Guitarist GUS G. Says Playing With OZZY OSBOURNE Is His 'Dream Job'

Joe Bosso of MusicRadar.com recently conducted an interview with OZZY OSBOURNE/FIREWIND guitarist Gus G. A few excerpts from the chat follow below.

MusicRadar.com: Through the years, Ozzy Osbourne has worked with so many guitar legends: Tony Iommi, Randy Rhoads, Zakk Wylde. Do you consider it to be every hard rock guitarist's dream to play with Ozzy?

Gus: "Yeah, I do. In my book, it's the biggest of all honors. Playing with Ozzy's a dream job, man. It's the ultimate. It's the best gig any rock or heavy metal guitar player could have. Who wouldn't want to play with Ozzy? Nobody I know." [laughs]

MusicRadar.com: When you hear those names, can you believe that you're now part of that lineage?

Gus: "Uh, nope! [laughs] No, I can't believe it. I'm living every guitar player's fantasy. To hear you say those names and then know that I'm the next in line…No, this is still taking some getting used to. I don't know if you ever get used to it.

MusicRadar.com: Was there any hesitation on your part to joining Ozzy's band? Either because A) you have your own band, or because B) Ozzy isn't 25 anymore — for all anybody knows, he could retire after this album and tour.

Gus: "I really don't know. I never sat down and analyzed it. All I know is, I got the call that they felt I was the right person, and it felt right on my part to go with it. For me, there wasn't a lot of thinking involved. If Ozzy Osbourne calls you and says he wants you to play in his band, what are you gonna say? Come on, you're going to say yes! [laughs] Beyond all that, I don't know what Ozzy's thinking as far as his career and how long he wants to keeping going. We don't have those kinds of conversations. We're more thinking about what's happening right now."

MusicRadar.com: Ostensibly, Ozzy parted ways with Zakk because he thought Zakk was spending too much time on BLACK LABEL SOCIETY and that his own records were even starting to sound like BLS a bit.

Gus: "Is that that he said?"

MusicRadar.com: That's what he's said in the press, yes. Did he express similar concerns to you, like, "Hey, I don't want my record to sound too much like FIREWIND?"

Gus: "No, no. I've never heard anything like that, at least while we were cutting the record. I should point out that when I went into the studio with Ozzy, all the tunes were written. I didn't have a chance to put any of my own songs on the album. Everything was done except for the guitar playing. So I went in, gave my input and did the best I could, given the situation. At the end of the day, though, Ozzy should sound like Ozzy. He's earned that right. It's not up to me or anybody else to try to change what it is he wants to do. I just wanted to give him what he wanted, and I think I did. The record's strong, man."

MusicRadar.com: So Ozzy never talked to you about why Zakk wasn't in the band anymore?

Gus: "No, and it's not really any of my business. Ozzy's talked about it in the press. He said that he needed a change in the band and that Zakk had his own thing going. I guess it is what it is. But he never sat down with me and went through the whole thing, like, 'This is why Zakk's out,' and all that. Plus, it's not really in my nature to ask those kinds of things. I figure, if Ozzy feels it's important to talk to me about what went down, he'll tell me."

MusicRadar.com: After you joined up with Ozzy, were you nervous about facing any anti-Gus/pro-Zakk backlash from the fans?

Gus: "Well, yeah, I knew that was a possibility going in, and I kind of prepared myself for that. Zakk is an established name; he's been with Ozzy for over 20 years, and he has fans all over the world. Hey, I'm one of them. The first couple of gigs that we did, I was hoping that there would be people with open minds who would be like, 'Let's see what this guy is all about and give him a chance.' At the same time, I knew there might be some haters who would be like, 'Who the fuck is this guy? What the hell is he doing on stage instead of Zakk?' You have to expect both sorts of reactions. But you do what you have to do, you know? I know what I'm doing on stage; Ozzy knows what I'm doing on stage; and the rest of it, you just can't concern yourself with. You'd go crazy! I can't worry about the haters. They'll be out there no matter how great I play."

MusicRadar.com: Zakk has been very complimentary towards you in the press. Have you met him yet?

Gus: "No, I haven't met him yet, but I'm looking forward to it. Obviously, we'll meet sometime this summer since he's going to be on Ozzfest with BLACK LABEL SOCIETY. I'm sure we'll get along just fine. One thing I should say on the subject of Zakk: I'm really honored that he's said so many nice things about me. I look up to him and consider him to be one of my guitar heroes. He's a really cool guy and a gentleman. To have his blessings, that means a lot to me."

Read the entire interview from MusicRadar.com.

"Let Me Hear You Scream" audio stream: