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00:00Detroit drummers, there's a there's a certain power and a certain approach that we take to
00:04playing and usually it's go for the throat and I went for the throat that day I rocked my guts out
00:09and the best part was getting to play drums behind Ozzy again and I thought Ozzy did an amazing job
00:14and it felt great to be up there with him again. Rock, metal, frog and everything in between.
00:21Welcome to this episode of Talkin' Rock with Meltdown. Don't forget to follow the audio
00:26only Talkin' Rock podcast on all podcast platforms. And now it's time for today's
00:31conversation. Here's Meltdown. So I texted you earlier and I said man are you gonna be ready
00:37at noon? You're like come on man we're Detroit brothers. Well I was ready now it turns out you
00:42weren't ready. Well and then yeah and then well wait a second hold on we're an hour behind so you
00:46we wait you were ready for another 45 minutes here so. You see Detroit wave. It all works out.
00:52An hour early. My camera was screwed up but then you thought it was an hour later so anyways it's
00:57all good. So how are you? I'm rocking. How you doing Meltdown? I'm doing great man. So I just wanted
01:02to talk to you about this back to the beginning show because I mean obviously this thing was was
01:07massive. I mean explain your feelings on this whole show. Well gosh I mean I didn't know what to expect
01:15and when I got there I found out what to expect. It was the biggest gig of the century and it's
01:22amazing how they pulled it off and it was quite the event of course to celebrate Ozzy and
01:30the wonderful music of Black Sabbath. Ozzy is a solo artist and also him with Black Sabbath so
01:36I mean as awesome as it was what a shame at the same way that it's all ending you know. But it was
01:43it was wonderful to be there and the vibe was awesome. It was packed with rock and roll fans
01:49and I was one of them and I was happy to get to play on stage and and blast away and and it was
01:55just a real great time and the best part was getting to play drums behind Ozzy again because it it really
02:00felt really good and I thought Ozzy did an amazing job and it felt great to be up there with him again.
02:06That was the most special part for me of course was playing. Yeah of course. Now I'm trying to think
02:11just as we're sitting here talking to you I wonder how many people that were that were at that gig had
02:16a chance to play with both Ozzy solo and Black Sabbath. Oh gosh I don't I don't know I don't know.
02:24I mean you you're you're you're in a rare breed that's rare air right there. I guess so you know I
02:29was I got to see the Sabbath guys and I get to hang out with them a bit and and it was nice to see
02:36them of course and it was wonderful to watch them on the side of the stage and and be uh that I was
02:42that much a small part of what they did so it was my pleasure. That's great. So how many shows did you
02:48play in your career with Sabbath and how many shows did you play with Ozzy? Do you have any idea?
02:52I don't know how many but I did you know I've been with Ozzy since 2010 I would say and then I did
02:58full two full two full tours with Black Sabbath that were maybe 85 90 shows each over the course
03:07of a year and a half two years for each one of those tours. Wow that's incredible man and you
03:12know just just thinking about it like you know sometimes I'm in situations where I'm like do
03:16they realize I'm just a kid from like you know western New York and I've spent half my life here
03:20in Detroit and you're just a kid from Detroit playing on one of the biggest stages maybe in metal
03:26history for sure. Yeah I mean to me as amazing it's it's Ozzy special day it was Black Sabbath special
03:34day to me I was just a cog in the wheel and happy to play but for me I just want it's a it's a job
03:42and I want to go up there and kick ass for Ozzy who I'm playing for and it doesn't matter if there's
03:4640 people or 40,000 people you still give it the same effort and you always play like it's the last gig
03:54yeah and that's that's why those guys are up there doing it with all those people watching
04:01because they always approached it like every gig was the last gig. Yeah it's just mind-blowing to watch
04:07then of course to see all the uh all the legends that you got to rub elbows with obviously you probably
04:13know Chad Smith right? Yeah I talked quite a bit with Chad Smith. Okay so obviously another Detroit
04:18guy. Sure he's quite a he he's just a little bit richer than I am. And he's probably played on 897
04:25more projects. Yeah. Now Chad's great did you know him growing up here? I did not no I did not
04:34growing up he's way older than I am. Okay yeah because you're 45 correct? I am yeah that was just a half
