ZAKK WYLDE On His Replacement In OZZY's Band: GUS G. Is 'F**king Awesome'

November 6, 2009

Joe Bosso of MusicRadar.com recently conducted an interview with Zakk Wylde (OZZY OSBOURNE, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY). An excerpt from the chat follows below.

MusicRadar.com: Of course, the other major thing that's happened in the last year has been your split with Ozzy...

Zakk: "Well, I'll tell you how it went down. This is how it went down. Oz and mom (Sharon Osbourne),they said, 'Zakk, son, we need to talk to you.' They sat me down at the kitchen table and said, 'Zakk, we're very proud of you, but you're 42 years old now. We just think it's about time you take your wife and your kids and you get the fuck outta your bedroom and grow the fuck up and get a job — because me and your mother want to enjoy our life now. I think we've done enough. You're 42, now get the fuck out of the house!'"

MusicRadar.com: And make something of yourself.

Zakk: "Yes! So that's where we're at right now. [laughs] That's what happened. As rough as it was for me, I had to accept it." [laughs]

MusicRadar.com: Now, I know Ozzy is like family to you, but when it all did happen - I know you were kind of kidding — it seemed to take people surprise...

Zakk: "Well, I found out from Neil Zlozower, 'cause he was doing a photo shoot with Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley. He calls up and goes, 'Hey dude, I hear you're not playing with Ozzy anymore.' I go, 'Where'd you hear this?" And he's like, 'I heard it from Gene and Paul.' So I go, 'Well, I guess I'm not playing with Ozzy!'" [laughs]

MusicRadar.com: But was it a shock?

Zakk: "It's always been this way: 'We're going out on the road.' It's like, 'When?' 'Tomorrow.' 'What?!'

"I'm the last person to find out anything, you know? 'Wait a minute…I have three kids?' [laughs] 'Yeah, they're 17, 16 and 7, man, so we need some college money now.'

"But I've been with Oz since I was 19; I'm fucking 42 years old. It's just like…like with my dad passing away, same with my mom…I don't go, 'Oh, this sucks.' I never ask; I always thank.

"At least I got to spend 23 years with the boss. And he knows I'll always be there with him. Gus [G., of FIREWIND], who's playing with [Ozzy now], he's fucking awesome. So I hope he has a millisecond of the good time I had — that's a fucking lifetime. Gus will have a fucking blast, you know what I mean?"

You can read the entire interview at MusicRadar.com. The chat can also be streamed using the audio player below.

Zakk Wylde interviewed by MusicRadar.com:

Find more on

Prev More News Next

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).