My experience with "Crazy Train" , my Ozzy Osbourne Coverband

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Inspired by @slobberchops, who wrote a piece of his 'work-experience' in a mutli-part story, I had written a story about how I joined the band 'Six strings' , and how I left them :)

You can read those two posts here:
Part 1
Part 2

This story is about the band I founded after Six Strings. So I hope you enjoy this story as well...

After me leaving Six Strings I was quiete done with bands for a while. Although making music is one of the greatest things you can do (and I do still think so) , I was done with one way traffic in adjusting to other people. After quite a few bands and experience in leaving, breaking or getting thrown out ;) I am convinced for 100% that the most difficult part of 'being a band' is to get and stay getting along with eachother. For being together while playing but also the musical direction you want to follow with the band. It's all about commitment to eachother and having the same goal, whatever that is....

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While I did some interim gig's with other bands whenever they needed a bassplayer I ran in to Rene. Rene is a guy I already knew for years and had played with on jam sessions and stuf... He is a very gifted guitarist and besides that he play's church-organ... He still does actually. He visits churches all over holland to play their organs, just to keep it in shape... And he does a great job in doing it...

Rene and i talked about music, bands (Rene really never played bands) and how difficult it is to keep a band together in good harmony.. While we we're drinking some beers and chitchatting a bit suddenly he said "Why don't we start a band ourselves?"..... I looked a bit supprised because it was not in his nature to play bands... On jam sessions he was always playing if his life depended on it, but bands... never saw him doing that.. So I asked him "what kind a music are you thinking about?" , because he did get my attention :).... It turned out that he was playing a lot of Zak Wylde stuff and in that way had a lot of interest in Ozzy stuf... He said 'let's start a Ozzy Tribute band' all the old Ozzy songs and stuff.. He thought it would be great... Now you have to know that Ozzy is my lifetime hero with music but also as a person... So in a blink of an eye I said YES let's do that....

Even before we had the band together I was already fantasizing about the band. Can you imagine better than playing the music of your biggest hero? And in Holland at that time Tribute band's were hot, so I figured we could play in some cool places... We only needed a singer, a drummer and perhaps a keyboardplayer... So let the search begin...

Rene and I had a mutual friend, Michael, he was a drummer in a progressive rockband in Zutphen. We thought we could ask him if he was up to playing in our band. So we gave him he call and he was enthousiastic about it, so we where thrilled we already found ourself a drummer. We decided to not search for a keyboard player because they are a bit harder to find and for the music of Ozzy is was not a real requirement (although if we wanted to play 'Mr. Crowley' lol)... The most difficult part was a singer. It had to be someone who can sing the way Ozzy sings, because we did thought if we wanted to play a a tribute band, you at least have to play and sound as close as you can to the original.

First we put out some ad's at the local music stores and in our rehearsal studio, but with no succes. So we put a ad online in a forum for musicians. We didn't got any reaction for some time. So we decided we already going to rehears our 'setlist' and pick out songs we wanted to play.

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The songs we first started with were:

That I never had

Junkie

Believer

Crazy Train

You have to know that Rene is a awesome guitarist who has a little problem, the problem is that when he is into a certain musician he checks out everything that musician has done and played. And he buyes the instruments and amps which the musician uses. So in this case he has bought the Les Paul Bullseye Custom of Zakk

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Just for this band :) ...

Of course I already practiced my parts at home, so during rehearsals it already started to sound like actually the Ozzy sound :)... I was stunned by the guitarplay of Rene, he litteraly played every note and harmonic Zakk plays in his parts... It gave me goosebumbs and so much energy listening to the guy.... it was awesome and I really did had the feeling I finally had the band of my dreams :)

To be continued.....

Have a great weekend and keep up that music !!

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