and like you do a really good job of sharing that joy with your listeners and I’d just love to hear your thoughts
Richie Faulkner:
I’m
Craig Garber:
on that.
Richie Faulkner:
just incredibly fortunate to be up there. I’m getting away with murder after time as I said I don’t really know what I’m
Craig Garber:
Hahaha
Richie Faulkner:
doing. So to be up there, you know, they’re like, you know Do you want to play a three minute long solo on another thing coming? I’m like, yeah what whatever? Well, you know, no, honestly, I mean I’m playing Legendary songs with legendary Legends with literally legends. They shaped the way heavy metal was played and listened to and crafted in our age to you know thousands hundreds of thousands of millions of people around the world beautiful countries how can you not have a big smile on your face you know again before before priest I wasn’t doing that so you know to kind of be taken out of I mean I wasn’t doing relatively anything You know, I was in cover bands, I was in another band, but obscurity, you know, I was just trying to make it work and then to be plucked out of that and then put on that kind of stage in that situation, I’m not going to get up there and have a sour look on my face. Maybe I am now, I’m kind of bored of it now, I’m only joking. But no,
Craig Garber:
Hahaha
Richie Faulkner:
but like how can you not be completely thrilled every night to be in that situation? Every night’s different, every country’s different, the crowds are different, you get familiar the way or the rooms different, the sounds different, the guitar, I’m inspired by the guitar every day. So different runs come out, different, you know, depending on that energy in the room and the crowd, you come up with different stuff. How can you not be inspired, just grateful to be there? And I mean, in my case, I’m sure we’ll get onto it. I’m lucky to be alive. So like, I’m just like
Craig Garber:
Yeah,
Richie Faulkner:
grateful
Craig Garber:
for
Richie Faulkner:
to
Craig Garber:
sure.
Richie Faulkner:
be there, playing, making music, touring the world. talking to you about it so how can I’m like a pig in shit out there you know what I mean how can you not be
Craig Garber:
I hear you. But you do a nice job sharing that with people and you’re always like, I watch, you know, it takes effort to go out of your way to connect with people and you know, you do that and that’s
Richie Faulkner:
Well,
Craig Garber:
really
Richie Faulkner:
I’ll
Craig Garber:
nice.
Richie Faulkner:
tell you,
Craig Garber:
Not everybody does
Richie Faulkner:
I
Craig Garber:
that.
Richie Faulkner:
will say it’s effortless. It doesn’t take any effort. When you’re kind of caught up in that situation, it’s like a tornado. You’re creating an energy that’s spinning around and you’re part of it. You’re responsible for it with the audience, with the sound. It could go drastically wrong. You’re part of that as well. So you’re kind of in control of it, but kind of you’re in control of this thing that you could drag off the rails. You’ve got to keep it together, all that sort of stuff. and it’s kind of effortless to… kind of transmit what you’re feeling with the people that are kind of part of it with you. They’ve got their horns in the air, they’re looking at you, they’re singing, you’re looking at them. How can it not be just like a natural thing for you to be with them? You know, it will take a lot of effort, I think, to kind of look at them and be like, ah, fuck you. That would take a lot of effort, you know, because it’s so
Craig Garber:
I
Richie Faulkner:
positive.
Craig Garber:
hear you man.
Richie Faulkner:
It’s so part of who we are. And fortunately, you know, hopefully it will continue a long time into the future in some way or form.
Craig Garber:
Right on. Your dad got you into playing guitar when you were young, like around seven or eight. Was he a musician also?
Richie Faulkner:
He, fortunately, he did get me into it. Yeah. He wasn’t a musician in the same sense as I’m not really a musician. I just play guitar. So he played guitar too. He had friends that were in bands. So he had an interest in, you know, Jimi Hendrix and Black Sabbath and Thin Lizzy and stuff like that, still does. And he passed it on to his kid, which is kind of what you do, you know.
Craig Garber:
Right.
Richie Faulkner:
And they either take to it or they don’t, you know. And I took to it, I guess. But so yeah, he was, he’s responsible for this mess. You know, and yeah,
Craig Garber:
mess.
Richie Faulkner:
but he still plays guitar. He’s got like a Gibson SG and he still calls me up and he says, listen to this. And he puts the phone down on the amplifier and plays me these riffs and I steal them and they end up on the priest record. And no, I’m only kidding.
Craig Garber:
But I’m sure you’re giving him credit.
Richie Faulkner:
Well, I’m. In all sincerity though, he loves it. He loves playing. And I think that’s what drives a lot of us is the guitar and the instrument that we play. I think even if, you know, the people that aren’t in bands, we just love to play our instrument, whether it’s drums or bass or guitar. We do it at home. We do it in our spare time. We do it when, you know, if we’ve got 15 minutes, I’m going to go and play bass 15 minutes because I have. fucking love it or whatever it is, you know, and I think that’s the way it should be.
Craig Garber:
Right.
Richie Faulkner:
And I think it’s the way that it would be for me. If I wasn’t in Priest, I’d be in a cover band somewhere. I’ll be I’ve got to get my stuff together because I’ve got to leave and load my gear in or I’d be in another band trying to get it together, putting a song together because I love it, you know, and that’s the way it was and the way it is and the way it will be.
Craig Garber:
Absolutely, man. Hey, I’m going to apologize in advance for asking this question because I know you’ve told this story like dozens of times. But for people listening who don’t know how you wound up connecting with priests, it’s a really fun story. If you could talk about the missed calls and the emails and all that stuff.
Richie Faulkner:
Ah well, management called me one afternoon and they briefly explained some of the situation and they wanted to meet me and stuff like that. And so they told me that they’d sent me some emails and some of that. So when I got off the phone, I checked my inbox and I didn’t find any emails in there. So I checked the deleted folder and there they were. So I obviously got these emails at some point. and I thought they would just mail out from, you know, I didn’t know the name of the management company. Obviously they
Craig Garber:
Sure,
Richie Faulkner:
were about
Craig Garber:
how would
Richie Faulkner:
Judas
Craig Garber:
you?
Richie Faulkner:
Priest. So it was a name I didn’t recognize about Judas Priest. So I thought it was a mail out from, you know, you know, Metal Hammer or just one of the one of the if I was looking
Craig Garber:
Sure,
Richie Faulkner:
at it.
Craig Garber:
some
Richie Faulkner:
Yeah,
Craig Garber:
marketing.
Richie Faulkner:
you know, so I just deleted them. So I opened the emails and there there was the emails and there were two of them about a week apart. So they were fairly persistent, fortunately enough for me and they caught me as well.
Craig Garber:
Yeah.
Richie Faulkner:
So You know, I was very fortunate. Uh, but that’s the, they got, first of all, they got the number for, I, I always remember thinking if for some reason, you know, priest get a new guitar player, fantastic. That’s a shame. KK quit, you’ve got a new guy. They’re going out on tour. And for some reason I checked my deleted folder for some reason. And I read those emails and found out after the fact that they were trying to get hold of me, that would have been, uh, that would have been quite the.
Craig Garber:
How crazy
Richie Faulkner:
The bummer,
Craig Garber:
is that?
Richie Faulkner:
you know. But that’s it didn’t happen that way. But fortunately, as I said, they were persistent. They gave me a call. I had to borrow the money for the train fare to get up to, I went up to Glenn’s house to meet management, Glenn and Rob and talk about a few things and quote unquote audition. But
Craig Garber:
Right.
Richie Faulkner:
I had to borrow the money for the train fare. I didn’t have the money to get up there. So I had to borrow the money from my mother. Thanks mom. And
Craig Garber:
Yeah.
Richie Faulkner:
the rest is history. And here we are talking today.
Craig Garber:
Yeah, man, that’s awesome. What a great story. Congratulations. That’s how do you look at stuff like that? When that happens, do you look at that as just like, uh, random or like good luck or are you a spiritual guy? Is there like, you know, a higher power for you? Well, how do you look at serendipity like that?
Richie Faulkner:
No, man, I think it’s just, uh, it’s the way life happens. Sometimes opportunities come and go and, uh, you’re either ready for them or you’re not, you know, um, and there, I don’t think you ever know what opportunities you’ve missed. You rarely, you rarely get to find out the ones
Craig Garber:
Yeah.
Richie Faulkner:
you’ve missed. Um, you know, the opportunities that you, you get, and you don’t, you know, you try out for the opportunities and you don’t get them, that’s fine. You know, those. But the opportunities you don’t even get, you don’t know about those, if you know what I mean.
Craig Garber:
Yeah.
Richie Faulkner:
So I’ve always, I’ve played a lot, I’ve played a lot live. I wanted to be, if one of those opportunities came about, I wanted to be ready for it. But at the same time, you don’t think an opportunity like that’s gonna come about. But you aspire to be as good as those guys, but you don’t think those guys are gonna call you. It’s just
Craig Garber:
Alright.
Richie Faulkner:
a level, it’s a standard that you want to meet in case an opportunity comes along you want to be ready for it. And I was just incredibly fortunate. The opportunity came by, I was ready, I was confident. I don’t think I was arrogant in any way. I think they would have smelt that a mile off, arrogance and stuff like that. But
Craig Garber:
Yeah.
