Scotscub57 yrsRandy Rhoads was aiming to do create something unique with his guitar playing in the months leading up to his death.
A long-lost interview reveals that while he loved playing in Ozzy Osbourne’s band, he found the limitations of his heavy metal show frustrating, and hoped to move far beyond them.
He died on tour aged 25 in 1982 when an aeroplane joyride went tragically wrong. US journalist John Stix had recently interviewed him twice, and the results are published in the current free online edition of iGuitar magazine.
Rhoads said: “Everything happens so fast in this band that I haven’t had enough time to really think what I want to do.
“For instance, I do a solo live and I do a lot of these things that Eddie Van Halen does, and it kills me that I do that. It’s just flash – it impresses the kids and I’m trying to make a name as fast as I can.
“I wish I could take time and come up with something that nobody has done. Unfortunately, it will take me a few years.”
Asked if he was able to achieve anything that made him proud, Rhoads said: “I can’t. I experimented with a few things and tried to get some classical things in, but I couldn’t get it in with this set. It calls for flash.
“The kids aren’t interested in musical experience. If I sat down and played some classical it wouldn’t impress them. Ozzy has an incredible following with his audience and most of his kids want non-stop.”
Rhoads saw a strong connection between metal and classical music and cited Deep Purple, Leslie West and Michael Shenker as examples of how the genres could be merged.
He wasn’t a fan of Black Sabbath and didn’t know why Osbourne hired him – especially since he only got to tune up at his audition before being offered the job. His favourite tracks were Revelation and Mr Crowley, because of the classical influence.
Looking back on his fledgling career he reflected: “I was afraid of competition because I thought everybody was better than me. You can’t be lazy. You have to love the guitar. I did.”
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