Page 21 - RockRevoltMagazine-Fall2016

They’re alive and well

Alive and well

You seem more comfortable as a vocalist with each passing
record. How has being a vocalist evolved for you over the
years? Have you had to work at it much, has it come naturally?

Well, it’s like anything – the more you work at it, the more you
progress. It’s not like I sit everyday and work on something.
It’s like, I’m either sitting there singing at the piano or singing
with the guitar.

You’re obviously known as the guitar hero throughout
whatever project you may do. Even going back to your earliest
work with Ozzy, was that ever an obstacle for you, being labeled
the “guitar hero?” Has it ever gotten in the way of anything,
musically?

Nah, that’s the lineage I’m coming from. If they’re going to
give you that tag – it’s like Derek Jeter getting the “captain” tag.
To be Ozzy’s guitar player, there was no higher honor – you’re
going to be playing stuff where Randy (Rhoads) set the bar.
That’s your job, and I was chosen to do that. To me, I always
took it as the highest honor you could possibly have; and I
always will. That’s the reason why you have posters of Jimmy
Page, Tony Iommi, Frank Marino, Al DiMeola on the wall. It
was always an honor, without a doubt.

This injustice that you hold

Belief in the story that you sell

For the sleeping dogs that lie
as Mr. Olympia – you keep working and working at it, and
you get better and better. With lyrics writing, it’s a process.
Anybody can write a great song – just write what happened to
you; whether you got fucked over or something like that. As
far as where the inspiration comes from, you can even read a
biography on someone and get inspired to write a song about
that. If I had told you I got the inspiration from a biography or
something like that, and I told you about it, you would have
said, “Wow, I never would have realized.” To me, the lyrics
have to have weight as well. I have a blast writing; coming up
with different words, different metaphors and things. I have
as much fun with that as I do sitting and composing a solo. I
enjoy the whole thing.

Following your career, Zakk, I think I’m one of many that
really sat up and took notice to the power of your acoustic or
more easygoing material after hearing the song “In This River.”
I’m wondering if there’s anything on this record that really
carries as much weight as that song did, or anything you dove
into like that song.

Well, when I wrote “In This River,” I wrote that before Dime
(Dimebag Darrel) passed away. After he passed away and I
was looking at the lyrics, I said, “Wow, that’s Dime’s tune.” But,
yeah, without a doubt – it could be anything here. I’m actually
connected to all of them, because I know who the song is
about, or what happened to me, or happened to one of my
friends. The cool thing is that it’s all open to interpretation;
anybody can have a song mean anything to them.