Away Team

 

Ted Nugent, Alice Cooper, Rob Zombie, and Ozzy Osbourne… aside from being iconic figures in the world of rock ‘n’ roll, what do they all have in common?  They’ve all had the honor of calling Tommy Clufetos their drummer.  Ever since he picked up the drumsticks at the age of seven, Tommy Clufetos has lived and breathed rock ‘n’ roll, doing more in ten years than most people dream of accomplishing in a lifetime.  It’s that kind of dedication that has brought him from keeping time for the Motor City Madman to tearing through the Diary of a Madman.  Recently I had a chance to speak with Tommy about what it’s like to play with rock royalty, covering everything from the Prince of Darkness to the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.  So sit back, grab a cold one, and kick up your feet as we delve into the mind of one of rock’s great stickmen….

AWAY-TEAM:  I’d like to start by congratulating you on the success of the current tour, and on semi-recently being named the new full time drummer for Ozzy Osbourne.

TOMMY CLUFETOS:  Thank you.

AWAY-TEAM:  You guys are currently touring with Slash as your supporting act, I know you’ve had the chance to play with him before, how did that come to be?

TOMMY CLUFETOS:  You mean how did it come with me jamming with Slash before?

AWAY-TEAM:  Yeah.

TOMMY CLUFETOS:  I was doing this thing with Alice Cooper, not when I was in Alice Cooper’s band, he just asked me to help him out and do this thing called the MAP Fund, which is affiliated with the Grammy’s and it helps those with substance abuse addictions.  So we played at this concert, and Slash jammed with Alice when I was playing drums, I think he played “School’s Out” or something.  So we played together then, and he just asked me to jam with him a couple times out of that.  He’s a total gentleman, Slash, I love his guitar playing.  Ya know he’s one of the last guitar hero rock stars out there, so…  I can’t say enough about that guy, he’s such a great guy, and great musician.

AWAY-TEAM:  Yeah, he’s legendary!

TOMMY CLUFETOS:  Right.

AWAY-TEAM:  Now I spoke with Gus G. a few months ago, and he hadn’t yet met Slash, and I asked him this very question, but he didn’t have the answer yet.  So now it’s time for an update… have you guys played any songs on this tour with both Ozzy and Slash on stage at the same time?  I know they played together on Slash’s album.

TOMMY CLUFETOS:  Ozzy sang on Slash’s album, yeah.  But they don’t do that during the concert, because we fly in and out of the shows, so it doesn’t really leave much time for us to… ya know, sometimes we’ll get there when he’s already on stage, and we have to get ready, so.  The schedule is quite compact, so I don’t think it technically leaves room to do that.  But that would be cool.

AWAY-TEAM:  Sure would.

TOMMY CLUFETOS:  But the package of Slash and Ozzy  together is going over really well, and I think it’s a great thing for fans.  Alot of tunes that people are familiar with, and alot of tunes where people go ‘Oh, I forgot about that song’, so it’s a great night of rock ‘n’ roll hits for everybody.

AWAY-TEAM:  I think the great part of it, is we haven’t seen something like this in a long time, and I’ve said this before, it kinda brings you back to the days of the old Monsters of Rock tours and things like that.

TOMMY CLUFETOS:  Yeah.  I mean Slash is just an icon, and so is Ozzy, so it makes for a great night for everybody.

AWAY-TEAM:  Right.  So how did you get the gig with Ozzy?  Did you have to audition? Or did they call you and say “Hey, what are you doing? We want you to play with us”?  How did that work out?

TOMMY CLUFETOS:  I was kinda in the right place at the right time.  I was brought in to help out during Gus G.’s audition, he came in from Greece, and their drummer at the time couldn’t make it, so I was asked to do it just so Gus could be comfortable and focus on playing guitar… and the music would be solid.  So that’s what I came in to do, and then they asked me to play at a thing called Blizzcon in California, which again Mike Bordin, who’s an amazing drummer, could not make due to commitments with Faith No More.  They asked me to do that, and out of those couple experiences they asked me to join the band.  So I was very lucky, and excited, and so ecstatic to say ‘Yes’.

AWAY-TEAM:  Now you left Rob Zombie’s band to take the gig with Ozzy, I understand Rob was a little bitter when you left him.  Have you spoken to him since, and managed to salvage your friendship?

