Interview by Brian McLean
On the Record and Off the Rails
An interview with Rudy Sarzo
Rudy Sarzo is a spiritually grounded and peaceful individual and he’s been that way throughout his 25 plus year career in the crazy and unpredictable world of rock and roll. That in itself is a good thing considering he experienced one of heavy metal’s most unfortunate events on Friday, March 19, 1982.
With two dates already complete, Atlanta and Knoxville, for the second leg of Ozzy Osbourne’s Diary of a Madman tour, the morning of the band’s first off day in Leesburg, FL at the Flying Baron Estates was just underway. The next day the band was slated to play the World Series of Rock and Roll with several other acts at the Tangerine Bowl in Orlando.
Sarzo was resting comfortably in his tour bus bunk when his friend and band mate Randy Rhoads excitedly asked if he wanted to go up for an aerial view of the Flying Baron Estates. Sarzo passed on the aerial excursion opting for more rest not knowing it would be the last time he would speak with his friend.
Minutes later, the unimaginable happened. The single engine Beechcraft Bonanza plane carrying Rhoads and two other people clipped the tour bus and a pine tree and then into the garage of a colonial style home where it burst into flames. All three occupants perished. Only a matter of inches spared more tragedy for the occupants on the bus.
It’s a story Sarzo has told many times over the years.
When Sarzo was preparing for his first major rock tour for the Blizzard of Ozz album, he was instructed to maintain records of his travels and expenses for tax purposes. It’s these diligent kept records and journals, his vivid memories of his first two tours, his degree in Mass Communications and a press clipping book presented as a gift that has allowed him to write Off the Rails, an accurate and factual account of his time on tour with Rhoads and that fateful day.
But mainly the book was written so Sarzo wouldn’t have to tell the story of March 19, 1982 again and to correct factual errors.
Utilizing his screen and creative writing skills over a period of 18-months which included three bands and two lap tops, Sarzo completed Off the Rails saying, “I would have never been able to write this book by hand.”
Sarzo said when he sat down to write the book he wanted to bring the reader on tour with him. He didn’t want to tell them what it was like. Instead he said, “I wanted them to find out what it was like for themselves. I wanted to put them right there.”
According to Sarzo, the best way to bring the reader into the story and on tour was to utilize his Mass Communications degree and approach the book in a cinematic way. For that he needed dialogue.
“I needed to show how these people spoke and some of that dialogue is vivid in my memory and exactly how they said it.”
Being a native of Cuba and learning English as a second language in his childhood, Sarzo is very observant about conversation and this was a major player during the creation of the book. Sarzo said he remembers conversations and the way everyone spoke. To him, those around him on tour were different characters.
He explained, “For example you had Randy Rhoads still living at home, a young man who was basically a Los Angeles valley boy from Burbank who grew up in the valley and spoke totally different from Ozzy who was totally different from Tommy Aldridge being from Texas and the south. You have Sharon who had a very upper crust upbringing but was use to the rock world because of her father being a manager of some of the major British bands. These are very specific characters.”
His keen since of language perception allowed him to be factual and entertaining at the same time with the many humorous and touching stories involving Rhoads throughout the book. Many which will bring a smile to the reader’s face and a warmth in their heart.
For Sarzo, there’s more to Off the Rails than just being the author. He reached levels of emotions he never imagined when he first started writing.
“First of all, I rediscovered myself. I started writing the book at low point in my life career wise because of things going on around me. I really wasn’t please with myself and I started taking personal inventory of things that I have been part of. I began to get more fulfillment and begin to rediscover myself, feel better about myself because of what I have accomplished. That is a reward in itself.”
Early on Sarzo wrote several chapters and sent them out to network and business contacts with Cherry Lane publishing being one of those. Originally a publishing deal was in place with Cherry Lane but there was a conflict of interest with the Osbournes. When the book was ready for layout he was dropped.