Richie Faulkner:
I think I was confident. I knew I had a shot. And so I gave it a thousand percent and it seemed to be the best approach and here we are.
Craig Garber:
Here we are, man. Again,
Richie Faulkner:
Thank
Craig Garber:
congratulations,
Richie Faulkner:
you.
Craig Garber:
that’s so cool. You actually work with the actor Christopher Lee doing arrangements for one of his heavy metal records. How did, like, when you think of like, British aristocracy royalty actors, he’s one of those guys you don’t think, oh, heavy metal at the same time. What the hell was that experience like? I was
Richie Faulkner:
That
Craig Garber:
just
Richie Faulkner:
is
Craig Garber:
curious
Richie Faulkner:
incredible.
Craig Garber:
about that. Really?
Richie Faulkner:
I mean, I only met him once or twice, Sir Christopher, you know.
Craig Garber:
Yeah, right, right.
Richie Faulkner:
It came about through a contact that I had that played, he was a drummer, that played on the first record that he did and he wanted to do another record and I had all this music mapped out for like an orchestra. So there was like violins and cellos and… They wanted it arranged so it could be played on a festival stage, for example. So it could be played by a metal band with bass and guitar and drums. So the songs were there, the song structures were there and, you know, the melodies and stuff. So I had to come up with like guitar parts and riffs and drum parts and stuff like that. So it was it was a great experience. People were great. So Christopher was great. And. I didn’t get to play on the record, so I played all the demos and you know everything like that and send it off and then Priest called me and I had to go and do that So I didn’t get a chance
Craig Garber:
Right.
Richie Faulkner:
to to play on anything But it was great to talk to sir Christopher and he was a guy obviously he was from a different generation So he had a different,
Craig Garber:
Totally.
Richie Faulkner:
you know different views on things and it was refreshing really to speak to someone with such a vast you know, because we get so caught up in the moment and the way things are. But he had time, you know, and things that had happened a few times before, and he’d seen things come and go. And he knew the outcome of things. And he knew that this is the outcome of things because I’ve seen it time and time again. And he had that kind of experience.
Craig Garber:
Alright.
Richie Faulkner:
And I don’t know what the word is with him. Grace and just authority and just
Craig Garber:
Yeah, he’s so authoritative when he opens, when he speaks, it’s like, fucking
Richie Faulkner:
Fantastic,
Craig Garber:
sit up and listen,
Richie Faulkner:
glad
Craig Garber:
you know?
Richie Faulkner:
to meet him. Again, very grateful and fortunate to have met him and his people. As I said, we’re fantastic.
Craig Garber:
That’s awesome, man. Richie, what would you say the top three musical experiences you’ve had so far?
Richie Faulkner:
I would say off the top of my head recording the Firepower record was probably, I mean I remember actually saying it at the time, it’s probably the best experience I’ve had recording a record and probably will ever be again. Like there’ll be other records that I record that will be great but that one, the timing of it, when it was being recorded it felt great. It was a good vibe. It was spring in the UK. The lambs were out in the fields. I don’t know, it was everything.
Craig Garber:
The
Richie Faulkner:
Yeah,
Craig Garber:
lambs
Richie Faulkner:
man,
Craig Garber:
were
Richie Faulkner:
it was
Craig Garber:
on
Richie Faulkner:
just,
Craig Garber:
the field.
Richie Faulkner:
I don’t know, it was perfect. And the further you get from it, the more that memory becomes more magical. And that’s the way our brains work, you know? It becomes more romantic.
Craig Garber:
Yeah.
Richie Faulkner:
But it was just, it sounded great. The songs were working great. We had a great production team with Andy and Tom Allen. uh… that was one of them uh… i think another one was probably my second my second show with priest was at sweden rock in two thousand eleven first picture we we had a first show was a a warm-up show in holland uh… i think it’s about three or four thousand people second show was a big one is thirty thousand and rob
Craig Garber:
Oh
Richie Faulkner:
the
Craig Garber:
wow.
Richie Faulkner:
harley down the and it was raining so if you can imagine Rob at the end of the, I’m standing behind him on stage, Rob’s at the front of the ego ramp, almost silhouetted by the spotlights on him and it was raining, the lights were flashing on the bike, there was smoke everywhere from the bike and he had his horns in the air and there were 30,000 people with their horns coming back at him and just like the rain and the metal god and 30,000 people and the lights and the smoke and I’m thinking, it was unreal. but very real at the same time. And it was magical because I can’t show you the picture. It’s in my head and it’s in our heads on stage.
Craig Garber:
Yeah.
Richie Faulkner:
And it’s mine and ours, you know? And I can only share it with you like this and that’s what makes it magical.
Craig Garber:
That’s so cool.
Richie Faulkner:
Again, it’s one of those things, that’s the second thing that like, I can’t show you on Instagram. And it’s more valuable for that. Maybe there’s a theme here.
Craig Garber:
Man, are you kidding me? It’s much more about I mean, I I got a weird I’m I don’t know somebody I had a guest on the show one time and he said, you know, the thing about social media is everybody leaves the The the actual real reels of their life is on the floor a tape cut you never see You know, it’s it’s always like some showy aspect
Richie Faulkner:
Thousand
Craig Garber:
of
Richie Faulkner:
percent.
Craig Garber:
it. You know, it’s
Richie Faulkner:
No,
Craig Garber:
not
Richie Faulkner:
it’s
Craig Garber:
real.
Richie Faulkner:
thousand percent.
Craig Garber:
Yeah
Richie Faulkner:
The third one… I don’t know, it’s hard to pick like just three because you’re probably leaving some out and I’ll probably get, I’ll probably have to call you up after this and say, oh, I missed one. I do remember, I do remember there was a time in a, I was in a pub in Camden town and I’d had a few shandies and I was playing a Les Paul and playing covers and I remember looking up and the whole pub, the whole pub that I was playing in was looking at me and they were transfixed on what I was doing. And I remember thinking, I can do this.
Craig Garber:
Oh, yeah.
Richie Faulkner:
Because everyone in the place was watching what I was doing. And I had a realization that, ah, okay, I must be doing something right. So that was something I remember, if that counts as one of those. So that’s definitely three.
Craig Garber:
Yeah, man. Dude, you’re a deep cat. You got some good shit going on in
Richie Faulkner:
Oh
Craig Garber:
that
Richie Faulkner:
dude,
Craig Garber:
head of yours.
Richie Faulkner:
we could talk for hours man, trust me.
Craig Garber:
It’s so funny when you said Shandy, I haven’t heard that since last time I was
Richie Faulkner:
Yeah
Craig Garber:
in the England
Richie Faulkner:
man,
Craig Garber:
with
Richie Faulkner:
I
Craig Garber:
my wife
Richie Faulkner:
like it, I
Craig Garber:
or
Richie Faulkner:
like
Craig Garber:
something.
Richie Faulkner:
it, I like it.
Craig Garber:
That’s not a thing here. That’s not a thing here as you know. Was there ever any kind of like specific moment or experience that was critical in your decision to pursue music?
Richie Faulkner:
There’s been a few of them. There’s been a few, probably both positive and negative at the time, you know. Sometimes it’s the things that seem the worst. They’re the things that make you realize, oh no, that’s what keeps me going really. That’s, you know, for example, it’s three o’clock in the morning, you’re loading out Marshall stacks, no one was at the gig, you don’t wanna do it anymore. Fuck this, I don’t wanna do it, I hate this. the next day you’re doing exactly the same thing. And so the realization
Craig Garber:
Yeah
Richie Faulkner:
is, I must love this. I’m like, it goes beyond a fad or, you know, so it’s that sort of thing. So there’s tons of those kinds of moments. Just tons of them. I mean, I think Jimi Hendrix was a realization. I mean, not only for me, I mean, for millions of people around the world, you know,
Craig Garber:
Yeah.
Richie Faulkner:
I have to do something like that. What is that? How do I make my life about that? You know, the image of the man. the guitar, the sound, you know, Jimmy Hendrix obviously, just, I mean, getting your first guitar. But as I said, when things go wrong as well, and when you fix them and you overcome stuff, that kind of makes you think, oh yeah, you know. I don’t know, all those things wrapped up, there’s not one moment I don’t think, it’s just, you know, and you still find those things out, you’re still finding things out that make you think, oh, this is… Sometimes I still think, now fuck this, I don’t want to do this. I’m still doing the equivalent of carrying out Marshall speakers at three o’clock in the morning. But I’m armed with the knowledge that this is part of my DNA, this is what I do, you know what I mean? And it’s that realization that I got back in that pub that that’s who I am and that’s why I do this, you know.
Craig Garber:
That was a
Richie Faulkner:
Oh,
Craig Garber:
great
Richie Faulkner:
okay.
Craig Garber:
answer, man. Thank you. What prompted you to move to the States?
Richie Faulkner:
I don’t remember. I think… I don’t remember. I saw the question on the sheet and
Craig Garber:
Hahaha
Richie Faulkner:
I was trying to remember what it was. I think,
Craig Garber:
Yeah.