TOMMY CLUFETOS:  I have not spoken to him.  But I have nothing but great things to say about Rob and my time spent there, and ya know I base our relationship on what I saw when I was there and I have nothing but great things to say about that.  I wouldn’t say anything negative, just because of a couple statements in the press.  So, no hard feelings on my end.  I wish him, his wife Sheri, and all the guys nothing but the best.  I still think the world of all of them.  So, that’s how I feel.

AWAY-TEAM:  These days Ozzy seems to be a bit more energized than he has been in the past few years.  I’m sure in part it has to do with some of you younger guysbeing around.  With guys like yourself and Gus being closer in age to Ozzy’s kids, than the man himself; do Ozzy and Sharon treat you with more of a parental instinct? Or are you still just one of the guys?

TOMMY CLUFETOS:  The age thing doesn’t really come into play.  We play in his band, and it’s business.  But this is more like a family than anything I’ve ever been involved with.  They’re super cool, and super nice, and ya know we just played an L.A. show and Ozzy’s whole family was out there.  They couldn’t be better to us, they treat us all great despite the age.  Whether you’re old or young, it’s all the same thing.

AWAY-TEAM:  It’s all rock ‘n’ roll.  And speaking of that, Ozzy’s still going at age 62, where do you see yourself at age 62?

TOMMY CLUFETOS:  I’ll still be rockin’ n’ rollin’ my friend!

AWAY-TEAM:  Kick ass! 

TOMMY CLUFETOS:  I just hope I die on stage.  That would be… not too soon! (laughs)

AWAY-TEAM:  (laughs) Yeah. Let’s not rush it!

TOMMY CLUFETOS:  I can’t stop.  So I’ll probably be that dude up there that people are saying ‘Why won’t he quit?’

AWAY-TEAM:  (laughs)

TOMMY CLUFETOS:  At least I know it right? (laughs)  I’ll probably still be taking my shirt off when I’m a fat guy!

AWAY-TEAM:  (laughs)  I gotta ask this question… the whole metal world let out a collective ‘What the fuck?” when we first heard that Ozzy was working with Justin Bieber, in fact I even read somewhere somebody said ‘I hope Ozzy bites his head off’ (laughs)

TOMMY CLUFETOS:  (laughs)

AWAY-TEAM:  How did the guys in the band feel about it, see when we first heard we didn’t know it was a commercial, we just heard they were working together so it obviously created a bit of a storm in the media.  So how did you guys feel about it? I mean did you bust his balls a bit?

TOMMY CLUFETOS:  I mean he’s doing a Super Bowl commercial, so who wouldn’t be in a Super Bowl commercial?  It’s like the biggest thing in the world, and I mean he’s Ozzy Osbourne he can do whatever the hell he wants.  So I think it’s great, Ozzy is more than music, he’s a cultural icon!  He’s like Coca-Cola.  Coca-Cola is just fucking cool, and so is Ozzy.  So, I mean we go up on stage and Ozzy just rocks balls!  Harder than anybody out there, harder than any punk kid.  He’s the real deal, so whether he’s in a commercial with Justin Bieber, or in The Osbourne’s, he still IS rock ‘n’ roll.  He’s the definition of rock ‘n’ roll, and he proves it when he gets on the stage, and we’re there to back him up on it!

AWAY-TEAM:  Speaking of backing him up, current band not included, if you could pick an all-time, all-star lineup for Ozzy, consisting of former band members who would it be?

TOMMY CLUFETOS:  Oh man, that’s a tough one.  He’s always had such great bands.  The No More Tears era was a great band, of course the Blizzard era was a great band, ya know I just feel honored to be in the Ozzy Osbourne band legacy.  That’s what I feel lucky about.  My name is in those ranks, and that’s just a great feeling, because he’s always had and always found the great musicians.  Ozzy’s so good at getting great musicians in his band, and he can see talent, so I feel blessed and honored to be in that category.   I’m not saying I’m in that category, but just to be mentioned with the same guys is a great feeling.

AWAY-TEAM:  Yeah, I think Gus put it really well.  He said you guys get to “…go out there every night and play the Bible of Heavy Metal”  That’s pretty fucking cool!

TOMMY CLUFETOS:  When we played in Los Angeles the other night, Tony Iommi was out there and Bill Ward came into our dressing room… sweetheart of a guy, total monster, amazing drummer.  So it was great to meet those guys and have ‘em at the show.

AWAY-TEAM:  That’s awesome.  So how did you get started playing drums?

TOMMY CLUFETOS:  My father was a musician, and I got drums for my 7th birthday, and from that moment on I’ve known what I was gonna do with my life.  So it was full on instantly, blinders on, to get to doing what I’m doing now.  So it’s been an endless, relentless pursuit of quality and determination to get where I am now.

