JUDAS PRIEST's RICHIE FAULKNER On Becoming A Successful Musician: 'If I Can Do It, Anyone Can Do It'

In a new interview with the No Cover Charge Podcast, JUDAS PRIEST guitarist Richie Faulkner was asked what piece of advice he would give to aspiring guitarists out there. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, I always say, if I can do it — I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know theory. There's no right or wrong way to do things. It's just what sounds right. And if it sounds wrong, you will know, or people will tell you and you'll work it out. And again, if I can do it, anyone can do it, really. We're all doing it. We're doing it the best we can, learning stuff along the way as well. Just do what sounds right to you."

He continued: "I'd definitely say what Glenn [Tipton, JUDAS PRIEST guitarist] said to me as well. Glenn's been a bit of a mentor over the years. He said when he was younger, he listened to [Irish musician, singer and songwriter] Rory Gallagher and stuff like that, and he'd copy Rory Gallagher, but it wouldn't sound like Rory Gallagher. And he couldn't understand why it didn't sound like Rory Gallagher. It was the same notes. But he realized that it sounded like Glenn Tipton. And he said, 'That's what I need to embellish and work upon, and that's what happened, which is massive advice, really. So I'd pass that advice on to anyone."

Back in August 2023, Faulkner shared a similar piece of advice for young guitarists while speaking to Gibson Gear Guide. He said at the time: "Well, I've always been an advocate for, you don't need to know the latest mode or scale, or you don't need to know all the theory, anything like that. And I'm living proof of it. I don't know what I'm doing at all, apart from what I've found out by putting pedal to the metal and finding out via experience — gear, sound, what works, strings, picks. It's what works for you. I'm living proof. If I can do it, you can do it. Trust me. You don't need to know what mode this is before you go out. You don't have to be great to do, but you have to do to be great. You know what I mean? That's been my philosophy. So just get out there and do it. Experience. Make mistakes. Do what feels right to you, not what someone else tells you to do necessarily. Just get out there and play and what feels right. If I can do it, you can do it. That's what should be on my gravestone."

A month earlier, Richie was asked by the "Talk Louder" podcast to name the best piece of advice he ever got from PRIEST singer Rob Halford. He said at the time: "We were in the studio writing [2018's] 'Firepower' [album] and we had some differences of opinion. And I said my piece and Glenn said his piece. I mean, he's a legend of rock guitar. What the hell do I know? But I felt like I had an opinion. So we had a few words — it wasn't arguing or anything like that, but we had some strong opinions about where we thought the song should go. And afterwards, I said to Rob, 'Sorry that it got like that.' And he said, 'No, you have to do that. Otherwise you resent the other person and you end up not doing anything. If you think that that opinion is right, you've gotta put it out there.' And he's right. I think otherwise, you can imagine, if you do that a few times, you start resenting the people that you're creating with, and that just stifles the creativity. So I always remember that. And Glenn is one of those guys as well that he'll always say, 'What is your idea?', and if he thinks it's a better idea, we'll go with that. So he's very open to new ideas, which he didn't have to be. So it was an honor to be included in stuff like that."

JUDAS PRIEST and Alice Cooper kicked off their summer/fall 2025 co-headlining tour on Tuesday (September 16) in Biloxi, Mississippi. Support on the trek is coming from CORROSION OF CONFORMITY. The tour is making its way through Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, New Jersey, New York, Ontario, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Colorado, Utah, California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, winding down on October 16 at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in Houston.

PRIEST last toured the U.S. in the fall of 2024 as part of the second leg of its "Invincible Shield" tour and the release of the band's celebrated 19th studio album, which debuted at No. 18 on the Billboard 200 album chart. Box office reports submitted to Pollstar from last fall include a sellout YouTube Theater in Los Angeles, with 5,481 tickets sold.

Earlier this year, PRIEST completed a run of South American and European dates.

During the European leg of JUDAS PRIEST's "Shield Of Pain" tour, the band's setlist included seven tracks from PRIEST's 1990 album "Painkiller", which is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year.

In addition to performing the "Painkiller" title track, PRIEST played "All Guns Blazing", "Hell Patrol", "A Touch Of Evil", "Night Crawler", "One Shot At Glory" and "Between The Hammer And The Anvil" from the same LP.

PRIEST formed in 1969 and has sold over 50 million albums.

In 2011, Faulkner came in to replace original PRIEST guitarist K.K. Downing, who had left in 2010. The move seemed to have reinvigorated the band as evidenced by a show-stealing performance on the "American Idol" finale that also served as Faulkner's debut performance with the band.