Richie Faulkner:
like anything, it’s not usually one reason. It’s usually something that’s a handful of reasons that just makes sense. I’ve always been in a fortunate position where I can kind of go with the flow to some degree. I wanted to, it just made sense at the time. I had friends there or there were opportunities there at the time, or there was, you know, just like the circles I was moving in at the time. I remember I was in the Caribbean a lot at the time. So I was going between the Caribbean, the States. We had some stuff going on, record labels in New York. So I’d go between there. I was dating a girl in Philly, and then I’d go down to the Caribbean. then back to the UK. So it was just a circle I was moving in. And I ended up in Florida. Because Florida was where all the kids went when when we were kids, they’d come back from summer vacation with
Craig Garber:
Right.
Richie Faulkner:
pictures of palm trees and boats and water ays that was in Disneyland, Disney World, rather, that was like the promised land, you know, so I think to me as a kid, Florida was the promised land that was like, goodness me that, you know, so I was drawn to that kind of thing. So I don’t know.
Craig Garber:
You know, the East Coast of Florida is like one of the most heavily populated areas in the country with
Richie Faulkner:
Yeah
Craig Garber:
Brits.
Richie Faulkner:
it is. Yeah I don’t
Craig Garber:
Yeah.
Richie Faulkner:
know if that’s why. I’ll tell you what it was as well. Back when I was a kid, remember Ninja Turtles?
Craig Garber:
Yeah,
Richie Faulkner:
Ninja
Craig Garber:
Teenage
Richie Faulkner:
Turtles
Craig Garber:
Mutant
Richie Faulkner:
came
Craig Garber:
Ninja Turtles,
Richie Faulkner:
out
Craig Garber:
yeah
Richie Faulkner:
and
Craig Garber:
of
Richie Faulkner:
they
Craig Garber:
course.
Richie Faulkner:
were called Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles in the UK. I don’t know if you know that because you yeah, because
Craig Garber:
No, I didn’t know
Richie Faulkner:
apparently
Craig Garber:
that.
Richie Faulkner:
Ninja was a bad word. You couldn’t use Ninja.
Craig Garber:
Non-BBC
Richie Faulkner:
Yeah, exactly
Craig Garber:
approved.
Richie Faulkner:
that right. So they were called Hero Turtles. You couldn’t get them
Craig Garber:
That’s
Richie Faulkner:
for
Craig Garber:
weird.
Richie Faulkner:
love nor money in the UK. So people the rich kids would go to Florida buy
Craig Garber:
Yeah.
Richie Faulkner:
them and then bring them back. So again, Florida was like you could go to Florida. and buy Ninja Turtles. So again, that was another,
Craig Garber:
Ha ha!
Richie Faulkner:
if I go to America, I can get Ninja Turtles, a boat on the water with palm trees at Disney World, I’m going there, you know, so that was kind of the thought
Craig Garber:
Yeah.
Richie Faulkner:
process, I think.
Craig Garber:
I totally get it, man. Outside of the large food portions we have here, were there like any cultural adjustments you had to make?
Richie Faulkner:
Um…
Craig Garber:
Things you had to get used to that were weird
Richie Faulkner:
The language.
Craig Garber:
here or different.
Richie Faulkner:
You guys don’t speak
Craig Garber:
Ha ha!
Richie Faulkner:
English properly. But apart from that,
Craig Garber:
Of course.
Richie Faulkner:
I have to tailor. It’s ironic because it is English, but you guys don’t speak it. But apart from that, no, I love the US. It’s a beautiful place, beautiful people. And I have a better relationship with the UK when I’m not there as much. Um, it’s
Craig Garber:
Interesting.
Richie Faulkner:
like, um, it’s like, I love New York city, but the longer I’m there, the more stressed I get. So I love New York city when I’m there for a few days
Craig Garber:
Oh, it’s just,
Richie Faulkner:
and leave.
Craig Garber:
yeah.
Richie Faulkner:
Um, it’s the same with the
Craig Garber:
Yeah.
Richie Faulkner:
UK. If I’m there, if I, if I, if I live in the UK and it rains for six months, I hate it. I’m living there after deal with it every day.
Craig Garber:
Alright.
Richie Faulkner:
If I traveled to the UK and I don’t live there, it can rain for a year. I love it. It’s beautiful. I’m leaving.
Craig Garber:
Yeah.
Richie Faulkner:
I don’t live there, it’s a different mindset. So I have a better relationship with the UK the less I’m there. So yeah, but I love
Craig Garber:
It’s
Richie Faulkner:
the
Craig Garber:
interesting
Richie Faulkner:
States. My
Craig Garber:
that…
Richie Faulkner:
daughter, she was born here. And so yeah, I love it. There’s no real, there’s no big change really.
Craig Garber:
Awesome. It’s a big thing though, the sunshine. When I went to the UK, not the first time, the second time it was a typical British weather. And I was, I found myself down and I realized one day it was cause there’s
Richie Faulkner:
Well,
Craig Garber:
no
Richie Faulkner:
it’s
Craig Garber:
freaking
Richie Faulkner:
funny.
Craig Garber:
sunshine.
Richie Faulkner:
When you’re in the UK, you spend your life looking for the sun. You’re trying to find the sun. It’s all about the sun. When you get to the US, it’s about getting out the fucking sun.
Craig Garber:
Yeah, I’m
Richie Faulkner:
Yeah,
Craig Garber:
getting the air conditioning
Richie Faulkner:
and
Craig Garber:
right
Richie Faulkner:
I never
Craig Garber:
now.
Richie Faulkner:
quite understood that concept. So maybe that’s something I’ve got to get used to. I didn’t understand that people were trying to, you know, ice too much sun is too hot. I don’t know, I thought you’re out of your mind. When
Craig Garber:
Yeah.
Richie Faulkner:
you get here, especially in places like Florida and places like that, we live in Tennessee. So Tennessee is the same with the humidity and stuff like that. So you
Craig Garber:
Yeah.
Richie Faulkner:
spend half the year trying to get out of the sun and into the air conditioning. So that’s something I’ve had to deal with. But I like the humidity. It’s good for my skin. I’m going to go to bed.
Craig Garber:
Richie, what were some low points or dark periods you had to deal with in life and how did you get through them?
Richie Faulkner:
Uh, that’s a good question. Um, I’ve been very fortunate or I’m very blinkered. I don’t know which one it is. I haven’t had many, or if there have been, uh, I’m kind of, I can see the good in things like, or, um, the dark time recently, uh, I had a bit of a health thing recently and that, that was pretty dark for a while, but I can, I dealt with it. It got dark. because I felt like it wasn’t fair. I didn’t feel like I deserved it, but that’s not how life is. But sometimes you don’t
Craig Garber:
Yeah.
Richie Faulkner:
think like that in the moment. You just, sometimes you feel like it’s all happening, it’s a surgery, it’s bad luck, woe is me. Sometimes that happens and you don’t think rationally. And I just thought, this isn’t fair. But you know, I kind of came out of it pretty quick. I rationalized things. usually pretty quickly. So if it gets dark, I can usually rationalize it and get out of it pretty quickly. So fortunately, I’m a pretty optimistic person, or at least I’m a realistic person. So if it’s dark, I can usually see the reality and things and try to make good out of it, hopefully.
Craig Garber:
Yeah. How are you feeling?
Richie Faulkner:
Uh
Craig Garber:
That was your young guy to have all that shit. And just to Richie had some heart. I mean, you could read it online. It’s fucking like heart exploded
Richie Faulkner:
Well,
Craig Garber:
basically.
Richie Faulkner:
I’m feeling all right. I’m a bit pissed off with all these fucking interviews. No, excuse my French. I’m
Craig Garber:
Sorry, man.
Richie Faulkner:
only
Craig Garber:
No,
Richie Faulkner:
joking.
Craig Garber:
it’s good. I listen. It’s I get
Richie Faulkner:
I’m
Craig Garber:
it.
Richie Faulkner:
only
Craig Garber:
I’m
Richie Faulkner:
joking.
Craig Garber:
sorry. I get it.
Richie Faulkner:
But
Craig Garber:
It’s good. It’s
Richie Faulkner:
I’m
Craig Garber:
all
Richie Faulkner:
feeling
Craig Garber:
good, man.
Richie Faulkner:
all right. There’s a few things I have to deal with, you know, as you would expect. But I’ve said it before, I’m very fortunate in relation to other people that go through a lot worse. People lose limbs in accidents, they lose their eyes in certain… I have to watch my diet, I have to take medication. There’s a couple of things I have to go through, occupational therapy and stuff like that every now and again. I’m very fortunate that that’s all I have to do compared
Craig Garber:
Yeah.
Richie Faulkner:
with some people. So to be talking to you about music and
Craig Garber:
Yeah.
Richie Faulkner:
releasing records and touring and priest, I’m a very lucky guy just to make it through it, but to be still here talking to you about it, that’s a bonus, man. In
Craig Garber:
Yeah
Richie Faulkner:
all
Craig Garber:
man, for
Richie Faulkner:
sincerity,
Craig Garber:
sure. Well,
Richie Faulkner:
I know I’m joking
Craig Garber:
I wish you
Richie Faulkner:
about
Craig Garber:
nothing.
