{"id":12581,"date":"2013-04-09T00:00:22","date_gmt":"2013-04-09T00:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=12581"},"modified":"2013-07-20T11:48:34","modified_gmt":"2013-07-20T11:48:34","slug":"feature-zakk-wylde-04-13","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/feature-zakk-wylde-04-13\/","title":{"rendered":"ZAKK WYLDE – The Tales Remain Not The Same (April 2013) | Features \/ Interviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

ZAKK WYLDE – The Tales Remain Not The Same<\/strong><\/span>
\nAnthony Morgan<\/span>
\nApril 2013<\/span><\/p>\n

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Zakk Wylde<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
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Bayonne, New Jersey-born guitarist Zakk Wylde \u2013 figuring among the line-up of Ozzy Osbourne\u2019s solo outfit intermittently between 1987 and 2009, as well as being the founding member of metal assortment Black Label Society and southern rock side project Pride And Glory \u2013 issued hardback tome Bringing Metal To The Children: The Complete Berzerker\u2019s Guide To World Tour Domination<\/em> during April 2012 via William Morrow. Penned in collaboration with Eric Hendrikx, its paperback release arrived a year later in April 2013.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe book all started from me and Eric just sitting around, talking, like any of the guys,\u201d Zakk remembers. \u201cIt\u2019d be like me and you sitting at the bar, talking about \u2018You\u2019re not gonna believe what happened the other day,\u2019 and this and that. It\u2019s the music business, where there are no rules (laughs). There\u2019s no qualifications; you don\u2019t have to have a Master\u2019s degree. You just show up and you\u2019re there, but that\u2019s where you get the cast of characters, and that\u2019s where you get all of the comedy man. Like I always say, it\u2019s unimportant people making important decisions. They have no business doing what they\u2019re doing, but that\u2019s how it gets run. Anywhere else, if you wanna apply for a job welding or being a brain surgeon or any of that, you have to have a degree and you have to have a license, and everything like that (laughs). Not in the music business, though. But yeah, it just came out of funny stories and us just laughing our balls off, talking about how ridiculously goofy the music business is. That\u2019s how the book came about, me saying \u2018You\u2019ve gotta write a book about all this crap someday.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Interviews were conducted across several sessions, the sessions taking place at the axeman\u2019s home. \u201cWe actually had bits and pieces of the book,\u201d he shares. \u201cIn the beginning, the book was kind of all over the place. It was like an instructional thing, and then it was talking about the studio, and then it was stories. I just go \u2018But there are two books here right now.\u2019 When we started it off taking the piss out of everything, I remember it was on New Years Eve. We just got together, and we just started writing it from there. We were just on the floor, literally crying, laughing. We were adding stuff to it, and just literally taking the piss out of ourselves and the music business. I just go \u2018The whole fucking book has gotta be like this man. I mean, it really has to.\u2019 It\u2019s just a brutal laugh-fest from the beginning to the end of the book.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tales which paint a negative impression of friends were omitted. \u201cI wasn\u2019t gonna put any of my friends in a bad light, or anything like that,\u201d Zakk explains. \u201cI would never do that. With the Lars (Ulrich, Metallica drummer) story where he\u2019s handing piss to everybody, I was like \u2018Lars, what the fuck are you doing?\u2019 Lars was like \u2018Dude, I thought you were fucking handing me beers. What the fuck are you doing to me?