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 Rudy Sarzo is an accomplished bass player that possesses that certain star quality. The talented bass man has an extensive career and has toured the world with such legendary 80's artists such as, Ozzy Osbourne, Quiet Riot, Whitesnake, Yngwie Malmsteen and Dio.
Rudy Sarzo is the only musician to perform in both Quiet Riot, and Blizzard of OZ with guitar virtuoso Randy Rhoads. During the early years before Randy's untimely death, Rudy became quite close to the legendary guitarist. It stands to reason, that Rudy Sarzo, in deep respect to his fallen hero, Randy Rhoads, would write a Tribute to the late, great, Randy Rhoads. Entitled, ” Off The Rails".
In the past, Rudy Sarzo has headlined world wide tours, appeared in numerous MTV videos, and was voted best player by Circus Magazine in 1983.
In April, 1987- Sept 1994, Rudy joined of the most influential bands of the 80’s rock genre Whitesnake. Rudy recorded the platinum album "Slip Of The Tongue" and headlined concert arenas across the world with Whitesnake. During the 80's, when MTV ruled the music world, Rudy and his fellow band mates including David Coverdale, and wife Tawny Kittaen, heated up many a television screen, with Whitesnake's steamy, sensual videos.
Rudy rejoined the reunited Quiet Riot from May 1997- August 2003. He experienced much success with Quiet Riot, as they were th first metal band to hit Number one on the Billboard Charts.
In February 2004, Rudy was asked to tour with Yngwie Malmsteem for a 30 city U.S. Tour. This was just the beginning of what was promising to be one of the most exciting years for Rudy to date. In April 2004, Rudy was asked to become a permanent member of Dio. Rudy Sarzo performed his first concert with Dio, on July 16 in Moscow, Russia. Rudy says, " It's a real honor to play with Dio. He is one of the nicest guys, I have ever met. He makes you feel welcome into his musical family." Rudy Sarzo is a mentor to many an aspiring musician today and a true professional to his craft.
In this Exclusive interview with GlamMetal.Com. Rudy Sarzo discusses his book, "Off The Rails", his extensive career, and how the resurgence of metal is once again finding it's way into the heart of young aspiring musicians across the country.
www.myspace.com/officialrudysarzosite Buy Rudy’s book here
Rudy, Thank you for giving us the opportunity to discuss your book, "Off The Rails" with Glammetal.Com. Tell me what inspired you to write your Tribute to Randy Rhoads?
SARZO: In the 25 years since Randy’s passing, I’ve had numerous fans around the world ask me what it was like to play with Randy. Every time I would briefly share my memories with the fans, I always walked away feeling that I hadn't said enough. There is so much more to say about Randy. So I figured, I would write everything that I know, all of my memoirs and all of the information that I have regarding Randy and me put it into a book form, so I won't feel that I left anything out. I felt I could not pay Randy homage in a five minute conversation. It is all there.
How do you remember Randy Rhoads? Would you like to share your thoughts and memories with us about Randy?
Randy Rhoads was an amazing musician, teacher, musician, friend, performer and composer. Also, Randy was responsible for getting me in Ozzy’s band and for keeping the plane from crashing into our tour bus and saving the lives of us who were sleep in the bus. So you see, the book is my way of me saying “Thanks Randy”.
March 19, 2007 recently marked the 25th Anniversary of the tragic death of Randy Rhoads. As a musician, how have you seen the Randy Rhoads legacy live on?
SARZO: Randy's legacy is still growing. Almost everyday I get messages on MySpace from young fans who have discovered him through their parent’s CD collection. Most of the guitar players of today, have been influenced by 80's guitar players. I can probaly say, I was influenced a lot from the 70's guitar players such as Hendrix. Randy had an unique sound.
Actually, you were the only person to perform with Randy in both Quiet Riot and Ozzy. It must have been a true honor for you.
SARZO: I was blessed. It gave me the opportunity to see the two sides of Randy’s guitar playing. There was the Randy with Quiet Riot, and the Randy with Ozzy. The Randy with Quiet Riot had a lot of restrictions that were set by what the industry in Los Angeles was all about. Let's face it; Quiet Riot was a band that was looking for a record deal. So we were pretty much at the mercy of what the industry was dictating. The last metal band to get signed out of the 70’s was Van Halen. Right after that, they shut the door.
By then the record companies had already started signing bands like The Knack, The Motels, and Devo, new wave bands. Even back then, they were claiming that “Metal is Dead”. That's it, no more Metal. You have to take into consideration, there was no Internet. Very few in the L.A. music industry were aware about the new wave of metal that was burgeoning England, such as Motorhead, Iron Maiden, Saxon, Def Leppard, etc. The industry was just focusing on what was outside of their door. What was happening on The Sunset Strip? What bands were coming in from let's say Ohio? So Devo comes into town. These guys are new and different. So they signed them almost immediately. They didn't care about all of the LA bands that were around doing Metal or Hard Rock or Glam.
So once Randy left LA and joined Ozzy’s band in England, Ozzy asked him," Just be yourself, just compose what comes to you naturally." So Randy had no restrictions to play and compose in a style that he really wanted.
I also want to add that Randy’s version of Quiet Riot was a blend of Sweet, The Faces, and a bit of Queen, among a few other influences of 70s rock. Quiet Riot became heavier, the second time around. I have to give a lot of that credit to the way that Frankie plays his drums. Frankie gave it more a heavier edge to it, more of a drive. More of that John Bonham feel and sound to it, and made it heavier. So to me, there were two completely different Quiet Riots.
Actually, you were one of the participants in the Randy Rhoads Induction on the Hollywood Rockwalk.
