George Lynch talks about taking place of Randy Rhoads
Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2011 6:20 pm
Skipping ahead a bit we find this about his Ozzy audition.
Jeb: Last one: Did you really try out for Ozzy’s band when Randy Rhoads tried out?
George: I was up for it three times, seriously up for it. I was one of a couple of guys being considered.
The most serious was when they flew me to Scotland and I toured with the band for a little bit. I rehearsed with them in Texas and then we came back to LA. They had one more person that they wanted to look at, as a formality, and that was Jake E. Lee. They ended up going for him and not me.
Jeb: I like the albums Jake was on but I would love to have heard you jam with them.
George: It was a great choice. They didn’t base it on playing because he didn’t play very well; I have talked to him about this many times. It was really based on his looks. He had hair down to his ass and he wore leathers. He looked amazing and he moved amazing and that is what they wanted.
Tommy Aldridge and I have talked about this because he was against having me in the band, which was a very critical component of their decision. Tommy said that I was really my own guy and that I wasn’t the kind of guy who fit in well playing other people’s stuff, which is very true. I am not a good guy to sit around and play around the campfire because I don’t know any other songs. I just kind of write my own stuff and do my own thing.
I didn’t have a pot to piss in and I was living in a little apartment with my two kids and my wife. I was driving a delivery truck and was a Teamster. I delivered booze in a really bad part of town.
I quit my job to go do Ozzy and they weren’t paying me a nickel. They said it was all good and that I was in. What they ended up offering me was $200 a week, which was about two and a half times less than what I was making. It was really sad.
They didn’t sit down with me or anything. Ozzy was in a back room somewhere just kind of moping to himself. He turned around and said, “Oh, by the way, we won’t be needing you anymore. We found somebody else. Goodbye and good luck.” My heart just sank. I walked outside and shed a tear and my wife told me that it would be alright.
We came back home and found an eviction notice on our apartment door. We ended up having to move in with her folks and I found another job with a company doing the same thing. Then along came Dokken and the rest is history.
http://www.metalsludge.tv/home/index.ph ... &Itemid=42
Kinda shitty how they chose Jake because of his appearence, when lynch was a better guitarist. Especially after having Randy Rhoads you would think they'd want the most talented guitarist to try and replace him! Just goes to show I don't think Ozzy ever really comprehended the true talent Randy Rhoads had! They probably thought more of him because of his looks than his ability. To this day I don't think Ozzy or Sharon can recognize real guitar talent, I think they are expert money makers & marketers, but they wouldn't recognize someone that had skills of Chopin or Bach if it were right in their face, unless of course they had on leathers and hair down to their ass!
RR
Jeb: Last one: Did you really try out for Ozzy’s band when Randy Rhoads tried out?
George: I was up for it three times, seriously up for it. I was one of a couple of guys being considered.
The most serious was when they flew me to Scotland and I toured with the band for a little bit. I rehearsed with them in Texas and then we came back to LA. They had one more person that they wanted to look at, as a formality, and that was Jake E. Lee. They ended up going for him and not me.
Jeb: I like the albums Jake was on but I would love to have heard you jam with them.
George: It was a great choice. They didn’t base it on playing because he didn’t play very well; I have talked to him about this many times. It was really based on his looks. He had hair down to his ass and he wore leathers. He looked amazing and he moved amazing and that is what they wanted.
Tommy Aldridge and I have talked about this because he was against having me in the band, which was a very critical component of their decision. Tommy said that I was really my own guy and that I wasn’t the kind of guy who fit in well playing other people’s stuff, which is very true. I am not a good guy to sit around and play around the campfire because I don’t know any other songs. I just kind of write my own stuff and do my own thing.
I didn’t have a pot to piss in and I was living in a little apartment with my two kids and my wife. I was driving a delivery truck and was a Teamster. I delivered booze in a really bad part of town.
I quit my job to go do Ozzy and they weren’t paying me a nickel. They said it was all good and that I was in. What they ended up offering me was $200 a week, which was about two and a half times less than what I was making. It was really sad.
They didn’t sit down with me or anything. Ozzy was in a back room somewhere just kind of moping to himself. He turned around and said, “Oh, by the way, we won’t be needing you anymore. We found somebody else. Goodbye and good luck.” My heart just sank. I walked outside and shed a tear and my wife told me that it would be alright.
We came back home and found an eviction notice on our apartment door. We ended up having to move in with her folks and I found another job with a company doing the same thing. Then along came Dokken and the rest is history.
http://www.metalsludge.tv/home/index.ph ... &Itemid=42
Kinda shitty how they chose Jake because of his appearence, when lynch was a better guitarist. Especially after having Randy Rhoads you would think they'd want the most talented guitarist to try and replace him! Just goes to show I don't think Ozzy ever really comprehended the true talent Randy Rhoads had! They probably thought more of him because of his looks than his ability. To this day I don't think Ozzy or Sharon can recognize real guitar talent, I think they are expert money makers & marketers, but they wouldn't recognize someone that had skills of Chopin or Bach if it were right in their face, unless of course they had on leathers and hair down to their ass!
RR