AWAY-TEAM:  What was the first song you ever learned?  And who did you idolize, or style your play after growing up?

TOMMY CLUFETOS:  Wow, first song I ever learned (pauses)  I think it was, my dad was a musician, so I think it was growing up a song called “C-Jam Blues” which was a Duke Ellington thing.  Kinda like a little swing number, and it had little breaks for me to do some fills in, and stuff like that.  That’s the earliest thing I can remember doing.  I started so early, it just sort of came easy for me.  I could just play tunes instantly, so um, ya.  Once you look back it’s kinda funny how quickly it goes by.

AWAY-TEAM:  So who did you idolize growing up?

TOMMY CLUFETOS:  I idolized my parents.  Ya know, as you get older it’s harder to have idols, but my parents; I give them the greatest credit for me doing what I’m doing now.  They never told me I couldn’t… I mean my mom, I can’t imagine the noise she had to deal with for 20 years in the house, at all times of the day blasting music and playing drums.  And my dad always made sure I had drum stuff, and took me out and saw music, and put me in his band, so.  The support was always there, and they always told me I could do whatever I wanted as long as I put the effort in.  So they gave me the tools to have the confidence, in order to go out and do what I do.  That’s really who I’m gonna give credit to.  To do music, ya know, you gotta have that right mindset.  Being able to play your instrument and be good at it is almost the easy part.  Your mind has to be together, and you have to understand your place and your role.  So it’s very easy, ya know we’re staying at the Four Seasons Hotel and just got off a private jet, it’s easy to start thinking you’re a big shot.  But you gotta remember where you came from, and remember why you’re there.  You gotta stay grounded, and I credit that to my parents for instilling those values in me.  Ya know, when I did wrong, they put you in your place, when you did good, you got credit for it.  So I carry those lessons with me to this day.

AWAY-TEAM:  Now you got your first real big break with Ted Nugent,  how did you end up playing with him?  Had he known you from the Detroit scene?

TOMMY CLUFETOS:  I got to first play with Ted, a guy in Detroit, a great sax player named Alto Reed whose played in Bob Seger’s band for the last 30 years, asked me to play on a movie soundtrack that he was putting together.  Ted Nugent also played on it.  So I first played with Ted during that, and didn’t have any idea of what music we were gonna play, he just sat down and wrote a song, and I immediately followed him.  We did one take of it, and we cut it.  Then we did another one in one take, and I think I impressed him because he called me the next day to go on tour with him.  So, ya know, you get certain moments in life where you go “This is my shot.”  If I didn’t buckle down and kick ass, Ted Nugent is not gonna give me another shot.  You can work for ten years busting your hump, and eventually your break will come in a round about way, and you get that one opportunity to go to the next level.  And I knew that was my moment, my one moment.  I’ve had numerous moments like that, that have led me to where I’m at.  But you don’t get those moments without the years and years of hard work and preparation in order to lead you to be prepared to take advantage of that moment.

AWAY-TEAM:  Right, it’s all about what you make of it.  So being with a guy like Ted, it’s almost a requirement to be into guns…

TOMMY CLUFETOS:  You know what, Ted doesn’t give a shit.  Ted only cares about you working your ass off, and being professional, and doing your job.  Of course he’s gonna take you to shoot guns, but he doesn’t care if you’re a vegetarian, if you’re black or white, as long as you kick ass and do what you do to the best of your ability, your his best friend.

AWAY-TEAM:  So what’s the sickest weapon you ever shot with him?

TOMMY CLUFETOS:  Oh my god.  We went out in Texas, he would fly us out to these hunting ranches for his birthday and shoot like, I don’t even know what they’re called.  But like insane crazy machine guns, like you’d see in movies, like in Red Dawn.  Just stupid, stupid stuff.  I’d be firing these things and be like “What am I doing right now!”  For me it was crazy, being the city guy, ya know?

AWAY-TEAM:  (laughs)  Right.  Having played with so many greats over your career, do you ever get jaded?  In other words, let’s take someone I know you’ve never met, at least I hope you’ve never met!  Elvis walks by, is it ”So what it’s Elvis he’s just another guy like me”? Or do you still get a little starstruck?

TOMMY CLUFETOS:  You picked the one guy, I mean I’m an Elvis nut…

AWAY-TEAM:  Likewise!

