Joe Bosso of MusicRadar.com interviewed guitarist Zakk Wylde (Ozzy Osbourne, Black Label Society). Sections from the interview follow below:
MusicRadar.com: Let's segue radically here. Obviously, this year your health has -
Wylde: Oh, the last couple of years. You know, I had throat surgery. We had to check that out and make sure it wasn't cancerous. I had a polyp on my vocal cord so I had that taken out.
MusicRadar.com: I didn't know that.
Wylde: Yeah. And then I had a hernia - an umbilical hernia from lifting - so I had to have that taken care of. That was all while I was on the road. And the best was when I had this blood clot thing, the doctor goes, 'Dude, your liver enzymes are high, your pancreas enzymes are high…[laughs]…from the booze! Well, I guess the party's over for you, Zakk.'
Phil, our security guy, he goes, 'Yep, you really did a number on yourself, asshole.' [laughs] He said, 'See, you got the tortoise and you got the hare. There's the Irish pub - Zakk, you just flew over there and rifled down as much shit as you could, brother!'
I go, 'This sucks. No more booze.' And then he says, 'Yeah, party's over for you, asshole. But not for us…because we chose to be…turtles!'" [laughs]
MusicRadar.com: Well, we're all very glad that you're OK.
Wylde: Ahh, thanks, brother. Now I have to take these blood thinners, and you can't be drinking while taking those, 'cause otherwise you'll be bleeding internally and all that shit. I don't think you need rehab for that. If somebody tells you, 'Dude, you can't drink,' you can't drink, you know?
I mean, the funny thing is, I asked the guy, 'Is it alcohol-related?' And he was like, 'No. If anything…if you had these [blood clots] all your life, the alcohol was helping 'cause it was thinning out your blood. It's not that I'm advocating you go out and blow your liver out and your kidneys and your pancreas and everything like that,' you know? "But the first thing he asked me was, 'Do you do a lot of traveling?' And I'm like, 'Yeah. You know, since I was 19, when I joined Ozzy, I'm either flying, I'm on boats or I'm on the tour bus. But it's not like I'm sittin' there driving the thing, you know, where I'm stationary for like 18 hours, 22 hours.'
Then I looked at him and I said, 'When I'm in the studio, I'm sitting down and recording. When I'm home and I'm practicing - you know, I'll walk around and stand up practicing right behind the tour - but any musician jammin' behind the piano or sittin' down with the guitar, you're sitting down practicing.' Or else I'm off at the McSorley's! [laughs] Sittin' at the bar, you know? So I go, "Hmmm, there is a lot of sitting going on,' you know what I mean? [laughs]
But any awareness, if I can give it to anyone, is 'Dude, go to your doctor and get it checked out, 'cause I wouldn't have known about this thing if my fucking leg wasn't killin' me."
MusicRadar.com: Of course, the other major thing that's happened in the last year has been your split with Ozzy...
Wylde: 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.
Wylde: 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...
Wylde: 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?
Wylde: 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?"
Read Zakk's the entire interview with MusicRadar.com here.
