Wow. KK Downing, guitarist for Judas Priest, is retiring from the band. Official press release.

Man… that feels strange. But yes, finish out the tour that’s already booked… lots of obligations, money, contracts, etc.. But it does make you wonder, is it time for the band to as a whole to retire?

I’ve been wondering about this with a lot of bands. ZZ Top… 40+ years, still going strong, but when is it time? Aerosmith had a lot of turbulence over the past few years with the notion of calling it quits being thrown around. I know Slayer is a band that feels with their sort of music that being up there at 60 years old and still playing doesn’t seem right.

I’d rather see someone go and leave us wanting more, than to be the last guy that never leaves the party… you know, like KISS. 😉  Don’t get me wrong, I love KISS, but 15 years of farewell tours seems kinda silly. Oddly tho, their latest album ‘Sonic Boom’ was pretty good, so should they keep going?

Then you think about personnel changes and when the only “original” member of some band is the guy they used as a touring keyboardist during the mid-70’s… is it really that band any more? When is a replacement too much? Which of course goes back to another key question: what makes a band that band? Replacing Bon Scott wasn’t horrible for AC/DC, nor David Lee Roth for Van Halen. But the guys from Journey keep wanting a guy that sounds like Steve Perry.

Bottom line is… we’re no longer the MTV crowd, we’re the VH-1 crowd, but that’s slowly being pushed out and off too. When’s the time to put the guitar back on the rack? When is the time to say we should leave with a solid legacy and dignity, even if it means leaving the gravy train behind?