Richie Faulkner:
the interviews. I’d rather
Craig Garber:
Yeah,
Richie Faulkner:
be doing
Craig Garber:
it’s
Richie Faulkner:
the
Craig Garber:
cool
Richie Faulkner:
interviews
Craig Garber:
man.
Richie Faulkner:
than six feet under, put it that way.
Craig Garber:
Yeah, right. Probably just right above being
Richie Faulkner:
Yeah.
Craig Garber:
six feet under. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha Kind of like Dio or Klaus Mein from Scorpions. You got Dave Rimmer from Uriah Heap on bass and you guys used to play together as kids and Christopher Williams from Accept on drums. I’m assuming that you’re really excited about this
Richie Faulkner:
Absolutely,
Craig Garber:
new project.
Richie Faulkner:
man.
Craig Garber:
Yeah.
Richie Faulkner:
These guys are, you know, first and foremost, my friends, you know, they just happen to be phenomenal musicians. You know, Davey, as you mentioned, I mean, we used to play the bars and clubs around London and England together, you know, over 20 years ago. He got the gig in your eye heap just after I got the gig in Priest. So, yeah, man,
Craig Garber:
Oh, that’s
Richie Faulkner:
it was,
Craig Garber:
so
Richie Faulkner:
it was
Craig Garber:
cool.
Richie Faulkner:
a no brainer. You know, I’ve always
Craig Garber:
Yeah.
Richie Faulkner:
wanted to be in a band again with Davey. And again, carrying on the legacy from the bands that we’re in now, hopefully we can take the torch into the future. And Davey was just a no brainer, Christopher as well. And as you said about Ronnie, no brainer. He’s got the he’s got that classic voice, but it’s 2023. He’s a modern singer of today, but he contains that influence,
Craig Garber:
Totally.
Richie Faulkner:
which I don’t think we should be ashamed of. Like we’re all that’s who we are. That’s where we come from musically.
Craig Garber:
Yeah.
Richie Faulkner:
We’re proud of that influence. We know it’s 2023. We’re not trying to do anything retro. We’re just doing what we do and who we are. And I think to do anything different is disingenuous. This is who we are. These are our influences. Hopefully we can get something unique out of the four characters coming together moving forward. And so Ronnie was a no brainer as well. He’s a fantastic singer, fantastic front man. And yeah, it will be interesting to see, I think- there’s more of Ronnie, I think he will, he would agree with this as well. On this record, on these songs, I think there’s more Ronnie Romero coming out and hopefully there’s more of that coming out in the future with Ronnie.
Craig Garber:
Right. Let’s talk about, I want to talk about some of my favorite songs on the record. Opening track, Blind Leadin’ the Blind, great rock anthem. So some of the lyrics, I was curious, stop listening to all the voices in your head. Who the, who, who, who the voices or what are the voices?
Richie Faulkner:
Who said that?
Craig Garber:
What’s that all about?
Richie Faulkner:
No,
Craig Garber:
Ha ha ha
Richie Faulkner:
well,
Craig Garber:
ha.
Richie Faulkner:
it’s basically the song is about, I think we can all relate to a control figure or an authority figure, whether it’s at work or in politics or religion or whatever it may be that might not have an idea about what they’re doing. Sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn’t. So stop listening to the voices in your head. I think it’s a reference to, you know, you know the truth, you know what you gotta do sometimes and it’s not what that person’s saying. It’s what you know to be true in your heart and pursue that, you know. Sometimes these authority figures do get it wrong and it’s, you know, go with what your heart’s telling you. You know, that’s basically what that is. We know we have the answer sometimes and sometimes we’re wrong as well but go with what your heart’s telling you rather than what you know, the political figure is telling you or the boss is telling you just because they’re in a position of power really
Craig Garber:
Yeah, go with your gut, I agree. Ghost of You is by far my favorite track on the record. I thought it was just a freaking awesome
Richie Faulkner:
Cool, thank you.
Craig Garber:
blues track. But I was curious, in the beginning of the first solo, short little solo, what effect is on your guitar? Because it sounded really
Richie Faulkner:
I
Craig Garber:
cool, man.
Richie Faulkner:
think on that one it’s a microchorus, an MXR microchorus wound up to… There’s
Craig Garber:
Okay.
Richie Faulkner:
one dial on it, it’s like the Phase 90, so the more you turn it the chorus effect changes and I think it’s almost full which means it just speeds up. It doesn’t get any deeper, it just speeds up. So instead of being like a slow chorus, it’s like a quick one. And I think that’s what I used on that song. It’s almost like a rotary speaker effect. So, you know,
Craig Garber:
Yeah, like a
Richie Faulkner:
that’s
Craig Garber:
Leslie
Richie Faulkner:
exactly,
Craig Garber:
but not
Richie Faulkner:
that’s
Craig Garber:
a
Richie Faulkner:
exactly
Craig Garber:
Leslie. Yeah. Yeah
Richie Faulkner:
it. It’s a chorus, we just put up to 10, so it goes really quick. But that song is another,
Craig Garber:
Sounded
Richie Faulkner:
it’s
Craig Garber:
cool.
Richie Faulkner:
another universal thing, really. Ghost of You, Love Lost, or someone that we’ve lost in the, you know, like a family member that’s passed on and their memory keeps coming back and we can’t, we can’t let them go there, they’re in our thoughts, they’re in the next room all the time, or we can see them. out the window or we keep hearing their name and it’s giving me chills at the moment talking about we can all relate to that sort of experience and the song it’s a bluesy kind of feel as you said and something that was a bit different but I thought it was appropriate I thought it was a strong song
Craig Garber:
That was great.
Richie Faulkner:
it’s a universal theme that we can all relate to so I thought you know let’s put it on the record
Craig Garber:
Love the track. Definitely
Richie Faulkner:
Thank
Craig Garber:
my
Richie Faulkner:
you,
Craig Garber:
favorite
Richie Faulkner:
man.
Craig Garber:
track.
Richie Faulkner:
Thank
Craig Garber:
I
Richie Faulkner:
you.
Craig Garber:
thought it was great. I like the lyrics and everything. Yeah, thank you. Bitter Pill. So this particular song is a great example about what I was talking about earlier about how your background fills are so rhythmic. You’re using a rhythmic pattern for your fills. You’re changing them every other bar and they just like, they fit in great. And I had a question, but you may have answered. My question was, is that something you’ve deliberately worked on or that just… evolve naturally as part of your playing
Richie Faulkner:
I think
Craig Garber:
style
Richie Faulkner:
it’s a bit of
Craig Garber:
or…
Richie Faulkner:
both. I might run through something recording wise and some of that stuff I’ll do a couple of passes and those things will jump out. So the first time around it might be this fill, the second time it might be slightly different and you know myself or Andy the producer might say do it like that. So the first one do that fill, the second one do that one. So it comes out organic like naturally usually but either we’ll we’ll say doing both the same or you know so it comes from, it’s spontaneous but then if it’s something that’s good we’ll try and recreate the ideas that come from that spontaneity if that makes sense.
Craig Garber:
Yeah, no, it totally makes sense. But you’re super talented at that, man. It’s really enjoyable because like I’m listening to that. And as a guitar player, I’m like, how did that get in your head? Which is the mystery of everybody’s playing, right? Like, you know, how did that get? How did you
Richie Faulkner:
I appreciate
Craig Garber:
how did that
Richie Faulkner:
you
Craig Garber:
come
Richie Faulkner:
saying
Craig Garber:
in your
Richie Faulkner:
that,
Craig Garber:
brain
Richie Faulkner:
man.
Craig Garber:
to do
Richie Faulkner:
Do
Craig Garber:
that?
Richie Faulkner:
you know what it is? I think it’s, you know, our own limitations. Sincerely, I think it’s our own limitations that dictate what
Craig Garber:
Yeah.
Richie Faulkner:
we sound like and everyone’s the same. Some things you can’t do, so you play based on what you can play. And that’s what that is. And
Craig Garber:
All right.
Richie Faulkner:
that’s where it comes from. It’s kind of some things you play. you play to your strengths and sometimes it comes from your weaknesses and you have to work around your weaknesses and that sometimes Is what makes you unique? hopefully
Craig Garber:
Yeah. But when you said earlier, you said like, you’re not like really a true yourself taught basically, that’s thousands and thousands and thousands of hours on the neck. I mean, you’re flying around there and I’m not saying this to blow smoke up your ass, you’re really, really melodic and it’s hard to find a lot of players that have your speed and your sense of
Richie Faulkner:
I
Craig Garber:
melody.
Richie Faulkner:
appreciate you saying that man. I mean, melody is always, I’ve always been attracted to melody. I’ve always been attracted to the riff. The riff for me is king. And
Craig Garber:
Mm-hmm.
Richie Faulkner:
that’s what I’ve been attracted to over speed really. And the, you know, they say 10,000 hours makes you an expert at what you do. And, you know, me and Davey, we,
Craig Garber:
Oh, this
Richie Faulkner:
well,
Craig Garber:
is way
Richie Faulkner:
we
Craig Garber:
beyond
Richie Faulkner:
used to
Craig Garber:
that,
Richie Faulkner:
play,
Craig Garber:
man.