04:42joke yeah no I knew Chad I met Chad maybe a couple times when I was younger and throughout the years
04:47and but you know you do share that camaraderie when you're from Detroit of course especially with the
04:52drums because there's something you know us Detroit drummers or some of us Detroit drummers there's a
04:58there's a certain power and a certain um approach that we take to playing and usually it's go for the
05:04throat so that's what I do all the time and I went for the throat um that day I rocked my guts out
05:11man that I mean it's just so incredible as I was watching it from afar I had a I had a chance like
05:17maybe this much of a chance to go over there uh it was the day after my 25th wedding anniversary I
05:23did spend a few days with my wife but she was gonna let me go she's like yeah if you want to go go go
05:28you passed the test meltdown you didn't go see she just laid it out there for you to hang yourself
05:35and you didn't grab the rope good boy yeah right but uh anyway so take me back to the day that you
05:41get a call and and and I don't know whoever calls you says we're doing this last Black Sabbath show
05:46do you want to be a part of it yeah Ozzy just text me and he said we're we're doing this gig and
05:51I want to have you and I said I'm there and that's really as that's as quick and easy as it happens
05:57and when what are we talking about how long ago was that um maybe that was maybe five months or
06:03something I I don't know to be honest with you I can't put a date on it but something around that
06:07it was a it was a bit before um people knew there was a gig yeah obviously yeah I was gonna say
06:13obviously before it was announced uh Zach and Pantera just played here last night of course you're up on
06:18stage with Zach uh sure I mean they're just so just such a great band yeah we rocked I mean and we
06:24only did one rehearsal and it was great so I mean it all we all we're all pros and we came up there
06:31and we did one rehearsal and we went up there with Ozzy and I just got to say that Ozzy is so great
06:37he can entertain a crowd and he proved it through sitting in a chair through sitting in his throne
06:44for you know his unfortunate health circumstances he is still entertaining and he still has that charisma
06:51to reach out to the audience of 45,000 people and be the best entertainer there of the evening
06:57and I can honestly say that so to witness that and be behind it was awesome and I'm so proud of him
07:03that's a that's a I'm not so proud of him I knew he was going to go out there and I knew he was going
07:09to do it because he wouldn't go up there if he couldn't I knew he was going to be great and I knew
07:14the people were going to get a great show and show the respect and he was going to give them what
07:19they wanted and that's the thing that's unto himself he has that charisma and that voice that
07:26you can't put an explanation of why it's great other than it's just god-given talent that makes
07:33him great yeah that that's you're right this voice is so melodic and yeah and if you notice when other
07:39people there was other people singing some Ozzy songs on the thing as great as they are as great
07:44as anybody is it doesn't sound right unless he's singing yeah you know there's very few singers like
07:52that um so it's just the sound of his voice that's unto itself that you it cannot be duplicated it will
08:00not be duplicated and there'll never be another Ozzy Osbourne now that being said I thought that that
08:06young blood kid was awesome oh no he's very talented he's I'm not saying every anybody's not
08:12talented I'm just saying there's a characteristic of certain performers that keeps them in the game
08:21through trends through styles through age categories you know that's something to be said for that it's
08:28really talent that keeps you going now were there any musicians there that you met for the first time
08:34I'm sure there was I'm really not a good mingler I'll be honest with you I'm the worst mingler I
08:42feel like I'm at my high school dance standing against the wall so I feel like a complete idiot
08:47but when I get behind the drums I feel comfortable so I kind of mind my business and I do my gig and
08:54and I was there just to play drums and have a great time but there but of course there was a couple
09:00musicians um I can't think of any that I haven't met you know you may have met people and you
09:05you don't you don't really know them but you say hi or you're nodding you know there's a lot of
09:11people there Brian May was there um you know Axl Rose I never met Axl Rose I met him that night
09:18oh that's I mean he he was very nice and uh I had met the guys from Metallica so I re-met them there
09:24they were all there and what pros they are and and everybody was in a good mood and everybody was
