BLACK SABBATH ( GEEZER BUTLER )

BLACK SABBATH's GEEZER BUTLER: "We Were Slagged To Death When We First Started..."

WWW.Ultimate-Guitar.has issued an interview with BLACK SABBATH bassist GEEZER BUTLER, conducted by Joe Matera. The following is an excerpt:

Q: How do you feel about the enormous influence Black Sabbath has had on other metal bands?

A: "It is fantastic especially when other musicians and bands I like, bands like SLIPKNOT and METALLICA come and say how much they love the stuff we have done. It’s an honour especially for us because we were slagged to death when we first started by all the critics in England who said we didn’t have any chance whatsoever. Then in 1980 when Ronnie came into the band everybody said we were doomed yet we proved everybody wrong. So it’s great for us when all these bands and people cite us as their influence."

Q: What do you think is the secret to your longevity in this tough business considering like you just said, you’ve had critics against you and a musical climate that is ever changing?

A: "It’s because we’ve been doing what we love for so long and we haven’t been trendy, we haven’t sold out like we haven’t become a disco band or something overnight. We just do what we love and just keep it real. That way, people will always know what they’re going to get from us."

Read the full interview at Ultimate-Guitar.com.

BLACK SABBATH Bassist Geezer Butler On HEAVEN AND HELL - "Most People Like The Original Lineup, But I Think The Stuff That We Did In This Lineup Certainly Lived Up To Expectations"






BLACK SABBATH/HEAVEN AND HELL bass legend Geezer Butler spoke to Michael Roberts from the Westworld Blogs recently about a number of topics. A few excerpts from the chat found here follow:

Westworld Blogs: Most Sabbath fans rank the classic lineup of you, Tony (Iommi), Bill (Ward) and Ozzy (Osbourne) above all of the ones that followed. But were there others along the way that were just as good as that one?
Geezer Butler: "It’s as you say, everyone’s got an opinion. Some people like the Heaven and Hell lineup more, but most people like the original lineup. But I think the stuff that we did in this lineup certainly lived up to the expectations."

Westworld Blogs: What are the biggest attributes of the Heaven And Hell lineup? What does this lineup do particularly well – and maybe better than any of the other lineups?
Geezer Butler: "I think we’re more musical. The playing is probably a higher standard, as far as the music standpoint goes. Technically is what I’m trying to say."

Westworld Blogs: With Ronnie, how does the dynamic change?
Geezer Butler: "When Ronnie came in, he brought a totally different aspect to it. He was a writer himself. He wrote on guitar, so it was easy for him to explain, musically to us, what he wanted us to change to suit his songs. And he writes his own lyrics, which gave me a break, because I wrote all the lyrics for the original Sabbath. So it was totally different, and I could concentrate solely on bass when he came in, instead of juggling bass and the lyrics. I was happy about that."

Westworld Blogs: There was a never a time where you felt bad about sitting on the sidelines lyrically? You were fine with him taking over that part of it?
Geezer Butler: "Oh yeah. I hated writing lyrics in the end. It really got to me. I felt like I was becoming taken for granted. In the first place, Ozzy used to come up with a few things and then we used to work together a lot. But I felt like, toward the end, it was like, Geezer writes the lyrics and that’s it, and I didn’t like that. I felt, if somebody’s got a good idea, they should come up with it, and not leave it up to me all the time. It’s sort of like leaving it to Tony to come up with all the music and nobody helping out – that kind of thing."

Westworld Blogs: So you didn’t feel like someone was stepping on your toes?
Geezer Butler: "Not at all. I was so relieved when Ronnie came and said that he wrote lyrics. It was brilliant for me (laughs)."