\u2019 (laughs). It\u2019s all goofy shit that actually happened, but no. If I ever had stories about my friends which put them in a bad light, I wouldn\u2019t put any of them in there. If we came across any stories like that, I would say \u2018Dude, maybe we should leave that one out.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Bringing Metal To The Children<\/em>\u2019s target audience is aspiring musicians, and music industry personnel. \u201cI\u2019m not talking about how hard the music business is, or anything like that,\u201d the Black Label Society founder cautions. \u201cThe music business is just like any other business, like if you and me were starting a hot-dog stand, or wanted to start a pub. Business is business, man. It\u2019s like everybody else. Trying to get your business or your company off of the ground, you lose money in the beginning until hopefully it becomes successful. You\u2019re doing what you love, but no, it\u2019s not just me. Everybody\u2019s got a book in them; all you\u2019ve gotta do is go out on tour. You don\u2019t have to write this shit, because it writes itself (laughs). It\u2019s just pure comedy all of the time. I\u2019ve got volumes of these books; all I\u2019ve gotta do is go out on tour, and just wake up everyday. Something ridiculously goofy is gonna happen, so there\u2019ll never be a shortage of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Of the outing\u2019s various stories, Zakk\u2019s favourite inaugurates Bringing Metal To The Children<\/em>. \u201cThe guy was doing porn, and doing mountains of cocaine,\u201d he recalls. \u201cI\u2019m going down to the studio. I\u2019m like 17-years-old, and it\u2019s just like people fucking everywhere. My mother had me going down to this thing, but my mom had no idea what the fuck I was going to (laughs). There was just tons of cocaine everywhere, people fucking all over the place, and I\u2019m making an album \u2013 I\u2019m recording guitar tracks for a fucking porn star. That was my first paid recording session. The whole time I\u2019m just thinking about my mother, going \u2018Oh, I\u2019m so proud of my Zakky. He\u2019s going to record\u2019 (laughs). If there was me and you going to this fucking thing with my little amp and the fucking guitar \u2013 me and you walking in \u2013 people fucking all over the place, I\u2019d be like \u2018Anthony, I guess we\u2019re not in Kansas any more, man.\u2019 You\u2019d be like \u2018No shit, man.\u2019 You can\u2019t make it up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nowadays is arguably a different kettle of fish. \u201cYeah,\u201d the songwriter confirms. \u201cI remember all the gigs that we went to when I was a teenager. I still keep in touch with the guys back from when we were 17-years-old, playing stag parties, jamming in people\u2019s kitchens, and in people\u2019s living rooms. It was nothing but good times.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though Zakk\u2019s first paid recording session was a wild experience, one can\u2019t help but wonder if cutting tracks with Ozzy was an even wilder experience. \u201cWith the Boss, there would always be drinking going on and just us having a good time,\u201d Zakk recounts. \u201cEven with Ozzy though, we were just making records. It was always good, man. When we were making records we were having a blast, having a laugh. I never understand when bands go \u2018That album almost killed me, and it was such a pain in the balls.\u2019 I\u2019m like \u2018What the fuck? What are you talking about? You\u2019re making a record. It\u2019s not brain surgery, man.\u2019 I don\u2019t get that. If you\u2019re not having a good time and the guy you\u2019re working with is a fucking asshole, just knock his fucking teeth out. You know what I\u2019m saying? It\u2019s your fucking record; you\u2019re paying for it, man.\u201d<\/p>\n

