ZAKK WYLDE Talks 'Children' Book, Music Industry And Possibility Of PANTERA Reunion

Lauren Wise of the Phoenix New Times recently conducted an interview with legendary guitarist Zakk Wylde (BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, OZZY OSBOURNE). A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

On embarking on a solo acoustic tour in support of the paperback release of his book, "Bringing Metal To The Children":

Zakk: "As much as I love doing the heavier stuff, it's great to break down any one of those songs, and then do a dark, minor version of it. I like jamming on the piano and playing the acoustic guitar. It's like with [LED] ZEPPELIN — as much as I like listening to 'Black Dog', I also like listening to 'Going to California', too."

On the original idea for "Bringing Metal To The Children", which came years ago, when Wylde and his friends were talking about how ridiculous the music industry has become:

Zakk: "We were just sitting at the bar, laughing our asses off. The book is basically 'Seinfeld' on steroids. At first, it was going to be an instructional thing; guitar lessons, the studios, techniques. But then I realized I had like two or three different books in one. It's instructional and a memoir. I also knew that the book needed to be set up where you can pick it up and start reading anywhere, and be laughing your ass off almost immediately."

On how the music industry has changed a lot during his career, mostly due to the Internet:

Zakk: "There are positives and negatives. You know, back in the day, if you didn't get signed by the time you were 30, it's kinda like, 'I guess the dream is over and that's life. Whereas nowadays you and your band can keep going, and you can sell your stuff on the Internet and book tours. You can make a living doing what you love."

On the rumor that he may join PANTERA in "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott's place for a reunion/tribute tour:

Zakk: "That's up to Vinnie [Paul Abbott], Rex [Brown], and Phil [Anselmo]. If they ever wanted me to honor Dimebag, of course I would do it. It's not replacing anybody — you're talking about Dime. It's like Randy Rhoads. You're celebrating his greatness and honoring all things PANTERA."

"[Dimebag and I have] always just played what we love, and honoring the guys we got it from. Van Halen, Randy Rhoads, Jimmy Page, Tony Iommi . . . Dime was a big Ace Frehley guy. It's the whole trickle-down effect. If anyone is inspired by Dime, then they are inspired by all those guys I just mentioned. That's the beautiful thing about music, you know what I mean? It's all kept alive that way."

Read the entire interview from Phoenix New Times.