TOMMY CLUFETOS:  …so if he walked by, I’d really be going crazy.  Second of all, I would have loved to play for Elvis, that’s one guy I would’ve loved to play for.  I am an Elvis fanatic!  To me though, we’re people.  Elvis would be the one dude that I would freak out about though.  But, we’re all people, and at this point you’re either an asshole, or you’re not an asshole! (laughs)  So sometimes you meet famous people and they’re fucking assholes, sometimes you meet famous people and they’re the greatest people in the world.  So, ya know, we’re all just people.  I don’t really let anybody freak me out, cuz who cares.  You can’t be intimidated by people either.  You can be excited, and have a certain charisma that makes you excited to meet them because they’re exciting.  But it’s not just because they’re a star, ya know.  Like Ozzy has a certain charisma, where you’re like “Oh my god, this is Ozzy“  It’s fucking cool!  But it’s not just because it’s Ozzy, it’s because he’s a cool person.  If that difference makes sense.

AWAY-TEAM:  I know exactly what you mean!

TOMMY CLUFETOS:  Like there’s certain guys I’ve played in bands with where I go “Oh my god, this guys a douchebag!”  But the guys I play with now, everybody is so cool, everybody is on the same page, and so professional, it’s just a joy to be around.  We’re having a riot out here…Blasko, Adam Wakeman, Gus G, Ozzy…all top notch supreme gentlemen, and highest level musicians.

AWAY-TEAM:  Of all the legends that you’ve played with, Ted Nugent, Alice Cooper, Rob Zombie, and Ozzy, what’s the best advice any of them has ever given you?

TOMMY CLUFETOS:  Best advice anybody has ever given me… that’s a tough one.  (pauses)  I have no idea.  I learned alot from Ted Nugent, he gave me my first big break, we’re both from Detroit, share alot of the same influences, come from the same place and look at things the same way so I learned alot of things from him.  But most of the stuff, my parents gave me the tools, I knew what I was doing.  I was ready when anything came down the pipeline.  I’m talking emotionally, and mentally I was ready.  The best advice I can give somebody, if they wanna do this, is to keep the music number one.  If something else comes in front of your music, or whatever you wanna do in your life you will not make it.  Everything I do during the day has to do with me wanting to play music for the rest of my life.  And when you get away from that, when you start getting into drugs, and start drinking, when the partying becomes too much eventually, it may take years, you’re gonna fall.  I don’t care who you are, when you stop practicing as much you will lose your chops.  You will lose it, I’ve seen so many drummers that are like “Oh yeah, I don’t really pick up the sticks in between tours.”  WHAT? You don’t pick up the sticks?  I have to pick up the sticks, I have to play, I have to stay hungry for it.  Or year, after year, after year you will become dull, and you will lose it slowly.  You gotta keep the hunger, and you gotta keep the music number one.  So that’s my biggest advice, and everybody who I’ve worked for, that’s what they do and they have 42 year careers because of it.  So they may not say something, they may not say the advice, but if you’re smart enough and perceptive you can pick it up on your own.  Watch and learn.

AWAY-TEAM:  Very true.  Excellent pearls of wisdom.  Tommy, thank you for your time, it’s been a true honor.

TOMMY CLUFETOS:  Thank you very much for your time.  I appreciate it, and all the best to you!

AWAY-TEAM:  Same to you.  Best of luck with everything, and I look forward to seeing you behind the kit for many years to come.

TOMMY CLUFETOS:  Appreciate it.  all my best.

AWAY-TEAM:  Thanks buddy!  Talk to you soon.

TOMMY CLUFETOS:  Bye.

For more info on Tommy Clufetos visit http://www.tommyclufetos313.com/ and http://www.ozzy.com for info including tour dates.

Special thanks to Tommy Clufetos for so graciously giving me his time, and to George Vallee at Sumerian Records for making it all happen.

When Ozzy Osbourne parted ways with long time guitarist Zakk Wylde in early 2009, many people thought he was losing it.  When he replaced him with a relative unknown, people thought he’d pulled a page from his Diary of a Madman.  The key word here is “relative” unknown;  you see, Gus G. had already forged a name for himself within the inner circles of rock via his band Firewind.  In fact, what most of those doubters didn’t realize is that Gus was already well on his way to being considered one of the great guitarists of our time, not only by his fellow axemen, but also garnering the distinction of being named one of the Top 3 Guitarists in the World by Japanese magazine Burrn!  Approximately a year and a half later Gus G. is out “burning” up the stage every night with The Prince of Darkness, and did I mention he’s a comic book hero too?  Here’s how it all went down when I had Q&A with the man destined to become a living legend…

AWAY-TEAM:  Congratulations on the release of the new Firewind album, “Days of Defiance”, which by the way is a fantastic album…

GUS G.:  Thank you very much!

