Q&A with K.K. Downing, the heavy metal guitar god bringing his band KK's Priest our way

PITTSBURGH ― Metal god Kenneth (K.K.) Downing returns to the U.S. this March, ready to enthrall those who worship the sounds of exceptionally played, hard-rocking guitar.

The tour finds Downing's band, KK's Priest, performing songs from its 2021 and 2023 albums, drenched in dual guitars carving a soundscape for the towering vocals of Downing's former Judas Priest bandmate, Tim "Ripper" Owens, of Akron. The setlist for upcoming KK's Priest shows also will include fan favorites and deep cuts from Judas Priest, the iconic British metal band for which Downing served as co-lead guitar for 42 years, before an acrimonious split.

In a Zoom interview last week, a cheery and down-to-earth Downing discussed his feelings on Judas Priest, which is likewise touring this spring, though the focus remained on KK's Priest, which has dates including March 12 at Ram's Head Live, Baltimore; March 13, Buffalo Riverworks; March 17, Stage AE, Pittsburgh; March 20, Agora Theater, Cleveland; March 22, Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, N.J., March 23, Patchogue Theatre, N.Y. and March 24, Keswick Theatre, Glenside, Pa.

Our K.K. Q&A:

How's it feel to be headed back out on the road?

Downing: We're all pumped up and ready to go. We've packed the suitcases and all the essentials together. The gear's been shipped already but we still got lots of stuff to check in when we get to the airport.

Many concertgoers will be seeing KK's Priest for the first time. What can they expect?

All the bells and whistles. We'll have everything. Fans there have seen some of the footage of us playing festivals last year and different shows in Europe, including one in Malta in the middle of the Mediterranean. We had a blast doing that. We got to air out the cobwebs, as they say, after the long COVID issues we had, but we're all pumped up and ready to go. We start off the tour in Miami doing one of those Monsters of Rock cruises that's got The Darkness, Joe Satriani, Ace Frehley and a whole bunch of other bands. That should be a pretty good time. I was going to say party, but I don't want to give people the wrong impression. We're here to do some work.

In tours past, we never saw much of you at the lead mic, but since this band bears your name, do you feel more compelled to address the audience or maybe tell a few stories?

Not really. Obviously back in the day I was known to do backing vocals, but with Ripper and AJ (Mills, co-guitarist), and our bass player Tony (Newton) as well, the mics are pretty much full, but I'll try to squeeze in there.

How did KK's Priest assemble and gel?

The inspiration just came about, and it was fairly obvious, really. Ripper was an obvious choice; we're buddies, we've done shows together and recorded together, and he's such an incredible vocalist. He has to have the No. 1 spot now I would say, at this point and time, in respect of his incredibly powerful vocals. And A.J. I've known quite a long time, since we were coming up through the ranks. We came up through the same town and so we're pretty good buddies. And Tony's been around and is very experienced. He actually played in a band with Richie Faulkner (Downing's replacement in Judas Priest) and worked a lot with the Iron Maiden guys in recording, but Tony's spent most his time with his own band, Voodoo Six and they did plenty of records. So, it's a very experienced crew and our drummer, Sean Elg, is amazing and played with Ripper. It's pretty much that familiarity, which is good when you're starting out. It's good to know people who know people and can sanction them as not weirdos or have lots of weird things going on, because it's all about hard work at the end of the day, so you've got to have a good team behind you.

The two KK's Priest albums have outstanding guitar work. Do you rank your solos in "Sermons of The Sinner" among your all-time best?

There's a lot of notable guitar playing from myself and AJ on these two albums. In fact it's saturated with solos, which is a good thing, I would say, being an axe-meister myself. All the solos are shared out equally and that's the way it's got to be in our band. It was a bit lopsided at times back in the day, but definitely back on track with these albums.

Has your guitar playing evolved?

Yeah, I think there's so much to learn, isn't there? I'm one of those players who has to continue to learn because there's so much to learn to the point you can go to your grave and not learn it all. So absolutely. You can learn from virtually everyone you run into that plays the instrument.

You're still playing Flying V guitars. Why do you prefer that style?

It all started back in the early '70s when I saw these guitars and certain people playing these guitars, and they looked absolutely amazing and seemed to fit the kind of music we were playing but I could never afford one. Eventually, I managed to trade in my old beloved (Gibson) SG Standard for a Flying V, and I was elated. I loved it, and I couldn't wait to get my second one. I had to wait a few years. I always thought it was the guitar that suited the style of music I was playing and lo and behold, now it's become the staple guitar for metal music of all types. So, I guess I was on the money back in 1973.

