TOMMY CLUFETOS, Who Played With OZZY OSBOURNE And BLACK SABBATH: 'I Never Did Drugs, I Don't Drink, And I Just Play Rock And Roll Like A Guy Who Did'

In a new interview with WGN News, acclaimed rock drummer Tommy Clufetos insisted that he never got entrenched in the alcohol and drug lifestyle that has claimed the lives of so many iconic musicians.

"I know I look like a nutcase, but I'm about the straightest guy you've ever seen in your life," Tommy said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "I never did drugs, I don't drink, and I just play rock and roll like a guy who did — wild and crazy. Because when I was a kid, I wasn't interested in that stuff. I always thought that the wildness came from your gut. And it does come from your gut with me."

Clufetos, who played with Ozzy Osbourne, one and off, for more than a decade, first as a member of Ozzy's solo band and then as the replacement for Bill Ward in BLACK SABBATH's touring lineup, was also asked if he has the freedom, when joining an established group, to inject his own style into performing the drum parts or if he has to play the songs just the way the previous guy played them. He responded: "Hopefully not [the same way the previous guy played them] because he's gone. Well, I always try to take it back to its original incarnation that people love, and I do my thing through doing that. I bring my own energy to it. And hopefully my passion and my fire for music reignites that original flame that some of these artists have had."

Clufetos worked with such rock icons as Ted Nugent, Alice Cooper and Rob Zombie before joining Ozzy Osbourne in 2010. That led to a spot as the drummer on BLACK SABBATH's last two world tours.

Clufetos did not play on the SABBATH reunion album, "13", a role that was filled by RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE drummer Brad Wilk. Ozzy Osbourne told The Pulse Of Radio at the time that Clufetos was gong to play on the record until producer Rick Rubin stepped in.

TOMMY'S ROCKTRIP, where Clufetos offers his take on the rock 'n roll influences that made him one of the most sought-after drummers in the current hard rock scene, will play at the Token Lounge in Westland, Michigan on April 23 and at the Arcada Theatre in St. Charles, Illinois on April 24.

In May 2021, TOMMY'S ROCKTRIP released its debut album, "Beat Up By Rock 'N' Roll", via Frontiers Music Srl. Eric Dover, known for singing and playing guitar with JELLYFISH, SLASH'S SNAKEPIT and Alice Cooper, handled lead vocals on the LP (though Tommy grabbed the mic for three tracks). Eliot Lorengo (bass),Hank Schneekluth (guitar) and Nao Nakashima (guitar) rounded out the supporting cast.

In a recent interview with Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF radio station, Tommy was asked if he ever thought, while growing up in Detroit, that he would so connected to Ozzy's camp. Tommy said: "Well, in a strange idea, yes, I did think, whether it was Ozzy or somebody else, I did envision whatever's happened in my life to happen. And I envision more to happen. I didn't get into drums to play at the corner bar. Even though I played at the corner bar — I got no problem with it — but I had the biggest aspirations. I still do, and that's where my fire comes from, is I want."

He continued: "They say, "Well, you can't play in every band.' And I go, 'Why not? Why can't you? Why can't you?' I can do whatever I want, and wherever my talent leads me, I will follow. And that's what I've always done. And it's led to playing with Ozzy Osbourne and BLACK SABBATH and Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper. But I always approached it the same when I was playing at home in Detroit, the same death grip of the drumsticks and going for it. That's where I got my craft. That's where I got to play for all these greats, is from playing in Detroit like it was the end, 'cause it's always the end. And that's what I'm gonna do at the Token Lounge [in Westland, Michigan when I play there in April with my band TOMMY'S ROCKTRIP]. I'm gonna play just like I was playing at the BRIT Awards [as part of the Ozzy tribute], like everybody's watching, because everybody always is watching."

Tommy added: "It's not about being a used car salesman, but it's about having a passion for what you do. And hopefully that passion ignites inside of you, and you can't help but let it out. I can't help but let it out. When I get behind my drums and I do what I do, the Motor City and playing gigs till four in the morning and lugging my gear in the snow and loading up the P.A., and bar owners screwing you on money and all these hard things and all these things that you secretly love come through the passion of what I do."