Guitarist Gus G. accompanied Ozzy Osbourne and his band for eight years until 2017, when the Prince of Darkness revealed that Zakk Wylde would be joining him again.
Wylde had been replaced by Gus G. in 2009 when he decided to dedicate himself to other projects, including resuming work with his band Black Label Society.
Wylde's return was no surprise to fans, nor to Gus G., because according to him, "the two have a lot of history together." During an interview with Metal Underground at the time , the guitarist revealed that he was happy with the decision: "The band belongs to Ozzy, he can do whatever he wants."
More recently, the guitarist spoke to Guitar World about the subject and recounted how the story with Ozzy began. Gus said that he was contacted by one of Ozzy's agents asking if he would be interested in auditioning. "I learned to play several songs and then went to LA," he said.
“I met everyone [in the band] and we started playing. Then Ozzy joined and we started messing around a bit. I think I got the job right then and there. He was like, 'Yeah! You're amazing, man!'”
Next, he went into a room with Sharon Osbourne, the musician's wife and manager, and some assistants to talk, and then they asked if he would agree to return to play a show with the group. He accepted immediately and soon returned to play at the BlizzCon Convention, which was a success. Gus G. then went down in history as the guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne's band.
When asked about his departure, Gus said that he was fired by Sharon Osbourne, who called him one day to tell him the news that Ozzy Osbourne would be returning to the stage with the Farewell Tour and that Zakk Wylde would also be joining the tour.
“Sharon called me and I was already expecting it,” he said. “They announced a festival and I was waiting for directions to find out what was going to happen. And then she called me – I think it was in the middle of the night – because of the time difference.”
He continued: “She called me and said, ‘I just wanted to let you know in person so you don’t find out about this online, we’re going to do the Farewell Tour and Zakk is coming back for it.’ And I was like, ‘Sure, no problem,’ and thanked her for everything we did for me. We still have a good relationship.”
When asked if he would work with Ozzy again, he replied: “I think that’s a question you should ask him. It’s pretty obvious that if he calls me and invites me to play a show or an album, I wouldn’t refuse. I loved the time I spent with him and of course I would do it again!”
Gus G. is currently preparing to release his solo EP, Quantum Leap , his first entirely instrumental work. The new release arrives on October 8th and is already available for pre-order at this link.
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