Q+A: GEEZER BUTLER, Black Sabbath – April 2016

Shane | 6 April 2016 | Reply

Q+A: GEEZER BUTLER, Black Sabbath – April 2016
By Shane Pinnegar

With Black Sabbath about to embark on what promises to be their last ever Australian tour, we were invited to email founding bassist Geezer Butler a few questions. It wasn’t all easy – we were asked not to talk about the unrest between the band – made up of founding members, singer Ozzy Osbourne and guitarist Tony Iommi, and touring drummer Tommy Clufetos & keys player Adam Wakeman – and original drummer Bill Ward, and we also found several questions about the years Ozzy was not with the band were not in the returned email.

But we’re not ungrateful: any time with such a metal legend is greatly appreciated, and here is what Geezer Butler had to say, exactly as returned to us at 100% ROCK HQ.

Don’t miss Black Sabbath – the founders of heavy metal – as they tour Australia for one final time.

15 APR – Perth Arena, Perth, WA
17 APR – Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Hindmarsh, SA
19 APR – Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, VIC
23 APR – Allphones Arena, Sydney Olympic Park, NSW
25 APR – Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Boondall, QLD
28 APR – Vector Arena, Auckland, NZ
30 APR – Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin, NZ

100% ROCK: Hi Geezer – thanks so much for taking the time out to answer a few questions, it’s much appreciated.

Geezer: YOU’RE WELCOME

100% ROCK: Touring with Black Sabbath nowadays must be a radically different prospect to your early days when the world was young and drugs and dysfunction were the order of the day. Is it a happier environment for yourselves now?

Geezer: IT IS A MUCH MORE COMFORTABLE ENVIRONMENT AS FAR AS TRAVEL AND ACCOMMODATION GO, AND THE STRONGEST DRUGS NOW TEND TO BE ENGLISH BREAKFAST TEA OR COFFEE.

100% ROCK: Being an instantly recognisable rock icon, can you get out and see a bit of the world when you tour, or are you mobbed every time you go out in public?

Geezer: YES, I GET OUT AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. I’M LUCKY IN THAT ONLY THE MOST FANATIC SABBATH FANS RECOGNISE ME, ESPECIALLY IF I DITCH THE BLACK CLOTHES AND WEAR OLD BLOKE CLOTHES INSTEAD. OBVIOUSLY, OZZY IS THE MOST RECOGNISABLE , SO HE TENDS TO STAY IN THE HOTEL OR GO OUT WITH AN ENTOURAGE.

100% ROCK: What is your day-to-day itinerary when on tour?

Geezer: WELL I DON’T LEAVE THE HOTEL ON A SHOW DAY, EXCEPT OF COURSE TO GO TO THE GIG. IT HAS BECOME A BIT OF A SUPERSTITION NOT TO LEAVE THE HOTEL IN CASE I GET LOST OR SOMETHING BAD HAPPENS AND I MISS THE SHOW. ON DAYS OFF I USUALLY WATCH TV OR READ A BOOK AND GO OUT FOR A WALK FOR A COUPLE OF HOURS, AND HOPEFULLY FIND A GOOD VEGAN RESTAURANT.

100% ROCK: You’ve said you practically grew up vegetarian, and you have been a vegan for a long time now. It can’t have been easy to follow a vegan diet when touring America, for instance, in the early ‘70s?

Geezer: IT WAS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND THINGS TO EAT, SO I GENERALLY EXISTED ON BAKED POTATOES. NOW WE HAVE CATERERS AND MOST HOTELS WE STAY IN HAVE VEGAN OPTIONS, ALTHOUGH I TRY TO FIND VEGAN ONLY RESTAURANTS ON DAYS OFF.

100% ROCK: Do you cook? What’s a favourite recipe?

Geezer: I OCCASIONALLY COOK PASTA MEALS OR SPUD BASED MEALS, BUT I PREFER TO EAT TAKE OUT MEALS. THERE ARE SEVERAL VEGAN RESTAURANTS NEAR MY HOME IN CALIFORNIA, SO I ALWAYS HAVE A VARIED CHOICE OF MEALS.

100% ROCK: Sabbath are, obviously, hugely influential and revered by literally every metal fan and band around the world. Do you feel that legacy is justified?