Luckily, the Black Label Society mainman has yet to work with an \u2018asshole\u2019. \u201cI get along with everybody, man,\u201d he contends. \u201cIf I\u2019m at a bar, I\u2019d much rather buy you a beer than knock your fucking teeth out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though genial in nature, Zakk\u2019s overall demeanour suggests a gentleman capable of knocking someone\u2019s teeth out. \u201cYeah, but what\u2019s that gonna accomplish?,\u201d he questions. \u201cSome jail time and a lawsuit. Fuck that. That gets in the way when you\u2019re trying to rule the world (laughs).\u201d<\/p>\n

The guitarist was a friend of the late Pantera and Damageplan axe-slinger \u2018Dimebag\u2019 Darrell Abbott, the Texan fatally shot on December 8th, 2004 at the age of 38. That evening, Dimebag was performing at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio as a member of Damageplan. \u201cDude, he was the life of the fucking party,\u201d he enthuses. \u201cLet\u2019s put it this way; he would\u2019ve been the ultimate gameshow host, because he made everybody feel good and he wanted to see everybody succeed and everyone to be happy. You could\u2019ve been having the shittiest day on the planet. Dime would walk in the room, and you\u2019d forget about it. He\u2019d turn it around in a second. Dime was always up, man, and never down. He always wanted to have a good time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other potential hazards face performing artists. Vocalist Randy Blythe of Richmond, Virginia-based metallers Lamb Of God, for example, was arrested on June 27th, 2012 by Czech police on suspicion of manslaughter. It was alleged that on May 24th, 2010 during a Lamb Of God concert in Prague, the frontman was responsible for fatal head injuries sustained by 19-year-old fan Daniel Nosek. The Prague Municipal Court acquitted Randy on March 5th, 2013. \u201cDude, what a mess man,\u201d Zakk laments. \u201cRandy\u2019s a good dude and he would never hurt anybody, let alone a Lamb Of God fan. It\u2019s just terrible, because the whole thing is when you go to extreme metal concerts, extreme rock concerts \u2013 like Pantera, Slayer, Lamb Of God, that genre of music \u2013 crowd-surfing, stage-diving, and moshing is actually part of the whole experience. When you buy a ticket for a rollercoaster ride, the 18-storey drop, the three loop-the-loops, and the spiral, that\u2019s all a part of the ride. <\/p>\n

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\u201cEspecially with what happened with Dime\u2019s situation, and then now with Randy, it\u2019s literally almost to the point where you really wanna stop that and just do this. You go on a soccer field, you go on a football field, you go on a baseball field, you jump on the court, and you go onstage at a concert, then you get two years mandatory in prison. Two years in jail, and that\u2019s it. You jump up onstage, you jump on the field at a soccer game, or you run on the field, then you get two years in prison and that\u2019s it. Then you\u2019ll see how many people will jump up onstage. People will go \u2018Dude, I\u2019m gonna spend two to three years in prison if I jump up onstage? Fuck that. I\u2019m not doing that.\u2019 I don\u2019t give a shit how much you like the band (laughs).\u201d<\/p>\n

Incidents such as the aforementioned could potentially instil a climate of fear, but the vocalist argues that this isn\u2019t the case. \u201cI don\u2019t think anybody thinks that,\u201d he reckons. \u201cWhen you\u2019re up there fucking playing, you\u2019re playing. It could happen at a soccer game, it could happen at a football game \u2013 it could happen anywhere. So no. When you\u2019re up there playing, you\u2019re playing. I don\u2019t think anybody thinks that when you\u2019re up there playing. We have security with us, anyway. We have Black Label Special Ops rolling with us all of the time, anyway. If you\u2019re on the side of the stage as security, you\u2019re gonna fuck somebody up and take them out if they get onstage anyway. I\u2019m not worried, because they\u2019re standing on the side of the stage. Security would already have gotten them before they got near me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut nowadays, it\u2019s even more fucking ridiculous. It\u2019s like the airport; after 9\/11, you can\u2019t even walk through there without being fucking strip-searched, and anally probed, and all that shit. It is what it is. Nobody ever thought that that was gonna happen, but now that it happened you do everything you can to prevent it from happening again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Potential dangers aside, touring across the globe can impact the amount of time musicians can spend in the company of their children. \u201cIt\u2019s just like if I always dreamed about being a truck driver, travelling and everything like that,\u201d Zakk reasons. \u201cIf I\u2019m doing that, then that\u2019s what you love doing, man. I have some friends that are just like \u2018Dude, I can\u2019t handle the touring, the hotel rooms.\u2019 I\u2019m like \u2018I love it.\u2019 That\u2019s the reason why you have those pictures of Led Zeppelin<\/a>, Black Sabbath<\/a>, and Randy Rhoads (original Ozzy Osbourne guitarist) up on your wall, because that\u2019s a part of the whole experience. I love it, playing out. I love the touring, and I love travelling. <\/p>\n

\u201cMy kids have seen more things and have gone around the world, where other kids can only see it in a book. I\u2019m blessed with the opportunity to where I can afford to do that, because I\u2019m touring and that\u2019s what I do. Plus, I can make a living doing it. So no, I never complain about being away from the kids, touring. On top of that, my kids have a life anyway. My father, he would get up at 4:30am every morning and he\u2019d be home at about 7pm at night. He\u2019d talk about his day, have something to eat, and before you knew it he was back working. He was always there for all of the important things, though. My Little League games, football games, and stuff like that. My dad was always in my life, and my mom. You still work, man.\u201d<\/p>\n

