Ex-DIO Guitarist CRAIG GOLDY Says 'Stubborn' People Who Refuse To Take COVID-19 Vaccine 'Don't See The Bigger Picture'

Former DIO guitarist Craig Goldy recently spoke to Metal Express Radio about how musicians have been affected by the restrictive environments imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the corresponding technological implications. He said in part (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Everything is about self-preservation right now, but at the same time, there's all sorts of groups and people getting together trying to help one another. So it's a combination of everything. It's like no other time.

"I lost my stepfather and my mother during this time, so it was kind of weird," he continued. "The last six years, I was taking of them, really. So when they were gone, it was just a completely different world. Everything that I ever knew and depended on and relied upon suddenly disappeared. It's all coming back little by little. But at the same time… I just got off the phone with a guy who just… It's, like, some people are so stubborn about vaccines. When this thing first hit, we were crying out for a vaccine, and now there's certain people… I understand that if they don't get a vaccine, they may lose their job. And that's a difficult situation to face, but at the same time they don't see the bigger picture.

"How that affects music is that this is a social and economic change," Goldy added. "The last time something like this happened was [the 43 day-conflict in 1991 called] Desert Storm. It was a nationwide recession. There was all sorts of things that happened as a result of that. And it changed music — changed the musical appetite. So that's gonna happen soon. The musical appetite is gonna change soon. And why it changes and where it's gonna go is gonna be very interesting. But it seems to be all predicated on this sort of self-preservation. I know I keep saying that. Over here, maybe it's just because I live in San Diego — maybe that's just the way it is here in San Diego. But from what I see on the news, it doesn't seem to be any different [in other parts of the world]."

Back in 2018, Goldy made headlines when he said that he hoped then-U.S. president Donald Trump would "get a chance to really show people what he's all about" because he believed that the billionaire real estate mogul "loves his country" and "wants to get rid of the bullshit." Speaking to "The Metal Gods Meltdown", Goldy said: "Donald Trump, he is a jackass, but at least he's not owned by anybody. So that way when he walks into office, he's not automatically having to operate under somebody else's agenda other than his own. I think he gave us a bad sell job, but deep down inside, I think he really does wanna try to do something good. And same thing with poor [former president] Barack Obama — he walked into a good-old-boy situation, and they were not gonna let a black president solve all the problems that all the white idiots made, so they fought him tooth and nail."

Adding that he voted for Trump, Goldy went on to say: "I'm there — I'm hoping that someday he'll get a chance to really show people what he's all about. 'Cause I really think, deep down inside, he really loves his country and he wants to make a change and he wants to get rid of the bullshit. And he has got over two hundred years of bullshit to clean up in four years. So God bless him."

Several hours after Craig's interview remarks were first published by BLABBERMOUTH.NET, Goldy used his personal Facebook account to add the following comment below the original story: "In this hour-long interview, Trump has little to do with anything that I said. Yes, I voted for him, thinking maybe just this once he was the guy that could change the 'same-as-usual' politics, but he's only gone on to prove just how much of a jackass he really is! I voted for change, not for racism or any other foul action this man has shown himself to be capable of."

Goldy joined DIO during the "Sacred Heart" tour in 1986 after original guitarist Vivian Campbell was fired from the band.

For the past decade, Goldy has played sporadic shows with DIO DISCIPLES, which is made up of former members of DIO, along with a rotating lineup of singers, including former JUDAS PRIEST frontman Tim "Ripper" Owens.