Richie Faulkner:
me and Davey, as I was saying, we used to play, you know, at least Wednesday to Sunday. maybe Thursday to Sunday, we used to play every night in an Irish bar or a pub or whatever it was. Every week we used to work a day job and then we used to turn up at the pub with a guitar or a bass and play four or five nights a week. And there was your 10,000 hours because we loved it. And as I said before, sometimes we hated it, but
Craig Garber:
Yeah.
Richie Faulkner:
you keep going back because you’re driven by it and you get your 10,000 hours in. So hopefully… You know, that drive is what earned me those 10,000 hours, but I’ll keep coming back to the melody. That’s what spurs me on. I mean, no one’s gonna sing, no one’s gonna sing a million miles an hour solo, but they’ll sing a melody or a riff that gives them goosebumps and they can sing that. And that’s what connects us. You know, even over lyrics, you can write lyrics. I’m not a lyric guy, but you can go to a non-English speaking country like America. I’m only joking. I’m already…
Craig Garber:
Ha ha ha ha ha right right on that was clever man. You got a good sense
Richie Faulkner:
You
Craig Garber:
of
Richie Faulkner:
can
Craig Garber:
humor
Richie Faulkner:
go
Craig Garber:
man.
Richie Faulkner:
to
Craig Garber:
I like
Richie Faulkner:
a
Craig Garber:
that
Richie Faulkner:
non-english speaking country and people might not understand the words that you’re singing, but they will understand the riff that you’re playing or the melody that you’re playing.
Craig Garber:
Yeah.
Richie Faulkner:
So that’s always been paramount to me and it always has been and always will be. Thank you,
Craig Garber:
Yeah,
Richie Faulkner:
brother.
Craig Garber:
you do a great
Richie Faulkner:
Appreciate
Craig Garber:
job of
Richie Faulkner:
it.
Craig Garber:
it, man. Lights Out, you covered that UFO track. And that to me, that song is so powerful that like when it comes up on my rotation, just the opening, it’s like. Shush, everything around me has just got to focus on that. I don’t know how long the eight to ten minute song on the original of the live record. What made you select that track to cover? It’s fucking
Richie Faulkner:
It is.
Craig Garber:
great
Richie Faulkner:
I
Craig Garber:
song.
Richie Faulkner:
love UFO. I love Michael Schenker.
Craig Garber:
Yeah.
Richie Faulkner:
I was toying around with a couple of covers at the time and that one just seemed appropriate. It fit the dynamic of the album, you know, the flow of the record. It seemed to fit in there
Craig Garber:
Yeah,
Richie Faulkner:
right and it is one of those things
Craig Garber:
very
Richie Faulkner:
where
Craig Garber:
much.
Richie Faulkner:
you’ve got to be, when you do a cover, there’s a line to tread. If you do it exactly the same, there’s no point and if you do it too different, you might as well write your own song. So I thought this was similar enough to the original, but different enough.
Craig Garber:
No, you did a fantastic job. It’s very hard to cover, especially as an
Richie Faulkner:
Well…
Craig Garber:
iconic metal song like that. And you did a really, that was really great. What you said,
Richie Faulkner:
I appreciate
Craig Garber:
you hit that balance
Richie Faulkner:
it. I mean, it’s
Craig Garber:
very,
Richie Faulkner:
in a different
Craig Garber:
very
Richie Faulkner:
tuning
Craig Garber:
well.
Richie Faulkner:
to the original.
Craig Garber:
Yeah.
Richie Faulkner:
It’s a whole step down like the rest of the album. So it’s different in that regard. The solos are totally, what’s the word, improvised. I didn’t follow Michael’s. I followed his vibe.
Craig Garber:
You followed his like crescendo. Yeah, like the the flow but it’s
Richie Faulkner:
No.
Craig Garber:
not his solo
Richie Faulkner:
So I
Craig Garber:
at all.
Richie Faulkner:
tried to get
Craig Garber:
Yeah
Richie Faulkner:
it different enough while still being faithful to the original, which is what I try and do all the time really.
Craig Garber:
Yeah, yeah, oh with Priest, yeah, but it’s great, it was great. Uh, Gear, I’ve seen you playing a three pickup Les Paul Black Beauty, a white Les Paul, and a variety of flying Vs, and I also saw a photo
Richie Faulkner:
Uh-huh.
Craig Garber:
of you with a black Strat, which was interesting. What’s your go-to guitar right now and what other two guitars would round out your top
Richie Faulkner:
Well,
Craig Garber:
three?
Richie Faulkner:
my number one guitar for the last 10 years has been a black Flying V custom that Gibson made right at the beginning of my tenure with the Mighty Judas Priest. And it’s what it became over the years. I customized it and it became my number one and it became the Epiphone Signature model, which came out in 2017, which has then subsequently become. the next signature model that we’re going to release with Gibson, which is a blue… I don’t know if you’ve seen it, it’s the blue one.
Craig Garber:
Oh, awesome. No, I haven’t. So it’s a blue flying V, but
Richie Faulkner:
Yes,
Craig Garber:
it’s a Gibson
Richie Faulkner:
so it’s
Craig Garber:
custom
Richie Faulkner:
a full, but
Craig Garber:
now.
Richie Faulkner:
we wanted to do a full Blunt Gibson.
Craig Garber:
Cool.
Richie Faulkner:
And it’s got updated pickups, sort of pickups, signature pickups. It’s still got the Floyd Rose. It’s a Pelham. It’s a beautiful Pelham Blue Flying V. And that’s that’s a long winded answer. But it’s I used the prototype for this signature. That was the only guitar I used on this record. The only guitar. I don’t know it sounds like a
Craig Garber:
Wow.
Richie Faulkner:
sales pitch to say that but it’s the truth.
Craig Garber:
No, it doesn’t.
Richie Faulkner:
And
Craig Garber:
I wasn’t
Richie Faulkner:
since
Craig Garber:
thinking
Richie Faulkner:
I’ve
Craig Garber:
that.
Richie Faulkner:
been, I mean it’s kind of no point having a signature guitar if it doesn’t do everything for you. Like, you know, if that’s not going to be your main guitar. And it’s subsequently become the main guitar with Priest. I’ve used it as the main guitar last year on the Priest run. And I’ve been using it for the most part on this guitar as well. The only guitar I’ve used differently on… on this album, I’m getting ahead of myself. I’ve been recording guitars for the second Elegant Weapons album. And I’ve, well, we’ve
Craig Garber:
Oh,
Richie Faulkner:
put
Craig Garber:
that’s
Richie Faulkner:
in,
Craig Garber:
awesome.
Richie Faulkner:
you know, we’ve got some time, I’ve got some ideas, we’ve put the drums down, why not capture the ideas while we got them.
Craig Garber:
Yeah.
Richie Faulkner:
I’m using an Explorer, because it’s a different tuning, so I’m using an Explorer. But apart from that, to answer your question, it’s the prototype for the blue. flying V that we’re going to release with Gibson. That’s my main go-to. But dude, I love guitars. I love all of them. I’ve been getting into these Epiphone Coronets, you know, that is I don’t know if you’ve seen those. There’s a single hum, single P90. There’s a… If you check out the Epiphone, Epiphone’s doing great guitars. Again, it sells. Check out Epiphone.com for your guitar needs, you know. Well, you know,
Craig Garber:
You
Richie Faulkner:
I’ve
Craig Garber:
sounded
Richie Faulkner:
been here
Craig Garber:
American
Richie Faulkner:
a while now
Craig Garber:
now
Richie Faulkner:
Craig
Craig Garber:
dude.
Richie Faulkner:
and I picked up the… No, um… My point is I love guitars and
Craig Garber:
God.
Richie Faulkner:
I’m inspired by the guitar. The guitar
Craig Garber:
Yeah.
Richie Faulkner:
is the reason I do it.
Craig Garber:
You’re- are you a tall
Richie Faulkner:
I’m four
Craig Garber:
guy?
Richie Faulkner:
foot seven. No, I’m six foot two.
Craig Garber:
No, I thought so because I, you know, your hands are like grasping around. And I didn’t think you played a little thin neck guitar. I thought that was a big thick neck guitar and your hands are around. Like, holy shit, this guy’s got to be tall.
Richie Faulkner:
Um,
Craig Garber:
So.
Richie Faulkner:
it’s quite a… I like different necks. Different necks for different things. Different… Every guitar is different. The Custom is quite a…
Craig Garber:
Yeah.
Richie Faulkner:
It’s quite a… I mean, normal neck this way, but it’s quite thin. It’s quite thin,
Craig Garber:
Oh it
Richie Faulkner:
yeah.
Craig Garber:
is thin, interesting.
Richie Faulkner:
Because it’s based on the original,
Craig Garber:
Interesting.