AWAY-TEAM:  …and also on being named the new guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne…

GUS G.:  Thank you very much. Thanks.

AWAY-TEAM:  …we’ll talk some more about that, but first I want to talk a little about Firewind.  I’ve described your sound with Firewind as sort of a “melodic speed metal”, that harkens back to the days of the great 80′s metal bands.  If you had to describe Firewind’s sound to someone who has never heard you before, how would you describe it?

GUS G.:  I would say it’s melodic heavy metal, yeah.  Ya know people like to put tags on music, like I know for example we’ve been tagged as a power metal band, and that’s not the case.  We almost feel like it’s a bad thing to be called a power metal band these days, because it’s not fashionable.  But I’m thinking we are not even power metal,  just because we sound “European” or we have fast double bass on some of our songs, that doesn’t mean anything.  I think it’s just, our roots come from traditional rock or heavy metal, like you said from the 80′s and the 70′s.  We’re just like a traditional heavy metal band, but with modern elements.

AWAY-TEAM:  There were a few influences that were highly discernable on the album.  For example, there seemed to be a lot of Iron Maiden in songs like “Chariot” and “SKG”, and a great deal of Scorpions sound in the track “Broken”.  Who were your strongest musical influences growing up?

GUS G.:  Well, you’ve actually named two of them.  I mean, um, we’re all big Maiden fans, and you can tell that on a song like “Chariot”.  I love the ballads that the Scorpions made, and I guess it’s natural for me to write a bit in that vain as well.  So some of the stuff I do will remind you a bit of early Scorpions.  Uh, you know, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, all of the great bands of the 70′s and 80′s really.  Thin Lizzy.  These are the bands that we really look up to.

AWAY-TEAM:  So what was the first song or album that you heard that made you pick up a guitar and start playing?

GUS G.:  Actually it was Peter Frampton, the album Frampton Comes Alive.  My dad had the album at home, and he was playing it, and when I heard him do the talk box thing in the song “Do You Feel Like I Do” I was like “Wow, the guitar sounds like a robot”.  So then I wanted to play the guitar.  I must’ve been about 9 years old or so, and that’s when I asked my dad to get me a guitar.  He got me a guitar and about a year later I started taking lessons.

AWAY-TEAM:  Earlier this year you guys (Firewind) were featured in an issue of the Eternal Descent comic book series.  Comic book artists often take artistic liberties when drawing a real life person into a fictional world.  What, if anything, would you change about your character in the comic book if you were the artist?

GUS G.:  Oh I don’t know, my imagination is not that wild to be honest. (laughs)  So I can’t see myself in a comic book, so I left that up to the artist who’s a really talented young guy Llexi Leon.  He made it super cool man, we all had super powers.  I think mine, because I have a flame tattoo on my right hand, he turned that into a super power so whenever I would get pissed off or anything my hand would go on fire, and my guitar as well. (laughs)

AWAY-TEAM:  (laughs)

GUS G.:  And I would just burn the fuck out of people or something.  So that was pretty cool.  Plus he made me a little bit more muscular which was cool. (laughs)

AWAY-TEAM:  (laughs) So let’s talk a little bit about the Ozzy gig.  How did you actually land the job?

GUS G.:  It was a year and a half ago, when his management sent me an email asking me if I’d be interested in the gig, and if I’d go out and audition.  And that’s how it happened.

AWAY-TEAM:  So you actually had to audition for him?  What songs did you have to play?

GUS G.:  Um, ya know, a bunch of his classic songs like “Bark at the Moon”, “Crazy Train”, “I Don’t Know”, “Suicide Solution”, “I Don’t Wanna Change the World”, “Paranoid”, stuff like that, ya know.  We went in there and did about six or seven songs.

AWAY-TEAM:  So now, you’ve gotten the job, and you come in during the middle of the recording of the Scream album; for someone like yourself who’s used to having a large amount of control over what goes into an album, what was the creative process like?  Did they give you as much freedom as you’re used to? Or did they just say ‘Here you go, play it like this.’?

