ZAKK WYLDE: How Could I Not Be Eternally Grateful To OZZY And SHARON OSBOURNE?

October 8, 2011

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

On BLACK LABEL SOCIETY's latest release, "The Song Remains Not the Same", featuring acoustic versions of songs from the band's previous album:

Zakk: "I love the heavy stuff, listenin' to SABBATH and ZEP, or when I'm liftin' weights listenin' to the Dimebag or MESSHUGGAH or MINISTRY or whatever. But it's just like we'd be sittin' on the bus and we got an 18-hour drive. I mean, the last thing I feel like listenin' to is heavy music. I mean, I'll listen to THE EAGLES, I'll listen to NEIL YOUNG, ELTON JOHN. You know, just all the good mellow stuff; BAD COMPANY or whatever. I'll make a compilation just of awesome, ass-kickin' mellow (stuff). CROWDED HOUSE, you know, just all the good mellow stuff.

"I listen to everything. Even classical. I've been playin' tons of classical guitar."

On his current relationship with Ozzy Osbourne, who replaced Zakk in 2009 with Greek axeman Gus G. (FIREWIND):

Zakk: "I still talk to Oz. No, no fallin' out or nothin'. No, we never got in any arguments ever. I mean, we were too busy dyin' of laughter. It was just like with Oz, 'Zakk, I don't wanna be the lead singer in BLACK LABEL,' you know what I mean? I mean, if Randy Rhoads, if Saint Rhoads was still around, and if Randy was leavin' Oz goin' to QUIET RIOT and comin' back to Oz, QUIET RIOT, Ozzy, QUIET RIOT, after a while you go, Uh, Randy, it's startin' to sound like QUIET RIOT. I don't wanna be in QUIET RIOT ... I wanna have my own thing.' And you know, you can't blame Ozzy for that at all.

"He knows I'm at his disposal whenever he needs me. It's like, 'Oh, you want me to come over and clean the dog run before you have company over? No problem.' And Gus G., aside from being a killer guitar player, he's a super-cool dude ... Mom and the Boss (Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne),I mean, what more could Ozzy do for me? He introduced me to the world and then on top of it, Mom and the Boss always had me opening up on the Ozzfest and helping me all the time, so I mean, how could I not be eternally grateful to them?"

On adjusting to a life of sobriety, on orders from his doctor:

Zakk: "Over two years now. No, it's no big deal. It's just like, I don't go to AA meetings. I got a million things goin' on in my day, the BLACK LABEL to-do list. Before my feet hit the floor, I've got stuff that I gotta do. Goin' to an AA meeting? I'll go to the gym. That's my therapy. I know Ozzy was havin' AA meetings. I went to one of 'em. I said, 'Oz, nothin' for nothin'. Like, I gotta go clean the dog run, I got things I gotta do around the house, I could be practicing right now, I could do other things."

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).