Richie Faulkner:
the black and white Gibson that I mentioned. It’s based on that and it’s quite thin. And whenever I play it, it makes me play better. And it’s like, okay, well, if it makes you play better, that’s the guitar to go to. Even though I,
Craig Garber:
That’s
Richie Faulkner:
you know, I like a baseball
Craig Garber:
absolutely
Richie Faulkner:
neck and you know, it sounds different. It makes you play different. But when there’s something that makes you play better, that’s, that’s what it is. Really. That’s
Craig Garber:
Oh, absolutely. Yeah, man. Craziest experience with a fan you’ve ever had.
Richie Faulkner:
Um, really? Uh, no. No. Um. Um.
Craig Garber:
Ha ha ha, yeah. Man, the pause on that made that.
Richie Faulkner:
Let me think. I tell you what man, you know, it never ceases to amaze me. The passion of the fans in places like South America in general or Japan or you know you turn up at the airport and there’s a ton of fans there and you know they’re not they’re not like disrespectful. You know especially like places like Japan they’re asking about your string gauges and like what gauge pick you use and they know they’re like are you still using this gauge pick? That’s crazy shit. Like I don’t even know anymore. Like ask my tech because I don’t
Craig Garber:
All
Richie Faulkner:
even
Craig Garber:
right.
Richie Faulkner:
know what you know. That’s like, that’s so like, they love, they’re so passionate about the band and the genre and not just, I mean, not just us, but like they do that to all the bands that they love. It’s such a dedication and devotion to the music that they love. That’s some stuff, man. I love that stuff. You go down to South America and they’re wild and they just want to be a part of the band and they come down. So it’s not like, I don’t think I could give one example, but it never ceases to amaze me the dedication of these fans in some of these countries for bands like Priest. And hopefully that never goes away. That’s a diplomatic answer for you.
Craig Garber:
Yeah, what’s what I’m waiting for the like weird shit man. What the hell come on. Tell me something weird something weird rock and roll shit had to happen Like some nutty stuff Like stuff that you you went you’re like man, I thought i’ve seen everything but uh
Richie Faulkner:
As I said before with the dark stuff, I think I’ve got an ability to wipe stuff from my memory like that. No, honestly,
Craig Garber:
Oh
Richie Faulkner:
I
Craig Garber:
man.
Richie Faulkner:
honestly can’t think of anything, so we’ll probably have to go with that one.
Craig Garber:
All right, top three Desert Island discs in no particular order. And I know in the UK, they called it, what I mean is Desert Island CDs, not singles.
Richie Faulkner:
Strangers in the night.
Craig Garber:
Yeah, that’s such a good…
Richie Faulkner:
Volume 4 or Masters of Reality? Maybe volume
Craig Garber:
Mm-hmm.
Richie Faulkner:
4?
Craig Garber:
We’ll
Richie Faulkner:
Okay.
Craig Garber:
give you a box set. How about
Richie Faulkner:
Okay.
Craig Garber:
a Sabbath box set? Yeah.
Richie Faulkner:
Somewhere in time or seventh son of a seventh son. I’m gonna go with somewhere in, ah. I’m gonna go with Somewhere in Time
Craig Garber:
Um, just to go back to your heart surgery in the aftermath of an experience like that, I know your head, you went through a lot of things about, I mean, I could assume you’d start thinking about things like how you handle stress and family. Um, have there been any, I know you said mentioned you’re on meds. Have there been any changes that you’ve had to make or that were influenced by that as a result of that experience? Doesn’t have to be anything crazy, just things that you’re doing different now that like that work
Richie Faulkner:
Well,
Craig Garber:
well
Richie Faulkner:
do you
Craig Garber:
for
Richie Faulkner:
know
Craig Garber:
you
Richie Faulkner:
I have to watch my intake of greens? Which is weird,
Craig Garber:
Mm-hmm.
Richie Faulkner:
because
Craig Garber:
Yeah.
Richie Faulkner:
my heart was fine. My heart is untouched. It’s the plumbing around it that blew up. So they put in a mechanical valve, and in order for blood to go through the valve without a hitch, my blood needs to be thin enough. to go through it, but not too thin where if I cut myself, I bleed out. And if it gets too thick, it clots. So I need to keep my blood. It’s blood management. So if I eat, yeah, I know, it’s
Craig Garber:
Interesting.
Richie Faulkner:
all boring stuff, but I’m telling you, because you asked me now. So if I eat, you know, you did, you can edit the shit out of this.
Craig Garber:
Okay.
Richie Faulkner:
But like if I eat greens,
Craig Garber:
No, no, no, it’s good.
Richie Faulkner:
like broccoli, asparagus, Brussels sprouts, they contain vitamin K or vitamin K as we call it in the real world. Vitamin K for you lot,
Craig Garber:
Right.
Richie Faulkner:
vitamin K thickens your blood. So if it’s too thick and I eat too many greens, I get
Craig Garber:
So
Richie Faulkner:
blood
Craig Garber:
interesting.
Richie Faulkner:
clots, there’s a problem. So I have to, you know, someone with a quote unquote heart condition, you wouldn’t imagine them. You know, I can eat burgers, I can eat steaks, but I can’t eat too many greens, which is, yeah,
Craig Garber:
can’t eat
Richie Faulkner:
yeah,
Craig Garber:
too much broccoli. Yeah,
Richie Faulkner:
but
Craig Garber:
that’s
Richie Faulkner:
because it’s,
Craig Garber:
not
Richie Faulkner:
most
Craig Garber:
common.
Richie Faulkner:
people assume it’s the heart itself, but it’s not, it’s the blood, it’s the blood work really. So that’s the main
Craig Garber:
Okay.
Richie Faulkner:
thing I have to watch out for. I can still have a drink. You know, I actually recommend everyone. I mean, I’m no doctor, so don’t quote me on this, but they’ve… Yes,
Craig Garber:
Dr. Faulkner said.
Richie Faulkner:
the Rift Doctor,
Craig Garber:
The Rift Doctor,
Richie Faulkner:
they actually
Craig Garber:
there
Richie Faulkner:
recommend
Craig Garber:
you go.
Richie Faulkner:
everyone as a, it’s nothing new either. They’ve said like a glass of wine a day, a glass of red wine a day actually helps with all that sort of stuff. So I try to stick to that regime, you know.
Craig Garber:
Yeah, man, you
Richie Faulkner:
So,
Craig Garber:
don’t want to mess
Richie Faulkner:
but
Craig Garber:
that up.
Richie Faulkner:
that’s the main thing really. Meds, watch my blood level. As I said, I go to occupational therapy every now and again. So that’s about it. I’m incredibly fortunate that that’s all it is, as I said before, a lot of people go through
Craig Garber:
Yeah.
Richie Faulkner:
a lot worse. And even with the condition I had, they take one, two years to recover. I was back out on the road, rightly or wrongly, I don’t know, but it worked for me. After five months, I was back out on the road. But it served,
Craig Garber:
All right.
Richie Faulkner:
for me, it was a medicine in itself to get back to touring, get back to normality, get back to… who I am. That’s part of the healing process for me to
Craig Garber:
Yeah.
Richie Faulkner:
get back to it and get back on the horse.
Craig Garber:
I totally get it. Best decision you ever made.
Richie Faulkner:
Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm That’s a great question Best decision I’ve heard because some some of the best decisions haven’t become bad ones yet You know I said earlier on I’m a realist and that’s that’s a
Craig Garber:
Yeah
Richie Faulkner:
real thing You know so that it worked both ways
Craig Garber:
That’s some
Richie Faulkner:
some
Craig Garber:
of the best
Richie Faulkner:
some
Craig Garber:
decisions.
Richie Faulkner:
bad
Craig Garber:
They
Richie Faulkner:
and
Craig Garber:
haven’t
Richie Faulkner:
it
Craig Garber:
gone bad
Richie Faulkner:
the
Craig Garber:
yet.
Richie Faulkner:
worst
Craig Garber:
That’s great.
Richie Faulkner:
decisions as well Sometimes they become good ones, so it goes both ways So I’m you know it’s hard to say so the best decisions. I’ve made so far having a baby. I mean… best decision… I remember I quit. I quit, you know, one of those moments where I was carrying Marshalls out at three o’clock in the morning. I quit. I quit the band. I’m fucking… I’m not doing this. In the week later I decided to join again.
Craig Garber:
Hahaha
Richie Faulkner:
That was a good decision. But
Craig Garber:
Yeah.
Richie Faulkner:
anyway, there’s been tons of them. But as I said, if they’re good or bad. Good decisions become bad decisions and then the bad ones become good ones. So you never quite know what they
Craig Garber:
Yeah.
Richie Faulkner:
are. They can evolve and devolve and evolve. They’re constantly evolving so you never quite know.
Craig Garber:
Yeah man, I have this saying you can’t connect the dots moving
Richie Faulkner:
You never know,
Craig Garber:
forward
Richie Faulkner:
it’s only looking
Craig Garber:
so
Richie Faulkner:
back.
Craig Garber:
you don’t
Richie Faulkner:
I mean,
Craig Garber:
know,
Richie Faulkner:
if
Craig Garber:
you
Richie Faulkner:
I
Craig Garber:
know,
Richie Faulkner:
had a dyad,
Craig Garber:
you just…
Richie Faulkner:
if I had a dyad on stage in Kentucky, someone could have said, joining Judas Priest was the worst decision I ever made. Someone could have said that. Someone could have said, you know, if I
Craig Garber:
Right.
