In a new interview with Boston’s WAAF radio station, JUDAS PRIEST guitarist Richie Faulkner was asked how he feels about K.K Downing‘s negative comments about his former bandmates.
Faulkner replied: “It’s a disappointment more than anything, to be honest with you. I’m a great fan of Ken‘s; I’m a great fan of what he’s done. I’d love to hear him play some guitar and put out some music, to be honest with you. It just seems that, unfortunately, a lot of what he’s involved in at the moment is bits of information in interviews.
“I’d love to hear him play guitar again, to be honest. It’s disappointing more than anything. We try not to get involved in it. We’re out on the tour, putting out new music and playing new music for the fans from a legacy that he helped create. So any sort of backstabbing or any sort of negativity that gets thrown at the band is just disappointing and unnecessary.”
He continued: “Our focus is what we’re doing today — sending the message to the fans; the new fans, the old fans, new songs, old songs, creating a path for the future, not only for us but for metal and the next generation,” he said. “That’s what our focus is, and it should be. There’s an outlet, obviously, for everyone, both good and bad, and it’s a great thing, depending on where you stand on the subject matter.
“It’s great to have a voice like that, but sometimes people lose their focus and pay more attention to that. But we don’t really say a lot about it. As you know, I responded recently, ’cause it was a personal thing, but we don’t tend to do that. We just get our heads down and do this.”
In a recent interview with Germany’s Bleeding4metal.de, Downing said that it “seems wrong” that Faulkner and drummer Scott Travis “are not officially members of JUDAS PRIEST as they are on a wage.”
The next day, Faulkner released a statement disputing Downing‘s comments, insisting that he hasn’t been a salaried employee for the past seven years and slamming his predecessor’s remarks as “an attempt to devalue my and Scott‘s position in the band.”
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