Zakk Wylde

[Jesse Joe]

VIKTOR PIVOVAROV/TIMES & TRANSCRIPT


A Wylde time


Published Thursday January 24th, 2008


Zakk Wylde, left, guitarist for heavy metal superstar Ozzy Osbourne, shakes hands with Jeb Dalling of Moncton yesterday after signing his jacket at Musicstop in Moncton. Osbourne and his band perform a sold-out show at the Moncton Coliseum tonight

[Jesse Joe]

VIKTOR PIVOVAROV/TIMES & TRANSCR

Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Zakk Wylde signs autographs for fans at Musicstop yesterday. The Ozzy Osbourne show takes place at the Moncton Coliseum tonight.


Moncton goes wild over Ozzy guitarist

Long wait 'more than worth it' for diehard fans of Zakk Wylde


By Cole Hobson
Times & Transcript Staff Published Thursday January 24th, 2008


It was "all about the fans" as Ozzy Osbourne lead guitarist and music legend Zakk Wylde signed autographs in Moncton's Musicstop yesterday, giving fans young and old the chance to meet and greet with the musician who will take to the stage at the Coliseum for tonight's sold out concert.
"Anything and everything that he does is about the fans," said Matt Coburn, product specialist for Gibson Canada, the group that organized the signing with the local Musicstop. "He's quite the guy and is all about the fans. He beats himself up and then he comes here and signs."
Wylde's appreciation for his fans was quite obvious as he took time to high-five, hug, kiss and talk at length with autograph seekers as they made their way through the line that snaked its way throughout the store.
The atmosphere was truly infectious as music blared over the speakers and fan after fan came away from their signing with a smile and a story to tell.
"I've been a fan of Zakk Wylde's music since I was about 13. He also inspired me to actually pick up the guitar myself, so it was the chance to meet one of my childhood idols," said 31-year-old Tyler Godfrey.
In order to be sure to meet his idol, Godfrey arrived at Musicstop at 9 a.m. and was the second person in line. Despite a nine-hour wait, the Moncton man says it was "more than worth it."
The dubious honour of being first in line went to Rick Allen, who wasn't able to make it to the store until 10:30 a.m. but had his friend arrive early to hold his spot in line.
"He's not even a fan, he was just doing me a favour. He wouldn't know him (Wylde), he couldn't pick him out of a lineup," said Allen, 37.
Only 150 bracelets were handed out to those who would be guaranteed to get an autograph. Despite the limitation, dozens more showed up throughout the evening in hopes of getting an autograph.
Coburn says the limit was necessary because Wylde likes to take time to chat with each fan. "He's ragged at the end of these things. We go out and eat, and he goes to bed," Coburn said. "I wouldn't be surprised though if some people get 10 minutes of face time with him. It all depends if you ask him the right questions. If you get him going on a story, he'll be rocking."
One person who got Wylde's attention was Danielle LeBlanc, 14, who the guitarist got to lay down on the table as he signed her arm.
LeBlanc says the experience was worth her six-hour wait and that her impressions of Wylde were that he's "really cool" -- even though her autograph may not make complete sense.
"That's a good question -- I can't really read it," LeBlanc said when asked what Wylde had written on her arm.
Kyle Kobster, 19, was one fan who used the autograph signing for a good cause. The teen had one of Wylde's signature series Gibson guitars which was donated from Musicstop in Saint John, and was to be auctioned off for charity after it was signed.

[Jesse Joe]

The wizardry of Oz

From Black Sabbath frontman to just plain old Prince of Darkness, Ozzy Osbourne bridges metal's generations



