The World According To ZAKK WYLDE

Gibson.com recently conducted an interview with Zakk Wylde (BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, OZZY OSBOURNE). A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

On songwriting:

Zakk: "I don't just write lyrics; I write about things that are real to me. Let me tell you something that was hysterical. I was working on 'Down to Earth' with Ozzy and they brought in these professional songwriters. Meanwhile, I'm writing all these songs that later went into BLACK LABEL — like 'Love Reign Down', with that power riff that Ozzy sounds great singing over it, which was about my mother passing away, and 'Bleed for Me', which is about God … But what do I know. I guess I'm not a real songwriter, because these guys, I shit you not, decided to write a love song for Ozzy and came up with: 'Girl, you are so pretty/girl, you are so fine/girl, I brought you this flower/girl, would you be mine?' And Ozz is just sitting there saying nothing, and I'm saying, 'You're joking, right? Am I getting punked?' The truth is everybody just wants to get their two cents in, if they've earned it or not. I laugh when I go into a music store and there's a title called 'How to Write Songs'. You can't teach someone how to write a song. Angus Young didn't read a couple books to learn how to write 'Hells Bells'. All the bands and musicians I grew up on and loved, like LED ZEPPELIN and JIMI HENDRIX … it's their names that are on their songs. That's the beauty of buying a record by a real artist. GUNS N' ROSES' 'Appetite for Destruction' was written by GUNS N' ROSES, not some weak-asses like those lame songwriters for AEROSMITH. AEROSMITH wrote great songs like 'Dream On' and 'Back in the Saddle' when they were on booze and drugs. Next thing you know, they get sober and bring songwriters in and then it's the most watered down s***. If you can't write songs you're just a puppet as phony as BRITNEY SPEARS and all those boy bands. If you can't sit behind a piano or pick up a guitar and write a song, then you don't have any business making records."

On METALLICA and "Some Kind of Monster":

Zakk: "When I saw the guys, I said, 'What were you thinkin'?' Who needs a psychiatrist? Like I need marriage counseling? I've been married for 24 years. Look, I'm gonna get in fights with the wife and that's life, man. You got the high and the lows. You're in a band, you're gonna fight, you're gonna get over it or it wasn't meant to be any more. The bottom line is this: Tough times don't last; tough people do. Once Mom sent me to Promises rehab. I said, 'Promises rehab?' I'll make you a promise right now: either I'm going to cap myself or some mother is going to die in this joint.' And one of the bylaws of BLACK LABEL is 'suicide is not an option.' I got in there and had no time for those weak-willed assholes. One guy said he just couldn't get out of bed in the morning to get to the group therapy meetings. I said, 'Hey, sometimes I don't want to get up on that stage but you get your damn jock strap on, you man up, and you do it.' I've got no time for weak-willed bull****. I was cut from the same cloth as General Patton. Hey, lions are born lions. They are not made. Berserkers are born berserkers. They are not made. Marines are born Marines. They are not made. Get tough or get out."

Read the entire interview from Gibson.com.