GUS G.:  No, they didn’t tell me how to play really.  They told me “Do what you gotta do as a guitar player.  We need alot of your guitar in there.”  Because when I walked in all the songs were already written of course, but the guitar work had been done by Kevin Churko the producer, who is not really a guitar player so it sounded a little bit weird.  Ya know what I mean?  Like very processed and stuff.  So they were like “Make it as real sounding, and as heavy as possible.  Just do what you do.  We want Gus on there.”  So like I said, while alot of these songs were not my songs, I thought it was very challenging to be involved in a different project for once.  And try to make my mark as a guitar player on songs that I didn’t write.  And secondly, it was cooler than ever because I got to play on an Ozzy Osbourne album.

AWAY-TEAM:  With that being said, you’re following in the footsteps of some legendary guitarists in guys like Tony Iommi, Randy Rhoads, and Zakk Wylde.  Those guys all had their own unique sound, when your playing their songs do you try to put your own stamp on them? Or is it more like, those guys were so good it’d be sacrilege to change their sound?

GUS G.:  Well, as a fan I don’t like to change stuff they did.  Because we’re not just talking about anybody’s song, this is the bible of heavy metal man.  This is what shaped the sound of hard rock and heavy metal for all the rest of us to follow.  So it’s not like I’m gonna go in and do my own version of “Crazy Train” or my own version of “Paranoid”, ya know.  That’s not gonna happen.  But you know, Ozzy and Black Sabbath songs, these songs came from jams mainly, and there’s always a little room for the guitar player to do his own little fills and tricks here and there.  I definitely do my own thing, but without really interfering with the song composition if you know what I mean.

AWAY-TEAM:  Zakk Wylde  has been highly complimentary of you, in the media especially.  Have you had a chance to meet or talk with him yet?

GUS G.:  No.  I never got to meet him, and I would really like to.  I really want to thank him for saying all of these great things about me, because it means alot to me.  I mean Zakk Wylde is an icon, and someone I always looked up to growing up.  He was one of my guitar heroes, and just to hear a guy like that saying all those great things about me is amazing.  It’s awesome, and I really appreciate all of his support.  He’s really cool with me about that.  He’s really given me the platform I need to go out there and do my thing.  He’s been very nice, and I’ve always had the best thoughts about Zakk, ya know.

AWAY-TEAM:  That’s really cool to hear.  Now, your first show with Ozzy was last year at Blizzcon; what was the moment you stepped back and realized “Holy shit! I’m really Ozzy’s guitarist!”?

GUS G.:  (laughs) Yeah, that was definitely the gig where I was thinking about all of that.  Even the rehearsal, everyday I was like “What the fuck? Where am I?” And that didn’t really end after Blizzcon, it still goes through my mind every other day.  I’m like “Wow! Look how things turned out!”  This is not something you can expect to really happen in life.  It’s beyond any biggest honor a guitar player can have in heavy metal and hard rock.  I mean, I was happy I was playing with my band, and when this came along I was like “Wow! Really???”  When they called me for the audition I went in there and was like “I’ve got nothing to lose.  At least I can jam with ’em and it’s a story I can tell my children one day.”  But who would’ve ever thought that I would be in his band, and working with Ozzy for over a year now.

AWAY-TEAM:  You mentioned being a fan, as a fan what was your all-time favorite Ozzy or Sabbath song?

GUS G.:  You know, that is a problem actually, because he has so many great songs, I just love ‘em all man.  I love doing the Ozzy stuff on stage, I love doing the Sabbath stuff.  He has so many great songs on all of his albums.  I mean, I love the Diary of a Madman stuff, I love the stuff from The Ultimate Sin that we’re doing.  There’s more songs that I love that we’re not even doing, ya know.  We’re playing two and a half hour sets every night, and to fit it all in we need at least four to four and a half hours to fit all of this material in there.  He has so many classic songs that you just can’t possibly fit in everything.

AWAY-TEAM:  So what was the most challenging song to learn?

GUS G.:  Uh, I don’t know.  You know all of his guitar players had some very interesting stuff in there.  I really cannot seperate one guy from another because everybody was unique in their own way.  Like Jake E. Lee, he was special, he was doing all these weird chords and playing around with harmonics and stuff.  Randy, he had all this classical influence and mixed it with heavy rock stuff, and it’s also very interesting to play that stuff.  And of course Zakk, his technique was at another level.  And then you’ve got Tony Iommi, who’s super, super heavy and bluesy and just plays freeform.  So you really need to be a well rounded guitar player to play all these different styles.  But for me it’s really a natural thing, because those are the kind of guitar players I grew up listening to.  I come from that school of guitar, ya know?