By ROD ALLEN
TIMES & TRANSCRIPT STAFF Published Thursday January 24th, 2008


One might well wonder why a 60-year-old rocker whose early career is one of the main inspirations for Rob Reiner's famously metal-mocking movie This Is Spinal Tap can sell out this week's 7,000-seat concert at the Moncton Coliseum in just three hours, but the answer is in the question.
Though released in 1984 'Tap' is still a favourite video rental, not so much as an hilarious take on the heavy metal music genre itself but, on the shaky personalities behind it.
And among that storied (and mostly dead) class of heroes John Michael 'Ozzy' Osbourne, though in real life short of stature and often pudgy, stands lean and tall as metal's ultimate survivor.
Ozzy is a Brit so you won't find any of his work in Fredericton-based broadcaster Bob Mersereau's recently released best-seller The Top 100 Canadian Albums, but the author is an admirer nonetheless, at least of Ozzy as a business case.
There is no denying that Osbourne has made his mark musically with many a globally platinum album, says Mersereau.
"Here's a guy who was kicked out of his own band (Black Sabbath, and for substance abuse, yet) in 1978 and went on to launch his own solo career with great success, it's true.
"But the reality with Ozzy is that he, and I think moreso his wife Sharon, have been able to keep him in the headlines ever since, and not just for the music.
"In fact, the music almost plays second fiddle -- if you'll pardon the pun -- to the personality."
And what a personality it has been.
"You watch his emergence as a cultural figure in the 1980s and it's obviously impressive," says Mersereau.
"Whether or not he actually bites the heads off of bats and doves isn't really all that relevant; what matters is that his completely outrageous behaviour makes him an absolutely awful role model for teenage boys, which is exactly what teenage boys and the heavy metal music industry want."
And then, there was the ultimate coup back in 2002.
In MTV's The Osbournes -- which remains the most successful show ever produced by the American TV music channel -- Mersereau again gives a large part of the credit to Sharon Osbourne for helping conceive what at the time was a brand new twist in so-called 'reality TV.'
"The timing was perfect, as it turned out, to turn away from game shows to a show about life, about Ozzy's life and that of his family.
"This was like 'Father Knows Worst,' or a real-life Homer Simpson; a terrible role model who has a heart of gold and a great sense of the comic. You just simply could not write a better character than what Ozzy really is."
And even if Mersereau insists he's no fan of metal or even rock, he readily acknowledges that many of his generation (including his interviewer) listened to Into the Void and Iron Man back in Ozzy's Black Sabbath period and that this is the stuff from which life-long fans are made, even after they know better.And amazingly, the Legions of Ozzy continue to grow.
"There's a classic rock show on the radio every night from 8 to 9 p.m. and you can't listen to it for an hour without hearing a request for either an Ozzy or a Sabbath," says the author.
"That show is a must-listen for Aidan, my 12-year-old, as he gets ready for bed.
"It's a rare thing to have Ozzy here and it's a great thing for metal fans, which have a new generation.
"It is one of the few styles coming out of the 1970s -- and bands like Led Zeppelin can also be credited for founding it, but Ozzy might be said to have laid the ground rules -- that continues to sell."
The Ozzy Oeuvre (in brief)
* 1970: John 'Ozzy' Osbourne's first successful band Black Sabbath releases first album, 'Black Sabbath.' * 1979: Black Sabbath fires Osbourne for rampant alcohol and drug abuse * 1980: First solo album Blizzard Of Ozz quickly goes quadruple-latinum.

* 1993: A Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance (I Don't Want To Change the World).

* 1996: Ozzy and wife/manager Sharon launch OZZfest with a total gate of 1.4 million; part of proceeds to charities across Great Britain.

* 2000: A Black Sabbath reunion show produces another Grammy for Best Metal Performance for Iron Man.

* 2001: Ozzy launches movie career with appearances beside Adam Sandler in Little Nicky and Canada's Mike Myers in Austin Powers: Goldmember.

* 2002: Performs Black Sabbath's 'Paranoid' for Queen Elizabeth II's 50th Jubilee celebration at Buckingham Palace; MTV launches 'The Osbournes.' * 2004: Ozzy and daughter Kelly hit No. 1 on the UK singles charts with remake of Black Sabbath's 'Changes.' * 2005: Epic Records releases gold-certified Prince Of Darkness boxed set.

* 2007: Release of Black Rain, Ozzy's first album with new studio material in six years.

* 2008: Ozzy plays the Moncton Coliseum, among other venues.