The Prince of Darkness reigns again, albeit, in a very different manner.
The songs live even if their original singer has passed on in the form of the ultimate Ozzy Osbourne tribute Crazy Train: America’s Ozzy Experience, which will be hopping off in Texas at Houston’s House of Blues on Friday, May 8.
Touring Musician Vinny Cormier takes on the role of the legendary metal singer, who passed on to the great gig in the sky only last summer. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s a bitter sweet pill,” Cormier says. “Before Ozzy passed away, we had the odd sold out show but we’d still have a really full house. Now it’s gotten to the point where a lot of them are sold out, and some where they’d add a second show – all because the great Oz passed away last year.”
“We’ve been doing this for five and a half, six years. I’ll be honest with you, when he passed away, I was in shock when I heard that he’d passed away. I was contemplating whether I wanted to keep doing this or not. It was a tough day.”
But the show must go on, and the rocker taking on the mantle is ensuring that it is respectful of the source. “The difference between us and any other tribute out there is because we have the respect factor through the whole show,” says the Crazy Train front man. “Like when Ozzy would say ‘all aboard’ and I’ll mention to the audience “there’s only one man and one man alone who can say this – and it’s not me. But he’s not with us anymore’ and I step back away from the mic and point up in the air. As soon as they hear that iconic scream, the audience gets totally electrified. There’s a true bond between these people, his fans. Envious in some ways, I wish I had that power.”
Cormier comes at this from the angle of a fellow music maker, having spent years touring alongside and opening for other great artists, including Blue Oyster Cult, Kansas, Steve Perry and more. “I have played and opened up for a number of major national acts, some of them my heroes,” he says wistfully. ‘In my career, I have been so busy, I never took the time to do anything. Every day I had to play, chase gigs.”
He continues, adding with regret that he never saw his idol play live. “[It was the] same with Ozzy, any of the bands I’d seen was because I had opened up for them. I never got to see the concert because I was so busy. Ozzy was one of the top ones, I would have loved to go see Black Sabbath. My first album I ever bought with my own money – I was 13 years old – was Paranoid. I loved it because of ‘Iron Man’ it was really big in Boston, I’d skip everything else and just put it on ‘Iron Man’ – but one day I got bored and said I was gonna listen to the whole album. By the time it was done, I thought I was going to hell! It scared me, and I couldn’t stop.”
One trick he seems to have picked up from the great one is bringing his family into the show, as Vinny’s own son Dylan plays the role of Zakk Wylde in the act. “[Ozzy] had the persona, but until he did The Osbornes on MTV, and that’s when people said ‘he’s not a devil worshipper, he’s a regular loving family guy in the music business.’ That really solidified his iconic status [and] opened up the flood gates for all these different kind of fans.”
For Dylan, a life in music was far from a guarantee, says Cormier. “My son was a great footballer when he was little, could throw a spiral. I thought I had the next Tom Brady on my hands. Then at age 13 – same age I bought my first record – Dylan asked if I would show him a few chords on my guitar. So I showed him how to play ‘Purple Haze’ by Hendrix, something really tough so that if he really wants to learn to play, he’ll learn it. And if not, he’ll give it up and continue with football. But he started learning, and started really playing. At age of almost 14, he was nearly up to my limit. My wife convinced me to add him to the band. So me and Dylan have been playing together for 19 years now.”
When pressed for why he was concerned about him getting into music just like his old man, the vocalist is reflective about the nature of a music industry in flux. “One reason, it’s a lonely life in a band. You’re chasing after something millions of performers are chasing after and there is only so much to that pie. I really didn’t want to see him chase something so hard to get.”
So far, things have really worked out for the father and son team who have set out to craft something worthy of Ozzy’s fans. Cormier recalls on such fans who claims Ozzy’s music kept him sane during his trying days serving in Iraq. “[This fan] told me ‘The last thing I wanted to do was see a Karaoke singer with a lame band singing Ozzy tunes, but the reason I am here is because my wife bought the tickets and thought it’d be a great gift for my birthday.’ He said, ‘I would be kicking my ass if I saw a video of this and didn’t go, because three things: you and your son have that special bond. Number two, you’re an Ozzy impersonator, I can tell you studied him. And three, through the show, you really send respect to Ozzy, his family, Randy Rhoads and Zakk Wylde. You’re not trying to replace Ozzy, it’s a real celebration of life for what he completed.’ And that’s what I say now, we’re not just a tribute band, we’re a celebration of life.”
Inspired by Val Kilmer’s transformation into Jim Morrison in the 1991 Oliver Stone-directed biopic The Doors, Cormier aimed to channel Osborne. “I ate, lived and breathed Ozzy for like six months before we even went out to do our first show. I wanted to do it right. [I’ve been told] The voice is spot on, the look is spot on, but the mannerisms – I can’t believe you can morph your body. Ozzy always had that natural hunch, and I don’t. But at the end of the night, my body takes a pounding. But its worth the sacrifice to see the faces.”
They are screaming to take selfies and I’ll do it. I’ll stay out there all night until everyone gets a selfie. The pure enjoyment of how much they miss Ozzy makes me feel like I have a purpose of what I’m doing in the music business. Maybe it’s not me, because I didn’t create any of it. That’s what I tell my band – we didn’t make any notes. We didn’t create any of this. Ozzy and Black Sabbath, they took all the sour grapes and purified til it was sweet. They went through everything. We are parroting greatness.”
Crazy Train: America’s Ozzy Experience is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Friday, May 8 at House of Blues, 1204 Caroline. For more information, call 888-402-5837 or visit houseofblues.com/houston. $30-71.
