Pheaturing K.K. Downing

Hey there, kids, welcome to the Phile for a Monday. How are you? On a Wednesday was the premiere episode of Public Impeachment Hearings, and like most congressional hearings, it was hours of interchangeable white men phrasing their comments as questions. Ambassador William Taylor, appointed by Trump himself to represent America in Ukraine, testified that one of his aides overheard a conversation between Trump and the EU Ambassador that Trump "cared more about investigations of former vice president Joe Biden than other issues in Ukraine." The Washington Post notes that new testimony further corroborates the whistleblower complaint that Trump was attempting to extort Ukraine for 2020 help in exchange for military aid. Career diplomats accusing the president of a crime is incredible stuff, but to the president's son, it was insufficiently entertaining. To make a move Trump kids' Eric Trump decided to live-tweet the hearing, and his tweets were torn apart by Twitter. The responses were not a #Snoozefest. Eric's attempt at a burn gave way to better ones. "The Democrats are like the desperate ex girlfriend/boyfriend that you want absolutely nothing to do with!" he tweeted. I don't get what he's going for... are the Dems like exes because they're seemingly desperate? Almost as desperate as people trying to make jokes to try and convey that they are not at all afraid of their dad's crimes being investigated? That was only the first hearing. There will be many more desperate and nonsensical tweets to come!
British royal and son of the queen Prince Andrew gave an interview about his friendship with now deceased billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein this weekend. It did not go well. Prince Andrew is the third son of Queen Elizabeth II and, by all accounts, her "favorite" child. When Jeffrey Epstein was alive, the prince was frequently photographed with him, even though Epstein had been steadily accused of various sex offenses dating back to 2005. In 2010, Epstein served 13 months in jail on charges related to human trafficking... and the prince was photographed with him even after his jail sentence, which was widely publicized. What's more, Virginia Roberts claims she was forced to have sex with Prince Andrew three times when she was just 17. He has denied ever having slept with Roberts. Because of all this, there's been a steady drumbeat of questions surrounding Prince Andrew's friendship with Epstein, especially since Epstein faced more charges this year and ended up dying in prison. Prince Andrew has still never been questioned under oath about his friendship with Epstein or the allegations made against him by Roberts, as far as the public knows. Prince Andrew decided to sit for an interview about all this with the BBC on Saturday night, Nov. 16th. The interview was a dismal failure by most accounts, with the prince failing to express sympathy for any of Epstein's victims, while making excuses for his own continued contact with Epstein after the billionaire was convicted of sex crimes. The worst, most viral moment had to have been this one, when Andrew minimized Epstein's actions as "unbecoming." But the full interview contains plenty of other cringeworthy moments, too. The prince suggested that he continued to stay with Epstein after his 2010 sex crime conviction because doing so was "convenient." Then there's the Pizza Express debacle. The Prince claimed that he couldn't have raped the woman who accused him because he was at a Pizza Express restaurant in Woking, England.
People, Internet, meet Mr. Biggles, also known by his more formal name, Lord Bigglesworth.

