Zakk Wylde Passed on Guns N’ Roses for Pizza Money; Found Black Label Society
Rock guitarist Zakk Wylde shared with Mark Strigl on SiriusXM’s Ozzy’s Boneyard why he didn’t end up joining Guns N’ Roses. Despite jamming with the band and being considered for a spot, Wylde needed to focus on making a living, humorously citing the need to ‘raise some pizza money and soda pop money for my girlfriend, Barbaranne’.
This need for financial stability and the stagnant situation with Guns N’ Roses led him to form Black Label Society. Wylde expressed his gratitude towards Ozzy Osbourne, acknowledging that without him, he wouldn’t have had the opportunity with Guns N’ Roses in the first place.
“I was jamming there for a while, just jamming ideas…nothing was kind of happening, like, are we gonna do this or what, because I need to save up for pizza money and a soda pop to take out my girlfriend”, Wylde said.
BLS
He emphasized the importance of his commitment to Ozzy Osbourne. “Without Ozzy, I wouldn’t even be in a conversation with Guns N’ Roses.” The lack of progress with Guns N’ Roses and the need for financial security prompted Wylde to take action, leading to the formation of his own band. “So that’s when Black Label Society was born.”
