1
" HALF AN hour later, Richey James sits alone in the dressing room, smoking a cigarette and staring straight ahead. He’s not saying anything. Is it because he treasures his guitars, that he never smashes them? “No, I dislike my guitar intensely,” he sighs. “I can’t even be bothered to smash the fucking thing. It doesn’t deserve death... "
― Jason Arnopp , From The Front Lines Of Rock: Interviews With Iron Maiden, Metallica, Korn, Guns N' Roses, Eminem, Nine Inch Nails & More
2
" Richey James, the band’s resident depressive and ropey rhythm guitarist, is less enthusiastic, despite appearing quite content. “I never find it exciting to go anywhere,” he shrugs. “You get much more true information from literature than from travelling. Like, if I want to know about France, I’ll buy the book. "
― Jason Arnopp , From The Front Lines Of Rock: Interviews With Iron Maiden, Metallica, Korn, Guns N' Roses, Eminem, Nine Inch Nails & More
3
" Richey currently smokes 50 cigarettes a day, having started two weeks ago. “Whenever I do something, I like to do it a lot,” he explains back at the hotel. “When I was 13, I did a Shakespeare project that was 859 pages long. Everyone else just did six. I just had fuck all else to do but sit in and write... "
― Jason Arnopp , From The Front Lines Of Rock: Interviews With Iron Maiden, Metallica, Korn, Guns N' Roses, Eminem, Nine Inch Nails & More
4
" He justifies the cigarette burns as, “my way of not screaming or shouting when things fuck up. It’s just discipline, and something to do. We never call each other cunts and wankers in this band. We just walk away.” “What I usually do,” pitches in Nicky, “is put all my clothes in the sink and wash ‘em. That’s the difference between him and me! "
― Jason Arnopp , From The Front Lines Of Rock: Interviews With Iron Maiden, Metallica, Korn, Guns N' Roses, Eminem, Nine Inch Nails & More
6
" I had about 40 different nicknames, and I hated it, but I still thought I was better than the rest, because I was caring, sensitive and intelligent, and they weren’t! "
― Jason Arnopp , From The Front Lines Of Rock: Interviews With Iron Maiden, Metallica, Korn, Guns N' Roses, Eminem, Nine Inch Nails & More
From The Front Lines Of Rock: Interviews With Iron Maiden, Metallica, Korn, Guns N' Roses, Eminem, Nine Inch Nails & More