RUDY SARZO's Advice To Up-And-Coming Musicians: 'Think For Yourself'

In a new interview with Metal-Net, legendary hard rock bassist Rudy Sarzo was asked what advice he has for up-and-coming musicians who are looking to make it in the music industry. He responded (see video below): "That is so hard, because I learned that I learned from experience and not from advice. Sometimes advice can be a little bit of mind control. And we all have different references. I can tell you something based on my reference that might be so alien to somebody else because they did not experience my references. That's why I really stay out of politics, because I have certain references that very few people have. And I make decisions and I look at the world because of my own personal experience that has nothing to do with other people. So it's very hard for me to say, 'Well, you've gotta do this because…' Because you're not gonna get it. Even if I tell you what you've gotta do, you have no idea what I'm talking about, and what I experienced and my emotions and how it's shaped me into who I am today.

"We all have different journeys in life, and they should all be respected," he continued. "And I respect other people's journeys. And I will be the last person to say, 'This is the way you've gotta do [it].' No. I will say this is what I've done and what has happened to me based on these other experiences, and that's my reference in life. But I don't expect anybody else to be able to absorb that, internalize it and become me. No. Everybody's different. Be you. Think for yourself."

Sarzo, who was born in Havana, Cuba and He emigrated to the United States in 1961 at the age of 11, added: "From my childhood, I learned very early, once my thoughts were picked… When [Fidel] Castro came in, they used to keep us kids after school — and I was nine, so we're talking about fourth grade — and asked me, 'What do your parents think about Fidel? What do you think about the revolution?' And you grow up really quickly when your country's changing overnight. That are so many things I can tell you about that are my own personal preferences. But I'm just trying to encapsulate that experience. So I told my parents, 'What's going on? Why are they asking me these questions about what you guys think about or what we're talking about at home?' So I learned about mind control very early on and freedom of thought… So I would be the last person to wanna get inside somebody else's head… You have to think for yourself. It's your journey. It's your life."

In 2006, Rudy released the book "Off The Rails: Aboard The Crazy Train In The Blizzard Of Ozz", a first-hand account of his friendship on and off the road with Randy Rhoads and Ozzy Osbourne.

A collector's edition of "Off The Rails", was made available in August 2008 via TooSmart! Publishing.

The book was originally due in 2005 but was delayed after Sharon allegedly applied pressure to have it pulled.

Sarzo — who began playing bass for Osbourne in 1981 (the same year he toured with MOTÖRHEAD) — joined THE GUESS WHO in 2016. His first album with the group, "The Future IS What It Used To Be", was released in September 2018 via Cleopatra Records.

Image courtesy of Sweetwater