Should the Black Label Society founder\u2019s children ever wish to tread in their father\u2019s footsteps, the mainman would be supportive. \u201cAs a parent, you tell them to find out what they love and to do that,\u201d he notes. \u201cIf they can make a living doing it, then do it. Everyone has something special and everyone has a unique gift, so it\u2019s just a matter of finding what you love. Like I said, if you\u2019re able to make a living doing what you love, then that\u2019s it. The only thing you can do as a parent is introduce your kids to other things, and if they find something they love and it\u2019s something that makes them happy, then that\u2019s it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The music industry is rife with unsavoury characters, characters that could perhaps lead Zakk\u2019s children down the wrong path. \u201cYou don\u2019t need music for that,\u201d he observes. \u201cIf you\u2019re gonna be a fucking idiot and end up in jail, then that\u2019s your fucking problem. I have one friend where one of their kids has been in and out of jail, and the other one is super-successful and super-smart, and works hard. Both of them were raised in the same household. You can have David Branson, and then his older brother is in and out of fucking jail, a fucking loser and an idiot. It\u2019s like, how the fuck can these guys be brothers? You\u2019ve gotta make decisions on your own, dude. Your parents can\u2019t hold your balls up and wipe your ass your whole fuckin\u2019 life; you\u2019ve gotta get your shit together.\u201d<\/p>\n

The composer\u2019s book collaboration with Eric Hendrikx causes one to speculate whether the pairing could lead to the authorship of a fully-fledged autobiography. \u201cI think I need to have a couple more experiences, and more living before I write that one,\u201d he chuckles. \u201cDown the line somewhere, I think everybody\u2019s got one in them. I\u2019ll keep compiling the comedy, and keep compiling the stories. The only way you\u2019re gonna do that is by living. I could see me and Eric doing Bring Metal To The Children, Volume Two.\u201d<\/p>\n

An acoustic performance was recorded on March 6th, 2013 at Club Nokia in Los Angeles, California, the performance scheduled for DVD and CD release later in 2013 under the moniker Unblackened<\/em>. \u201cThe Unblackened<\/em> thing was awesome, because we had been talking about doing it for awhile,\u201d Zakk muses. \u201cIt was just that we were touring for so long, for over two years. That\u2019s why it kept getting pushed back, because we were gonna put it in-between there somewhere. I said \u2018Dude, we don\u2019t have enough time,\u2019 because we had to rehearse and everything like that. To actually do the show was great, because we had fans from all over. Canada, from the East Coast, from Boston, from New York, from Texas, from North Carolina. People from all over.<\/p>\n

\u201cAn album as well, that\u2019ll be next. We\u2019ve gotta knock that out. I think we might be firing that up maybe in about seven weeks. I\u2019m getting ready to do a book tour with this thing right now, and then we\u2019re talking about going out and doing some festival dates. I have been stockpiling riffs and getting ready in many ways, though. It depends on what I\u2019ve been listening to that day, whether I\u2019ve been listening to Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Abba. All the quality stuff, man. It depends on what side of the bed I\u2019ve woken up on. I pretty much listen to everything. When I\u2019m in the truck, I\u2019ll either listen to Woodstock Radio or usually the same stuff that I listened to when I was 15. Just a lot of classic rock. Maybe I\u2019ll put on some Ministry, Dimebag, Meshuggah, or some (Led) Zeppelin, or (Black) Sabbath, and then you\u2019re good to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bringing Metal To The Children: The Complete Berzerker\u2019s Guide To World Tour Domination<\/em> was released in paperback format on April 9th, 2013 via William Morrow.<\/p>\n

Interview published in April 2013.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ZAKK WYLDE – The Tales Remain Not The Same Anthony Morgan April 2013 Zakk Wylde Pic: Sakura Bayonne, New Jersey-born guitarist Zakk Wylde \u2013 figuring among the line-up of Ozzy Osbourne\u2019s solo outfit intermittently between 1987 and 2009, as well as being the founding member of metal assortment Black Label Society and southern rock side […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,607],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12581","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-features","category-zakk-wylde"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12581","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12581"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12581\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13095,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12581\/revisions\/13095"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}