Whether you know Zakk Wylde from his solo albums and Black Label Society, or his stuff with Ozzy Osbourne, you know he's a live wire — someone impossible to imagine with his feet up, with tea and biscuits and all that, living the retired life with the wild glory days of rock and roll long in his windshield. It's just not possible. Inconceivable, really. That's just not who he is. Quite simply, he just wasn't made that way.
So when he checked in with Yngwie Malmsteen recently on Yngwie's Coffee Talk podcast, it was no surprise the two iconic shredders riffed on the concept of retiring from music.
"I always think the retirement thing is kind of funny," said Wylde, "Because, like Keith Richards always said, 'Retired from doing what? Something I liked?' If I like gardening, why am I gonna retire from that? Why am I gonna retire from having coffee and reading a book? I enjoy it. It's different in sports. I mean, I get boxing and sports where your body is breaking down.
"With B.B. King, Buddy Guy… the older they get, the more respect they get. Why would Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart retire — from doing what? Sitting there, playing piano? I enjoy doing this. I mean, I'll keep going until I can't play anymore."
You can watch the complete discussion below.
Black Label Society have recently announced a co-headlining summer tour with Anthrax, and you can find all dates and venues below.
7/26 – The Van Buren, Phoenix, AZ
7/28 – Brooklyn Bowl, Las Vegas, NV
7/29 – The Palladium, Los Angeles, CA
7/30 – Heart Health Park, Sacramento, CA
8/1 – Fillmore Auditorium, Denver, CO
8/2 – Midland Theater, Kansas City, MO
8/4 – Hard Rock Live Northern Indiana, Gary, IN
8/5 – Oshkosh Arena, Oshkosh, WI
8/6 – The Fillmore, Minneapolis, MN
8/8 – Southside Ballroom, Dallas, TX
8/9 – Stubbs Waller Creek Amphitheater, Austin, TX
8/11 – The Tabernacle, Atlanta, GA
8/12 – House of Blues, Orlando, FL
8/13 – The Fillmore, Charlotte, NC
8/15 – The Andrew J Brady Music Center, Cincinnati, OH
8/16 – Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, TN
8/18 – The Fillmore, Silver Spring, MD
8/19 – Main Street Armory, Rochester, NY
8/20 – The Fillmore, Detroit, MI
8/22 – StageAE Outside, Pittsburgh, PA
8/23 – History, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
8/24 – Amphitheatre Cogeco, Trois Riviere/Montreal, Quebec, Canada
8/26 – Coney Island Amphitheater, Brooklyn, NY
8/28 – The Fillmore, Philadelphia, PA