This is a meme-worthy cat face. Mr. Biggles is a cat who is up for adoption at Cat People of Melbourne, an animal rescue located in Melbourne, Australia. The folks that save cats there apparently have a pretty good sense of humor. They penned an extremely honest and darkly funny adoption bio to help their friend Mr. Biggles, who they describe as an "utter bastard of a cat," get adopted. According to The Huffington Post, the bio was written by the group's founder and coordinator, Gina Brett. In it, she describes Mr. Biggles as "an utter utter bastard" who "does not like to be thwarted." "Mr. Biggles is a despot and a dictator, he will let you know when he's not happy, which is often because things are often just not up to his high standards," Brett wrote in the ad. "Mr Biggles likes his cuddles on his terms, and will sit in your lap when he decides it's time. If the stroking is not up to his standards, he will nip you," she continued. Honestly, how is he not Internet-famous yet? Though the bio stresses that Mr. Biggles is "not a cat for the inexperienced or faint-hearted," it does admit that he has a "secret soft side." He will play nicely with kittens and even enjoys being cuddled occasionally. After revealing Mr. Biggles' gentle heart, Brett wrote in the adoption ad, "And now I'm in trouble for telling his softie secrets so I have been ordered to say that Lord Bigglesworth believes he was put on this earth to be decorative and be worshipped by his human slaves!" It should also be noted that the ad opens by sharing Mr. Biggles' website, utterbastardcat.com (yes, it's real) and an email address to send "media requests or applications for slavery to Lord Bigglesworth." There are too many things I love about this story.
Who would you cast to play Nicolas Cage in a movie about his (fictional) life? Why not Nicolas Cage? That's exactly what's happening in the new film Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. The Hollywood Reporter confirms that Cage is currently in final talks to play himself in the meta drama penned by Ghosted's Tom Gormican and Kevin Etten of Euphoria. If a deal is made, Cage will portray a fictional version of himself who gets into an interesting (and still fictional) dilemma. So what is the film about? The film will follow Cage as he tries to get a role in a new Quentin Tarantino movie while trying to reconnect with his teenage daughter and get himself out of debt. In an effort to get some money, he works with a billionaire that turns out to be drug kingpin and Cage gets forced by the CIA to bring the man in. No word yet on whether Tarantino will also be played by Tarantino himself. Right now, Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent sounds like the type of film that Cage would want to work on and he's even given it his seal of approval when it was a mere script. Gormican reportedly sent Cage a copy of the script in hopes he would allow the film to be made and Cage actually agreed to produce it. Now I'm just looking forward to seeing Cage-ception really soon. Haha.
Among those fined by the NFL Friday for their roles in the Thursday Night Football brawl between the Steelers and Browns was that of Maurkice Pouncey, who repeatedly punched and kicked Clevelands’ Miles Garrett after Garrett swung a helmet at Mason Rudolph. Pouncey stood by his actions post game, inferring he’d do it all over again to someone trying to harm his quarterback. As a showing of solidarity, Steelers fans have come together and started a GoFundMe page in order to pay the $50,000 fine Pouncey received from the NFL. Though Steelers faithful can’t reverse his three-game suspension, Pittsburgh fans are putting their money together to help cover the fine Maurkice Pouncey received for his role in Thursday night’s brawl against the Cleveland Browns. "He hit Rudolph with his helmet after he ripped it off his head. Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey jumped into the action to defend his QB and surely will be fined an unreasonable amount. So SteelerNation let’s raise as much as we can to help Pouncey for doing the absolute right thing.” As ofright now, the GoFundMe has raised over $5,000. The GoFundMe organizer has made it known that if Pouncey decides not to accept the money, it will be donated to a charity of his choosing. The GoFundMe page can be seen here: gofundme.com/f/pay-maurkice-pouncey039s-fine-for-defending-mason. Finish the rest of this entry of the Phile first though. I can't wait to talk to Jeff about this on Thursday during the Phootball Talk pheatuyre here on the Phile.
Instead of wasting time doing this blog thing I should be listening to...

Ummmm... never mind. A few months ago at the Global Climate Strike some people sure had some signs that give us hope for the future...

Haha. Some were pretty snarky as well.

If you're thinking on cheating on your love don you might wanna think twice after seeing this...

So, this that know me know my "uniform" of choice is t-shirt, shorts (even though today I'm wearing jeans because its cold out) and Converse to flip flops. Well, I'm thinking of a new look. How about this?

Uhhhhhh... never mind. I'll stick to what I'm wearing. I mentioned Prince Andrew saying he was at a place called Pizza Express, right? Well, here's proof the prince was there...

See? Hahaha. That's so stupid. That's as stupid as...

I love the book A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L'Engle, but there's a book she wrote that a lot of people might not know about...

Hmmmm... All right, so one of the best things about the Internet is you can see porn easily and for free. But the problem is if you're at work or school you can get in trouble, and also I'd like to keep you still here on the Phile. So, I came up with a solution, kids. Check this out...

You're welcome. Now from the home office in Port Jefferson, New York, here is...

Top Phive Signs Found In Kitchens
5. So this isn't Home Sweet Home... Adjust!
4. Ring bell for maid service. If no answer, do it yourself!
3. I clean house every other day. Today is the other day.
2. If you write in the dust, please don't date it!
And the number one sign found in a kitchen is...
1. I would cook dinner but I can't find the can opener!

This is lame... if you spot the Mindphuck let me know. Okay, so, there's this young girl who think it's still the 90s and wanted to stop on the Phile today. So, here once again is...

Me: Hey, Emily, what's up?

Emily: 'Sup, Jason.

Me: So, what do you have to say today.

Emily: I'm trying to put together my "I just got home from school" starter pack. I wanna see if I missed anything...

Me: Okay, so, what do you have so far?

Emily: A Nintendo 64, pogs, a bike, a deck of Pokémon cards, my Gameboy, lunchables and Chef Boyardee spaghetti and meat balls.

Me: That seems pretty good, Emily. I think you have everything right there.

