DAMON JOHNSON Talks Collaborating With JUDAS PRIEST Guitarist RICHIE FAULKNER For THIN LIZZY Tribute - "One Of The Great Guitar Players Of Our Time; A Monster Talent"

Damon Johnson (Brother Cane, Alice Cooper, Black Star Riders, Lynyrd Skynyrd) recently guested on In The Trenches with Ryan Roxie, hosted by Alice Cooper guitarist Ryan Roxie. During the interview, found below, Johnson talked about his collaboration with Judas Priest's Richie Faulkner in 2020, when the two of them worked together on a livestream, paying tribute to Thin Lizzy.

Johnson: "We were just about to release the Battle Lessons album with my band Damon Johnson & The Get Ready. So, I had this idea that we would do a tribute to Thin Lizzy because Richie had just moved to Nashville. We've been great friends for many, many years. And Richie had said, 'Hey if you ever want to do something if you need me or you want to do some jam, let me know.' I was thinking of things and like, 'Wow, what if we did a Thin Lizzy tribute?' It was the 50th anniversary since then Lizzy started in high school, Phil Lynott and Brian Downey went to high school together. 

You know, your viewers know, Richie Faulkner is one of the great guitar players of our time. That guy is a monster talent, and he's a great, great friend, great human. So, when I reached out to him about that, he got fired up, my band got fired up. We spent some time shedding those songs and working them up and it was extra fun for me. I already knew how to play most of the songs, but to sing them and play them was just a blast. And Richie killed it. He was playing some of that John Sykes stuff that we don't play in Thin Lizzy anymore, partly because John Sykes is too much of a badass (laughs)."