Sarzo said, “The split was very amicable and I appreciated all the time and effort Cherry Lane put into the book but it got to a point that it would have been best for everybody if the book went somewhere else.”
Eventually Sarzo teamed up with Book Surge, a print for order publishing house and the results have been positive with a second pressing already complete. Sarzo says he doesn’t know if he will be approached by a traditional publisher but if he is, he will take it from there.
When Sarzo started writing the book’s final chapter titled “Closure”, he felt a sense closure and purging of emotions, something he didn’t foresee happening when first he started. He felt a certain completeness about telling the story, acceptance and coming to terms with the events of March 19, 1982.
“From Chapter 20 on, it was basically how do we deal with Randy’s passing and everybody dealt with it in a different way.”
Little time had passed after Rhoads passing before the band was back out on the road. There was no time to grieve and according to Sarzo, that was very tough.
“During the process of the book, it was like reliving it again. And this time, putting it out, being able to grieve about it. I felt there was closure and being able to deal with it.”
Sarzo said, events like that will change you forever and you just learn to live with it and carry on. He added the most important part is the learning how to live with it.
Writing Chapter 18 which lead to the events in Chapter 19 where Rhoads passes away was the hardest one for Sarzo to write.
He said, “I knew what was happening. I knew the end was near so that took me about a month to write just because I procrastinated. It was so hard to write. And believe it or not, Chapter 19 just streamed out of me, it was the fastest chapter to write. It was like a fountain, it just flowed. It was like boom, here’s the crash because I had it pent up for such a long time that it just poured out.”
Carrying on afterwards on stage without Rhoads to his left was difficult for Sarzo especially the Madison Square Garden. Sarzo said Rhoads was really looking forward to playing the Garden.
“Instead the show was a wake for Randy.”
That night Sarzo played with his head down rarely moving. Tears poured from his face and gathered around his stationary feet. He said, “One of the most difficult things was listening to Randy play “Diary of a Madman” at the start of the show.”
Sarzo continued, “Emotionally it was so hard to carry on from that point. I shut down and went into automatic pilot because that was the only way I could deal with it emotionally.”
Sarzo has never returned to Mt. View Cemetery in San Bernardino where Rhoads is buried nor has he returned to the Flying Barron Estates, the scene of the crash.
With a pause of silence Sarzo explains, “I was there at the crash. I was one of the pall bearers. The only way I can really deal with the whole thing is to feel that Randy is alive, his spirit. We traveled so much together on those tours that to think that he’s in one resting place, yes his bones are there but his spirit is everywhere else. I rather go to Musonia, his mom’s school where we used to teach.”
Sarzo feels Rhoads is with him but says these are personal emotions.
“You feel maybe it’s true or maybe it’s that you want it that way.”
As the day approaches, Sarzo has no intention of taking part in events on March 19, 2007, the 25th Anniversary of Rhoads passing.
“March 19 for me is not a day of celebration if anything, maybe because I was there when it happened. I am more into celebrating peoples’ lives rather than their death.”
One such day of celebration would be March 18, 2004. The day marked Rhoads induction into the Rock Walk of Fame in Hollywood along with the likes of Elvis Presley and Eric Clapton. There, Sarzo delivered a speech about his friend. The day also marked the 22nd anniversary of Rhoads last performance.
Sarzo describes Rhoads as a dedicated responsible musician and a humble person. He was aware of Rhoads’ intentions to leave the band. It was a topic the two discussed many times.
“During those conversations I always thanked him for being responsible. He knew how I felt about him by the time he passed away and I believe he knows how much we miss him. The hardest thing about the crash was to deal with the why him and not me, the guilt that comes with it.”
These are things that Sarzo would like to tell Rhoads again if he had the opportunity to speak with his friend one last time yet, there’s one thing Sarzo believes in his heart that Rhoads knows, “I want to thank him for saving our lives.” According to Sarzo it was Rhoads actions that prevented tragedy for the occupants on the bus.