Emily: Cool! Okay, gotta bounce back to school. See ya later!

Me: Emily Enistink, the girl who thinks it's the 90s. Again that was sooo lame.

Reservation
Food appointment

Donald Trump, the most Extremely Online president since the invention of the Internet, couldn't help but live-tweet Friday's impeachment hearing, and it lead to another possible article of impeachment. Marie Yovanovitch is a career diplomat who served as Ambassador to Ukraine until Trump fired her. In the now-infamous phone call between Trump and Ukrainian president Vlodymyr Zelensky, Trump called her "bad news" and said that "she's going through some things," which aren't his sharpest insults. At the very moment she was accusing Trump of and his goons of mounting a "smear campaign" against her, the president proved her right with some new evidence on Twitter. "Everywhere Marie Yovanovitch went turned bad," the president tweeted, presidentially.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Schiff, a subject of a lame Trump nickname himself, read the tweet out loud at the hearing, giving Yovanovitch an opportunity to respond in real time. Yovanovitch called the tweet "very intimidating." "I can’t speak to what the president is trying to do, but the effect is to be intimidating," she explained. Intimidating a witness sure sounds a lot like witness intimidation, and witness intimidation is a crime. "Some of us here take witness intimidation very, very seriously," Schiff said. This isn't just intimidating her... it's also intimidating other potential witnesses. Even a FOX NEWS host is saying that it was a bad move. The propaganda network's Chief Political Anchor, Bret Baier, called the moment "a turning point in this hearing so far." Whoever runs their website, though, is towing the party line, as they decided to echo Trump's tweet with a photo of Yovanovitch and the headline "MIDAS IN REVERSE?" The media and Eric Trump criticized the first impeachment for being "boring" and lacking pizzazz. How do you like it now? ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?

Can you guess who the guests will be? It'll be  good one.

Phact 1. The first African-American female serial killer was Clementine Barnabet. From 1909-1912 she invaded homes in Texas and Louisiana and killed entire families with an axe. The bodies were then arranged as part of a “Voodoo” ritual connected to her mysterious evangelical church.

Phact 2. There are 30 foot wide abandoned tunnels behind Niagara Falls.

Phact 3. Some people may hate the taste of cabbage, broccoli, and other plants in the Brassica genus due to the vegetables containing chemical similarities to phenylthiocarbamide (PTC), a chemical that is either tasteless or very bitter depending on a person’s genetic makeup.

Phact 4. A Japanese man survived the tsunami, then donned scuba gear and managed to save his family.

Phact 5. There was a boxing match between bi-sexual boxer, Emile Griffith, and Benny Paret. At the weigh-in, Paret antagonized Griffith by making homophobic remarks and grabbing Griffith’s buttocks. Griffith won the fight by KO; Paret never regained consciousness and died in the hospital 10 days after the fight.

Todays guest is is a British musician, co-founder of the heavy metal band Judas Priest. His book Heavy Duty: Days and Nights in Judas Priest is the 108th book to be pheatured in the Phile's Book Club. Please welcome to the Phile... K.K. Downing.

Me: Hey, K.K,, welcome to the Phile. How are you doing?

K.K.: Thanks, Jason, thank you very much, and hi to everyone out there on the Internet.

Me: Your book is the 108th book in the Phile's Book Club. What made you decide to write the book now after all this time?

K.K.: Well, it was just a question of time. I was probably getting a request two or three times a year from certain book rights. I guess early 2017 I thought now is the time to do something like that. I didn't really think it out too much thaw it worked or and everything, I thought if I said yes I'll find out soon enough.

Me: Where are you from originally? 

K.K.: I was born at West Bromwich, Staffordshire in England.

Me: So, did you write notes or keep a diary over the years or did you just remember what happened? 

K.K.: No, I never kept any notes. I'd say a blur is a good word for it, the whole thing. Each tour morphed into one and each album morphed into one. It still is today really quite cloudy but going through the process of doing the book helped me to segregate certain bits of my life a little bit more. It wasn't the easiest thing I ever tried to do. When I tried to really capture a memory as to all the events and such and circumstance, it's so easy to miss something out. Obviously if someone was to comprehensively document their life the book would probably be unreadable, it'll probably be long. 

Me: You had a childhood that was a little bit unique. Can you talk how painful some of those memories were?