Richie Faulkner:
hadn’t have joined Judas Priest,
Craig Garber:
Yeah.
Richie Faulkner:
maybe I wouldn’t have been on tour, maybe that wouldn’t have happened. But at the time, joining Judas Priest was the best decision I ever made. But, so,
Craig Garber:
Sure,
Richie Faulkner:
it’s
Craig Garber:
right.
Richie Faulkner:
all relative. So it’s hard for me to say, you know, it’s, you know. We should have…go on.
Craig Garber:
You know what?
Richie Faulkner:
Well, I’m saying we could have
Craig Garber:
Go ahead, sorry.
Richie Faulkner:
hours worth of these conversations. We could just go, oh, we have some glasses
Craig Garber:
Yeah
Richie Faulkner:
of wine prescribed by the Rift Doctor, and then just go off in one of these conversations.
Craig Garber:
course
Richie Faulkner:
But that’s what I was going to say.
Craig Garber:
what I was thinking when you were talking is you sounded like like Michael Cain speaking in some role that he has because you were going you know the way you’re going back and forth like that your voice is sounded like Michael Cain’s you know the actor
Richie Faulkner:
That’s
Craig Garber:
Michael
Richie Faulkner:
really
Craig Garber:
Cain
Richie Faulkner:
funny. You’re
Craig Garber:
sounded just like that man
Richie Faulkner:
only
Craig Garber:
yeah
Richie Faulkner:
supposed to blow the bloody doors off or something.
Craig Garber:
Yeah, right. Yeah, you sounded just like him, man. Oh, this is a tough one. What do you like most about yourself,
Richie Faulkner:
Oh man,
Craig Garber:
Richie?
Richie Faulkner:
I don’t really think like that. No,
Craig Garber:
No normal
Richie Faulkner:
I mean there’s
Craig Garber:
people
Richie Faulkner:
some people
Craig Garber:
do.
Richie Faulkner:
that do. I mean it seems to be the general trend. I mean if you go on social media, I mean it’s… But then I think they’re
Craig Garber:
Ah,
Richie Faulkner:
covering
Craig Garber:
that’s…
Richie Faulkner:
up for something because they don’t like themselves. So they’re covering up for something, you know, what do
Craig Garber:
Yeah, yeah, totally insecurity.
Richie Faulkner:
I like about myself? I don’t know, I find that hard to answer. I can’t answer that. I don’t really know how to answer that to be honest with you.
Craig Garber:
If
Richie Faulkner:
What
Craig Garber:
you
Richie Faulkner:
do
Craig Garber:
had
Richie Faulkner:
I like
Craig Garber:
to answer
Richie Faulkner:
most
Craig Garber:
it,
Richie Faulkner:
about
Craig Garber:
what do you
Richie Faulkner:
myself?
Craig Garber:
think you would say?
Richie Faulkner:
I’ve got a beautiful ring that my daughter bought for me for Christmas and it says Dad on it. I
Craig Garber:
Ha
Richie Faulkner:
like
Craig Garber:
ha,
Richie Faulkner:
that. I like that. I’m going to go
Craig Garber:
that’s
Richie Faulkner:
with that.
Craig Garber:
awesome. Yeah, that’s not. Happiest moment
Richie Faulkner:
There’s been
Craig Garber:
or happiest
Richie Faulkner:
a few of
Craig Garber:
time
Richie Faulkner:
them.
Craig Garber:
in your life.
Richie Faulkner:
There’s been a few of those. I mean, the boring one is the one when… But it’s boring for a reason. When your baby pops out and you meet your baby for the first time. That’s like… That’s happy on another level. Like, that’s… Happy is… Happiness is fleeting. You know, but that is like… That’s another level of joy. You know?
Craig Garber:
Yeah.
Richie Faulkner:
when you look at your baby and she’s screaming and hollering. But it’s the most beautiful thing ever. I’d say it has to be there. How can that be topped? I mean, there’s tons of them, which are happy moments. I remember the moment when I knew I was probably going to be all right. Like…
Craig Garber:
Oh, and when
Richie Faulkner:
Yeah.
Craig Garber:
after you get sick. Yeah. Wow, that had to be like huge,
Richie Faulkner:
Yeah,
Craig Garber:
very relieving.
Richie Faulkner:
so yeah,
Craig Garber:
Yeah.
Richie Faulkner:
there’s been a few of them. I mean, obviously, on the music stuff, I remember I was in Glenn’s kitchen about a week after I met them. I went up there, I went back up there, and I thought, this is a positive thing, because I wouldn’t be going back if they were to tell me that I wasn’t getting the gig. So I was quietly optimistic,
Craig Garber:
Right. Yeah.
Richie Faulkner:
and I was in Glenn’s kitchen, and we had a cup of tea, and he said, the gig’s yours if you want it. And I was like, he said, do you want it? And I went… Yes! And I
Craig Garber:
I twist
Richie Faulkner:
was happy
Craig Garber:
my arm.
Richie Faulkner:
about that. You know, so that
Craig Garber:
That’s
Richie Faulkner:
was
Craig Garber:
awesome.
Richie Faulkner:
a happy moment. It was,
Craig Garber:
Yeah.
Richie Faulkner:
you know, it was one of those, as I said to you, one of those sort of opportunities that you don’t, you aspire to be ready for, but you don’t think they’re actually going to happen. And there it was happening. So.
Craig Garber:
Such a good story, man. You have any hobbies outside of music?
Richie Faulkner:
Yeah, I paint Warhammer 40k. I don’t know if you know what that is. It’s a bit of a geeky hobby to have, but you know. I mean, Judas Priest, it shouldn’t really matter. There’s small plastic soldiers. There’s space marines. And it’s war gaming.
Craig Garber:
Okay.
Richie Faulkner:
So you paint them into the faction that you choose. and they will have their own attributes and traits, and they do different things. And then you sit down with a bunch of mates with a few beers and cooked meats or whatever, and you play war games. And that’s basically it. So I sit down, put on a soundtrack, like Blade Runner or Seventh Son of the Seventh Son, and paint these little fucking space marines. I do that. I collect guitar amplifiers and pedals and guitars. I write and record a lot of music all the time. It’s a hobby of mine. The guitar is everything. So that comes under the hobby banner as well. Always looking at Reverb.com, trying to find… Yeah,
Craig Garber:
That’s
Richie Faulkner:
I
Craig Garber:
like a crack,
Richie Faulkner:
knew you’d appreciate
Craig Garber:
man,
Richie Faulkner:
that with the
Craig Garber:
that
Richie Faulkner:
guitars
Craig Garber:
thing,
Richie Faulkner:
in the
Craig Garber:
isn’t
Richie Faulkner:
water. You
Craig Garber:
it?
Richie Faulkner:
know,
Craig Garber:
Yeah.
Richie Faulkner:
if you ever wake up at like three o’clock in the morning
Craig Garber:
It’s this
Richie Faulkner:
to have
Craig Garber:
bad,
Richie Faulkner:
a piss,
Craig Garber:
man.
Richie Faulkner:
you know, you go back to bed, check your phone, check reverb, just just in case anything’s come on there, you know. I never know,
Craig Garber:
What
Richie Faulkner:
I
Craig Garber:
are
Richie Faulkner:
never
Craig Garber:
you looking
Richie Faulkner:
know.
Craig Garber:
for next? Yeah.
Richie Faulkner:
Yeah, say again?
Craig Garber:
How big is your collection?
Richie Faulkner:
I have no idea.
Craig Garber:
How big is your guitar collection?
Richie Faulkner:
I don’t know. I’ve got some here, I’ve got some in
Craig Garber:
Yeah.
Richie Faulkner:
the UK. I’ve got, we’ve got, we, with Priest we have two rigs. So we’ve got an A rig and a B rig. So I’ve got some on the A rig, some on the B rig. Don’t know where they are. They’re scattered everywhere. So it’s not any more, I’m not one of these people that have like 100 guitars. I mean, it’s no more than. no more than 50 and that’s it that’s it of course you know No, but
Craig Garber:
I don’t have a hundred,
Richie Faulkner:
I
Craig Garber:
it’s
Richie Faulkner:
mean,
Craig Garber:
no more than fifty,
Richie Faulkner:
I’m sure
Craig Garber:
that’s great.
Richie Faulkner:
a plumber has got more than 50 wrenches. You know, that’s quite a conservative amount for a professional guitar player. You know, if I said a hundred guitars
Craig Garber:
It
Richie Faulkner:
for
Craig Garber:
is.
Richie Faulkner:
the guitar player in Judas Priest, I think that’s, you’d think, okay, that’s fair enough. But you know, you know, so
Craig Garber:
No, I wouldn’t.
Richie Faulkner:
I don’t think
Craig Garber:
That’s
Richie Faulkner:
it’s
Craig Garber:
fine.
Richie Faulkner:
any more than 50, but I just don’t know where they are. So I don’t know how many there are.