AWAY-TEAM:  With the extensive touring schedule you have planned with Ozzy, Firewind  has sort of taken a back seat for now.  Do you foresee yourself pulling the same type of double duty with Firewind on future Ozzfest’s as Zakk did with Black Label Society?

GUS G.:  You know, in a festival, I could see it happening in a festival.  We just confirmed a festival for the summer in France, called Hellfest and we’re headlining with Ozzy and Firewind is also gonna be on the bill.  So that’s gonna be the first double duty gig for me.  I wouldn’t really go out and do it if it was like an arena tour, or a headline tour with Ozzy because I wouldn’t really want to compromise the tour by being tired or anything, playing back to back.  But in some sort of situation where I play with Firewind, and then I get a few hours to rest and go play with Ozzy, I would love to do that.  What we’re doing with Firewind right now is, we’re doing our gigs in between the Ozzy tours.  Because we have a few months off here and there from the touring; and actually the reason we’re not doing that many gigs with Firewind is we’re covering alot of ground by doing alot of special gigs.  Covering alot of major territory, we were just on the East Coast a couple of weeks ago.  We did New York, Montreal, Washington, D.C., Virginia…and we’re gonna go to Japan in Januray, we’re gonna go to England.  So we’re covering alot of ground even though we’re not doing 150 dates or something.

AWAY-TEAM:  That actually kinda answers my next question.  How do you plan to balance and be able to put your heart and soul into both projects?

GUS G.:  I guess I just answered that, didn’t I? (laughs)  Obviously Firewind has a new album as well, and I would want to promote that too.  You know with Firewind we’ve been touring extensively for the last four years or so, and we’ve played like every fucking club on earth.  So we thought this was an opportunity for us to do special gigs, in bigger cities, in bigger venues and be able to promote those gigs better.  So actually the fact that I’m so busy with Ozzy has actually worked in our favor, because we were able to better handle our promotion, and better handle the gigs that we are doing.  It makes it more special both for us, and for our fans.

AWAY-TEAM:  Slash is going to be joining you in January for the second leg of the tour.  Can we expect to see you guys on stage together at all?  Maybe doing the song Ozzy recorded with him for his album? Or just a good old fashioned guitar battle?

GUS G.:  Well, I don’t know Slash personally.  I’m looking forward to meeting him.  I hear from everybody that he’s the sweetest guy, and I’m a big fan of his as well.  I grew up with Guns n Roses, and I love his new solo album.  I will definitely be on the side of the stage watching him as a fan, I don’t know if I’m gonna get to jam with him, but I’m definitely gonna be there to watch the show.

AWAY-TEAM:  I read in Rolling Stone that this tour could include full performances of the Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman albums, in honor of their 30th anniversary.  Is there any truth to that?

GUS G.:  No.  It’s rumor.  We haven’t rehearsed a full album to be honest.  I don’t know if something’s gonna change before the tour starts, and we’re gonna go into rehearsals and play alot.  But nothing like that, that I’ve heard of right now.

AWAY-TEAM:  Well Gus, thank you so much for your time.  It’s been a great honor to speak with you. 

GUS G.:  Thanks man.

AWAY-TEAM:  Good luck with the new album, and the tour, and I look forward to seeing you when you make your way to Florida in February.

GUS G.:  Yeah man, I’m looking forward to it, we’re doing three shows there.  I actually have some family down there, my uncle lives in Miami, so I’m looking forward to coming back to Florida, I haven’t been there in years.

AWAY-TEAM:  Excellent, I’m looking forward to it as well.

GUS G.:  See you there.

For more Firewind, including tour dates and to purchase music, visit http://www.firewind.gr/

For more Ozzy Osbourne, including tour dates and to purchase music, visit http://www.ozzy.com/us/home

Special thanks to Gus G. for so graciously giving me his time, and to Josh Eldridge at Century Media for making it all happen.

Greek melodic metal phenomenon FIREWIND has returned with the new studio album, Days Of Defiance, which is easily their defining musical moment. The disc is set for an October 25th release in Europe, as well as an October 26th release in North America.

Gus G. comments on the video as follows: “The video for ‘World on Fire’ was shot entirely on green screen and I think this time Patric Ullaeus has outdone himself! The concept is based on the album cover artwork and it’s something we’re doing for the first time on a video of ours. There’s a barbaric vibe to it, lots of fire, metal warriors and even a Valkyrie. We’re very pleased with the final result and we believe this is our best video yet. Check it out and let the Firewind rage on!”