K.K.: Everything was pretty much null and void for me as a kid growing up. It was always all seem to be a continual survival mode. I think that's one part of my life that I wanted to put down to document really and share that with other people because I'm not the only kid around that went through that I'm sure. There are so many people that could relate to that. I think the interest to document that, how it was and how it went from that. It could of turned pretty ugly for me being ended up wherever, even incarcerated or whatever. Anything could've happened but I found music and music pretty much became religion for me and it was my saving grace really because what I saw in that and my life pursuing music as a fan gave me hope and direction and enthusiasm. It took me to places where I wouldn't ordinarily have gone really. Obviously it prompted me to mix with certain types of people in sort of valuing in music which is very artistic opposed to hanging around with kids that were maybe interested in other things. Not so nice things, can I call music nice? Music is something because I think if I appreciate it I'm a certain type of person. Lots of youngsters don't have too much interest in the arts, they go in a different direction which could of happened to me really if I hadn't discovered something as wonderful and as magical as music I was really, really into.

Me: What bands were you into then back then?

K.K.: My first experience I started off with the blues... John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, then I found out about Cream with Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker and that and it's all good.

Me: You were inspired by Jimi Hendrix and saw him live when you were a kid. Jealous! What was that like?

K.K.: It was just one of those magical things really. It's all good, I start to go to a few gigs. I didn't have money to go to gigs. I used to sneak in, I think I talk about that in the book. To see Hendrix in the theatre in Coventry all those years ago, I think it was 1967 we sneaked into the gigs through the fire escapes. He hit the stage and their were magical ingredients part from his incredible performance and his incredible ability with the instrument, the music I swear to God was the first real experience of the heavy metal in my mind starting with "Foxy Lady" and going into "Purple Haze." These kind of more riff orientated type of songs had a real kind of different sound. The name was so fitting, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, because I certainly was experiencing something that wasn't available elsewhere where before I was listening to ANY bands that weren't pretty looking or musically had some ingredients, maybe early Kinks, early Stones, I talk about me trying to find something that is very difficult to find. I had kind of samples of it and Hendrix had more abundance of it than any one else. I just had to be there to see and believe it really. Hendrix when he really enacted to turn it on in real life it really did have an incredible effect on the audience. People would rush on stage, people would jump off balconies, I was there and I saw it all and I was one of those people.

Me: So bloody cool! So, Judas Priest I think are one of the first real heavy metal bands. Did you all feel that way, was it talked about?

K.K.: Ummm... not really. I guess being very fortunate born in 1951, being part of the musical evolution as we know it now, I feel so fortunate being born when I was to experience everything. The evolution started really with the blues and then became progressive blues and then it came rock and then then it became hard rock, heavy rock. Then someone coined the phrase "heavy metal" and someone did a review of Judas Priest in an English newspaper that referred us being heavy metal and I thought you know that tag there I was proud of that. Sounds like I want to be a part of that. So it was always consciously or sub consciously in my mind that we can somehow get rid of the denims, get rid of the satins and whatever materials we had and eventually it came about to introduce the leather look and the studs combined with the tag "heavy metal." It all came around to us in a special time and a special moment. By the time the album "British Steel" was there, literally heavy metal, British steel had the look... the motorbike, the razor blade, and I guess the rest is pretty much history. 

Me: Why do you think you guys were labeled that, did you think when you were making music it was a little different?

K.K.: I think the big thing with us it was synonymous with who we were and where we've grown up and everything in the industrial area. There's a lot to be said for a lot of things to come out of the metal sounds. It's inspirational really to be a pert of that and to warm to that and it set us aside from the majority of bands which was a good thing and helped with the uniqueness Judas Priest.

Me: Okay, so, I have to be honest, I was never into Judas Priest and don't know much about their music. I think the only song I really know is "Breaking the Law." Haha. What can you tell us about the band for us who aren't fans or are aware of the catalogue? How is the band different than other bands?

K.K.: For fans Judas Priest were different to a lot of bands where a lot of bands stuck to their guns as to what they do. With Priest, we were always there, pushing the boundaries of what we did musically to gain a wide acceptance into the world of metal. I think was instrumental to assist other bands and the music in general where it's Saxxon, Maiden, Motörhead, accept the other bands to say okay, it's perfectly fine to be metal because there's a massive audience out there that really do like and want what we do.

Me: In the book you talk about all the albums but you spend more time talking about the "Turbo 30" album. Why is that? Didn't you like that album?