Craig Garber:
All right. The funny thing is whenever I asked that question and this kind of topic comes up, everybody answers as if you’re like, uh, explaining this to your wife. Well, it’s not unreasonable. And it’s just everybody
Richie Faulkner:
You know,
Craig Garber:
answers
Richie Faulkner:
my other
Craig Garber:
like
Richie Faulkner:
half,
Craig Garber:
that.
Richie Faulkner:
I
Craig Garber:
It’s a very funny
Richie Faulkner:
don’t know if
Craig Garber:
thing.
Richie Faulkner:
you know this, my other half’s father is George Lynch. So she’s grown up with this. This is
Craig Garber:
I
Richie Faulkner:
her
Craig Garber:
read
Richie Faulkner:
life,
Craig Garber:
that.
Richie Faulkner:
this is
Craig Garber:
I
Richie Faulkner:
her
Craig Garber:
did.
Richie Faulkner:
world. She’s been around this longer than I have. So I don’t have to explain any of it. I’ve got,
Craig Garber:
Yeah.
Richie Faulkner:
I think it’s four Marshall stacks, white Marshall stacks in the rec room. And I was gonna move them out to the studio. She’s like, no, leave them in here. They look good in here. So it’s like, she’s like, she’s the one. You know what I mean? She gets it, man.
Craig Garber:
Yeah,
Richie Faulkner:
So…
Craig Garber:
she’s the one you want.
Richie Faulkner:
Yeah, I don’t have to explain any of that stuff. I read a thing once that made me laugh. I think some guy was going through some domestic stuff with his wife and she sold his guitars. But that wasn’t the worst of it. It was that she sold them for what he told her he bought them for.
Craig Garber:
Oh
Richie Faulkner:
You
Craig Garber:
my
Richie Faulkner:
know,
Craig Garber:
God.
Richie Faulkner:
well done, man. You know, so I thought that was hilarious.
Craig Garber:
Wow, that is hilarious, holy shit. Toughest decision you’ve had to make, Richie, or most difficult thing you had
Richie Faulkner:
Dude,
Craig Garber:
to do.
Richie Faulkner:
these are tough questions. Amen. Dude. Do you know, the first thing that comes to mind, this is in the nature of the question. So I hate to get morose about it and dark, but it’s in the nature of the question. It’s not gonna be a happy answer, is it? But I have vague memories of having to sign away. I had to make a couple of signatures before I went into the operating theatre. Yeah,
Craig Garber:
Oh shit.
Richie Faulkner:
the nurses were crying.
Craig Garber:
Wow.
Richie Faulkner:
Dude,
Craig Garber:
That’s fucking
Richie Faulkner:
I had
Craig Garber:
heavy.
Richie Faulkner:
to call my parents.
Craig Garber:
Ha.
Richie Faulkner:
You know, I was in Kentucky. My parents were in England. It was, you know, it was one o’clock in the morning here. So it was six, seven o’clock in the morning in the UK. My other half is crying. Nurses were crying. I had to make signatures because, uh, there was a chance that, you know, so decisions like that.
Craig Garber:
Yeah.
Richie Faulkner:
Luckily, I was under so much medication, but you could still sense the severity of that decision. They’re signatures that kind of… They’re not checks that you’re writing for someone that they might steal your money or whatever. They’re things that they have bigger meaning. So they’re signatures that mean that if this happens, this happens. So if this happens, you are not coming
Craig Garber:
Yeah.
Richie Faulkner:
out. And it doesn’t matter how much medication you’re on. your brain knows that and you remember that stuff. You know, not only for me, but for your loved ones around you there at the time, they’re going through that shit as well.
Craig Garber:
Yeah.
Richie Faulkner:
So that’s some, that’s some, that’s some shit, man. That’s, that’s some stuff. So for me anyway,
Craig Garber:
Yeah, that’s
Richie Faulkner:
so
Craig Garber:
heavy
Richie Faulkner:
yeah,
Craig Garber:
shit.
Richie Faulkner:
I’d say that.
Craig Garber:
Wow, thank you man, thank you, appreciate that. Last question. And I didn’t have this in there. Uh, what’s been the biggest change over the last 10 years for you in your life, as far as your personality changes, let’s say, and has that come from something intentional or just a natural part of aging?
Richie Faulkner:
I think it’s a great question again. I think obviously your life changes with something like Priest. Priest calls you, you get the gig in Priest, your life changes within a month you’re on tour with one of the biggest bands in the world. Your life changes and you do your best to keep up with it and I think everything you’ve gone through up until that point determines how you deal with it. You can’t really, you can learn stuff on the way but I think everything you’ve gone through, I think, is it Metallica’s album, the 72 Seasons thing? You learn everything you learn. up until your 18th birthday, then you’re kind of, you’re formed as a person. So, I think how you deal with that. is based upon how you’ve lived your life up until that point. You know, so when a life changing event like that comes with Priest, hopefully you’ve learned enough about yourself and the industry and life to be able to deal with that kind of change. And then subsequently, you can take in all the lessons around you from Rob, from Glenn, from Ian, from Scott, from the management, from the fans, from the experiences that you can share, you can learn from. and try not to take any of it for granted. So how have I changed? I think fundamentally I’m still the same person, I think. Fundamentally, but obviously you can’t help but be influenced by these things that happen around you. I think the main thing. Initially, you’re focused on your performance, the guitar, the notes, the songs. And then as you grow through that process, it’s more about the bigger picture. So what are we doing to create a bigger performance, a better album, a better experience, a better stage show for the fans that put the band there for the last 50 years? and welcomed me for the last 12. I think it becomes more about that. That’s, I’d say that. As I’m talking to you, that’s what it is. It becomes less insular and it needs to be insular. It needs to be, you don’t become like you were talking about. You don’t become the expert at your craft, hopefully, if you’re not that insular. You know, if you don’t have that passion that drives you to be that anal, that you’re sitting awake at four o’clock in the morning learning manic depression. or whatever it is song you’re learning, you’ve gotta be that focused. Everyone’s out at the bar, in your bedroom playing Eruption. You’ve gotta be that way. But then it gets to the point where, because of that focus, you get the gig in the first place. Now it becomes about, what are we doing? How do we make it bigger, better, louder, the experience, all that sort of stuff. So that definitely changes. And hopefully that… goes into the future with the new band and obviously Priest is still going. So that becomes part of the journey and part of the mindset moving forward. So I’d say that for sure.
Craig Garber:
Dude, I really appreciate you. You’ve been so open
Richie Faulkner:
Cool man,
Craig Garber:
and
Richie Faulkner:
I appreciate
Craig Garber:
so cool.
Richie Faulkner:
it.
Craig Garber:
It’s really nice to talk to you, man. And thank you for everything. Oh, do you miss selling
Richie Faulkner:
Errrr…
Craig Garber:
sausages?
Richie Faulkner:
You got a job?
Craig Garber:
HA!
Richie Faulkner:
What are the hours? Ha ha ha ha ha!
Craig Garber:
By the beat, by the beat. Hey man, let’s, uh, I would love everybody to check out the new record. It’s elegant weapons is the name of the band horns for a halo. It’s a wonderful record. And again, if you’re not familiar with Richie’s playing, which I’m pretty sure everybody is, this is a phenomenal guy, great guitar player. I mean, he’s just super talented, extremely melodic and extremely uh, humble as, as you’ve heard. Um, the band will be going out June and July. in Europe so for you guys listening in Europe please check, please go to the shows. All the show information is on the website or all the social media, Instagram and Facebook and I think Richie said Priest will be going out and some UK dates, March of next year but there’s a bunch of other stuff I’m sure will be determined and it will be coming out forthcoming. Dude, any final words of wisdom?
Richie Faulkner:
Have a good time all the time. No, I think it was,
Craig Garber:
Who said that?
Richie Faulkner:
it wasn’t Mick Shrimpton, was it? It was the keyboard player in Spinal Tap. I think Mick Shrimpton was the drummer.
Craig Garber:
Alright
Richie Faulkner:
I can’t remember the keyboard player. No, man, I just, you know, I just, again, just do, I can say this because… I’ve been there, like if you’ve got an album to write or a book to write or something to do, do it. Because you never know what’s around the corner, you know. You know, life’s short, so live it.
Craig Garber:
Life is short, man. Right on. Richie, thank you very much for everything. Hang on one second, I’m just gonna sign off and then we can wrap, but thank you so much for your time. I wish you nothing but great health. I hope everything goes well for you and I wish you a lot of success and luck with the new project
Richie Faulkner:
Thank you, Craig. Thanks
Craig Garber:
and
Richie Faulkner:
for your support,
Craig Garber:
everything
Richie Faulkner:
man.
Craig Garber:
else you got going on. And thank you for your time. Yeah, of course, hang on one second. Everybody, thank you so much for listening. If you enjoyed this, share it on your socials with your friends. We appreciate your support. Thanks very much to Richie Faulkner and best of luck to him and everything he’s doing. And most important, guys, remember that happiness is a choice, so choose wisely. Be nice, go play a guitar and have fun. Until next time, peace and love everybody. I am out.