And you've got a trademark pose when you play it, with your back arched, your eyes facing upward, holding the guitar above your head ... a little like this (interviewer holds up the album cover from Judas Priest's "Unleashed in The East.")

Downing: (laughing) It's iconic that shape, that image. Yeah, I love it. It's good to see as many people doing that as possible now and knowing I started the wheels in motion in ... what year was that '79? So everybody has to come out and see me do it again because I'm going to be there in your city. After we play the Monsters of Rock Cruise we work our way all the way up the East Coast to Philly. It's been a long time since I was there, but I remember it well. Sat on the dockside, the waterside, in a great restaurant and had some beers. It was beautiful, and I look forward to doing that again. We're working our way up New York and Buffalo. And then we get to go back in September and do six more weeks and hit as many places as we can.

Judas Priest found an early U.S. foothold in cities like Pittsburgh and Buffalo, is that because of the band's similar blue-collar roots from Birmingham, England?

It was exactly that. Also Detroit, and industrial places like that. I kind of feel a home away from home in those places and everything that surrounds it and all the blue-collar workers like where I grew up. Lots of metal fans in that kind of fraternity. But it doesn't matter where we go, where we play, there's metal fans everywhere so we're looking forward to visiting all the old stomping grounds. You're looking at a guy that did 16 tours of Japan alone, so you can imagine how many times I went around the United States but I'm looking forward to it. It's been too long.

"Metal Through and Through," off the first KK's Priest album, addresses what it's like to be a metal fan. What do you think makes metalheads unique?

It's just getting into those bands that evolved; that took music from blues and progressive blues in the late '60s and early '70s. We didn't even have rock until 1970 or thereabouts. That was the first time that I saw bands like Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple and a few of the other bands first became labeled 'rock bands' not progressive blues. And then, of course, followed hard rock and heavy rock into heavy metal so metal fans inevitably got on there at the time and traveled that journey with us or maybe discovered these bands later on, which is fine, too. I guess you can label the whole thing 'classic rock' or 'classic metal;' and it's anything from Dokken, Van Halen, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden and Scorpions, and it goes on. Accept and Saxon and UFO. All these bands that created and took us into the '90s where you started to get some new and different kind of metal, whether it's Megadeth, Pantera, Metallica and so many more bands that took it to a different place. And from there you had thrash metal, death metal, Christian metal, so much more. That great evolution that led us to where we are today has been a fantastic journey. And I'm glad to say a lot of metal fans do like classic metal and they do like new metal bands, which is a great thing to see. It's potentially in jeopardy of becoming extinct at some point. We're at an age where we're losing lots of people and dear friends like Eddie (Van Halen) and Jeff Beck, but we'll do this as long as we can. I will, anyway. And add to the collection and really hope fans will enjoy that.

Your most recent setlists included some of Judas Priest's best-known songs, and deeper cuts like "Hell Patrol" and "Metal Meltdown" and "Beyond the Realms of Death." How challenging is it to craft a setlist with so much material available?

That's just pretty much random, isn't it? I think whatever we play, we couldn't go wrong. It's just a matter of picking some songs we'd fancy playing and keep changing it around. Maybe this time we'll be playing 'Victim of Changes,' maybe next time 'Sinner.' We've got such a collection to choose from. Obviously the two albums we did with Ripper fans seem to be loving, too. So we have KK's Priest stuff, Ripper era songs and classic songs plus songs from the Judas Priest archives. Of course I was there in 1969.

You had any recent conversations with (classic/current Judas Priest) singer Rob Halford, or are any planned, and what are your thoughts or hopes there?

No, no. I saw the guys at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (induction in 2022) and that was it. I did manage to speak to Andy and Richie (Judas Priest guitarists) which is great, and those guys are really nice and very amiable. But sadly for the rest of it, it was just segregation. I was told I was a 'guest' of the band by the band's management, which is very sad also. But we must move on. It is what it is. We're out there with − I'm glad to say I'm not the only veteran - we've got the L.A. Guns guys who've been around and know what they're doing and put on a great set. And we've got the great − if ever there was a female Judas Priest or KK's Priest all rolled into one − it's our label mates the Burning Witches and we know they pack a punch and look great and sound great. It's going to be short but sweet, just 14 shows, so hitch a train, hop on a plane or try to drive down to catch a show.

Scott Tady is entertainment editor for the Beaver County Times and easy to reach at stady@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Ex-Judas Priest guitarist Downing talks about new band KK's Priest