Guitar tech Freddy Kowalo was a guest on recent Eric McKenna Project podcast, telling tales of teching for BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, MEGADETH, ALICE IN CHAINS, including one about Zakk Wylde getting kicked off a church baseball field while trying to relax on the road on Ozzfest.
Kowalo said:
“Wherever we went, we took this [aforementioned] baseball bat — it’s the [Mike] Piazza bat — Zakk went off and bought a whole sh*tload of softballs. If we wanted to play baseball, we played baseball and that meant if we went to a mall parking lot and hit home run derby against the walls of the mall that’s what we did. If we wanted to stop and play baseball, we played baseball and we found a field in Montana on our way to The Gorge [Amphitheatre] in Washington. We pull up and we play — the field was empty when we pulled up and the idea was we’re playing baseball and sh*t like that and it’s great.”
“And this church van pulls up and people get out and we’re out there,” the guitar tech went on, describing the scene the church group was looking at. “Now you’ve got to picture — we’re on Ozzfest in our leather vests, in our boots and we played like that and it’s 98 degrees in Montana. I have this on video and it’s one of the funniest things ever.”“This church group comes up — we’re playing on a church field in Montana and they come up and they go, ‘Hey, what are you guys doing?’ And Zakk’s like, ‘Ah, dude we’re f*cking sitting here f*cking out on tour with the f*cking Ozzfest and we’re f*cking busting off some steam f*cking smacking some f*cking balls around dude, playing some f*cking home run derby. You got the f*cking guys out there…'”
“And this lady goes, ‘Excuse me, what are you doing?’ And [Wylde] goes, ‘Dude we’re out here f*cking busting our f*cking balls on this f*cking baseball f*cking field f*cking out here. We’re out there on the f*cking Ozzfest f*cking touring and sh*t. I’m out here f*cking busting my balls doing double duty with like Black Label and f*cking Ozzy Osbourne and so we’re out here trying to relax.”
“She goes, ‘What do you do?’ He goes, ‘Oh, I play f*cking guitar for Ozzy Osbourne.’ And they look and they go ‘Get off our field. Right now.’ And he goes, ‘Ah dude it’s all cool we’re just out here trying to —’ ‘Get off our field right now.'”
“They go, ‘Jesus would not want you to play baseball on our field.’ [Wylde] goes, ‘What the f*ck? Motherf*cking Jesus invented f*cking baseball. Dude, don’t tell me I’m not down with J.C. I’ve got a six foot f*cking crucifix of Jesus f*cking Christ f*cking hanging above my f*cking — don’t tell me I’m not down with J.C.,’ The church group re-upped on their promise and replied, “We’re calling the cops.”