09:30in a good positive spirit and Mrs. Osborne Sharon put on a wonderful event for her husband if you
09:36think about it what a what a testament to their relationship so it was it was super cool and by
09:42the way their anniversary was on July 4th as well it was yeah the day the day after yeah so um you know
09:48one of the things I found fascinating was that Axl had never met Ozzy or vice versa I thought that was
09:52unbelievable yeah it's pretty wild it's a small world but sometimes when you're traveling and
09:57and if you don't do gigs with somebody you know you may never ever meet somebody yeah it's just
10:04I think when Appetite for Destruction came out in late 80s and stuff that that that the singer of the
10:09band wouldn't meet a legend like Ozzy for you know almost 40 years that's crazy no it is pretty wild
10:15yeah but but they did it and you know Guns N' Roses was great all the bands were great Metallica was
10:20great um Metallica's machine they're a finely well-oiled machine uh and and the original
10:27Sabbath guys went up there I was it was fun to watch them go go do it and play their four tunes
10:33and I just hope they all had a great time because I know the audience had a great time yeah and you
10:38and you and Chad of course uh represented Detroit Rock City very we did we was we stood right next to
10:43Chad as we watched Sabbath together on the side of the stage that's so awesome yeah Chad's great
10:48um so let's uh switch gears here a little bit so what else you got going on for the rest this year
10:52you sent me a couple songs here today are we allowed to talk about that are you kidding that's
10:56that's why I'm here I'm not talking I don't want to talk about anybody else I'm just waiting to get to
11:00me all right let's talk about you uh what do you got going on with your with your band well I sent you
11:05two tunes what did you think of them well I sent you back that one I said it sounded like black you
11:10know Blackfoot on steroids I mean this is like I'll take that yeah straight ahead like in your face
11:16rock and roll like I'm I'm listening to these songs and I'm thinking this could be played on
11:20like a jukebox somewhere in the south just like straight ahead just rocking songs well meltdown
11:27what else would I be doing you know what I mean yeah because I want I want music my music which
11:35sounds stupid but it is my music I came up with the tunes and I want to make hard driving rock and
11:41roll because I don't hear enough hard driving rock and roll so um I'm going to get into it with you
11:47because I challenge riff rock radio I'm going to send these to your program director and I want to
11:53hear them on the radio I'm telling you and don't you agree with me once these people hear these songs
11:59they're going to go oh my god it's the kind of music that you go this is what I need to hear
12:05literally it's it's recorded all as a band all as a group no overdubs no click tracks we didn't
12:11even wear headphones totally 100 live and that's what it sounds like where did you record this stuff
12:17I recorded it in my home studio in my rehearsal place we all got together we set up our amps and we
12:24did it on our own no producers I'm the producer but when you work as a group and you you work to get
12:32that magic take as opposed to perfect performance you want to get that energy on tape and I think
12:39we really captured it there's a tune called my baby likes to rock and roll and there's a tune called
12:44my wild child and we'll we'll be we're going to do be doing a bunch of gigs coming up here with Ted
12:50Nugent in August all in Michigan and we're going to be playing the new tunes and we'll be have copies
12:55for them for everybody so hopefully who's the guy at the riff who makes the decisions what's his name
13:01Jade I'll tell her about it yeah Jade Jade I love you baby I'm telling you the Michigan gals and the
13:07Michigan guys want to hear Tommy's rock trip new songs so there's enough plugging for myself so
13:12but we're going to be doing a bunch of gigs with Ted Nugent who I also used to play for and we're going
13:17to be open up the show for him I think we got one two three four five gigs we're doing with him
13:22we're playing Saginaw we're playing Luddington we're playing Paw Paw Michigan and then we're finishing up
13:28at um two nights at Paw Paw and then we're finishing up at the the wonderful Freedom Hill
13:34yes yeah speaking of freedom yes exactly yeah I think that uh I'm gonna head out there for that
13:40show um for sure you have to yeah I should I should again I should have meltdowns rock and road trip and
13:47take my Harley Davidson up to uh absolutely my music is biker rock to the max baby it is that's right
