RICHIE FAULKNER: How My Life Has Changed Since I Joined JUDAS PRIEST

BackstageAxxess.com recently conducted an interview with JUDAS PRIEST guitarist Richie Faulkner. You can now listen to the chat in the YouTube clip below.

Asked how his life has changed since he joined PRIEST in 2011 as the replacement for K.K. Downing, Faulkner said: "In lots of ways. I mean, it's remained the same in the sense that I'm still doing what I've always done, which is play guitar with that kind of outlook — harmony guitar and heavy guitar; I didn't have to change my writing style or anything, so things like that have remained the same, fortunately, 'cause that's who I am as a guitar player. Other things have changed immensely. I mean, I'm never in the same place for more than a month or so, 'cause we've always got promotion to do, or some recording to do, or some writing to do… whatever it is, there's always something going on every few months. So I've become a bit of a heavy metal vagabond, really. I think I'm young enough to do that still and I don't have to settle down here too much. And just being a part of PRIEST, because you're going everywhere and you're so learning so much about the industry outside of playing guitar, and I welcome the challenge."

He continued: "You know, there are challenges in life, and that's not really a big challenge. Moving around the world is part of PRIEST and learning all this information and how to conduct yourself in meetings and press and promo and all the things that you don't really learn about when you're focused on your instrument. Which is a good thing, because you should be focused on your instrument when you're practicing and learning. But then learning how to listen to others and express ideas and be accepting of other people, it's just a great education and a great experience, and every day there's something new to experience and learn. And some things you don't quite the hang of straight away, but you've got that drive to learn how to do it, which is the same drive that started you off playing an instrument in the first place. So there's all this knowledge to be gained, and there's a wealth of experience to [benefit from by working with] these guys. And I'm sure they're learning too, in some respects. When you get someone from the outside in, I'm sure they learn different things as well… different viewpoints and stuff like that. So, again, it's just an education for me, and continues to be, moving forward."

Prior to hooking up with PRIEST, Faulkner was the guitarist in the backing band for Lauren Harris, daughter of IRON MAIDEN bassist Steve Harris.

JUDAS PRIEST's 17th studio album, "Redeemer Of Souls", sold around 32,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 6 on The Billboard 200 chart.

From Richie Faulkner's official Instagram: