OZZY OSBOURNE Says He's Working On Two New Albums

Jim DeRogatis of the Chicago Sun-Times recently conducted an interview with Ozzy Osbourne. A few excerpts from the chat follow:

Chicago Sun-Times: Tell me about playing on the second stage, Ozzy.

Ozzy: "Well, I'm trying to have fun, because the SABBATH thing came to an end. Initially, it was great, because I hadn't played with them, and a lot of people hadn't seen them. But I have to be honest: I wanted to do something different this year, from my own head. So my wife, she yells jump, and I do! But that's what I love doing.

"So Sharon suggested the second stage to me, but Blasko from my band [Rob 'Blasko' Nicholson], who was the bass player for ROB ZOMBIE, said to me, 'Get ready for the f---ing experience of your life, because it's like playing in a f---ing soup bowl!' With the main stage, I can't see anything except for the f---ing roof! I always wanted to get in the middle of the s--- I like being able to touch the kids, you know -- though I won't be doing any f---ing stage dives, so they should get that out of their heads!
"But what else I'm doing right now is writing a new album — two albums, actually. I have my own studio, a ProTools system in my guest house. We've got 24 backing tracks, and I have to sing the vocals, but it's been so long since I've done an album. [Guitarist] Zakk [Wylde] is on the album, and he's going to be on the tour."

Chicago Sun-Times: You're making two separate albums?

Ozzy: "Yeah, it's two different albums. I'm not using a producer I've got a good engineer, and I'm just telling him what I want. No arguing! Zakk is f---ing unbelievable, with riff after riff after riff. I like to do an album with a rocker, a ballad, an epic and some general Ozzy-type vibe songs."

Chicago Sun-Times: Ozzfest has been going for quite some time now.

Ozzy: "I think it's the 12th year. [Note: It's actually the 11th.] Last year was a bad year for me, because I had done New York first, and I got this really bad chest infection. My lungs were full of crap, and it plagued me through the tour my voice was going. But the thing about Ozzfest is that once you start the wheels rolling, you can't stop."

Chicago Sun-Times: Did you ever think it would become as popular as it is?

Ozzy: "Absolutely not! I'd say to Sharon, 'Well, how long are you going to give it?' And she'd say, 'Forever!' She'd sound like a f---ing tarot card reader, but I'd go out and think, 'Oh, f--- me, it's going to go down the s---hole!' Then it got bigger and bigger, and now it's got its own steam. My wife is a force of nature — she's my manager, and she knows what she's doing, but I haven't got a clue."

Read the entire interview at www.suntimes.com.