Steve Vai Says His Biggest Challenge Was Working Around Ozzy Osbourne

During his recent interview with My Global Mind, Steve Vai talked about the Generation Axe project, drew attention to supergroup members’ harmony and hinted at a possible upcoming tour. The guitarist recalled when he worked with Black Sabbath icon Ozzy Osbourne which he defined as a challenge.

As one of the most talented hard rock guitarists, Steve Vai collaborated with many legendary bands and musicians such as Frank Zappa, Alcatrazz, Van Halen’s David Lee Roth, and Whitesnake. In addition to them, Vai worked with Ozzy Osbourne for his seventh solo studio album entitled ‘Ozzmosis,’ released on October 23, 1995. Vai co-wrote songs and was supposed to record the guitar parts, but he left the project and only ‘My Little Man’ remained in the album due to a conflict between him and Ozzy Osbourne.

That’s probably why Steve recently noted that working with Osbourne was his biggest challenge, unlike Generation Axe, which he founded in 2016 and consists of Zakk Wylde, Yngwie Malmsteen, Nuno Bettencourt, Tosin Abasi, and other famous musicians. The band hit the road many times for various tours, so the journalist wanted to know whether they are planning to tour again soon. Vai responded to the question saying that they need to work on a schedule that won’t interrupt their own projects.

However, according to Vai, it’s not easy to find the right time because of the other members’ responsibilities as band members, such as Wylde’s Black Label Society, Nuno Bettencourt’s Extreme, and Tosin Abasi’s Animals as Leaders and their other plans for touring and recording. Vai didn’t forget to highlight that they enjoy playing together and show respect to each other’s projects and choices even though they have different styles as musicians.

Steve Vai said in his interview the following:

“The challenge with doing a Generation Axe tour is everyone’s available. They have solo careers and play with bands. Nuno Bettencourt has Extreme, and he is a consistently busy person. Tosin Abasi has his guitar company and solo career. You have to juggle it. Everyone loves doing it. I think the biggest challenge is working around Ozzy.

You can listen to the song below.