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Tell me how to actually came to land the Ozzy gig. Leaving them would be like killing my own baby." The exposure I get with Ozzy is only going to help give Firewind more of a name. They know this is a great thing for me, sure, but it helps them, too. How did the guys in Firewind react when you were asked to join Ozzy's band? Were they supportive, or did they think that you might leave them behind? In fact, we're putting out a new album this fall. People ask me that a lot, so I feel I should stress that. Firewind are going to do a couple of shows this summer, but we won't be able to do any kind of extensive touring until next year, probably next summer when Ozzy takes a break. "Yeah, it does, at least as far as the touring aspect goes. Obviously, that puts Firewind on ice for a while. How are you going to work being in Ozzy's band while continuing with Firewind at the same time? Ozzy's said that he's going to be on the road for upwards of 18 months. They'll be out there no matter how great I play." You'd go crazy! I can't worry about the haters. "But you do what you have to do, you know? I know what I'm doing on stage Ozzy knows what I'm doing on stage and the rest of it, you just can't concern yourself with. "The first couple of gigs that we did, I was hoping that there would be people with open minds who would be like, 'Let's see what this guy is all about and give him a chance.' At the same time, I knew there might be some haters who would be like, 'Who the fuck is this guy? What the hell is he doing on stage instead of Zakk?' You have to expect both sorts of reactions. Zakk is an established name he's been with Ozzy for over 20 years, and he has fans all over the world. "Well, yeah, I knew that was a possibility going in, and I kind of prepared myself for that. Gus G making his official debut with Ozzy Osbourne in August 2009 at BlizzConĪfter you joined up with Ozzy, were you nervous about facing any anti-Gus/pro-Zakk backlash from the fans? I figure, if Ozzy feels it's important to talk to me about what went down, he'll tell me." Plus, it's not really in my nature to ask those kinds of things. But he never sat down with me and went through the whole thing, like, 'This is why Zak's out,' and all that. He said that he needed a change in the band and that Zakk had his own thing going. "No, and it's not really any of my business. So Ozzy never talked to you about why Zakk wasn't in the band anymore? I just wanted to given him what he wanted, and I think I did. It's not up to me or anybody else to try to change what it is he wants to do. "At the end of the day, though, Ozzy should sound like Ozzy. So I went in, gave my input and did the best I could, given the situation. Everything was done except for the guitar playing. I didn't have a chance to put any of my own songs on the album. I should point out that when I went into the studio with Ozzy, all the tunes were written. I've never heard anything like that, at least while we were cutting the record. Did he express similar concerns to you, like, "Hey, I don't want my record to sound too much like Firewind"?
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Ostensibly, Ozzy parted ways with Zakk because he thought Zakk was spending too much time on Black Label Society and that his own records were even starting to sound like BLS a bit. We're more thinking about what's happening right now." We don't have those kinds of conversations. "Beyond all that, I don't know what Ozzy's thinking as far as his career and how long he wants to keeping going. If Ozzy Osbourne calls you and says he wants you to play in his band, what are you gonna say? Come on, you're going to say yes! For me, there wasn't a lot of thinking involved. All I know is, I got the call that they felt I was the right person, and it felt right on my part to go with it. Was there any hesitation on your part to joining Ozzy's band? Either because A) you have your own band, or because B) Ozzy isn't 25 anymore - for all anybody knows, he could retire after this album and tour. I don't know if you ever get used to it." To hear you say those names and then know that I'm the next in line…No, this is still taking some getting used to. I'm living every guitar player's fantasy. When you hear those names, can you believe that you're now part of that lineage? Who wouldn't want to play with Ozzy? Nobody I know."
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It's the best gig any rock or heavy metal guitar player could have. In my book, it's the biggest of all honors. Do you consider it to be every hard rock guitarist's dream to play with Ozzy?
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Through the years, Ozzy Osbourne has worked with so many guitar legends: Tony Iommi, Randy Rhoads, Zakk Wylde.