The clip was shot by acclaimed director Patric Ullaeus, who has worked with Firewind‘s visuals on the previous two albums.

For more FIREWIND click here.

OZZY OSBOURNE will return to North America for a month-long arena tour launching November 12 in Victoria, B.C. and concluding December 12 in Minneapolis. These shows — in support of his album “Scream” (Epic Records) and latest single, “Life Won’t Wait” — are part the of the rock legend’s in-progress 18-month world tour on which he’s earning some of the best live reviews of his career (including raves for new guitarist, Gus G.). HALFORD, featuring legendary JUDAS PRIEST frontman Rob Halford, will perform on all dates. The first leg of arena dates will mark Ozzy‘s first headlining North American tour since 2007′s trek for his “Black Rain” album. Tickets for the Live Nation-produced tour go on sale beginning Friday, September 17.

A limited number of VIP tickets are available for each show on the North American tour through two unique meet-and-greet packages. VIP packages go on sale Monday, September 13 at 10:00 a.m. (local venue time) and are limited to four per show date for the met-and-greet package and eight per show date for the party package. Descriptions of the two VIP packages are as follows:
* The “Ozzy Osbourne Meet-And-Greet Package” is limited to 30 tickets per show and amenities include: premium seating within the first three rows of the stage, meet-and-greet and personal photograph with Ozzy, VIP access to the exclusive pre-concert party hosted by MC Big Dave and a variety of Ozzy tour- related items.
* The “Ozzy Osbourne Possessed Party Package” — available to the first 200 buyers —-includes a ticket located within the first 10 rows of the stage, VIP access to the exclusive pre-concert party hosted by MC Big Dave and a variety of Ozzy tour-related items.

The preliminary tour dates are as follows (with more dates to be announced):
Nov. 12 – Victoria, BC – Save On Foods Memorial Centre
Nov. 14 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena
Nov. 16 – Calgary, AB – Pengrowth Saddledome
Nov. 18 – Edmonton, MB – Rexall Place
Nov. 20 – Winnipeg, MB – MTS Centre
Nov. 23 – Montreal, QC – Bell Centre
Nov. 25 – Ottawa, ON – Scotiabank Place
Nov. 27 – Toronto, ON – Air Canada Centre
Dec. 01 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden Arena
Dec. 03 – E. Rutherford, NJ – Izod Center
Dec. 05 – Cleveland, OH – Quicken Loans Arena
Dec. 12 – Minneapolis, MN – Target Center

For more OZZY click here.
For more HALFORD click here.

Greek metal phenomenon FIREWIND, led by the young guitar sensation Gus G. (OZZY OSBOURNE), has returned with the scathing new effort Days Of Defiance, which is easily their defining moment.

The much anticipated disc is set for an October 26th North American release (October 25th throughout Europe) and it’s a truly ambitious and dynamic opus featuring some of the most brilliant guitar playing the genre has seen in many years.

Gus G. states: “Usually when we write an album we let the music come to us and go with the flow. Maybe that’s why our albums have variety and you can hear everything from super heavy songs, to speed metal shredding, to rock anthems and ballads. Days Of Defiance wasn’t much different in the making, but this time we recorded almost all of it in our home studios, which allowed us to be more relaxed. That’s why I feel the new album features the best performances by all of us. One of our main goals though was to get a bit more of an ‘unpolished’ sound and be more raw. I think we achieved it and that gives an extra heaviness to the overall sound. We mixed the album in Helsinki, Finland at Sonic Pump Studios. Nino Laurenne (THUNDERSTONE) and Tapio Pennanen mixed it and they did a killer job. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do.”

For more FIREWIND click here.

OZZY OSBOURNE‘s first album in almost three years, Scream, is currently streaming in it’s entirety at Ozzy‘s MySpace page.
Scream will be released on June 11th in mainland Europe, June 14th in the UK, June 22nd in North America and June 23rd in Japan via Epic Records.
Ozzy Osbourne recorded most of Scream at his Los Angeles home studio, The Bunker, and co-wrote all the songs, primarily with Churko. Notably, the album marks the first appearance of Ozzy‘s new guitar player, Gus G (FIREWIND).
Ozzy‘s band also features bassist Blasko, drummer Tommy Clufetos and keyboardist Adam Wakeman.

Scream tracklisting is as follows:
‘Let Me Hear You Scream’
‘Diggin Me Down’
‘Let It Die’
‘Soul Sucker’
‘Fearless’
‘I Want It All’
‘Time’
‘Crucify’
‘I Love You All’