K.K.: The "Turbo 30" album started off as a double album. The time was there we were, the mid 80s, everybody remembers what it was like, it was big hair days, everything what we did, rock and metal, kind of married together a lot closer in that time. It was perfectly fine to see Judas Priest on stage with any of the bands really. It was good, there was Judas Priest and Ratt, or Judas Priest with Alice Cooper, or Judas Priest with Poison. It kind of worked in the mid-80s, all together it was a good show. That's the way that it was. When we started to piece the album together it was just seemed like the right time to do it like that. What happened was it was very successful. I think the die-hard fans, I think we lost some but we gained some which is not what we really wanted to do because Priest was a band that always wanted to gain. Everything we did was a learning curve, we realised a lot more of the audiences were more female for example, if you watch the videos of that particular tour and stuff. What I do like about that particular time and tour is if you listen to "Priest Live" for example, is a double live album, so that album will have a lot of other Priest stuff on there we well. Though all the songs work really, really well together, it's great. Even now the guys are probably out there playing "Turbo Lover" now and it goes great in the set. There's a lot of good stuff on that record, the points taken, we put the record together, but after that I think it's safe to say we did another u-turn and did "Ram It Down" and "Painkiller" back to back.

Me: Was it a good idea to release "Painkiller" right after "Ram It Down"?

K.K.: Jason, in my opinion I think it was just a little bit too early. Maybe a year too early "Painkiller." That album actually became bigger in the latter years, in year two or three. The first year it was kind of maybe a bit of an odd sound, can I say that? We did a world tour and it was massive and we had Annihilator and Pantera on that bill. Megadeath, Testament, all of those hard 80s bands, that album did get more and more acclaimed in the years after really. Is it better to be too early than too late?

Me: Sure. So, do you think timing is critical?

K.K.: Yeah, I do think timing is critical. Maybe the "Turbo 30" album was a bit too late.

Me: In the book you said you wished the band was a bigger band. As far as I know Judas Priest was kind of a big band. Why do you feel you guys weren't?

K.K.: Yeah, it was just an observation of the years. I always felt that to most people Priest was this gigantic machine, a powerhouse and really successful. But we didn't achieve in a way a lot of what other bands achieved. A lot of bands essentially did pass us in success and album sales ratio. Def Leppard would be a prime example, going from supporting Judas Priest to selling an album that in the states did five or six million. Then the next album did nine or ten million. I think it was in the United States "Screaming for Vengeance," it's done in between two or three million maybe. There are other bands sort of doing similar things. Even Quiet Riot had an album that was five or six million, double or more than what we achieved. Whose to say really, I think timing is very, very critical really, Def Leppard did these mega selling albums in '82 and '83 and we come out with the "Turbo" album in '86. It's just timing really on how people have a feeling in a certain point of age. But, yeah, we could of done a lot worse so no complaints at all. I'm very, very proud I say of my achievement and the bands achievements. I have the greatest resent to not just my bandmates but to all the fans and music lovers worldwide.

Me: You've been out of the band for a bit, but if they asked you say take part in a 50th anniversary tour or show would you take the phone call or the Rick and Roll Hall of Fame if you guys get in? 

K.K.: As I say my wish and desire is I don't know what happened, I tried to leave discreetly and quietly and that was it. When things start to appear in the press and that I don't know why, I don't know but maybe it's a misinterpretation, I think things happen. There's a kind of mutual respect that seems to be drifting away. It kind of gets to be like that but my desire and wish is to and my intention is to hopefully not burn any bridges at all. I'm at an age now where it's not a good thing to permanently burn bridges through. But like I say life circumstances I would like really to be in a situation and I'm sure it will happen, we'll meet and shake hands and hug and embrace as it's been such a long time. I hope we'll keep the relation in tact as I said before. I know everyone is unanimous with me, sympathises with Glenn's condition. It's something that I think surprised everyone. I think everyone wishes him, including all the encouragement and the best. Hopefully some point the guys are going to be touring with Ozzy in the U.K. next year, which is not a show to be missed. I am happy to say I think it'll be happy when that day comes.

Me: So, do you think Judas Priest should be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, sir? Or don't you care?

K.K.: Well, we were kind of hoping it'll happen but it didn't sadly but never mind.

Me: There's always this year. K.K., thanks so much foe being on the Phile. Please come back again soon. I hope this was fun.

K.K.: Brilliant, thanks very much for your time, Jason, and big thanks to all the fans and I hope everyone is well and I hope to be here on the Peverett Phile again sometime in the future.

That about does it for this entry of the Phile. Thanks to K.K. Downing for a great interview. The Phile will be back on Thursday with Tom Kenny, the voice of SpongeBob SquarePants. Spread the word, not the turd. Don't let snakes and alligators bite you. Bye, love you, bye.

I don't want you, cook my bread, I don't want you, make my bed, I don't want your money too, I just want to make love to you. - Willie Dixon