ZAKK WYLDE Says There Is No Way OZZY Would Ever Sing To A Backing Tape

OZZY OSBOURNE guitarist Zakk Wylde recently spoke to The Metal Exiles about the rumors that Ozzy has been singing to a tape during some of his Ozzfest 2003 appearances.

"No, no that will never happen," Wylde insisted. "Not with my ass up there. I'd rather have Oz when he gets up there and if he's going to hit a clam once in a while, then he hits a clam. Some nights, I'll go, 'How are you feeling, boss?' right before we go out on stage, and before we play 'Paranoid' backstage. I'll be the first one to ask, 'How are you feeling?' and he goes, 'It's going to be a rough one tonight, man.' Then another night he'll say, 'I feel good tonight, man. I got some rest.' And everything like that. So, no, he would never sing to tapes. The bottom line is, what you get is what you hear when you get up there. If you want to hear the record perfectly, go buy the record. If you want to hear a live show, then I have more respect for a band that goes up there and makes a few mistakes. It is real, you know what I mean. . . Why would you just want to put the CD out and just go out and play to the CD? You know what I'm saying?! I mean, Ozzy doesn't do that. So if you hear him and he hit's a few clams, it's just because he's jumping around and he's running around. Nobody can sing perfectly when you're running around.

"When you see all these cheese-dick bands running around and dancing and doing everything like that and they are not even running out of breath, it's like, dude, that's physically impossible. It's just like in the studio you are standing there and singing. You don't run around dancing and doing flips and back flips. I'm like, 'Get the hell out of here.' What's next? I'm going to be playing the guitar and throw it in the air and it's still playing? There are solos coming out of the guitar and it's in the air?! You know what I mean, it's phony as hell. You know I make mistakes every night. I'll hit a clam just because I just run around and do something. It's just, well, I'm going for it. If you want me to sit on a stool and play for you, I can do that too. But if you want to be entertained and you want me to jump around, I have to do what I got to do. If I make a clam once in a while, then the hell with it, just keep rolling, it's live!" Read the rest of the interview here.