13:53in fact you sent me a message because I wore a Harley shirt on the back to the beginning um
13:59concert and I kept getting these messages from everybody's all the dealership it's 90 years old
14:06and and they're trying to get a hold of you so I finally got a hold of them and they're sending me
14:11out some of their new shirts and I think Tommy's rock trip and biker bikers go hand in hand so we
14:18should go play the Taylor Harley Davidson nothing's more rock and roll than that yeah right exactly
14:23yeah play everywhere play one of my everywhere absolutely oh and also we're playing September
14:3012th here in Nashville if you ever if you happen to be down here you should come on out to that one
14:34that one's going to be a total riot where's that gig at it's it's at a place called the end it's like a
14:40legendary punk rock club where all the up-and-coming bands whether it's the White Stripes or
14:45you know different bands have played coming up so we're going to go knock the walls down in this
14:50place that's great so all those gigs in Michigan coming up yeah yeah I talked to Ted well Ted talked
14:56to me a couple months ago of course how about Ted Nugent's energy how about his wit how about his quick
15:04brain I mean he is yeah on it yeah and these guys there he's 77 years old it's awesome it's really
15:14true the music does keep you young if you still if you really give it everything you got it keeps
15:21you sharp you know yeah and I think I asked you last time his current drummer Jason Hartless has
15:26been with him for about 10 years you know Jason right of course I know Jason yeah what a what a rock
15:31beast yeah he's down in there he's down in your neck of the woods now is he okay cool staying down
15:36there everybody's down here now it's the new Los Angeles I go to these coffee shops with my wife and I
15:41go $12 for a latte what the hell everybody's on I'm like get me out of here I moved down here for
15:49Waffle House and Dunkin Donuts and that's where I stay I thought you're gonna say you walk into a
15:55coffee shop you're like I played with that guy I'm on that guy's record no no no I get get me out of
16:00there I like the simple things in life except I do want to go to Kids Rock's new steak restaurant
16:05because I was just in Michigan last week visiting my father it was his 17th birthday and one of my
16:13favorite restaurants in my hometown was Cruz and Muir and we went there and it was great as always
16:18and Kid Rock's joint is connected to Muir isn't it yes yeah I believe it is yes so I gotta go have a
16:25ribeye there is it's on my priority list yeah that opened up since the last time I was down there but you
16:30were here in Detroit and you texted me that you were at um that Henry Ford like for people that don't
16:34know all right yes I was with my daughter yeah that's an odd unbelievable place to visit the
16:40Henry Ford oh great come on Greenfield Village it's wonderful I took a picture of my daughter
16:44in front of the chair that Abraham Lincoln got shot in yeah you can't do that anywhere and I
16:49had to tell her maybe you shouldn't smile so big because it's kind of uh yeah you know the guy you
16:54know and she didn't quite get that as her big big smile with missing teeth but the picture's great
16:59you can still see the blood on the chair but it's pretty amazing what they have there Greenfield Village
17:04yeah yeah they have the uh car that uh Kennedy was shot yeah yep she took that she made a whole
17:11book report that she's going to show her third grade class coming up here and get extra credit for
17:15that's great so what else is happening with you what's going on with the dead daisies
17:19I'm I'm doing a run with those guys in August I fly it's a three-week run I get home on the plane
17:25and I go directly to Michigan the next day to start the gigs with music so no stopping for me
17:31wow that's awesome and uh I was just talking to uh to Doug I think I might have even texted you a
17:37question about that but he he just reaped your praises of course so those guys love you in that
17:41band as well they better and they just put out that blues record yeah yeah we'll see if we I wasn't on
17:51the blues record so when we play some of the tunes we'll see if they come off how they're supposed to
17:56be with me on drums okay yeah it might be a little bit of a different take on them so well I mean
18:00I mean with some attitude to it baby that's right some Detroit rock and roll so well Tommy always
18:06great to uh connect let's uh hook up in uh in August here and uh good luck with the uh dead daisies thing
18:11and and of course the new tunes as well rocking man Tommy's rock trip check it out everybody
18:16Detroit rock and roll lives meltdown I love you Detroit I love you everybody I love you thank you
18:22you
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