SARZO: Yes, I was one of the speakers. Also the Osbournes, The Rhoads family. Dave Weiderman of Guitar Center was very instrumental in Randy's induction. It was a long time coming since Randy was a local musician and got to hone his craft in clubs not far away from the Hollywood Rockwalk. So it was only fitting that he would have a plaque there commemorating his legacy.
On May 17th, another great guitar legend Dimebag Darrell Abbott will be inducted into the Hollywood Rockwalk. Would you like to share your special memories with us about Dime?
SARZO: Dime kindly participated in one of the Randy Rhoads Tributes in the 90's, at The Palace. He was always kind with the fans and an incredible player. In my opinion his guitar playing was deeply rooted the 80's and was able to forge that style of playing into his own and one of the guitar legends of the 90s.
Rudy, You had such an extensive career in music. Since 2004, you have been a member of Dio. Ronnie is out on the road with Heaven and Hell. I will be attending his concert on Tuesday at The Mohegan. Have you seen the Heaven and Hell in concert yet?
SARZO: Yes, Heaven and Hell, or Black Sabbath in disguise. We saw them in Los Angeles recently. It was such a joy to watch Ronnie perform and the guys perform. I have to say, it had a lot of 80's production and staging.
Are you a big fan of the version of the version of Sabbath with Dio?
SARZO: I am a huge fan of that version of Sabbath. I am very excited. I have heard the three new songs that are included in the Box Set, "Black Sabbath - The Dio Years. One of the songs had Ronnie brought to the table to be included in the new Dio record. But he got together with Tony, and Ronnie said,"Hey listen, I have these riffs here, so they have become part of the new Box Set. Also Ronnie, has his studio at home, I go there, and help him out recording. So I get to hear everything first hand. It sounds amazing. The Box Set is more like the Dio version of Sabbath with Vinnie Appice playing on it. It has a lot of the "Mob Rules", and Dehumanizer" sound and feel to it. Tony is incredible. He is a legend and icon. Not only as a personality, but he has the Iommi sound. Geezer is great too. I love his playing.
Growing up, I was a starving musician and didn’t have a lot of money to buy records. Bands use to release more records back then. Within any given year, there would be releases from Deep Purple, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Led Zeppelin. Musically I liked bands, which had that certain bluesy and melodic elements as Led Zeppelin rather than the gloom style for which Sabbath was known.
So it wasn’t until I joined Ozzy, that I got to dive into the Sabbath catalogue and perform and record their music. That’s when I gained an appreciation and respect for Geezer’s playing.
How did you get the gig in Dio?
SARZO: A friend of mine that was working for the DIO crew had heard that they were looking for a bass player. Quiet Riot had quietly broken up, around that time in 2003, going into 2004. Not everybody knew that I was available. So I called Wendy, the band’s manager and I let her know I was available. She told me Ronnie was busy writing the songs for the next record, which turned out to be "Master Of the Moon". She said, as soon as they are done with the record, we would call you back. Meanwhile, I got a call from April Malmsteem, who is Yngwie's wife and manager she invited me to participate on the U.S Yngwie, Attack Tour in 2004. So while I was on tour with Yngwie, I got a call from Wendy to go into the studio to start the work on "Master Of The Moon" album. It was right in the middle of the Yngwie, tour, so I had a commitment. They went ahead, and got Jeff Pilson in to do the record, but as soon as I finished my commitment with Yngwie, I called Wendy and said, "Hey I am available now. There you go, the rest is history."
Rudy, You recently did an autograph signing at the 2007 NAMM Convention. How did that go?
SARZO: It was great to see a young metal crowd back at NAMM. For the past few years, it was more hip hop. This year the influences were back to guitar and amplifiers.
What advice did you give your fans, who are just getting started in a musical career?
SARZO:Write the best songs you can. We as musicians are storytellers. You have to tell a story. The majority of music is with lyrics, so you can relate to the audience.
How would you describe Rock Icon Ronnie James Dio?
SARZO: Ronnie is the master of storytelling, both in Sabbath and Dio. It's a real honor to play with Dio. He is one of the nicest guys, I have ever met. He makes you feel welcome into his musical family."
How did it feel to be part of one of the most popular bands of the 80's Whitesnake?
SARZO: I had a blast. It was fantastic. It came at a time, when I was not expecting that type of success. I had already been with Ozzy. I was with Quiet Riot. It was like, all of a sudden, MTV took on that genre of metal. We were not really a metal band. But we were locked into the metal image. We were more of a hard rock band. Ozzy was metal. Whitesnake was more blues-rock. It was very sexual, the content lyrically and with Tawny in the videos.
What have your favorite metal moments been with Ozzy, Quiet Riot and Whitesnake?
Sarzo: For me with Ozzy, playing at Madison Square Garden, or any where in the Northeast. Fans in the Northeast are really passionate about their metal. They let you know whether they love you or hate you on the East Coast.
When I played with Quiet Riot during the Iron Maiden at Madison Square Garden in 1983, just walking down the street of New York city was great. Everybody knew who Quiet Riot was. We had the number 1 song and record in the city at the time. Those were the days when MTV played the “Cum on Feel the Noize” videos every half hour on the hour .Quiet Riot was the first metal band whose debut album reached Number One on the Billboard Charts. We never dreamed it would be that big and we were so proud of what we've done.
In Whitesnake, headlining Donnington’s Monsters of Rock in 1990 was very emotional. It was an incredible show. I’m very proud to have been a part of the version of Whitesnake that became household word in the US with the help of a great album, “Whitesnake 1987” and those sexy MTV videos.
Rudy, Thank you for taking time out to do this interview, and to discuss your critically acclaimed book, "Off The Rails". It has been great talking with you about your extensive career.
SARZO:Thank you for your support.
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