Geezer: IT’S GREAT THAT SO MANY BANDS AND FANS CITE US AS A MAJOR INFLUENCE, ESPECIALLY AS WE WERE WRITTEN OFF BY PRACTICALLY EVERY MEDIA CRITIC. WE WERE NEVER A FASHIONABLE BAND AND I THINK THAT HELPED US TO MAINTAIN OUR CREDIBILITY, SINCE WE NEVER FOLLOWED ANY TRENDS, AND NEVER SOLD OUT MUSICALLY.

100% ROCK: How does that legacy affect the way people treat you?

Geezer: I THINK PEOPLE, WHETHER THEY LIKE OUR MUSIC OR NOT, HAVE A CERTAIN RESPECT FOR US THESE DAYS. WE WERE INNOVATORS, NOT COPYISTS, AND THAT IS HARD TO FIND THESE DAYS.

100% ROCK: You’ve apparently said six months is not long enough to make a new Black Sabbath album, yet your first album was recorded in a day, the next one not a lot longer. Is it harder to channel that spontaneity and creative spark when you’re all older, with more business and family responsibilities?

Geezer: THE FIRST ALBUM WAS RECORDED IN A DAY, BUT WAS WRITTEN OVER AN 18 MONTH PERIOD. THE WRITING PROCESS IS WHAT TAKES UP THE TIME. IF SABBATH WROTE AND RECORDED AN ALBUM IN 6 MONTHS, IT WOULD PROBABLY BE AN INFERIOR ALBUM. WITH OUR LEGACY WE WOULDN’T WANT TO DO AN ALBUM JUST FOR THE SAKE OF IT. THE 13 ALBUM TOOK 3 YEARS TO WRITE AND RECORD, AND WAS A GREAT SUCCESS. IT WOULD TAKE AT LEAST 2 TO 3 YEARS TO WRITE AND RECORD A WORTHWHILE FOLLOW UP, AND THAT KIND OF TIME ISN’T ON OUR SIDE ANYMORE.

100% ROCK: Do you constantly write and stockpile material, or only write for a specific project?

Geezer: I WRITE ALL THE TIME, I LOVE EXPERIMENTING IN MY HOME STUDIO. AS FAR AS SABBATH IS CONCERNED, WE ONLY WRITE FOR A SPECIFIC PROJECT.

100% ROCK: If you were a gambling man, what would you say the odds of another Sabbath record would be?

Geezer: I DON’T GAMBLE, BUT I DEFINITELY WOULDN’T BET ON ANOTHER SABBATH ALBUM.

100% ROCK: A new G//Z/R album was expected last year. Is that going to be coming out at some point?

Geezer: I LIKE TO CONCENTRATE ON ONE THING AT A TIME, SO WHEN THIS SABBATH TOUR FINISHES, I’LL SEE IF I’M GOING TO DO ANOTHER G//Z/R ALBUM.

100% ROCK: Are you still as fascinated with the darker corners of life as you were as a young man? Some might see it a contradiction for a cat-rescuing vegan to be writing about Satan and so forth.

Geezer: I DON’T WRITE ABOUT SATAN, BUT I DO WRITE ABOUT THE DARKER SIDE OF LIFE, IT FITS WITH THE DARKNESS OF THE MUSIC.

100% ROCK: You probably know them better than anyone – what are Tony Iommi and Ozzy Osbourne like, as people?

Geezer: THEY ARE MY BEST FRIENDS. THEY ARE BOTH VERY CARING , LOYAL PEOPLE. I CAN GO A YEAR WITHOUT TALKING TO THEM, BUT WHEN WE MEET UP, IT’S AS IF WE WERE NEVER APART. OZZY STILL MAKES ME LAUGH, I NEVER GET TIRED OF HIS HUMOUR, AND TONY IS ALWAYS THERE FOR ME.

100% ROCK: How is Tony’s cancer battle doing, by the way?

Geezer: HE IS DOING WELL, I THINK HIS CANCER HAS RECEDED. HE ADHERES TO HIS TREATMENT REGIME, SO HE’S ALWAYS ON TOP OF IT.

100% ROCK: You’ve had one heck of a life. Looking back, what would you say was your greatest achievement, and what was your biggest mistake?

Geezer: MUSICALLY, RECORDING OUR FIRST ALBUM WAS THE GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT. BIGGEST MISTAKE WAS NOT HAVING A LAWYER OR ACCOUNTANT WHEN WE SIGNED OUR RECORDING, PUBLISHING AND MANAGEMENT DEALS.

100% ROCK: Thanks again Geezer – your time, as I said, is much appreciated. And a personal thank you for all the music over the years. It continues to mean a lot to a lot of us.

Geezer: THANK YOU SHANE.